World Cup II

Second half - Knockout stage
Eating more football, a failed prediction and OCD

Half the teams have gone home, including some of the big names in European football, Spain, Portugal, Italy and of course England (well perhaps not that big a name at the moment). Germany, Holland and France are still in there along with a few big name South American teams.

Who will raise the FIFA World Cup...
Saturday 28th June
Brazil vs Chile & Columbia vs Uruguay
Chicken and mushroom pie with creamy mash. This is my oldest and best pie recipe. It is so old that the ingredients are listed in pounds & ounces. The chicken is sliced and dusted with seasoned flour before being browned in hot butter. The previously fried onion, button mushrooms and thinly sliced carrot are added along with a little wine and a spoonful or two of chicken stock to make sumptuous sauce. Cooked in my old fashioned enamel pie dish with a shop bought puff pastry top it is a thing of beauty. Brazil eventually triumph over Chile 3-2 after extra time and penalties. Columbia win 2-0 over Uruguay.

Sunday 29th June
Netherlands vs Mexico & Costa Rica vs Greece
Left over chicken pie for lunch then off to the pub to return the umbrella I'd borrowed the night before. Couple of beers while watching my prediction for one of the finalists. Holland leave it very late but came through in the end equalising in the final minutes then scoring from a penalty in injury time. Could my prediction possibly come true, Holland in the final and dare I say it, Brazil. Microwave curry when I got home, then fell asleep and missed the first half of the Costa Rica game. Extra time and penalties see them beat Greece 5-3.

Monday 30th June
France vs Nigeria & Germany vs Algeria
France win 2-0, a slightly harsh score line for Nigeria. New recipe today, Scallops with coconut curry sauce and couscous. Funny combination (must be American) but I've got scallops that need to be eaten and a sachet of coconut milk that must be coming up to it's best before. The seared scallops were delicious, the couscous was an inspired accompaniment but not sure about the coconut curry sauce. Nice idea but next time a sauce with a more North African flavour I think. Speaking of North Africa, Algeria gave the Germans a run for their money pulling one back in extra time before the game finished 2-1 to Germany.

Tuesday 1st July
Argentina vs Switzerland & Belgium vs USA
Nice relaxing afternoon making a lemon pork ragù to have with tagliatelle this evening. Well worth the investment of a little time, the result is a much more delicate ragù than the usual beef and tomato version. I've also done the same thing with minced turkey and it works just as well. Argentina made hard work of beating Switzerland 1-0 and the USA made a valiant effort before losing 2-1 to Belgium.

Friday 4th July
France vs Germany & Brazil vs Columbia - Quarter-Finals 1&2
Salt and pepper squid, fried in the wok till crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, and to continue the Asian theme, pickled radish and cucumber salad. Thinly sliced radish and strips of cucumber, curtesy of my super sharp speed peeler, tossed in a rice wine dressing. Fantastic flavours and textures. Brazil win 2-1 and Germany win 1-0. Nothing surprising there.

Saturday 5th July - Quarter-Finals 3&4
Argentina vs Belgium & Netherlands vs Costa Rica
Creamy salmon and pea pasta. Pretty standard stuff. I like to use the local supermarket's own brand tagliatelle because it comes in 10 inch strips spaghetti style. Not as messy to eat as those super long nest things. Argentina win 1-0 but the Netherlands make hard work of it until eventually beating Costa Rica 4-3 on penalties.

Tuesday 8th July - 1st Semi-Final
Brazil vs Germany
Late lunch of chips and curry sauce shared with the Preston Martyrs and local pigeons. Nice cold Guinness to follow. Unfortunately it went down too well and the plan to get home for tea and football fell apart. Still in the pub when the game started and then couldn't tear myself away so the evening was rounded off with a midnight pizza. My earlier prediction of a Holland Brazil final was blown out of the water in spectacular fashion with Germany totally humiliating the home nation with a 7-1 win.

Wednesday 9th July - 2nd Semi-Final
Netherlands vs Argentina
Pork escalopes with lemon and a side dish of ED's Peperonata. The escalopes in this Italian restaurant classic would normally be veal but some days you just have to work with what you've got. A splash of Vermouth required for the sauce so a martini while the peperonata cooks. Very civilised. Must get some proper martini glasses. Football a complete contrast to last nights game, Argentina win 4-2 on penalties.

Saturday 12th July - Third place play-off
Brazil vs Netherlands
The teams I predicted to meet in the final meet in the play-offs. Having had lunch with my daughter-in-law a simple bowl of pasta is all that is required before meeting half the usual suspects this evening (the other half are in Spain for the week). Tagliatelle with cavolo nero is quick to make and delicious. Half the cooked cabbage is made into a pesto type sauce with garlic and anchovies then simply stirred into the cooked pasta and remaining cabbage. Brazil's World Cup comes to a miserable end losing to Holland 3-0.

Sunday 13th July - The Final
Germany vs Argentina
Meatballs today, but not just any old meatball these are Albondigas, Spanish meatballs. I use half and half minced beef and mince pork and a large handful of breadcrumbs softened with a little sherry. No onions in these little balls of juiciness because I like to have them with onion sauce and skinny fries. Germany snatch the win with a goal 7 mins before the end of extra time.

Germany are world champions!

What next on the sporting calendar. Next year is the Rugby World Cup, 2016 is the Euro's and 2017 is the Confederations Cup then back in 2018 to the World Cup, this time in Russia.

Perhaps with a little planning next time I could find a traditional dish from each nation taking part. Bit of a challenge, better do some research!

* I've juggled the publishing dates and times of this post and the previous post so they read better and look better in the archive list. I am getting my OCD in order, soon be sorted!