Are You Ready for Some Football?!!!

Tags

asparagus, buffalo chicken dip, cheese, chicken, country ribs, dips, Food, football, gamecocks, grilled vegetables, grilling, meat, muffaletta, olive tapanade, potatoes, recipes, sandwiches, spreads, Tailgaiting

Those who know me best, know there’s only one thing I love as much as I love being in the kitchen and preparing a nice, home cooked meal. And THAT would be…drumroll please…

FOOTBALL!

I love everything about it y’all! From the cool nights in the stadium, the cheers and chants of the crowd, gripping the edge of your seat on third down plays and yelling at the refs when they make terrible calls to throwing stuffed animals at the TV when you can’t be there in person, and OHHH …the tailgating. The thing that combines the two loves in my life, besides my family of course.

When I was a little thing in seventh grade I decided I wanted to be a cheerleader. I made the squad and during our very first game, we made the horrendously embarrassing mistake of cheering for defense when OUR team was in fact the OFFENSE. Ugh! Just. Ugh. Well THAT was totally unacceptable and it was right then and there I took it upon myself to learn the rules of the game. I vowed I would never find myself in that predicament ever again, and I never did. I also found a deep love for an incredible sport.

Every fall, Saturday football is a ritual in our home. Life as we know it comes to a screeching halt. We are either AT a game, there is a game on TV or there is a game on the radio on the back deck. And there is food. LOTS and LOTS of tailgating specialties that are created during football season ONLY (that’s what makes them very special) and too many to cover in just one season. So we’re going to just start where we usually do. Somewhere!

I think there is an unwritten rule that in the south tailgating can include many, many things, but must always have a base of three items (alcohol being a given): a good dip, a hearty sandwich, and a tray of…something. So for each game now through the end of the season, I’ll offer you a recipe for a good dip, a great sandwich and an amazing tray of…something!

Deal? Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?!?!?!?!

Buffalo Chicken Dip in a Sourdough Bread Bowl

First, I KNOW. Those photos DO NOT reflect a Sourdough bowl. See what happened was I made the dip and it made a double batch. So the first batch WAS IN FACT in a bread bowl, but the photos were TERRIBLE! A photographer, I am not. So I tossed those photos but did not have another bread bowl. So here are some decent photos of the dip, but sans bowl. Trust me when I tell you though, you MUST bake this in a bread bowl. The BEST PART of this dip IS THE BREAD BOWL. Moving along…

1 Sourdough Round Bread – Insides removed, torn into 1″ pieces and reserved

1 pound cooked chicken breast – shredded

12 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 8 oz. block cream cheese

1/2 cup ranch salad dressing

1/4 cup your favorite hot sauce or wing sauce – I prefer Frank’s Red Hot

5 diced Jalapeno peppers (you can add more or less to adjust heat to your taste)

1 diced green onion

1/2 finely diced yellow onion

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients well and place in bread bowl. Bake at 375 for about 20-30 minutes or until outer edges of bread is crispy. Place on platter and serve with torn bread pieces, crackers and corn chips. *NOTE: The BEST part is the eating the bread bowl when the dip is almost gone… HEAVEN!

Hass LOVES his Buffalo Chicken Dip y’all!

Do you LOVE a good sandwich? Try this MAN sandwich! GREAT for tailgating and GREAT for a big appetite!

Mel’s Pretzel Muff-A-LOTTA

1 Loaf Pretzel Bread
1 Jar prepared or Homemade Olive Tapanade
Sub Dressing or any type good vinaigrette
Stone Ground Mustard or mustard of your choice
1 pound of your favorite deli meat
7 slices of your favorite cheese
Sliced Tomatoes
Sliced Onions
Sliced Olives
Sliced Cucumbers
Lettuce

Directions:
Slice pretzel loaf in half and remove “guts” of bread and reserve for another use. Spread both sides liberally with olive tapanade, mustards, and sub dressing. Pile on the meat, cheese and veggies. Give another good squirt of sub dressing and place top on sandwich. Wrap as tightly as possible in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour for all flavors to meld. Overnight is ideal. The longer it sets the better it will be!

Fire Up The Grill!

A Tray of Honey Mustard & Bourbon Marinated Country Ribs and Grilled Vegetable Kabobs

3 lbs. Country Style Pork Ribs

2 pounds Fresh Asparagus

Baby Red Potatoes

For the Marinade:

1/4 cup Bourbon
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 small yellow onion, chopped fine
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 dash Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Mix all ingredients for the marinade. Add meat and refrigerate overnight. Parboil the potatoes and skewer. Brush with marinade. Place asparagus in a foil wrap. Also brush with marinade. Grill skewered potatoes and asparagus in foil wrap for about 20-30 minutes or until done. Grill ribs about 20-25 minutes each side or until internal temperature reaches 160.

Note: You can make additional marinade and thicken with cornstarch for a great serving sauce!

I like easy. Bon appetit y’all!

…and GO GAMECOCKS!!!!!