After a short five day rest, the Panthers will travel to Gillette stadium to face the New England Patriots in what is sure to be a chippier than normal preseason game. We all know how the last game ended. Robert Lester made off with the last chicken salad sandwich, and because Rob Gronkowski was currently in the parking lot when it was purchased, Tom Brady felt that it belonged to him.
via i.imgur.com
... Anyway. You can expect a little more jawing, pushing, leg whipping, and cursing than normal in this preseason contest. But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying a tasty snack while you watch! This week's gameday food will be a super easy to make chip dip that you can assemble in about 5 minutes after you get home from work, crack open a beer, and relax to watch the game. We'll have the recipe later, but first, let's get to a special lunch rush edition of who's hot, who's not, and who's still in the pot.
Weekly Specials
Kelvin Benjamin - Meatball Parmigiana Hoagie
While Kelvin's two catches for 41 yards won't burn up a stat sheet, the important thing was the skill he put on display against the Chiefs. Kelvin ran some great routes, and if not for a bad overthrow by Cam Newton, would have easily broken a long bomb for a touchdown. He also showed why he's a matchup nightmare, with corners literally bouncing off him in an effort to take him down. Although he cost the team a potential field goal after drawing a personal foul penalty before the half, there is no doubt that Gettleman would purchase this sandwich again.
Hot Plates
Antoine Cason/Melvin White - Heat Rating - Grilled cheese and tomato basil soup
While both decent on their own, real sandwich connoisseurs know that pairing these two dishes together will make for one hell of a lunch. White and Cason could have been confused for the Legion of Boom Sunday night after dropping several would be ball carriers for losses. In general, both corners played the run and the swing passes very well, almost assuredly locking up the CB1 and CB2 roles.
Brenton Bersin - Heat Rating - Bacon burger with Palmetto pimento cheese
The classic hamburger is experiencing a cultural renaissance. People across the southeast are challenging the notion that we need to adorn our beefy goodness with boring sliced cheeses. Enter the bacon burger featuring South Carolina's own treasured Palmetto pimento cheese, Brenton Bersin. Bersin has been quietly biding his time since the Marty Hurney era, waiting to show that he has more use than pretending to be the other team in practice. He runs good routes, has solid hands, and went to the same college as the owner (don't pretend that didn't help). In what was an eye-popping touchdown grab against the 2nd string on Sunday night, Bersin proved he might have a place on this roster as a 5th receiver.
Fozzy Whitaker - Heat Rating - Oven baked chocolate chip cookies
In what is becoming a dessert roulette for the third running back spot, Fozzy Whitaker is this weeks oven fresh favorite. Showing better than expected burst and decisiveness in his running, as well as a presence in the receiving and blocking game, Fozzy Wozzy wuzza bear of a player in primetime. His ability to pick a running lane and Kermit to it without hesitation left even the broadcast team wondering, Who is this guy?? With Kenjon Barner now serving up ice cream to the city of brotherly love (and home team hate) and Darrin Reaves apparently stuck in traffic, the dark horse Whitaker may have earned a spot on this team.
Cold Salads
Josh Norman - Heat Rating - Peanut Butter Jelly time.
Look man. It's just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We get it... you brought your lunch to try to save a few bucks but still wanted to go to the restaurant with your co-workers. That's fine, you can sit here, converse, and even order a glass of water. But for the love of god, if when everyone gets their food, you pull your boring sandwich out of your bag, and yell "IT'S PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME! PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!" I will pull you RIGHT OUT of this restaurant.
Josh Norman is that guy, the sandwich is his solo tackle, and I'm Ron Rivera. *mic drop*
Jerricho Cotchery - Heat Rating - Chef Salad
Every restaurant has a chef salad. They're easy to make, have a good amount of toppings on them, and usually come at a cheaper price than other available salads. However, no single person has ever looked at a chef salad and called it the best salad on the menu. I doubt anyone has even declared it the second best. On it's best day, it's a good third option at a low price. Similarly, Cotchery has shown so far in preseason that the statement he's a third wide receiver has a lot of validity. Targeted only three times in two games, with just one reception for eight yards to show for it, Cotchery has failed to find a niche in the offense thus far. Perhaps this will change as he gets more minutes with Cam, but right now Benjamin and Avant look like the better source of greenery.
Kenjon Barner - Heat Rating - Fruit Salad
Has anyone ever been served a fruit salad they absolutely loved? I haven't. I usually find myself picking through the plethora of flavorless melons in the tiny dish in search of a small morsel of pineapple, strawberry, or other piece of fruit worth eating. The whole time of course eyeing the plates of everyone who chose hot chips and ranch, or french fries. Kenjon Barner does a couple of things moderately well. He plays well in space, and therefore is ok outside the tackles, on screens, or returning kicks. However, his incredible ability to flatten like a piece of Matzo on even the threat of human contact is absolutely unreal. Thankfully, someone at the table always wants to eat your cast-aside dish of cantaloupe and honey dew. According to my sources, Chip Kelly fondly remembers snacking on melon while feeding the Ducks in Oregon. He says he doesn't want the seven leftover fries on his plate... my days of being too proud to eat those scraps are not yet over.
Freezer Burned
Robert Lester - Two week old pasta salad that smells funny
We didn't see a lot change between the first and second games. He still took bad angles, and he still gave up big plays. The worrisome part is that he seems to have regressed since last season. It may be miscommunication, and I want to give him that benefit of the doubt since he is surrounded by all new people, but taking poor angles has nothing to do with that. There's no way he starts, and I think he only makes the roster because of a lack of better options.
Tater's Game-day Food of the Week
The Panthers have an away game this week, and to make food preparation even harder, it is a fairly early game on a Friday night. Many people will get off work too close to game time for a lot of food prep, and perhaps would rather socialize with friends during the game, making finger food a better choice. No matter what your situation, I have a super easy dip for you this week. It only has two ingredients, and takes only a couple of minutes to prepare.
Quick and Tasty Onion Dip
via www.recipe.com
Ingredients:
1 packet onion soup mix (store brand is totally fine)
1 16-ounce container of your favorite sour cream
Preparation:
- Dump ingredients into mixing bowl
- Stir until well combined
- Enjoy with your favorite potato chips. I recommend a ridged variety. Ruffles or Kettle brand original.
I have some extra time and want to kick it up a notch...
I did some personal tinkering with this easy recipe, and figured out a way to make it even more awesome. If you have some more spare time, follow all instructions above, and then do the following...
Ingredients:
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
1 package Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 sweet vidalia onion, minced
1 tbsp butter
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a minimum 3 quart square casserole dish on all sides with cooking spray, crisco, or plain butter
- Crush sleeve of Ritz crackers, pour half into bottom of casserole dish, set other half aside
- Melt tablespoon of butter in a sautee pan and cook onions until they are starting to brown
- Mix in package of cream cheese, combining with onions until soft and melted
- Pour onion and cream cheese mixture into bowl with sour cream and onion soup mix, stir until well combined
- Pour mixture into casserole dish
- Top with remainder of Ritz crackers
- Cook in preheated oven on middle oven rack for 15-20 minutes or until dip is hot and bubbly (make sure Ritz crackers do not burn)
- Remove from oven and allow to cool and congeal for 10 minutes or so. It will literally be lava hot and burn your insides if you eat it fresh from the oven.
- Serve and enjoy with your favorite chip or cracker.