TheCockSportif

You are a treasure, @Shaw66, and I say this in earnest. I opined in one of the game day threads yesterday that I was done posting here, save for Off the Wall, until the draft or next season. It's all variable based on where things are with me going into 2022 and the Bills. And then I forgot you and @Virgil, and how much reading your stuff means to me each week; this is even more important now that @Virgilmight be retiring his going forward. In any case, I kind of shrugged my shoulders after the game yesterday then worked on a mix for this song that I'm working on, then totally crashed hard until 6am this morning. I woke up this morning asking myself if I gave a crap about the Bills anymore. And then I read your weekly, in-season entry, and realized that you are right. I'm numb. I still am. You nailed it, as usual, and have a great offseason. Looking forward to your contributions in 2022, as always!

Final comment on TBD of the season: you don't back into a season and expect better results. The team blew my ***** mind over the past month, but damn, there it was again. Just like against TN. Will be around on Off the Wall and so on, but really, I can't over parse this shitshow anymore. Offseason. Rinse. Repeat. 2022-3 season.

D line prolly. I mean, you reach a point in life where this constant ***** stings, but you move on. And so will the Bills.

Overall, yes. That was a game for the ages, as I mentioned in another thread. The D, well... Unfortunately, we'll have to see what next year brings.

That was one for the ages. Too bad that the D didn't get the memo.

I know, right?! Gross. I happen to like cauliflower, but it should never be the star of the show.

Oops! https://bromabakery.com/buffalo-cauliflower-wings/

I'm pretty sure that nobody does that. I hope?

Every year, well except during the COVID era, we hold a post-holiday holiday party on the Saturday after New Year's. Usually about 40 people show up, and we cook nothing but Indian food. There were protests in the one year that we served something else. Having written that, we start cooking on Wednesday night. To your point, Indian cooking can involve a lot of heavy lifting, yes.

Awesome! Are you making this yourself(ves)?

Basically I roast a bunch of carrots until they are getting soft. Then I put them in a pan with a little bit of shallot, habaneros (to taste), and honey (and salt and pepper of course). If I need a little bit of acidity, I'll add just a little bit of apple cider vinegar. Then I whiz it up in a blender and it's ready to go.

I've been using a sugar free rub and via 3-2-1 method, for the last hour cook uncovered with a homemade habanero-carrot-honey sauce.

Wow, SF won?! I was writing recipes and sharpening knives (just bought a new sharpener). Tomorrow is THE game for me for the Bills. Can't wait, oh, and let Rodgers troll his way into next season. Excellent!

His hair seems more tame than I am used to.

I would love to see that recipe. Perfect for the summer!

That's actually in diet for me, well, depending on how it's seasoned. Please tell me more about the ribs and your recipe. I love ribs.

I'm not sinning, in particular after post holiday. But let me know what you ate and I will applaud you. Smoked sweet potatoes. Get smaller ones. Don't peel them or season them or anything. Just poke them through with skewers, a knife, your very powerful fingers, etc, and put into a smoker, at 225 until they are done. It's usually around 4-5 hours for an electronic smoker at 225. Serve with a spicy aioli (or whatever you want). Fantastic for Thanksgiving.

So let's get to wings then. I got into smoking / baking wings. And yeah, I have a deep fryer, but given the aim of this thread, I only use it on sin days. Without further ado. Cold smoke the wings. This only really works if (a) you have some kind of butcher shop with a cooler where you cold smoke or (b) it's cold out. Thankfully, those of us in the northeast can do this for like 5 months out of the year. I prefer to use fresh wings, but as supply chain has been an issue (and maybe you have a Costco nearby, which I don't unfortunately), use what you can find. Make sure that they are thawed, and pat them down to extract as much moisture as you can. Use a paper towel. Use whatever you have. Just make sure that they are as dry as possible. Then cold smoke for like 4 hours. Make sure not to open the chamber when you do this. It'll let the smoke out, and that's counterproductive. Don't use any heat whatsoever. Just smoke with whatever wood you want: apple, cherry, etc. I am somewhat partial to hickory, but do as you will. So, on sin days? I make a couple of dressings (usually 1 Asian, and 1 more traditional Buffalo style), and I do a 350/375 double fry until they are cooked through. Then I toss in the dressing. But otherwise I baste with my dressings of choice and put them into a 400 oven until done. I usually try to avoid sugars on non-sin days, but do as you will, of course.

You can totally eat wings on the diet that I'm on. You just have to augment the sides. And of course I allow myself 2 sin days per month...

Sweet potato croutons. The goal here is to have a cubed sweet potato that's crispy on the outside and with that creamy/dense/soft center when it's done. Use as many sweet potatoes as you like, but this recipe usually uses 2-3 medium-sized ones. Procedure: Set oven to 400oF Cut sweet potatoes into a cube size of your choice. I aim for 1/2" cubes. Put sweet potatoes on a sheet pan / baking pan Pour olive oil, salt (to taste, although I am a fan of kosher salt / coarse salt because it lets me measure by how much I pinch in), crushed black pepper, adobo seasoning (I use Penzey's but there are many on the market -- just check ingredients to see what works for you), and crushed red pepper (optional). All of the seasoning here is to your taste, where I prefer less salt, but more black pepper, red pepper, and adobo seasoning Toss around on sheet pan / baking pan Put in oven for 20 minutes Turn with spatula Let go for another 20 minutes See where you are. I like mine to be darker on the outside, but not burnt. This is all to taste at this point. Enjoy.

Let me post my recipe (just started a thread) in off the wall. Back there shortly.

So I love dairy. And in particular, I LOVE sour cream. Unfortunately, my body no longer lets me eat this stuff without putting on what seems like 10lbs a clip. In that light I started experimenting with a vegan sour cream. Am I vegan? Probably 70% these days, just so my heart doesn't explode after years of abusing my body with booze and so on, but you can use this recipe with meat, like in a taco salad. It's also great with a soup that has a lot of acidity. Unlike your dairy-based sour cream, it will not curdle, and just adds this amazing creaminess. (This sounds like porn, and I apologize in advance.) The key to this recipe is to have a Vitamix, Ninja, or some other high-powered blender. You can use a food processor, but then you will probably need to use a fine strainer to get chunks of stuff out of the creamy mix. The recipe: 1.5 cups raw cashews (i.e. NOT roasted, and NOT salted). You can get these at Wegmans or similar 3/4c water (any type, room temp) 2tbsp lemon juice 2tbsp apple cider vinegar pinch of salt, to taste. Use kosher salt, or whatever you want. I use kosher salt 'cause it's easier to pinch. Procedure: Soak the raw cashews in tap (or your favorite) water. Leave them in there for 6-8 hours. You can also use boiling water for 1-2 hours. Up to you. Drain, strain the cashews. You can rinse if you'd like, but I prefer not to. I don't mind the brine from soaking cashews in water; I think that it adds to the end product, after having tried both ways. Put cashews, water, lemon juice, vinegar, salt in a blender/food processor, and whiz until smooth. Taste and adjust salt. Remove from blender/food processor and put in container. Then refrigerate. It usually sets up in about 4 hours. Should thicken by then, and lasts for 2-3 weeks. Would love to hear feedback if/when you try this.

I am happy to share a few, as a person who's gotten his act together, diet wise, since April 2021. What have you got, and I will share mine, in fact right after I post this. There are no guidelines, but no dairy/lower carbs would be preferred. Have at it!

Robert Plant offers you a taste of his "sweet potato". Unfortunately, tomorrow afternoon/early evening I won't be this cheery. #decorum #gameday

I'm doing Whole 30 taco salad, but yeah, with meat, of course. However, subbing in sweet potato "croutons" and vegan sour cream. Getting old sucks, but frankly, I've become master of the taco salad domain. And I can embrace this as a healthy, yet tasty, dietary option.