Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday. It’s The Philadelphia Eagles vs Those Bums Up In Boston. Yeah, I know I used to live in Boston. I saw plenty of games at Foxboro – my old roommate, Jeff, was regional sales director for Seagram’s – and we saw quite a few games courtesy of Seagram’s. And a lot of liquor, too, but that’s another story for another time. We were out there for a snow game where you literally could not see across the field. We had flasks of Seagram’s 7 in our pockets to keep us warm. We drove home drunk in a snowstorm. We had to drive – we were too drunk and too far away to walk.

Yeah, while I have some fond – albeit fuzzy – memories of the pre-Brady Patriots, it’s officially 17 years since we moved to the Philadelphia Main Line. The Eagles are the Local Team, today.

The day was crazy – work was a total zoo with more Eagle’s Green than I’ve ever seen in my life. There are some serious parties happening around here, tomorrow. Work really was fun, though,  because everyone was in great spirits, lots of laughter, lots of camaraderie… and not a lot of trash talk against New England. I think folks were trying to keep Karma in check.

This really has been fun, because the last time I actually cared about who won was in 2013 when The Niner’s lost to Baltimore. The Eagles are the Local Team, but the San Francisco 49ers are the Hometown Team.

The Hometown Team has given me some great games and there are more than a couple that are mere blurs. There were a few games at my brother’s bachelor pad house that rumor has were a wild and crazy time but I’ll be damned if I can actually remember any of them. I only know that they were loud and raucous – but I don’t think the police were ever really involved.

And then there were all the games – usually at my sister’s house – once we moved east, celebrating Pop’s Birthday and The Super Bowl. We’d fly into San Francisco, get our room at the Motel 8 in San Bruno on El Camino – along with all the rest of the out-of-town family – and have a big Birthday Bash/Super Bowl Party. Since we can’t all get together for Christmas, it was our annual everyone get-together. It’s amazing that we would move heaven and earth to get west for Pop’s Birthday, but it just wasn’t all that convenient to fly west once he died. Priorities, and all that…

We are all meeting up out west at the end of April, this year – we actually do get together now and again – but the Super Bowl is going to be celebrated with Victor’s brother down the road. I’m sure it will be a tad quieter than those west coast soirées of yore.

And the night before Super Bowl is going to be a tad quieter, as well.

The quieter night started with bowls of steaming Roasted Red Pepper Soup. I roasted a dozen red peppers the other day and Victor has been eying them, ever since. Last night I stuffed burgers with some – along with some Fontina cheese – but today, he took half of them and made the most delicious soup, ever.

Rich, creamy, just slightly spicy… a total joy to behold…

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

  • 5 red peppers, roasted
  • 2 qts chicken broth
  • 1 qt water
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 ribs celery, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
  • 1 can white beans, drained
  • pinch cayenne
  • S&P
  • butter

Saute celery, onion, carrots, garlic, red pepper, and jalapeño pepper in olive oil until vegetables are soft. Add broth, water, beans, and roasted red peppers, and bring to a boil, and then simmer about 30 minutes.

Cool, and then blend soup in blender – or with an immersion blender – until smooth.

Check for seasoning and add cayenne, and S&P, as desired. When reheating to serve, stir in a couple pats of butter for richness.

I whipped up some garlic bread from some crusty bread we had, and dinner was served!

Totally excellent.

So here’s to a Super Day tomorrow – and a Super Win by Philadelphia!

GO EAGLES!