February 28
 Richard Henry Blood's Birthday
 


Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat jumping toward Chris Jericho at Backlash 2009 in Providence, RI.

If you remember the Paul McCartney's classic cover recording of song "Baby Face" (Baby Face, you've got the cutest baby face) from "Band on the Run," you may think that he was referring to Richard Henry Blood, better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat,  one of the most well-known professional wrestlers of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Blood debuted in 1976 as a babyface in the American Wrestling Association (AWA).

In wrestling jargon, "babyface” is the term used to describe the fan favorite in a wrestling match and organization, the wrestler the crowd generally cheers for and wants to win.Traditional babyfaces are classic good guy characters who do not break the rules, follow instructions of those in authority such as the referee, are polite and well-mannered towards the fans, and often overcome the rule-breaking actions of their heel opponents to cleanly win matches. Ricky was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his lengthy career.

Ricky remains is one of the most legendary performers in the history of sports entertainment. The popular superstar made his name in the Carolina territory and went on to become a fan favorite in WCW and WWE. His legendary three wrestling matches with Rick Flair for the NWA Championshipand are widely considered to be the three greatest professional wrestling matches of the 20th century.

Ricky was given the name "Ricky Steamboat" by wrestling promoter Eddie Graham due to his strong resemblance to wrestling legend Sam Steamboat (Sam Mokahai). Sam even endorsed the name change and allowed them to bill the "Ricky Steamboat" character as his son. He retired from the ring in September 2003 due to injuries and  works for WWE as a road agent.

So to celebrate Ricky's birthday, we suggest making a Red Dragon Pie and renting out the DVD, "Ricky Steamboat The Life Story of the Dragon" while gobbling up this tasty vegetation version of a shepherd pie made with Chinese aduki beans. The Chinese name adukis means "red dragon" from where this dish gets the name. Aduki beans are small, dried, reddish brown meaty-tasting  beans, with a white ridge along one side. They are grown in Thailand, China, Japan, and the upper Midwestern United States. If your local grocer doesn't stock them (for shame), you can order them from Nut Online(http://www.nutsonline.com) 
 

 

Red Dragon Pie
 

Ingredients
 
4 oz aduki beans soaked overnight
1 TB oil
1 onion, peeled & finely chopped
8 oz carrots, diced
2 TB soy sauce
 		 2 TB tomato puree
1 tsp mixed herbs
salt & pepper
1 lb potatoes, peeled
1 TB margarine
 
Instructions
  1. Drain the aduki beans then simmer in 2 pints water for 50 minutes. Drain, reserving the stock.
  2. Take a large pan, fry the onion for 5 minutes in the oil, add the carrots and cook for an additional 3 minutes
  3. Add the cooked beans. Mix the soy sauce, tomato puree and herbs with the reserved stock. Pour this over the bean and vegetable mixture. Simmer for 20 minutes so that the flavors are well blended. Season to taste.
  4. Meanwhile steam the potatoes and mash them with the margarine. Put the bean mixture into a casserole dish, spread the mashed potatoes on top, and bake in an oven until the potato is crisp and brown.
|© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes