It's gettin' hot......

no, no, it's not a hot flash!
Stop blaming my hormones for everything or I'll kick your ass with my pointy toed shoes!

It's Steelermania!
It's heating up our tundra of a city. Every Harry and Jane walking down the street is wearing black & gold. It's a sea of Terrible Towels from Fifth to Forbes and up and down the Parkways. The airwaves are shouting out Steeler songs and every man, woman and child you meet belts out 3 words--"HERE WE GO!". There's cow bells and kazoos and painted faces and blinking light hats all over the town. It's all Steelers, all the time...in every snowy nook and every fridgid cranny and every busy office and every noisy kindergarten and every packed grocery store and every place in between. It's a city on fire in a bleak, cold and snowy January. The sun is shining down on the bridges, the breezes are blowing on the shores of the rivers, theres cold brews on ice and the grills are getting ready to fire up. Yes, we're all in a place called Pittsburgh.....


So, what's on the menu for a true Pittsburgh Steeler weekend?
Well, to be quite honest, there's nothing low fat, low cal or band friendly about some of the stuff.....
Here, take a look.....

IRON CITY BEER MARINATED GRILLED STEAK
Ingredients:
12 oz. IRON CITY beer
1/2 C soy sauce
1/4 C HEINZ CIDER VINEGAR
1/4 C HEINZ KETCHUP
2 T HEINZ SPICY BROWN MUSTARD
2 T minced garlic
1 T HEINZ WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
1 T red hot sauce
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 - 2 1/2 lb. boneless New York strip, rib-eye or sirloin steak (1 1/2 inches thick)
Directions:
Place steak in a large resealable plastic bag. In a small bowl, stir together all marinade ingredients; pour over steak. Seal bag. Refrigerate overnight, turning bag occasionally.

Preheat grill to medium high heat. Remove steak from marinade and discard marinade. Place steak on grill and grill for about ten (10) minutes for medium rare or until desired doneness, turning once.

PITTSBURGH SANQWICH (makes 1)

* 2 thick slices of Mancini Italian bread
* 1 piece cooked Kolbassi Sausage
* Provolone Cheese
* Kennywood French Fries -deep fried (buy them at Giant Eagle)
* Sweet & Sour Slaw (recipe below)
* Fresh Tomato thinly sliced

Put kolbassi in a frying pan to get it hot. After flipping, cover with a thick slice of provolone and continue cooking until the cheese melts. Place a large spoonful of coleslaw on the bottom layer of bread and put the meat and cheese on top of that. Layer a few thin slices of tomato on the cheese then top with French fries and the last piece of bread.

Sweet & Sour Coleslaw

* 1 Med head Cabbage - shredded
* 1 Med Onion - finely chopped
* 1 Cup Sugar + 1 teaspoon
* 1 Cup Vinegar
* 1 Teaspoon Salt
* 1 Teaspoon Celery Seed
* 1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
* 3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

Toss together cabbage, onion, and 1 cup sugar. In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, salt, celery seed, 1 teaspoon white sugar, mustard and oil. Bring to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes. Cool completely, then pour over cabbage mixture, and toss to coat. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

BUT....just in case you want to stay true to your New Year's Resolutions......

TOUCHDOWN TURKEY WRAPS
For one wrap....

2 tablespoons cream cheese, low-fat whipped
2 teaspoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes or 1 1/2 sundried tomatoes, rehydrated and chopped
3 basil leaves, chopped
1 large whole wheat flour tortilla
3 ounces sliced smoked turkey breast
1 lettuce leaf, green leaf, bibb or romaine, shredded


In a small mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sundried tomatoes and basil.
Lay the tortilla out and spread 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture in the center. Place the turkey on the tortilla and spread the remaining cream cheese mixture on top of the turkey. Sprinkle the shredded lettuce on the tortilla and tightly roll each tortilla into a cylinder, ending with the seam side down.
(The wrap can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)
Cut the wrap in half on the diagonal and serve.

END ZONE DIP
1 can Chicken (5 oz) (or pre-cooked skinless chicken, chopped )
4 oz. Fat Free cream cheese
8 oz. Low fat cream cheese
1/2 cup Wishbone Just2Good Blue Cheese Dressing or Ranch Dressing
1/2 cup Low Fat Cheddar - shredded
4 oz. Franks RedHot (original pepper sauce *NOT* the Buffalo Wing sauce)

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F.
Mix together Cream cheeses. Stir in salad dressing, Franks RedHot Sauce and shredded cheese until well mixed. Stir in chicken.
Bake 20 minutes or until mixture is heated through. (I like to skim off any grease that has come to the top of the dish before stirring and serving.)
Serve with dry toasted pita or bagel chips, low fat crackers or vegetables.
This can also be prepared as above and microwaved 5-10 minutes instead of baking, if desired ... but I really like it baked.

But, if none of those Super Bowl foods appeal to you.....there's always.....

a Steelertini!
Sugar, dyed yellow or gold with food coloring
3 ounces of white cranberry juice, dyed with yellow food coloring
1 ounce of Blavod Black Vodka
1 black and 1 yellow licorice stick
Rim martini glass with gold/yellow sugar
Pour the yellow-colored white cranberry juice into the martini glass.
Pour the vodka into martini glass (over inverted spoon).
Cut approximately 4 inches off licorice sticks and place them into the martini glass.

HAPPY SUPER BOWL PARTY PLANNING!
GO STEELERS!
GO BRUCE!