Neither rain, nor sleet, nor mud or floods will deter a die-hard tailgater.

The Food Bowl
New - Tuning Up For Tailgate Parties

Carbs are the new enemy of the food lover. But, don't expect to stay on a low carb diet when you attend a football game.
Diet is a four letter word within the gastronomical world of the tailgater. Carb on the other hand is perfectly acceptable four letter word in this world of hearty eaters.
Hey you need the bread to soak up the booze don't cha?

For women who follow football, the first thing that may have led them to become serious fans of the sport was the - FOOD (well maybe the men came before the food, but it was close)!

I, as an example, sought refuge from the kitchen on Sundays, by heading for the living room, where the guys were having a great time watching all the NFL action.

I quickly discovered that if you don't cook, you are still allowed to feast on all the goodies coming out of the kitchen.

Game watching is not synonymous with Weight-Watching and it would be prudent to avoid the scale and get back to the Lean Cuisine on Mondays.

But while it's football season, and we're wearing our sweats, stretch pants and other attractive figure-hiding winter apparel, we are definitely up for the pound-adding grub and the stomach-bloating brew.

So don't fret if you've had too much to eat or drink on Sunday, enjoy, it's part of football and Americana.

Food Bowl Recipes - 2003

P.S. Don't forget the matches! Click here for a printable Tailgate Checklist.

Grilled Pepper Steak on Stick

1-1/2 to 2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed
1/2 - cup red wine vinegar
1/2 - cup white grape or apple juice
1/4 - cup onion, finely chopped
1 - tablespoons rubbed dried sage
1 - tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 - tablespoon ground coriander
1 - tablespoon dry mustard
1 - teaspoon salt
1 - cup olive oil
6 - small-medium bulb onions
2 - bell peppers, quartered
6 - long metal or wooden skewers

Preheat grill to medium heat.

Into a glass bowl, place the steak. In another bowl, combine the wine vinegar, juice, chopped onion, sage, pepper, coriander, dry mustard, salt, and olive oil. Pour over the steak and turn to coat with marinade. Keep back ½ - cup marinade to brush on steak while cooking. Cover, place in refrigerator and marinate at least 1 hour.

Remove steak from marinade, cut into 6 portions. Throw out marinade except for ½ cup you kept back. If you are using wooden skewers, soak in water for about 15 minutes before using. Thread meat onto long skewers, weaving meat around bulb onions and quartered peppers.

Grill 12 to 15 minutes, turning to cook all sides. Brush meat with reserved marinade as it cooks.

Picnicking & Tailgating: Place the unused ½ cup marinade in a small container and close. Then place the container in ice chest. Wrap the portioned steak in plastic wrap. Then place the wrapped steak in a plastic container and shut tight. Place the container in an ice chest. At the picnic or tailgate function, all you need to do is get the grill ready and cook.

Makes 6 servings.

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Red Wine Flank Steak

2 - pound flank steak
1 - cup dry red wine
1/2 - cup chopped onions
3 - tablespoons olive oil
1 - tablespoon ground ginger
1 - tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/8 - teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 - teaspoon salt
1/8 - teaspoon pepper

The night before or early that morning

• In a small mixing bowl, whisk the red wine, onions, olive oil, ginger, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Set steaks in a glass bowl and pour ingredients over steaks.

• Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Prepare Grill to Medium Heat.

• Remove steaks from marinade. Do not use the marinade and throw away. Position steaks on oiled grill. Grill for 15 minutes. Turn steaks after 8 minutes. To check if done, cut the center with a sharp knife.

• To serve, cut flank steak in thin slices across the grain.

Picnicking & Tailgating

After letting the steak marinade, place in plastic storage bag and seal. Place in ice chest until you reach your destination. Get grill going and pop on the steak.

Makes 4 servings.

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Dirt Cake

1 – (32 ounce) package of Oreo cookies
1 – (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 – cup powdered sugar
1 – stick butter
2 - small packages vanilla pudding
3-1/2 - cups milk
1 – 12 ounce container Cool Whip

• In a blender, grind Oreo cookies and set aside.

• In a bowl, cream the cream cheese, powdered sugar and butter. Set ingredients aside.

• In a large mixing bowl, mix vanilla pudding, milk. Fold in the Cool Whip. Fold in the cream cheese mixture.

• In a container, place the Cool Whip mixture on the bottom. Add the cookies, then Cool Whip mixture, then cookies, and keeping alternating the layers. Refrigerate 24 hours before serving.

Makes 8 Servings

Garnish with Gummy Worms

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Grilled Lemon-Lime Chicken Breast

8 – boneless chicken breast, skinless
1/2 - cup vegetable oil
1/4 - cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 - cup fresh lime juice
1 – teaspoon lemon peel
1 – teaspoon lime peel
2 - large cloves garlic, minced
2 – tablespoon cilantro
1/2 - teaspoon salt
1/2 - teaspoon pepper

You want to rinse the chicken breast under cold water. Then pat dry with paper towels. Next, place the breasts in a non-reactive container (either plastic, glass, ceramic, or other non-metallic material). You may use a plastic zip lock bag also.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the vegetable oil, lemon juice, lime juice, lemon peel, lime peel, garlic, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Pour lemon-lime mixture into bowl or plastic bag. Cover or seal and place in a refrigerator. Marinade in refrigerator between 2 to 6 hours (the longer the better). You want to turn the chicken breast occasionally.

Prepare a medium-hot grill fire and well oiled.

Take the chicken out of marinade. Make sure you discard the marinade. Place the breast on the grill and cook 5 to 6 minutes on each side. You only want to turn once. Total cooking time is 10 minutes. You can test by cutting into the breast. You do not want any signs of pinkness.

Picnicking & Tailgating

For a picnic, you want to take breast out of marinade and place in a plastic bag. Place in ice chest. When the grill is ready, just take them out of the ice chest and grill.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Matt's Knock You on Your Ass Rum Balls
Submitted by Matt B

These rum balls are not for the faint of heart. They are a great baked good for a tailgate, and will knock you down if you eat enough of them.

Time Required: 1 hour

Skill Required: Moderate cooking skills needed; above-average alcohol tolerance encouraged, but not completely necessary

Ingredients:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white (powdered) sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup dark rum
2 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1 cup chopped walnuts

Steps:

Melt chocolate over a double boiler, stirring until smooth.

Remove from heat and whisk in 1/2 cup of sugar and the corn syrup, then the rum. (You can add more rum to suit your needs - if it's too runny, add more powdered sugar and wafer crumbs.)

In a separate bowl, mix the vanilla wafer crumbs and walnuts.

Add the chocolate mixture to the nut mixture and stir until well blended.

Place the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a shallow bowl.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and roll the balls in the sugar to coat evenly.

Cover and refrigerate at least overnight for best flavor.

This makes about 15-20 balls. You can double up the recipe to make more. These can be refrigerated up to 5 days.

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Shrimp Cooked on the Engine
Submitted by Mike P

Yes, you can cook on your engine!! And it tastes fantastic!! See the picture at left of the chef with his creation, which literally took miles of effort.

This method of cooking is perfectly safe! Plus, if you get into traffic near the game, you can smell the shrimp cooking. This is great because you'll have hot food immediately upon arrival, without waiting to fire up the grill.

Time Required: 15 minutes prep time, plus a 90 minute drive

Skill Required: Minimal cooking skills needed; excellent driving skills required

Ingredients:

1 pound shrimp, peeled and cleaned
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, Old Bay
2 pats butter
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons lime juice
Aluminum foil
1 car or truck

Steps:

Lay out three layers of aluminum foil, big enough to wrap your shrimp

Brush the top layer with olive oil

Place shrimp in center of foil

Season with salt, pepper, and Old Bay

Add 2 pats of butter, 2 bay leaves, and 2 tablespoons of lime juice

Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight to marinate

Drive your car for about 20 miles and pull over. Feel around the engine for the hottest spot.

Wedge the shrimp into the hottest part of the engine. You might need to ball up some extra foil to fill gaps.

Drive for about an hour. Your shrimp will be perfect!!

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