Game Day Nachos

-Where is it?

I scroll through emails and old Facebook messages, looking for the recipe. The recipe.

-Come on, where is it?

Old texts about work, his dogs, his girl but no recipe. At this point, my thumb ‘thunks’ against the touch screen of my phone and I’m squeezing the case hard.

Pictures of cars, of food and a long chain of funny memes. I squeeze harder and am on the verge of screaming when I see it.

-There!

One double-tap and the message opens:

‘Hey! It’s not game day but as requested, here is my Nachos recipe! Enjoy!’

Game Day Nachos

• Start on this roughly 30 minutes before the game starts to have a plate of steaming Nachos just as the festivities begin! 😊

• Crank your oven to 400⁰

• Spread corn chips on a baking pan (the bigger the pan, the more Nachos you get! Duh!)

• Douse with Salsa (For you, go with the mild one. Spices are not your friends.)

• (If you’re still gung-ho about being vegan, skip the next 2 steps!)

• Chop some Italian sausages in small cubes (yep, it’s a bitch to do but soooooo worth it) and sprinkle over the salsa (Oh, vegan option: replace it with one of those fake-meat sausages you like, and we’ll see how it goes.)

• Spread a generous amount of fresh grated cheddar or mozzarella on top of this all (or not. Go Vegans!)

• Wait for the oven to reach temp (again, duh!)

• Pop the pan in the oven and set a timer for 5 minutes.

• Chop some green onions in fine slices and set aside.

• Turn on the oven light and marvel at the melting cheese.

• When the timer dings (or when the cheese starts to get golden and crispy on top), take the pan out.

• Sprinkle green onions, add sour cream (or not, you know, baby cows and all) and voilà, Game Day Nachos.

I get to work on the Game Day Nachos. In the living room, the T.V. is on, spouting adds, statistics and predictions about the game between the Chiefs and the Buccaneers.

As I work, I think back to all those times Sam told me about football, or hockey, or whatever sport was in season. I cut into a vegan sausage (Go Vegans!) and smile. I never understood much about sports, but I did get that it made him happy.

I sprinkle the sausages and the oven dings. The Nachos go in. I start on the onion and get teary-eyed.

-Damn onions.

I wipe my eyes and finish cutting my stuff then, as instructed, I turn on the light and look at the cheese melt. It’s weirdly pacifying. The timer rings and the Nachos come out. I spread the green onions and skip the cream (yep, baby cows) then carry the pan in the living room and put it down on a wooden block, on the low table. The game is about to start. I run to the fridge and grab two beers (Zero alcohol ones, boy did he laugh about that!) then crash in my chair, pop the beers, and put one in the cup holder of my second armchair. The game is now on, the players are taking their positions on the field.

I put down my beer and look at my phone. Right now, I should be getting a Zoom call but of course I’m not. There’s nobody to Zoom with anymore. The last time there was, the call was placed by an orderly and I got to watch as machines beeped and breathing stopped.

I’m crying again. Can’t blame it on onions, this time.

-Fuck this year.

Again, I wipe my eyes. Then I eat a bite of Nachos (they’re delicious, even with vegan sausage), take a sip of beer and stretch to boink my can on the one that rests in the empty armchair.

-Happy Super Bowl, bro.

The game starts. I sip beer again, take another bite of Nachos and sigh.

-God, I hate football…