January 23, 2014

Football, the Super Bowl, and John Madden’s Super Bowl Stew

Me, enjoying Monday Night Football at a cold FedEx Field in
Landover, Maryland
The San Francisco 49ers vs. The Washington Redskins
November 25, 2013

 The Super Bowl-a very American tradition, which occurs yearly, and involves eating, watching creative commercials, eating, watching two football teams compete for the title of national champion, complete with an entertaining halftime show, and more eating.

Super Bowl XLVIII (48) is just around the corner on Sunday, February 2.  The Denver Broncos square off against the Seattle Seahawks in New Jersey’s Met Life Stadium, and outdoors! Brrr…  Like much of America, I will be watching, while paying particularly close attention as each new (Super Bowl) commercial airs, at a cost of approximately 4 million dollars for a mere 30 seconds!
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/12/04/super-bowl-advertising-marketing-fox-commercials/3862761/

Over the years, the Super Bowl has brought us some memorable commercials.  Below are three of my favorites.

Three Memorable Super Bowl Commercials

 Mean Joe Green and Coca-Cola (1979)

Click on the link to view this commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOZYX6F8

For a 2016 update about this commercial,
click here. 

GI Joe and Barbie, along with a Van Halen soundtrack, for Nissan (1996)

 Click on link to view this commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXdFKcETEPg

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird for McDonald’s (1993)

 Click on link to view this commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVrmo1SkkBg

 The Super Bowl Shuffle, a Microcosm of the 1980’s

 Another fun Super Bowl memory that comes to mind is the Chicago Bear’s Rap, “The Super Bowl Shuffle”, produced three months prior to their 1986 Super Bowl win.  Watching it now, it serves as an amusing microcosm of the 1980’s, and the music videos that were all the rage at the time.  Nominated for a Grammy Award (They lost to KISS.), this video has raised over $300,000 for charity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Super_Bowl_Shuffle

Click on link to view the video
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfwam5_super-bowl-shuffle_sport?

 The Brady Bunch and Football

 I love “The Brady Bunch”! Fortunately, “The Brady Bunch” affords me the opportunity to merge the world of classic TV and the world of the gridiron for the purpose of this blog. :o) During the five seasons of the Brady Bunch, the subject of football came up in several episodes, either directly, or directly.
Two of my favorites are:

 “The Subject Was Noses” (1973) Season 4, Episode 18

 This infamous Brady episode has Marcia receiving an errant football pass to the nose. Ouch!

To view a clip of this episode, click the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9nSSrOp6ck

 Mail Order Hero (1973) Season 5, Episode 2

 Joe Namath guest stars in this episode, which finds Bobby
fibbing to his friends, saying that he knows Namath, and that the football star is coming to his house for dinner.

 To view a clip of this episode, click the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pKjVaQJ7ec

John Madden Means Football

 In my mind, John Madden’s name is synonymous with football.  Yes, he played football, coached it, (Coaching gained him access to the Football Hall of Fame in 2006.) and went on to become a Sunday afternoon and Monday night staple, announcing NFL games on national television.  And yes, it is John Madden’s name which graces the packaging of the ever-popular NFL video games that comes out anew each fall. Yet, I revere this man for his football presence in two other areas, closer to my heart, that being, for a movie and for a recipe.

 The 1994 movie “Little Giants” was a favorite at our house when my youngsters were small, and I must admit that I still enjoy watching it! Briefly, this film is about two brothers who coach opposing peewee football teams, and are competing for the town championship.  Rick Moranis’s team is the underdog. One day, John Madden unexpectedly stops in town and helps Rick’s team with advice and a special play, “The Annexation of Puerto Rico”.  (Some say that the Carolina Panthers borrowed this play in a December game in 2011!)

Rick Moranis and John Madden discuss football strategy in “Little Giants”

To view a theatrical trailer for this movie, click on the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6iPV7h-TfM

 John Madden’s recipe for stew has become a tradition at my house each Super bowl Sunday. I originally found this recipe in a magazine in 1987, and it is delicious!  This recipe is a bit time consuming, so make sure that you allow yourself plenty of time to prepare it.  My recipe notes are in parentheses. (Note-I make my stew soupier, than John Madden’s.)

“Family Circle” Magazine-January 20, 1987

 John Madden’s Super Bowl Stew

Ingredients

 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (+ more to thicken the stew toward the end)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt (or less)

1.5-2.5 pounds bottom round, cut into 11/2 inch cubes
(to cut time, use pre-cut stew meat, although not quite as good)

2 to 3 Tablespoon vegetable oil (Usually takes more)

2 large onions, sliced (I keep my onions whole)

2 small sweet green peppers (one red pepper, and one green pepper),
seeded and cut into chunks

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 large clove garlic, pressed (I skip this.)

3 large carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
(I use a large handful of the peeled baby carrots.)

4 medium-size potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
(I used the small red potatoes, scrubbed and with skin.)

(I add 1/2  pound of fresh, or frozen cut green beans)

1 small turnip, peeled and cut in chunks

1 small rutabaga, peeled and cut into chunks (I often skip this.)

3 cups beef broth (I use 3-4 large cans/boxes, 32 ounce)

5-6 drops liquid red-pepper seasoning (I use Tabasco, and I use less, or none, placing Tabasco on the table)

1/8 teaspoon leaf savory, crumbled
(Savory seems to be hard to find.  I found ground at Harris Teeter, and just used that.)

1/8 teaspoon leaf marjoram, crumbled

3 Tablespoons chopped parsley (I often skip this)

Directions

Combine flour, pepper and salt on a large piece of wax paper.
Dredge beef cubes well on all sides with flour mixture.
(I place ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, and shake the cubes to coat.)
Reserve flour for thicker gravy.
(More flour will be used at the end of the recipe.)

Brown meat in oil in large Dutch oven, working in batches if necessary.
(I use a large stainless steel pot.)

Remove meat.  Sauté onion, (red and) green pepper, celery and garlic (if wanted)
in pan drippings 10 minutes.

Add carrot, potato, turnip, rutabaga (if desired), (green beans), broth, red-pepper seasoning (if desired), savory, and marjoram.
Bring to boiling.
Add meat.
Cover; simmer 1.5 hours until meat is tender, adding broth if mixture becomes too dry.

For thicker gravy, mix together 1/4 cup cold water (I use  about 1/2-3/4 cup broth instead of  the water) and reserved flour mixture (the extra flour) in small bowl to make smooth paste.
Remove meat and vegetables with slotted spoon from Dutch oven to serving bowl.
Stir flour mixture into pan liquids.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and bubbly.

Pour over meat and vegetables in serving bowl.  (I add a little extra broth to flour, and then add directly to the stew.)
(Make sure that you stir this stew frequently, so that it does not stick on the bottom.)

Serve with crusty French bread if you wish.

Enjoy!

Annette’s Note-When thickening the stew with the flour, I do not remove the meat the vegetables, but just stir around it. Yep, the secret is out, I am a lazy cook!  :o)

 Thanks for reading!  :o)

Annette

I attempt to post my blog bi-monthly. Talk to you again around February 10.

Please, join my blog “following”, and receive “I’m Annette” via email, FREE, immediately upon posting, please sign up on the right-hand side of this page.

 

My Football Hubby, in high school -1973