Projo Football Food and Spirits

I appreciate Sheila Lennon's kind gesture of "no trash-talk" in her previous post, so I'll keep the spirit of sportsmanship up in advance of Sunday's Steelers-Patriots game, even though, as I've said before, I'm a big Steelers fan.

The Steelers' fans commonly call my hometown "Blitzburg," so in that vein, I'm giving you a hearty recipe right out of Heinz Field (home of Ore Ida) -- Twice-Blitzed Potatoes. The game's at 4:15, so these would make a great pre-dinner treat or side with your gametime meal.

Twice-Blitzed Potatoes

4 large baking potatoes
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced, divided

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.

When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix in mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese and green onions Bake for another 15 minutes.

Sure, the Patriots are playing Buffalo this week (again), but in a recent projo.com survey, 73 percent of our readers responded that they think the Pittsburgh Steelers are the toughest foe left in the regular season for this juggernaut of a team.

And being a Pittsburgh native (who is very much a Steelers fan), I thought it only appropriate to share a Pittsburgh-original recipe you can make sometime between now and Dec. 9, when the Patriots and Steelers take the field in Foxboro. And, you can make it with the leftover cooked turkey you'll have from Thanksgiving dinner.

This recipe comes from Frank Blandi, who operated the famous LeMont Restaurant on top of Pittsburgh's scenic Mt. Washington. -- the site my husband proposed to me nearly 18 years ago. Looking down from the restaurant, Blandi could see Devonshire Street, so it worked out to be a good name for a sandwich: Turkey Devonshire.

This recipe takes a while to make because of the stirring, but the cooking time is only 15 minutes. It originally called for only one sandwich, but believe me, there is enough gooey cheese sauce to make eight sandwiches in a casserole dish. If you don't like gooey -- stay away from this one. It's certainly not low-cal.

8 slices toast, crusts trimmed off
24 slices crisp bacon
15 thin slices cooked turkey breast
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup flour
1/4 lb grated cheddar cheese
1 pint chicken broth
1 pint hot milk
1 teaspoon salt
parmesan cheese
paprika

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Fry bacon and remove from pan.
3. Drain.
4. Set aside.
5. Melt ¾ stick butter in deep pan and add flour, stirring constantly.
6. Add chicken broth.
7. Stir.
8. Add hot milk.
9. Stir.
10. Add cheese and salt.
11. Bring to boil.
12. Reduce heat.
13. Cook slowly for 20 minutes, stirring constantly.
14. Cool to lukewarm.
15. Whip cheese sauce with wire beater until smooth.
16. Place 1 slice toast in a casserole dish and top with 3 slices bacon.
17. Add 5 slices turkey. Repeat 7 more times.
18. Cover with the whipped cheese sauce.
19. Sprinkle with a little melted butter, Parmesan cheese, and paprika.
20. Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

This chicken enchilada recipe is from the Colorado Cache Cookbook, a gift from my husband's brother (and his wife) in Denver. I've used the cookbook so much I've got red wine stains on the pages, and there's no binding left.

The recipe works well if you have leftover chicken or turkey, as it requires 2 cups of cooked poultry. Also, my father especially liked it because its on his approved list of high-calcium foods -- with lots of cheese -- and a little spice.

My husband grew hot peppers in our garden this year, so I used them in place of a can of green chilis, but either will do. Also, you don't need to add onions if the salsa has enough for you, but I added a few with the raw pepper (just a small one) and sauted them in butter first. Other variations include using corn instead of flour tortillas, and cheddar instead of monterey jack cheese.

I make it for a Sunday football meal because you can put it in the oven ahead of time and eat in front of the flat-screen.

Chicken enchiladas
2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey meat
1 (4-oz.) can chopped mild green chilies
1 (7-oz) can salsa
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 flour tortillas
2 cups grated monterey jack cheese
1/2 teaspoon butter if cooking raw peppers and onions

Slice chicken, or if hot, shread in food processor. Saute raw peppers and onion.
Warm salsa in a pan. Dip each tortilla into the warmed salsa pan to soften. Fill each tortilla with chicken, peppers and onion. Add 2 tablespoons of cheese on top of chicken mixture, roll and place in ungreased baking dish. Once all the tortillas are filled, top with salsa and remaining cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or at least until heated through.

Serve with cold sour cream and little chopped lettuce on top. I also make Spanish rice as a side dish -- and serve lots of water (or beer) to drink.