I'm feeling very spirited. That's on account of the Denver Broncos winning the AFC Championship with a 26-16 win against the New England Patriots. The Broncos are off the Super Bowl!
Please understand that I am not a football buff, nor even a "genuine" sports buff. That said, I like to keep current, and everyone, it seems, has Denver Broncos fever. The state is awash in a sea of orange and blue -- people, dogs, cars, roads, houses. Everyone is celebrating.
Nostalgia. It isn't so much football games of the past I remember as much as the times my family gathered together. My grandma Casey used to make the best party chicken wings, each bite perfectly crunchy. I was unable to find pictures of her in anyone's kitchen; she's the one in the mauve suit and glasses. My grandmother died a decade ago at the ripe age of 96. Here she is pictured with her late sister, my aunt Gert, and her sister-in-law, my aunt Bea, who is still swinging at 95!
How I wish someone in the family had my grandmother's chicken wing recipe. I've tried to replicate it -- using a combination of corn flake crumbs, soy sauce and ketchup -- but it's not the same. Which makes me think that a memorable recipe is equal parts ingredients/preparation and equal parts the people we love.
Rather than try to recreate a dish that likely cannot be reprised, I opted to make beef fajitas. Naturally, nostalgia led me to The Pioneer Woman's Beef Fajitas recipe.
Ode to The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond.
Now, for her winning beef fajita recipe.
Ingredients
1 whole beef flank steak
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup lime juice (fresh-squeezed)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
2 whole medium onions, halved and sliced
1 whole red bell pepper, sliced
1 whole orange bell pepper, sliced
1 whole green bell pepper, sliced
1 whole yellow bell pepper, sliced
Oil, for frying
Flour tortillas, warmed
Cheese (grated cheddar/jack or crumbled queso fresco)
Salsa
Sour cream
Cilantro leaves
Everyone in my family voted to make these yummy beef fajitas again. And so I shall.
Superbowl?
Photo courtesy of Nancy Sharp