Rodents, the Purple, and Wings

I got an email from son Ashley today. He’s a Captain at Ft. Jackson. Apparently it was one of those low stress work days.

“I was working really hard in my office,” he wrote, “and came across the ESPN NFL power rankings (weird I know, because I was working on serious Army stuff). When I scrolled down to see the Vikings, and scrolled and scrolled, I found them at 27.”

I’ll summarize the rest. The Vikings are better than that. The Chiefs, Lions, and Dolphins are awful. The Vikings get no respect. There’s some stuff in there about the left side of the offensive line and some running backs, too. You get the idea.

Respect or not, there are reasons the Norsemen might not escape the NFC North basement. A friend of Ash’s wrote back, “Two words: Tavaris Jackson.” (The Viking’s unaccomplished quarterback.) He has a point. Though I hope the Vikes to do well, I’m not convinced . My reason? Two words: Brad Childress. The coach is completely clueless. As long as he’s at the helm of the purple, they’ll have a hard time with the Motor City Kitties.

I know how to suffer with sports teams, though. My real allegiance is to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Less formally, the Rodents. They’ll be barely adequate at best. A new coaching regime gives me faint hope; very faint. Anyway, I’ll be able to watch the first game on the Big Ten Network Saturday, right after the Detroit Grand Prix. Now that’s a buffalo wing afternoon.

Murphy’s Racin’ and Football Wings

Marinade (for 3 lbs, approximately 2 dozen wings, increase or decrease as needed)

1 ¼ cups Louisiana hot sauce (Crystal or similar)
¼ cup white wine vinegar
½ tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Cajun spice

Mix in bowl, marinade wings overnight in covered shallow pan or in sealable plastic bag. In batches, microwave wings two minutes, turn over, microwave two minutes more. Heat about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (enough to cover bottom) in a large skillet, fry wings until golden brown on each side (one of those screens-with-a-handle thingies for spatters is a good idea). Meanwhile, in a small skillet, prepare the wing sauce.

Wing Sauce (for approximately 1 dozen)

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon flour
(the above for medium, add ½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper for hot, 1 teaspoon for blazin’)

Melt butter, whisk together with other ingredients and toss with, or simply spoon over wings. Serve with favorite dipping side, ranch, blue cheese or other dressing.

(Look for more installments of Rodents, the Purple, and Wings through the season.)