The Dale Hawerchuk Monster Cookies

This afternoon is the Heritage Classic game between the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers. What better way than to enjoy the game with the nachos and beer is a big plate of cookies. Monster Cookies with a recipe from Jets Hockey Hall Of Famer, Dale Hawerchuk! The recipes comes from the Jets Are Cookin' cookbook of family recipes from the 81-82 season the Jets wives dedicated to all children, especially in Children's hospitals. All proceeds went to Children's Hospital at the Health Science Centre in Winnipeg. The book is filled with recipes from all the players from that year as well as the staff, management and coaches of the team. All these players bring back incredible memories, players such as, Hawerchuk, Babych, Mantha, Steen, Lindstrom, Long, MacLean, Mann, Christian, Smail, Fergy and many more. I've never tried any of the recipes, maybe my mom did and somehow this ended up in my possession.

The Monster cookie recipe is very straight forward and I had all the ingredients in my kitchen already. The cookies turned out outstanding! They are thin and crispy with a little bit of chewiness that melts in your mouth...yum yum! One mistake I made was dropping the batter to close together. The recipe states 3" apart and If I had spaced them further apart the cookies would have expanded to full size and would truly be monster size. The other note is the raw batter was really tasty when I little the spoons after placing the cookie sheet into the oven. I highly recommend this cookie recipe, it's perfect for the most novice (like myself) of bakers, a good recipes to make with the kids. Thank you Dale (or Dale's mom)!!

Throughout the season, I'll try to bake or cook more recipes from the book. If you want a clearer picture of any of the recipes from the book, let me know.

Happy cooking and enjoy the Heritage Classic...gotta go start making the nachos!

Has Anyone Ever Played This Game?

With it being unofficially Hockey Heritage week here in Winnipeg, I've been digging through some of my old Jets stuff. I have the usual ticket stubs, game programs, media guides, photos, pucks and magazines related to the Winnipeg Jets from the WHA and NHL eras.

A somewhat rare interesting item I dug out is a board/card game called, Laurie Boschman's Power Play Hockey Game. If you're not familiar with Laurie Boschman, he spent a lot of career playing hockey in Manitoba. Bosch was born in Saskatchewan, but spent his junior career with the Brandon Wheat Kings where he had some amazing years. In 1978-79, Bosch had a 66 goal, 149 point season (as well as 215 PIM!!) and led the Wheaties to the Memorial Cup final losing to Peterborough Petes in OT. Boschman was drafted by the Leafs, traded to the Oilers and came to the Jets for the 1982 season. He had his best years with the Jets and played in Winnipeg from 1982-1990. He also went on to play with the Devils and the Senators.

Not sure, if that's Boschman's real autograph on the box?

Yup, that's it. This is all the pieces of the game...no moving parts.

So I'm assuming the game was created during Boschman's time with the Jets since he wears a logo-less Jets jersey in the picture on the box and there is a Winnipeg address on the side. The address is actually within walking distance of where I live, so that's pretty cool. The game is very simple. As you can tell from the photos, the board is a hockey rink with the red and blue line and the nets. The goal is to move the puck into the opponents net through dice rolls and card flipping. There are command cards, Penalty Card and Big Play Cards and depending on the number from your roll, you'll pick up one of the cards from the two piles, then you follow what the card says, pretty simple, eh? I did play the game many times with my family and though it's no EA Sports NHL hockey or even Strat-O Matic, it was mildly entertaining and cleverly uncomplicated. Okay, this is pre-internet and in the early days of video games, so there weren't many hockey based games at the time so you're expectations shouldn't be too spectacular. I don't know if Laurie created the game from his home or if he lent his name to a friend that made this, but I would be very curious if anyone knows the story behind it. I can't remember where I bought the game (maybe garage sale or used Sally Anne type store?), but I'm sure I bought it in the 80's. I thought there might be some interest in this game with the Heritage Classic and Alumni game taking place this weekend and with Laurie Boschman skating on the Winnipeg Jets Alumni team.

Has anyone ever played this game?

Hey, It's Heritage Classic Weekend!

If you're a hockey fan in Winnipeg young or old, this weekend will be very special for two very good reasons. The NHL Heritage Classic game between the Winnipeg Jets and the Edmonton Oilers feature two of the rising stars of the league, Connor McDavid and Patrick Laine. The game will take place outdoors at the Investors Group Stadium on Sunday, October 23rd at 2:00 pm in the afternoon. This weekend also highlights the Heritage Classic Alumni Game between the Jets and Oilers alumni featuring Hall of Famers and superstars from the 70's, 80's and early 90's on Saturday at 3:00 pm. If you are of the older generation, like myself that grew up with Jets of the WHA and the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL (first edition) before taking off to Phoenix, the memories of our beloved heroes from the past will make for a nostalgic couple of days. I will be posting on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook old Jet memorabilia that I had collected back in the day. Unfortunately, I won't be attending either game (yes, it's because I'm cheap!), but I will be reminiscing in front of my TV with a pot of hot chili, cold beer and a plate of Dale Hawerchuk Monster cookies (more on that tomorrow) enjoying the spectacle of the Heritage Classic. The allure and novelty of the outdoor has almost worn it's welcome with me, but the fact it's in Winnipeg will be special. Sit tight and stay warm, but if you want to be part of the excitement and participate in the events this weekend, note the times and dates below.

 For many, the big attraction to the weekend will be the Alumni Game that features such greats as Wayne Gretzky, Dale Hawerchuk, Paul Coffey, Teemu Selanne, Mark Messier, Dave Babych, Jari Kurri, Grant Fehr and many more. I'm sure the quality of the game itself won't be the end to end scoring sprees of the past, but it will definitely satisfy any hockey fan that grew up with these guys.  And the retro Jets Heritage Classic jerseys look awesome!!

This game will attract national attention and in many ways might be a better draw than the game on Sunday. I'm not sure how ticket sales are going so far, but you can now purchase each game individually instead of the previous package deal that included both games. I'm guessing the big price tag for a wholesale (cheapskate) city like Winnipeg might have scared some fans from attending, so splitting up the games will be a way to sell to the fans that have been whining that they only wanted to attend the Alumni Game or the regular Heritage Classic game. Should be interesting!
Enjoy!