Seahawks (4-3) @ Goulash (4-3)
This fall we are combining our love of the football and our dream of learning to cook. On Sunday morning, following a trip to a local farmer's market/major supermarket chain, we will be preparing a meal from the city of the Seahawks opponent. Then at halftime we will throw our badly burned hands in the air and make hot dogs. Note: This weekend we are injured reserve, so trading in the visor and clipboard for some playing time is Seattlest Courtney.
Dammit, this is what happens when we make promises to Seattlest David in a bar. (Note to self: don't forget to pick up prescription for antibiotics at the pharmacy this afternoon.) But we're a pretty decent cook, so foolishly we agreed to this without knowing the other team. Then we discover that our adversary and culinary inspiration is Cleveland, Ohio. We can only hope that the Hawks know more about their offense than we do about what the hell people eat in Ohio.
This much we've learned: Cleveland has Floyd and is a hotbed of Hungarian proportions. Why? We know not, but in the early 20th century there was a massive influx and they brought with them goulash. ("That has eggplant in it, right?" We asked David. He rolled his eyes and said "That's baba ganoush, hippy.")
Named after gulyás, the "herdsman" who first started making the meat-heavy concoction, goulash is a hearty chameleon of a dish. Is it soup, or stew? You must have meat and potatoes, everyone claims their recipe handed down from their grandmother is "authentic," and after that all bets appear to be off. And of course, once this central European delicacy hit the ever-expanding shores (and waistlines) of Cleveland, Americans started adding shit like canned green beans, ground beef, and elbow macaroni.
We're going to aim for the more sparse version, leaning towards veeeeery slow-cooked meat with potatoes, paprika, and a few other simple ingredients topped off with dumplings. We might even cheat and get out our slow cooker.
We'll report back on Monday, and if you think you're so fucking great why not try and make the stuff as well. Then we can all compare notes as our fathers David stares at us disapprovingly and screams "By the hammer of Thor!"
