I don’t know what it is about major sporting events, but they always seem to put me in the mood for pub-inspired finger food. Mozzarella sticks. Breaded chicken tenders. A slice of pizza. Cocktail shrimp. Chips and salsa. Pigs in a blanket. You know the drill.
Well, back in early February we posted a Friday Foto recipe for Sesame Soy Ribs. It was just a few days before the Superbowl, and we recommended making the sesame soy marinade on grilled chicken tenders, tossing them in reserved marinade for an extra coating of yummy sauce, and sprinkling them with some sesame seeds, as a perfect addition to your football party platter.
It was a great recommendation (if I do say so), and one we followed through with ourselves. But we didn’t have a photo of the results…until now. And so we’re revisiting that recipe from February in today’s Friday Foto because, looking back, that older photo of the Sesame Soy Ribs just didn’t adequately convey the deliciousness that is this recipe. It deserved a better photo. You deserved a better photo (or four…).
I have sports on the brain a little more than usual these days. Yes, I just ran in the Minnewaska Summer Solstice 14k trail run race. And yes, I’ve been shamelessly plugging the upcoming NFCA webinar I’m leading on “Nutrition and Training for the GF Athlete” (heck, the webinar is free, so there’s no shame in plugging it!).
But there’s another important reason at work. Two Friday Fotos ago, in the Campfire Cookin’ post, I wrote about how we were attending our 10-year college reunion at our shared alma mater, Cornell University. It was great to see old friends, and to spend a long weekend in our old stomping grounds. Those stomping grounds are a bit older for Kelli than they are for me, since she grew up in the shadow of campus as an Ithaca native. Her parents still live there, which gives us a chance to get back to Ithaca more often than we otherwise might, though seldom do we spend time on Cornell’s campus during those family visits.
Stick with me, this is going somewhere…
On Saturday of Reunion weekend we were at her parents’ house on the shore of Cayuga Lake, dropping off the girls so we could run off to some more reunion events. As we mingled about, I happened to glance down at the front page of the Ithaca Journal newspaper laying on the breakfast bar of the kitchen. I did a double take. Kelli’s high school alma mater, Ithaca High School, and my high school alma mater, Farmingdale High School, were playing one another for the New York State boys lacrosse championship! That day!
I ran to the TV and started flipping channels until I found the game, which was being played in Syracuse. It was still early in the second quarter. Plenty of game left to watch. I grabbed a Redbridge gluten-free beer and stood – sitting was not possible with the excitement and nerves – watching every moment. It was a close game, with each team at times taking the lead, only to have the game tied up minutes later. I can genuinely say that this was one of the few times in our marriage when we sincerely and deeply disagreed on a topic. We are usually of one mind. Not on that day, at that moment. Alma mater pride was on the line. (I should say, also, that I played lacrosse for Farmingdale during my time there, under the same coach I was now watching in the state championship final…)
The game went into sudden victory overtime. To my great delight, Farmingdale won! But that’s not the point of this story. Instead, I just wanted to drive home the point that, whether it’s knocking back a cold bottle of GF beer, or noshing on sesame soy chicken tenders, enjoying great pub finger food while watching the big game – no matter your sport – is not just possible gluten-free. It’s easy to do.
Now watching your alma mater win or lose in a sudden victory overtime nail biter… that’s another story.
– Pete