A Superbowl Meal

     Page One Hundred Eighty-Three.

       Superbowl Sunday is in a couple of days. I'll probably watch the game with my Indian roommate in tow. Superbowl Sunday is the #1 pizza day in America, literally. But I'm so sick of pizza after my pizza party last week that I'm boycotting it for a little while. I'm thinking of making homemade chicken pot pie. It's neither fast nor easy but it is tasty. However, as mentioned prior in this blog, my roommate's biggest complaint about American food is it's lack of spicyness. Well, chicken pot pie pretty much epitomizes that. However, mine is extra flavorful, I'm proud to declare. So, perhaps he'll like it.
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     My favorite Superbowl memory dates to the mid-90's. A very close friend, Meryl, phoned me at the Star Spangled Banner and we stayed on the phone through the entire game. I hadn't spent that much time on the phone since those wacky teenage years. But it was too fun. It was like having a close friend over, but without the clean-up when they leave. Also, I was able to watch TV in my underwear. Always a plus.

On Loosing A Few Pounds - Update #1

     Page One Hundred Twenty-One.
     Just an update on my weight reduction diet...
     It's now been 33 days and I've lost a solid ten pounds, which is evident. I was very concerned about the wedding a couple days ago and how could I possibly stay on a diet at a festival like that? (You know... the wedding with the accompanying memorial the day prior which I catered? See blogs #120, 118, 109). In fact, I didn't even bother to stay on the diet at a banquet. Why torture myself? So I ate pretty much everything. I just didn't overeat. Who knew that was possible? And then, the next day, I simply went back to my dieting habits.
     What'll also be tough is the Feast of the Assumption which is this coming weekend. I've mentioned the Feast before in this blog: see page#190.  I've already decided that I'll go down and only get a piece of Old Church Lady Pizza a couple times during the course of the four days. I won't get anything else. No Elephant ears, no cavatelli, no kettle corn, no ravioli, no cotton candy... just homemade pizza. Come to think of it, I'll save about thirty dollars, too!
     I'd like to loose another twelve pounds. But, we'll see. At the wedding, my niece, who was my date, was really concerned about me loosing another twelve. She believes that I can't afford to loose too much more. Though one or two of my friends have commented that I can. Who knows? Maybe I won't loose that much. I just want to be able to fit into certain trousers that I haven't been able to comfortably squeeze into for a while. The question is: how much of the weight I've put on in the last decade is muscle? And, how will that affect my slithering into old trousers? Lord knows, I can't wear my older suits because I'm broader in the shoulders. I get that. In fact, I've given some of my older suits and jackets away already. But what about trousers?
     In theory, if I can get my waist close to what it was, I should be fine. But, one thing at a time. First loose twelve more pounds. Second, start wearing old, out of style pants. Third, adopt the new eating habits long term. But in the meantime, six more weeks of the diet; I still say that I'm rarely starving though. thankfully.
     The real irony is that right now two people owe me fancy dinners. My niece owes me one because I gave her a free haircut a month ago. And one of my buddies owes me dinner me 'cause I helped him move a few weeks ago and refused to let him pay me. I can't wait for that tasty food. 

Frech Bread Pizzas

     Page Ninety-Three.
     I'll tell you what ALWAYS sells when trying to feed hungry teenaged boys. Fresh French Bread pizza. And they're just about the easiest things to make, too.
     Go to your favorite bakery or grocery store and purchase a couple of fresh, full-sized loaves of French bread. Also, buy a couple of cans of your preferred pizza sauce, some mozzarella cheese and whatever toppings your kids like: pepperoni, sausage, onions, mushrooms, olives, what have you. Bring the whole mess home and put everything out on your counter.
     Slice the loaves in half and the top half you'll have to level off. So, put the top half on the counter, crust side down and look to see what you'll have to carefully trim off so it sits evenly. Once that's done, just assemble everything as you like. If you go in for onions or sausage, you'll have to cook those things up. But that notwithstanding, put on the sauce, then cheese, then everything else. Place on a cookie sheet and then pop in the preheated 425 degree oven for about 13 minutes.* Viola! These things are so good it's just crazy. They're surprisingly economical, too.
     There's a very famous brand of frozen French Bread Pizza. Those are perfectly okay for a teenaged boy... until he tastes the real thing. Be prepared, once he tastes the ones that you make fresh, he'll never go back to frozen. You'll have to make these things a lot. But his birthday gift to you will be bigger. He'll still be a bi-polar teenaged boy, but he'll occasionally be a little nicer to you, when he wants these things.
    



*Trick #1: Assemble pizzas on the cookie sheet so you don't have to move them around too much prior to baking.
 Trick #2: Don't overload stuff on the bread. It'll just fall off. Use just a little of this and just a little of that. Don't worry, it'll add up.