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Recipe Tailgating

Discussion in 'Tilted Food' started by snowy, Oct 21, 2013.

  1. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Well, there are only a few more home games left in our season here, but the next two games are night games, which means there will be a meal before the game. We usually do a meal before the game with some minor exceptions--if the game is at noon, we may do brunch beforehand or soup after. I always take something to contribute, and my food is usually pretty popular. I don't know what the theme is--if there is a theme--for our next tailgater. I'm relied upon to bring something delicious regardless.

    What are your best tailgating recipes? Do you tailgate?

    These were popular last year when we did brunch before a noon game: Make-Ahead Recipe: Crustless Mini-Quiches Recipes from The Kitchn | The Kitchn
    I took these for our Hawaiian plate lunch tailgater before the Hawaii game: How to Make Spam Musubi | Serious Eats : Recipes
    Everyone at our tailgater agrees these are the best chocolate chip cookies ever: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html?_r=0
     
  2. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    Bacon wrapped jalapenos. Start with the largest peppers you can find. Make a filling with a cream cheese and sour cream base, add in any of the following: shredded cheese(s), salt, pepper, cayenne, chipotle powder, garlic, cumin, chorizo, bacon crumbles). The bacon or chorizo would need pre-cooked obviously. Mix up the filling thoroughly, slice open the peppers (removing seeds is optional for desired heat level), and cram as much of the filling in as possible. Wrap with bacon and secure with toothpicks. Grill or fry on low to medium heat for several minutes (depends on size of peppers), then crank up the heat for the last couple of minutes to crisp the bacon. Be careful, the insides will burn you!

    Ribeye sandwiches. Get some thin sliced ribeyes (no one wants to have a steak they have to cut on a paper plate) and grill them. Slap them on a hoagie roll with some provolone cheese. Maybe make some chipotle mayo or provide some other sauce. Easy and popular.

    Candied bacon. Season thick cut bacon slices with brown sugar and cayenne (3-4x as much brown sugar as cayenne, depending on how much of a kick you want it to have). Cook in a foil roaster type dish over a low heat grill for 10-12 minutes per side. Once the bacon is just shy of the crispness you want it, take it off the grill, crank the heat, and grill the slices straight on the grates at med-high heat for 20-60 seconds per side to caramelize the brown sugar.
     
  3. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Seriously, I wish I knew if we had a theme going on for this Saturday's tailgate. It's Homecoming, and Homecoming is ALWAYS epic. I want to pick out recipes already.

    Borla, while your recipes sound yum, we usually take things that are easy to transport, as we ride the bus to the game, and there is usually no cooking going on once we're there. Ample drinking, though!
     
  4. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    Ahhh, gotcha. To me tailgating includes the act of cooking while there. :D
     
  5. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member


    My goal is to be set up like that someday. We've discussed building a custom teardrop trailer expressly for that purpose. Hubs just needs to learn to weld first.
     
  6. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Tis the season!

    This morning, I whizzed up some zucchini bites. I made these for a tailgater last year, and they were very popular. It's a great way to use up those extra-large zucchini.

    8 cups zucchini, shredded
    1 large onion
    4-5 cloves garlic
    1 cup almonds, ground in the food processor
    1 cup parmesan cheese
    4 eggs
    2 tsp. Italian seasoning
    salt and pepper

    In a large colander, salt the shredded zucchini; toss to coat and let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, process the onion in the food processor until finely minced; do the same with the garlic. Add to the colander of shredded zucchini. Press out any liquid before rolling the zucchini, onion, and garlic mixture up in a clean tea or floursack towel and squeezing very well. Process the almonds in the food processor until they are almost flour-like. In a large mixing bowl, combine the thoroughly drained zucchini mixture with the almonds, parmesan cheese, 4 eggs, and seasonings until well-mixed; it should be damp but not runny. Using small muffin tins with liners and a 1-tsp. scoop, distribute the zucchini mixture into the tins. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and a thermometer reads an internal temperature of 185.

    Makes about 40 bites.
     
  7. ralphie250

    ralphie250 Fully Erect Donor

    Location:
    At work..
    this thread makes me hungry
     
    • Like Like x 2
  8. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I should note that the same recipe also works very well with broccoli. Just make sure the broccoli is cooked first and drained well.
     
  9. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I gotta get some cute swingtop bottles from IKEA and do this: Make Pre-Bottled Cocktails That People Will Actually Want to Drink

    It's less than a month until our college season begins. I doubt there will be a tailgater for that first game (Friday game, ugh) unless my uncle takes the day off (stranger things have happened--football is very important). But there will be another game a couple weeks after that, and I plan on being prepared! What makes it hard is that game times don't get set too far in advance, so I could be planning for brunch, lunch, or dinner.

    Last year's hits included the zucchini bites (I got asked to bring those again and again), a black bean chili for a chili cookoff, and homemade cinnamon rolls for a noon game. My plan this year is to use my freezer to do more prep ahead of time so I'm not rushing morning-of. Game day should be fun!