Game Day Buffalo Parm Tenders

Game day at my house is usually pretty quiet.

I put the game on, make something good to eat, and keep the volume just loud enough that I can hear it from the kitchen. I am not one of those people who has twelve friends over, three crockpots going, and somebody yelling at the television before kickoff.

Still, I always make enough food for another person.

You never know when a friend might unexpectedly stop by.

Now, this has never actually happened to me.

Not once.

But I like to be prepared.

There is a fellow I work with named Kevin who is very friendly. He has nice eyebrows and knows a surprising amount about football. Every now and then on Friday night he will ask what I am doing over the weekend, and I will say, “Probably watching the game.”

I always leave it at that.

I figure if he ever wants to stop by, he knows where I live.

Well, approximately.

I may have only told him the subdivision.

Anyway, nobody should come into your home and leave with an empty stomach. That is just how I was raised. So on game day I make these Buffalo Parmesan Chicken Tenders. They are easy, spicy, cheesy, and you do not need breadcrumbs or a pan full of oil.

While I coat the chicken in Parmesan, I sometimes hum “That’s What Friends Are For.”

That was Dionne Warwick, of course.

Dionne Warwick later became involved with the Psychic Friends Network, although I do not believe she herself was the psychic. She was more of a spokesperson, which is an important distinction.

I watched the Psychic Friends Network a few times late at night.

They would tell people that a tall dark stranger was entering their life, or that money was coming their way, or that they needed to be cautious around someone whose name started with an M.

Statistically, I imagine that worked pretty well.

I never called.

Those telephone numbers were expensive, and I have always been careful about long-distance charges.

I do enjoy astrology, though I cannot say I believe in it. I am a Virgo, which supposedly means I am organized, practical, and particular.

That sounds about right.

Kevin is a Gemini.

I looked it up.

Just out of curiosity.

Geminis apparently enjoy conversation and spontaneous plans, so theoretically showing up unexpectedly for chicken tenders would be completely consistent with his astrological profile.

So far the stars have not delivered.

But I keep making enough for two.

That’s what friends are for.