Oy Vey, what a game

It goes without saying that we do not tolerate excessive celebration penalties at our tailgating.

Yes, this is what you think it is: Manischewitz Sangria. and He'Brew beer.

We think of everything.

Can you bee-lieve the zebras tried to pin an Excessive Celebration Penalty on us after Justyn Shackleford got that touchdown that started our Third Q Mo? The nerve to try to regulate celebratory responses in New Orleans of all places.

But alas....Coulda Woulda Shoulda on that game yesterday. Now we got 4 days to get our act together. Here's to hoping that it's like me, I work much much better as a procrastinator.

Booty Judy and I did our traditional fourth quarter in the parking lot getting an early start on post-game tailgating. We listen to the game on the radio btw.

I was shocked when Coach Hullabaloo joined us just moments before that final glimmer with a minute to go when we almost tied. Could have been like our overtime 2009 UTEP win. I surely felt bad for some of the newer fans who were sad though. Dust yourself off and give the paw to any excuse making churning out from the excuse factory. And make sure to have some good frosty beverages in your ice chest for post-game. That's my recommendation.

Anyways, God bless our cornerbacks and secondaries for carrying the load on defense. And God bless the team for caring and not giving up. Mrs. Hullabaloo noticed and saw y'all fired up on the sidelines. Barking orders to each other between possessions. Thank you for playing lights out in the third quarter and for that flash of possibility in the closing moments of the 4th.

Yes, the bad interception call sucked. And yes a thousand other things during the game. However, it might have been just me, but I thought that I had stepped into a time warp and we were back in the Toledo Error. A perennially young team, a quarterback with no time to think, the questionable calls on 4th down and for the Love of God: Up The Middle TM. And oh yes, a blocked punt for good measure.

So yes, Mrs. Hullabaloo felt that the play calling was, well, not what the team deserved. And who's responsibility was it to shake things up and to get the team mentally ready and armed with a gameplan to win? We had 9 days to prepare. It's like we were caught unawares that this was a real life game yesterday. And lawd have mercy....If I saw one more Up The Middle TM I was going to, oh I don't know....complain. or something equally devastating.

Because seriously, we are just like butter on defense, but ran into a brick wall on offense. Up the Middle TM, I'm through with you. And on fourth down at the 10, who are you going to reasonably trust to get it done? Our Lou Groza Award Winning kicker? Or our questionable offensive line to provide open lanes or a pocket? TAKE THE POINTS!

Without question I really really reeeeeeally want Coach CJ to do well. His enthusiasm is infectious and omg, I am simply obsessed with his wife Angel who is the classiest First Lady of College Football in the history of the NCAA. I'm so proud and excited that he's making the locals give us a second glance. He's recruiting some very exciting players. But we just lost to a team that has been in the NCAA for less time than TPTB has been carrying on about the state of the flower beds after Katrina at Wilson Center (P.S. Mobile got some Katrina too btw).

Tulane: inaugural member of the SEC, inaugural team of the Sugar Bowl, a school who's fielded a football program that has spanned three centuries gave this brand new FBS team their first FBS win. Congratulations! Should we send a bagel and champagne gift basket to mark the occasion?

I simply knew this was going to happen, I could just feel it. No, I do not want to expect the worst (who wants to? I'd rather be booty shaking if you ask me).

Scheduling down is always a dumb idea and now I hope you understand why. It's like me spending Coach Hullabaloo's money: gotta keep em challenged and hungry. Last week so many sweet souls got all caught up and acted like this was manna from heaven and how could we possibly conceive of losing. Scott Cowen was back to this gimmick of dying his hair and everything. and I just chuckled to myself about this one: but TPTB trotted out this whole line that we bitter and unfun fans needed to just get over ourselves and understand that there was an entire spectrum of FBS schools that lost their openers to FCS schools and we should just be doing cartwheels down McAllister about having beat Jackson State. They provided a list of the losers and everything.

Well, no thank you! I want some decent experienced linemen and I want them like yesterday. and I want long bombs successfully caught across midfield.

Not that Ryan Grant isn't the gift that keeps on giving.

image by Parker Waters

And that defensive play by Jordan Sullen to break up that endzone pass? Holy omg just how geee-nius was that !?!!!! I have not seen playing like that from a Tulane team in a very long time. Our last safety was 6 years ago, so that was totally welcome. And the kids have so much heart!! I just wish we had more of the missing parts and pieces to match that intensity.

And did I mention linemen? Because we need more of that. If last week's game masked all of our flaws, this week's game successfully did the opposite.

........So that's all I've gots to say about that. This too shall pass. Now on to the food and fun portion of this here blog post.

I supervised Coach Hullabaloo in the making of our very first brisket at Chateau Hullabaloo. and I made my very first Kugel, y'all! So proud of myself. It was like a rite of passage.

Our Challah-baloo tailgating was great, I loved it. I can't wait to reprise this again.

Shiksa In the Kitchen's Coffee and Rum Brisket

This recipe was very easy for me to supervise Coach Hullabaloo making and it was delicious. And Joel and Paula approved of the brisket at tailgating too, so I was completely verklempt. Except that Riptide somehow ended up with a little schmutz on his foot from the gravy ha ha!

A 4 lb. cut of brisket
sea salt or kosher salt and pepper
2 cups of chopped white onion
2 cups of chopped red bell pepper
3-4 good sized cloves of garlic
half a cup of dark rum
cup and a half of dark brewed coffee or espresso
cup or so of beef broth for the gravy

Shiksa Tori's instructions are very explanatory, but this is what I did: Rinse the brisket and pat it dry with some paper towels. Rub it generously with course salt and some pepper. Preheat the oven to 300. Sear the brisket in a large pan over medium heat on the stove with some olive oil. 4-5 mins per side so that you get a nice crusty brown sear on both sides. Remove the brisket and set inside a roaster. Meanwhile add onions, bell peppers and garlic into the pan you had seared the brisket in and sauté for 2-3 mins in the leftover olive oil, add more olive oil if you need some. Add the rum and cook that off a bit, making sure to scrape up the bits in the pan. Add the coffee and give everything a whirl once around. Pour the onion coffee rum mixture over the brisket in the roaster, the roaster with foil and put it into the oven for 4 hours (hour per pound).

Once it's done you can let the whole thing cool down and then take the jus with the onions and bell peppers, put it into a blender with some pareve kosher beef broth (I cheated with a kosher bouillon cube) and blend it into a gravy. Slice up your brisket into quarter/half inch slices and you are ready for Shabbat. or tailgating.

Leek and Chard Kugel

Kugel was new to so many Hullabaloo Huddlers, I was surprised. I described kugel as a Jewish mac and cheese. Except that it's sweet and cinnamony. Coach Hullabaloo called it a Jewish lasagna. I liked this recipe for a savory twist on a classic kugel and it was so easy, I can't wait to make it again.

6 oz of wide egg noodles
cup and a half of whole milk ricotta
2.5 eggs beaten (eyeball it)
zest of one lemon 2 cups of chopped leeks (white parts mostly)
bunch of chopped chard (sans rib, so remove)
half a cup of golden yellow raisins
few shakes of cinnamon
few shakes of nutmeg
water to soak the raisins in
salt and pepper to taste

Berl some hot water and pour over the raisins with some cinnamon. Let the raisins soak and cool off for a spell. Preheat the oven to 375. Meanwhile sauté the leeks in butter. dust with salt and pepper. Add the chopped chard and let it wilt a spell. Drain some of the water off the raisins, but reserve a smidge of the sugary water with the raisins. Add raisins with the reserve water and the lemon zest in with the leeks and chard. Remove from heat. Berl the pasta in salted water until al dente (important). Meanwhile beat the eggs and fold in with the ricotta and sprinkle with nutmeg and whole milk. Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and then mix with the veg mixture. Put into a greased oven casserole dish and cover with the ricotta mixture. Dust the top with salt and pepper and into the oven it goes for 35 minutes.

And in a nod to the Ashkenazi tradition of apples and honey we had Granny Smith Apple Salsa, which was very refreshing. and looked cute with blue corn chips.

1 large tomato, cored, seeded and finely chopped
3/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
freshly squeezed lime juice
a jalapeño, seeded and chopped
2 Granny Smith apples
generous mincing of fresh chopped cilantro
a good squeeze of honey
salt and pepper to taste

We also had Challah bread (raisin and traditional), Marbled rye and then some good Jewish deli meats which one of our Westbank hullabaloo-ettes picked up from Stein's deli. She had never eaten Jewish deli food before or gone to Stein's, so the Stein's guys welcomed her as charming as they are and she reported back how funny the whole episode was.

So now begins the real test of the season: Road Games. Coach and Mrs. Hullabaloo are off on a 3 game road swing. Check back after our trip to Ruston.

Cheers y'all!