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Tailgate TouchdownIt’s fall and that means one thing—it’s time to get fired up for football season. Whether you tailgate outside a stadium or in your own backyard, here’s a game day guide to fan-pleasing food.
Kick-off Kabobs Think outside the burger and brat box, and rally
your crowd around these colorful kabobs.
1 package refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini Prepare tortellini according to package directions; drain and cool. Place tortellini, artichoke hearts, olives, and pepperoni on bamboo skewers, available in most grocery stores. Put skewers in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish; drizzle with salad dressing turning skewers to coat. Cover and chill 8 hours. Before serving add cheese cubes and tomato halves. Yield: 4 1/2 dozen kabobs Ramperoni Rolls 1/2 cup evaporated milk In a saucepan mix milk, 1/2 cup water, sugar, salt, and butter. Heat the ingredients until the butter melts. Do not boil or overheat. In another bowl, combine 1 cup water and dry yeast. set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine 3 cups of flour and heated milk mixture and mix, using a wooden spoon or mixer with dough hook. add in the yeast mixture and mix. stir in 2 more cups of flour. Use last cup of flour to spread over bread board or counter, and kneed dough until it is smooth and blistered. Put dough into greased large bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Keep warm in a draft-free place. let dough rise for about 1 hour or until it slightly rises above bowl. Preheat oven 350°. remove dough from bowl and place on bread board. Divide in half. let it rest. break off palm-sized pieces of dough and pat fl at. In the middle of the piece of dough, place several slices of pepperoni, a slice of cheese, and 1 tablespoon of ramps or to taste. fold dough around pepperoni, cheese, and ramps, forming a roll. Put rolls into a greased 9x13 glass baking dish. cover rolls with a towel and let rise for a second time for 1 hour. Bake rolls for 20 minutes or until golden brown. To make sure the rolls are finished baking, tap the top of the rolls; they should sound hollow. for a healthy version, use whole wheat flour and turkey pepperoni. Yield: 30-50 rolls, depending on size.
Mini Bleu Cheese and Pear Muffins Give your spread some extra spirit with these bite size bits of bleu. 1 (14-ounce) can pear
halves in natural juice,
drained Preheat oven to 400°. grease two 24-cup mini muffin pans or line with 48 mini muffin paper liners. chop pears into small pieces. sift together the flour, baking powder, salt into a large bowl. stir in the cheese and pears. lightly beat the eggs, then beat in the milk and oil. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the beaten liquid ingredients. stir gently until just combined; do not over mix. Using an ice cream scoop, spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. sprinkle walnuts over the tops of the muffins. bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch. Let muffins cool, then serve warm. Yield: 48 muffins Cheese-Stuffed Pickles
Pickles and cheese are a party-perfect
accompaniment to sandwiches
and salty foods. Yield: 60 servings. Pigskin Pleasers
There will be an all-out blitz for this creative take on pigs-in-a-blanket. Preheat oven 400°. Place individual biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet, slightly shaping them into elongated football shapes. Put one cocktail sausage in the center of each biscuit. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Using Dijon mustard draw three laces across top. Serve with your favorite assortment of relishes and dips. Yield: 30 servings. Buffalo Chicken Dip
Get fired up with this dip that gives you all the flavor of chicken wings without the mess. It is a favorite Mountaineer tailgating tradition. 2 (10-ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained Combine chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing, pepper sauce, and 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese in saucepan. Heat thoroughly and then place in small crock-pot at low heat. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top after transferring into crock-pot. Serve with celery sticks or Chicken in a Biskit crackers. Yield: 48 servings. Sugar Cookies
This state cookie cutter from Arrow Gift Shoppe (220 High Street, Morgantown; arrowgiftshoppe.com; 304.296.6100) is the perfect shape no matter what West Virginia team you are routing for. Use it with Joy Bell’s sugar cookie recipe and you'll definitely score points. 1/3 cup butter or margarine Pre-heat oven to 375°. Beat butter and shortening
on medium to high speed 30 seconds. Yield: 3 dozen Royal Icing 3 ounces pasteurized egg whites In large bowl of stand mixer combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners’ sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired. For immediate use, transfer icing to pastry bag or heavy duty storage bag and pipe as desired. If using storage bag, clip corner. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Sausage Snackers
Laura Robertson of Elkview shared this easy to prepare finger food that is perfect no matter what time your party begins. It does overtime as an elegant alternative to typical tailgating food. be prepared to be tackled for the recipe. 1 (16-ounce) package won ton wrappers Spray mini muffin tins and insert won ton wrappers to form a small cup. bake 5 minutes in preheated oven. allow wrappers to cool. combine cooked sausage, cheeses, red peppers, onions, and ranch dressing. fill won ton wrappers. bake 10 minutes until bubbly. To make it easy on game day, bake wonton cups and prepare sausage mixture the night before. refrigerate. On game day, fill the wonton cups with the sausage mixture, place them in a preheated oven for 10 minutes, and you are ready to go! Yield: 40 servings Hail Mary Mix
Diehard tailgaters start early. This is a tried-and-true Emeril Lagasse recipe that is worth the effort. 3 cups tomato juice Mix ingredients with a blender. chill at least 2 hours. serve with 1 1/2 ounces of good vodka per 8-ounce glass of mix. Deli Delights The deli in your local grocery store is a great tailgating resource—and we aren’t just talking about the prepared lunchmeat or veggie trays. At Kroger we found these sweet Piquante Peppers called Peppadew and stuffed them with other deli finds like Hummus, Pimento cheese, and feta cheese. The options are endless! Chocolate-Dipped Chips We all love the combination of salty and sweet. Instead of throwing a bag of chips on the tailgate, melt semi-sweet, dark, and white chocolate and dip kettle-cooked chips in them. after dipping the chips, spread them on wax paper and place in the refrigerator until the chocolate is firm. store in plastic container. Jello-O Jigglers
We found WV ice cube trays at Arrow Gift Shoppe (220 High street, Morgantown; arrowgiftshoppe. com; 304.296.6100) and used them to make Jell-o Jigglers. buy flavored Jell-o in team colors and you'll score extra points. |
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