Tailgate Fan

Big Game Party Recipe: New York Pretzel Bites With Spicy Cheese Sauce

Chris Kral | Content Manager — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:22:47 +0000

By Christine Hinrichs

After months of TV watching, countless cheers and upsets, and numerous football parties, the Super Bowl is finally here. And with the Patriots and the Giants meeting for their second Super Bowl matchup in the last few years, it’s sure to be a great game. I enjoy having Super Bowl parties, but what I really love is creating theme recipes. Here are two recipes, one for New York fans and one for Patriots fans, and both are easy to put together and are sure to impress your guests.

New York Pretzel Bites with Spicy Cheese Sauce
(makes about 100 small pretzel bites)
adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients (pretzel bites):

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 yeast packet
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 ½ cups flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
10 cups of water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Coarse salt or pretzel salt
Cooking spray

Ingredients (cheese sauce):

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups half and half
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1/2 – 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the lukewarm water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Wait until the yeast mixture starts to foam, about 5 minutes. Then add the flour and melted butter and stir to combine as best you can. The dough will be firm, so use some muscle. Turn the dough out onto a flat surface and knead it until smooth, about 5 minutes. Spray the bowl lightly with cooking spray, then return the dough to the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Place in a warm spot in your kitchen and let the dough rise for about an hour.

Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper, and spray the paper lightly with cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

In a large pot, combine the 10 cups of water and baking soda. Heat on high – you’ll need the water to be at a boil once you’re done working with the dough. Once the dough has risen, combine the 10 cups of water and baking soda in a large pot. Heat on high, and then turn back to the dough. Punch it down and divide it into 8 equal pieces (a pizza cutter works well for this). Roll out each piece into an 18-inch rope. Then using the pizza cutter, cut each rope into 1-inch squares of dough.

Once your water mixture has come to a boil add the dough pieces in batches – 12-14 – and leave them in the boiling water for about 15 seconds. Fish them out using a slotted spoon and place on the baking sheets lined with parchment. Continue until all of the dough pieces have been in the baking-soda bath.

Arrange the dough on the pans so there is space between each piece. Using a pastry brush, brush each dough bite with the egg wash. Then sprinkle the dough with salt to your liking. Bake the pretzel bites for about 14 minutes. Let cool for about five minutes before serving.

In the meantime, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of flour and whisk to combine for about 1-2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and slowly whisk in the half and half. Return the pan to medium-low heat and slowly add the cheese, jalapeño, and spices, whisking in a figure-8 pattern. Once the cheese has just melted, remove from heat.

Keep the cheese sauce in a microwave-safe container so it can be reheated as needed. Serve alongside the pretzel bites.
Christine Hinrichs is a vegetarian who loves everything related to food. She daydreams about recipes, frequents the local farmers’ markets, and reads cookbooks before bed. Read about her food adventures at ruminationsonfood.blogspot.com.

The Super Bowl of Feasts

Chris Kral | Content Manager — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:21:15 +0000

By Christian S. Kohl

The Super Bowl represents the lone day of the year where the best tailgate possible may well take place from the comforts of your own home as opposed to right outside the stadium. Ignoring the obvious problems of a difficult commute and wrangling space to tailgate among the droves of people, your on-site tailgate faces a logistical problem that your home tailgate will not: your car almost certainly not contain all the food you should be devouring on this magical day. The biggest day of the year unequivocally demands the biggest feast of the year.

Other major days of the year often involve the hearty consumption of food, such as Thanksgiving. As we all know though, such days often restrict the types of foods and sides you’re expected to prepare and consume. What makes Super Bowl Sunday consumption so glorious is not simply that you can eat all day long, from 3AM pregame coverage to the Lombardi presentation. What makes it the greatest feast day of them all is that there are no rules whatsoever, and absolutely anything goes.

Your spread can last as many courses as you want it to. You can start slow with appetizers like chips and salsa or nachos, working your way up to burgers, pizza, and ultimately dessert. You can barbecue all day and drop plate after plate of ribs, or pulled pork sandwiches on your kitchen tables for guests in one unending course until kickoff, then resume again at halftime. Desserts can be cakes and pies, or cookies and ice cream. Or you can very simply eat 300 wings a man and collapse in a ball midway through the second quarter.

Every player on the field has worked the entire year for this moment; it’s far and away the biggest day of the year. Such commitment requires celebration and food consumption on the part of NFL fans which matches their level of intensity. As a die-hard football fan, this is no doubt the biggest day of your year as well, and you simply cannot leave anything out there on the field. Even a person on a regimented and disciplined diet should break it for this one day. Take one day off from counting calories and count how many feet of the party sub you can ingest in four quarters. If you’re the tailgating chef, use every kitchen and grill resource you’ve got and use every last page of your playbook. You know Brady and Manning are going to air to out, and you absolutely should as well.

Whatever option you opt for, make sure it’s lasting and worthwhile. If there’s one thing everyone has realized about the Super Bowl, it’s that the Super Bowl is as much an event as it is a game. So as you assemble that menu for yourself, friends and guests, wherever in the world you might be, remember to make it an event everyone will remember for years to come. Tailgating champions don’t simply show up on Game Day. They prepare, and put in the work. Become that tailgating champion, at the game or at home. Harness the skills you’ve been developing all year, maximize your potential, and eat literally all that you can stomach.

Christian S. Kohl is a writer and filmmaker based in New York City. Find out more about him at DailySpew.com.

Big Game Party Recipe: New England Chowder With Old Bay Croutons

Chris Kral | Content Manager — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:20:52 +0000

By Christine Hinrichs

After months of TV watching, countless cheers and upsets, and numerous football parties, the Super Bowl is finally here. And with the Patriots and the Giants meeting for their second Super Bowl matchup in the last few years, it’s sure to be a great game. I enjoy having Super Bowl parties, but what I really love is creating theme recipes. Here are two recipes, one for New York fans and one for Patriots fans, and both are easy to put together and are sure to impress your guests.

New England Chowder with Old Bay Croutons
(serves 6-8 as a regular entrée)
adapted from Epicurious

If you don’t like clams, feel free to omit the clams and then substitute vegetable stock for the clam juice. For a more festive feel, serve the chowder in shot glasses!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ¼ pound canned clams, minced, juice reserved
2-3 cups clam juice OR 3 cups of vegetable stock
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
½ cup frozen corn
2 cups half and half
1 tablespoon dry white wine
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Salt & pepper to taste
1 baguette, diced into 1-inch cubes
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine the clam juice and juice from canned clams until you have 3 cups of liquid.

In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and cook until translucent and tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring, for another 2 minutes.

Whisk in the clam juice, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the thyme and 1 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning. Add the diced potatoes and simmer partially covered until the potatoes are tender.

In a separate sauce pan, combine the minced clams and half and half and simmer until clams are cooked through. Once the potatoes are tender, add the clam mixture to the soup pot and the frozen corn. Simmer together for another few minutes. Stir in the wine and Worcestershire sauce, taste and adjust salt & pepper.

Meanwhile, toss the cubed bread, olive oil, and Old Bay seasoning. Arrange the bread cubes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer. Bake until the bread is crisp but still has some give, about 5-8 minutes. Serve the chowder in small bowls or shot glasses and top each serving with Old Bay croutons.

Christine Hinrichs is a vegetarian who loves everything related to food. She daydreams about recipes, frequents the local farmers’ markets, and reads cookbooks before bed. Read about her food adventures at ruminationsonfood.blogspot.com.

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Die Hard Fans Tailgating The NFL Playoffs

Chris Kral | Content Manager — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:10:41 +0000

The NFL Playoffs have concluded and the Big Game players have been selected. Check out how the nation tailgated leading up to the biggest professional stage in sports....

End of Game Celebrations

Chris Kral | Content Manager — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:25:14 +0000

By: Christian S. Kohl

We’ve all been there. You set aside an entire, glorious weekend day. Arrive at the stadium hours before game time and enjoy a spectacular tailgate as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. Head into the stadium, cheer until you’re so hoarse you can no longer speak. Just a few short hours later, after thrilling victory or crushing defeat, there’s little else to do aside from returning to the parking lot, spending three hours moving a total of 200 feet, and nosing the car out of the parking lot before heading back home. Unless of course, when you find your car again after that draining and exhausting game, there’s another tailgate waiting there for you.

Think about it. A postgame tailgate. You’re going to be stuck in that line of cars for hours anyway. Besides, it feels like forever since your last meal. It was morning then, and the sun is setting now. For all intents and purposes, it’s dinner time, but it could be an eternity before you again find refreshments and food. Unless another magical spread is upon you as soon as you return.

The best part of the postgame tailgate is that it’s appropriate no matter what happened during the game. An epic and triumphant victory for your team demands celebration. A bitter and costly defeat requires comfort, and a forum to discuss all that needs to happen for the season to turn around. What better place for all of that than huddled around a barbecue next to your car as you’re cooking meat?

This particular form of tailgating requires a special kind of person, however. In order for this to be executed properly, you need a Tailgating Hero. You need a person in your crew who comes to the games for the food and the camaraderie, but doesn’t live and die with the outcome or the score. Someone who feels like they need to stretch their legs even after halftime ends, and is content to listen to the radio, or get the live reports when you all return. Because that person, the Tailgating Hero in your crew, can leave in the third quarter and fire everything back up again. If every single one of you is a die-hard, this may be nearly impossible to pull off. Just remember though. Rooting with all your strength for your team is about hope, and belief. For the postgame tailgate to appear, and appear without a hitch: all it takes is one person.

I advise that this particular form of celebration best take place if your crew can all arrive in a single car, as the maximum number of people can enjoy the liquid festivities postgame as well. I would further advise that if that same person who takes the bullet and volunteers to set up the postgame tailgate also holds the keys and drives home, something very special has happened in your life. You have found the Tailgating Hero. Maybe not the hero your tailgate deserves, but the one it needs right now. And if you’re ever looking to thank that person, don’t even bother getting them an apron. Thank your Hero properly, and buy him a cape. For he has made the impossible a reality, and allowed all that is great about game day to truly last the entire day.

Christian S. Kohl is a writer and filmmaker based in New York City. Find out more about him at DailySpew.com

Wild Card Weekend’s Hottest Cheerleaders

Chris Kral | Content Manager — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:31:37 +0000

From Tebow to Manning, the gridiron was where the action was...or was it? Wild Card Weekend not only provided great matchups, but these hot cheerleaders too...

Everyday Life Is A Party Too

Chris Kral | Content Manager — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:36:29 +0000

By Christian S. Kohl

Fans come from far and wide to gather and tailgate for some of life’s most exciting events. What better way to savor the anticipation of a highly awaited game other than with sumptuous food, ample beverages, and great company? After all, tailgating as an idea is all about making things better. In this case, making the very best of times simply that much more unforgettable. Yet, I humbly propose the notion that tailgating actually makes everything better, so much so that it very well may redeem even the most unpleasant or generic of moments in life.

Everyone hates going to the Motor Vehicle Bureau. Takes all day, line feels like it stretches on to eternity, generally about eight ways unpleasant. Not if you’re all tailgating it, though. Think about it: you and a few buddies decide to all renew your license on the same day, and throw a party out in the parking lot. All you need is one guy to hold your place in line, and you can all switch out as burgers come off the grill, or if someone needs a refill. You can instantly turn one of the most irritating errands of life into a quality flag football game and a fantastic time.

Girlfriend wants you to come along while she shops for shoes? Let’s turn this into a group event instead. Ladies, you go hunt for bargains on slingback pumps, and we’ll be out here in the lot. We’ll even have dinner served and ready to go for you when you come back. This way, everybody wins, instead of one of us dying a painful death watching your purse outside the fitting rooms, a place where time stands still and all hope perished decades prior.

Tailgating, as all true die-hards know, is an event in its own right. The amount of preparation and attention to detail requires it be done right means you don’t just throw a few items in a cooler and head out. This is an outdoor banquet with a dress code of jeans and hoodies, something we can all appreciate. This is a feast for the senses and great times enjoyed by all. I mean to take nothing away from the joy of the game itself. I simply intend to demonstrate accurately the glorious value of the tailgate, even by itself.

Need some electronics repaired and they won’t be available until the end of the day? Give them your cell and not your home phone; you’re glad to wait. Every time you go the doctor’s office for a routine physical, the waiting room is jammed and it takes them forever to call your name. It’s the absolute worst. …or is it?

Go out there and give it a shot. I offer this as a personal challenge to all of you out there, even the most hardened of skeptics. Faced with an endless wait and potential hours of agonizing monotony, head out into what would otherwise be a bleak and dreary reality. I challenge you all to see if there is in fact a situation that some lawn chairs, quality music, coolers of the good stuff and endless sides of perfectly prepared beef can’t fully redeem. Make it fun, and most of all, make it count.

Christian S. Kohl is a writer and filmmaker based in New York City. Find out more about him at dailyspew.com

Essential Playoff Tailgating Tips

Chris Kral | Content Manager — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:48:30 +0000

Your team made the playoffs. Congratulations. You scored tickets to the game? Well that deserves a celebration. As winter sets in, the NFL cookout staple of tailgating becomes as much about surviving as it does gorging. Sub-zero temperatures, wind and sobriety can be a devastating combination. Here are some tips for your winter weather tailgate:

Hot Beverages: Many hardcore tailgaters will stick by their beer of choice, but for those willing to adapt; a hot cider, hot cocoa with a nice shot of choice will both be appropriate to warm you up. While on the topic of hot liquids…

Soup and Stew: Yes, you’ll grill out, that’s a given. But heat up some soup and stew to add to your cornucopia of delightful choices. Stew is easy to disperse, and spoons are a much easier glove-used-utensil than forks and knives. Make sure you remember the essentials: Pot, ladle, bowls, etc.

Precook Your Food: Minimize time between packaging and mouth. Always a plus. Spending less time standing around and more time eating is a must.

Styrofoam Floor: I know it may sound crazy, but take it from a seasoned Kansas City Chiefs extreme-weather tailgater; if you can stow away some sheets of styrofoam next time you get a package, it will make a world of difference beneath your feat or folding chairs when its below zero outside.

Bring the Right Gear: Don’t get caught unable to light your grill in the cold wind. Frustrated fans will quickly abandon your tailgate for warmer pastures if things go south. Try an industrial lighter to get the job done, such as the Zippo Flex Neck Utility lighter to dominate the cold and wind. A regular lighter, if it even lights, may suffer at the hands of winter winds.

Game Ideas: Tossing around a football in the cold will quickly turn into tossing a frozen rock at each other’s face. Combine that with wearing bulky gloves and you have a Marsha Brady situation waiting to happen. Bags (cornhole, bean bags, bag toss, whatever you call it) is the premier cold weather tailgating game. Simply, you can hold a drink in your other hand, and you won’t embarrass yourself by showing off your Drew Brees (or more likely Ryan Leaf) throwing skills.

Enjoy Yourself: Sitting around talking about how cold it is will only make you feel colder. Talk about how great Aaron Rodgers is or how decent Matt Ryan is. Toss a football around for thirty seconds until your hand freezes. Just be happy you aren’t a Chiefs fan or a Colts fan or one of the dozens of other team’s fans sitting at home.

Tailgating is a time honored tradition in professional football, and is proven to help your home team win (actual results may vary). Making sure you’re prepared for the cold weather will enhance your tailgating time. If you do decide to brave the cold and paint your chest and go hat-less, then don’t cry. There’s no crying in tailgating.

Kyle Ayers is a writer for CBS Local and KorkedBats.com, as well as a stand up comedian living in New York, Earth.

Tailgating For The Whole Family

Chris Kral | Content Manager — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:50:10 +0000

Tailgating is a time-honored tradition, handed down through the generations of fans who enjoy flame-kissed meat, coolers of beer, and outdoor parties just as much as they love rooting on their beloved teams. I mean to take nothing away from such glorious experiences, and instead offer an opportunity to partake in them more often, and include everyone in the whole family.

In the interest of keeping the barbecue flames of tailgating burning for everyone, I’d like to suggest the following: sporting events at any level can be tailgated, and everyone can partake. After my high school football games, parents used to lay out a savory banquet for us. Not just brownies and desserts, we were treated to pound after pound of burgers and dogs, not to mention fall-off-the-bone fried chicken using a recipe one parent would make weekly from scratch. What better way to get everyone together: parents and players, teammates and friends, unite the whole community after a heroic win or tragic loss than unending mountains of delicious food?

The same idea works for tailgating your kid’s regional semifinal soccer match, or the last Little League game of the season which determines the regular season championship. In fact, the further away from professional ranks one gets, the more sense holding tailgates makes. Introductory levels of athletics these days are intended to introduce the kids to sports without heaping on the pressure of “winning is everything,” or exposing them to the dangers of full contact right away. To that end, the leagues are about more than just learning: they reinforce the idea of teamwork, friendship, and community.

At age seven, the purple team isn’t a sworn enemy; in fact, your next-door neighbor and best friend plays for the purple team. After three long periods of hockey at 7AM, or battling it out for six innings plus two extras on the local diamond, why not all get together afterward to share a few laughs and a hearty meal? Not to mention, with younger generations of players beginning to learn our greatest sports, a fantastic way to better understand them is often through conversation and story. Everyone, kids and parents, learn the rules faster, start talking strategy sooner, and may enjoy the game at a deeper level, all the while scarfing down the best food grills can offer. Tough to argue with that.

It goes without saying that tailgating for an event and its players should be age appropriate. Piecing together a spread for a rec or developmental league should probably contain water, soda, and juice in place of the NFL standards such as beer, and more beer. There may be more snack foods and sugar than homemade sauces and meat. The feast would take place after the game instead of before, but the concept remains the same. The idea of tailgating can be celebrated at every level of sports, not just elite college teams and the NFL. So give it a whirl, and let me know how it goes. Get the whole community out there warming up next to those barbecues, rooting on their hometown teams and the next generation of athletes. After all, a rock-solid tailgate simply makes the brutal losses that much easier to swallow, and the legendary victories that much more epic, and unforgettable.

Christian S. Kohl is a writer and filmmaker based in New York City. Find out more about him at DailySpew.com

Tailgate Recipe: Black Bean Corn Flautas with Cilantro Lime Dip

Chris Kral | Content Manager — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 06:07:29 +0000

Try out this recipe for one of my favorite game-day appetizers: a zesty, filling dish that will keep the crowd happy. Black Bean Corn Flautas with Cilantro Lime Dip – makes about 30 flautas.

Ingredients
2 cups frozen corn
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
4 green onions, chopped fine
1 jalapeno, chopped fine
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
Pinch of salt & pepper
1 package of wonton wrappers

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients (except the wrappers) in a large bowl. To assemble the flautas, place a tablespoon of the mixture onto one of the wonton wrappers. Roll tightly, and wet the edge of the wrapper with a bit of water, pressing to seal. Repeat until you are out of mixture or out of wrappers.

Place the flautas seam-side down on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Once all of the flautas are on the baking sheet, spray the tops with cooking spray. Bake until browned, about 15 minutes. Serve warm with salsa or cilantro lime dip (recipe follows).

For the Dipping Sauce
Makes about ½ cup of dipping sauce
Adapted from Big Girls Small Kitchen

Ingredients
4 ounces plain Greek yogurt
½ lime, zest & juice
Large handful of cilantro
2 garlic cloves, pushed through a garlic press or chopped fine
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cumin
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine. Serve cold alongside the flautas.

Christine Hinrichs is a vegetarian who loves everything related to food. She daydreams about recipes, frequents the local farmers’ markets, and reads cookbooks before bed. Read about her food adventures at ruminationsonfood.blogspot.com.

Tailgate Fan

Big Game Party Recipe: New York Pretzel Bites With Spicy Cheese Sauce

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The Super Bowl of Feasts

Big Game Party Recipe: New England Chowder With Old Bay Croutons

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Die Hard Fans Tailgating The NFL Playoffs

End of Game Celebrations

Wild Card Weekend’s Hottest Cheerleaders

Everyday Life Is A Party Too

Essential Playoff Tailgating Tips

Tailgating For The Whole Family

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Tailgate Recipe: Black Bean Corn Flautas with Cilantro Lime Dip

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