NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Matt and I toyed with the idea of going to Indianapolis to watch my alma mater Duke play Butler for the NCAA Championship (which, for those who live under a rock, we ended up winning by one point after a thrilling game).  When the logistics started getting too tricky, we made the decision that if we were willing to spend that much money and that much time going to the game, we should be willing to spend at least half that much money and that much time making our private viewing SUPER AWESOME.

We started with Swedish "cheese bread" toasted in a skillet.

Then it was enormous, juicy, 1/3 pound burgers from C&D farms, topped with artisanal cheddar, mushrooms sauteed in butter, organic lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and mayo.  We stacked it all on fresh-baked ciabatta buns from my local bakery, which were soft enough to rip when bitten into, but firm enough to hold ALL. THAT. FOOD.

I didn't have the wherewithal to fry fries, so we tested a recipe for kale chips we've been meaning to try: we brushed a couple cups of kale leaves with olive, sprinkled with salt, and toasted it in the oven for twenty minutes or so.

I'd doubted the recipe, which claimed that kale crisps under heat, but the "chips" did in fact come out crisp rather than wilted!  They were tasty (if you're into kale) but sort of odd, the crispness crumbling to a kale-y ash in the mouth.  I'd make them again, but really, if you're in the mood for french fries or potato chips, this just isn't going to be the replacement you're looking for.

Matt wanted to replicate my undergraduate basketball experience, so he was bent on making us "Big Beers" a la Satty's (shout-out to all the Duke grads reading this blog).  32 ounces of beer in a plastic cup.  Unfortunately, he failed to find a plastic cup capable of holding 32 ounces of beer.  We ended up with these, instead:

Finally, at half-time, when the game was nail-bitingly close, nothing would do to comfort us but a big pan of brownies, lovingly crafted from Ghiradelli unsweetened baking chocolate, fresh eggs, organic sugar, walnuts, flour, artisanal vanilla extract, and a stick of butter borrowed from our lovely upstairs neighbors, Joe and Lauren.

This feast may not have been better than actually seeing Duke win the championship in person, but it went a long way toward making up for it.

GO BLUE DEVILS!