Half And Half

It's the Super Bowl today, and indeed by now it may have started already. More likely is that the endless pageantry will delay kickoff well beyond what it would have been. The humble game buckles under all the weight of the spectacle that is heaped upon it. In any case, it's a very happy day for me. I have, as I said yesterday, a comedy sketch that I wrote being staged at a major comedy theater in Hollywood tonight. As I write this, I'm planning to be at a Super Bowl party hosted by friends, but I will probably have to leave it well before I'd like to in order to get to the show.

Before I go, however, I will have made and presented the jalapeno poppers that were a success at a couple of previous social engagements. I must thank my mother for getting me to make them once back home, because having that as a go-to for a party is a real feather in my cap (as they incessantly said in "Catch-22"). I feel it may even be somewhat expected that I make the poppers, which (if true and not fantasy) is gratifying.

They're simple enough, and I imagine they require no description, but then there are different versions. Mine are really the most basic. I cut the peppers in half lengthwise, removing most of the seeds (but not all) in order to manage the level of spiciness. The seat of power for spiciness is in those little seeds, which is probably on some high school counselor's wall as an inspiration to their young freshman charges. I then fill the halves with cream cheese and wrap the whole thing in bacon. I then take them and bake them in the oven relatively briefly. They're like grenades in terms of both flavor and health impact.

With more than one of those sitting in my gut, I will take off for the show, where my sketch- my little five year old child on his first day of school- will take flight and either fly or crash. I feel fortunate that it came through the rewrite process in very good shape, and that it was cast with people I believe to be very capable- probably most so that I could hope for given the present circumstances. Tomorrow will surely see a report on how it went. Until them, do enjoy the rest of your Super Bowl Sunday.