I think I'm glad the Giants won

I'm glad the Giants won the Super Bowl yesterday, and that the pundits called it such a stunning upset - it makes the Packers loss to them in the playoff hurt a little less.

I was really disappointed with the commercials - I only watched it for the ads (and Tom Petty) - and I guess I somehow thought they'd be a lot more compelling, instead of, just well, commercials. The careerbuilder.com were the best ones; the etrade eerily coherent baby buying stock and then puking was just creepy - but in looking at the MySpace collection, I guess there's a lot I missed - so perhaps I should reserve judgment until I go look at more of them.*

Petty was good - didn't know Mike Campbell has dreads now, and he must dye his beard, to eliminate the grey ... Good thing my bro didn't bet that Petty would play Refugee, amongst his other offbeat Super Bowl bets.

My brother didn't, but I did make special sandwiches, kind of combining 2 recipes, and editing another:

BBQ tofu po' boys with creamy coleslaw:

• 2 15 - 16 ounce packages of firm tofu (I like Bountiful Bean, made in WI)
• 6 TBLS oil (about)
  
• flour
  
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 6 TBLS soy sauce (I like Kikkoman, also made here in WI)
• 1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
• 1 large chipotle chile in adobo (or more if you like heat; these also come in cans)
• 4 TBLS maple syrup
• 2 TBLS molasses
  
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 large onion, sliced (about 2 cups)
• 2 green peppers, sliced
  
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• soft french rolls
• mustard & cole slaw for serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Squeeze some of the water out of the tofu, halve the block, and cut the halves into slices - you should get about 12 per block. Dredge the tofu in flour, and heat about 1 -2 TBLS of the oil in a large skillet, and fry the tofu in batches turning once until it is browned on both sides, adding more oil as necessary. Meanwhile, combine 2 TBLS of the oil, the rice vinegar, soy sauce, half the can of tomato sauce, chipotle chile, maple syrup, molasses and cumin in a blender jar, and whir until smooth. Pour enough of this sauce to cover the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish, and transfer the tofu into the dish as it's fried. When you get all the tofu into the dish, pour in the rest of the sauce from the blender.

After the tofu is fried, wipe out the skillet and add a little more oil, and then fry the onion and peppers until they are softened a bit. Add the thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, chili powder, paprika and salt & pepper to taste. Continue to cook until well blended and a little caramelized, then add the rest of the can of tomato sauce, and mix well, scraping up any good stuff on the bottom of the pan. Pour the contents the skillet over the tofu in the baking dish, cover the baking dish with foil, and bake for about 1 hour, until all the sauce is absorbed and the peppers and onions are well-done.

Toast the buns lightly, spread with mustard if desired, make sandwiches with the tofu and vegetables, and serve with coleslaw.

For the coleslaw, I started with a Cooks Illustrated oil & vinegar coleslaw recipe, where you wilt 6 cups of shredded cabbage & grated carrot in a colander with 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons salt, with the recipe from the Helman's jar - after draining the cabbage, instead of adding oil & vinegar, I added 1/4 cup mayo, and juice of one lemon (and a few dashes of rice vinegar, to cut the sweetness - next time I make this I will reduce the sugar).

The sandwiches had that great gooey greasey BBQ feel, even with no meat.

I just looked at the classic coke one, with James McCarville and Bill Frist - I think that's my new fave, although the screaming squirrel & screaming Richard Simmons for Brigestone are pretty good too - Mark was trying too tell me about one of the careerbuilder.com ones that I did not see during Bridgestone, so all I saw was Alice Cooper & Richard by the side of a dark country road, and I didn't get it all.