Events Calendar
In This Section
Humane Society poised to move into new, bigger space
Leafminers like feeding on oak leaves in springtime
Organizing tips can aid cleaning
Color-enhanced mulch fades less
Ohio to start program for appliance rebates
Storage box helps kids tackle clutter
Veggies, flowers grow together
Most Read Stories
Tallmadge man dies after motorcycle crash
Man on leave from Iraq war slain in Akron
Passers-by call police over topless gardener
Soldier on leave dies after shooting near UA
Man breaks into house, flees when owner wakes up
Quinn tells Denver his foot has healed
Traffic light at off-ramp misplaced?
Slow starts might hurt Cavs' big finish
Blogs:
Akron Docs in Haiti:
Almost home
First Bell - On Education:
21st Century Skills and Akron’s new middle school
Pets:
Lost Mini Schnauzer around Cascade Valley Park
The Heldenfiles:
Fess Parker, R.I.P.
Akron Zips:
Looking back on the season
Tribe Matters:
Cleveland Browns:
Yates latest to re-sign
Balanced Ledger:
How times have changed?
Kent State Sports:
Kent State gears up for WNIT at Michigan
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Chicago Bulls (Green Mascot and All)
Buckeye Blogging:
Bucks High Seed – Turner High Praise
Varsity Letters:
Report: Ohio offers Olack
All Da King's Men:
ObamaCare To Reduce Premiums By 3000% ?
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Pathetic GOP Nullification Attempts
Akron Law Café:
Car Chase:
2010 CONCOURS SEASON IS UPON US
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Deals in Miami?!.
Sound Check:
Willie Nelson & Family coming to the Akron Civic Theatre May 11
See Jane Style:
Who Wore What – The Oscars
HRLite House:
Horses of Courses
Akron Gamer:
Video: Gamers expected to 'reach' for new 'Halo'
Go beyond the usual recipes for tailgating
By Lisa Abraham
Beacon Journal food writer
Published on Wednesday, Oct 21, 2009
Think about tailgating and certain foods will come to mind — burgers and brats, tortilla chips with nacho cheese sauce — but how about potatoes au gratin, meatloaf or pear crisp?
With the opening of InfoCision Stadium, the tailgating scene at the University of Akron has really expanded this year. When we visited tailgaters at a recent game, we found a lot of traditional offerings, but some fun and inventive surprises as well.
Marcel Ulrich of Hudson, Brad Campbell of Norton and Kevin Kline of Cuyahoga Falls are college buddies from UA who turn the home games into friendly food competitions. The trio selects a dish to make for each tailgate party, and each brings his own version to be judged by the other two and their wives and kids.
On a recent Saturday it was a barbecued rib competition. Chili and meatloaf are coming up in future contests.
Ulrich's wife, Phyllis, said while meatloaf may not sound like traditional tailgate food, the wives know it will be a crowd-pleaser when it comes to eating.
Unfortunately, Campbell, who won the rib competition, had no recipe to share. His wife, Debbie, described her husband's style of cooking as ''everything from the pantry.''
''Brad cooks with whatever's available,'' she said.
While Ulrich didn't win the rib competition, he did bring along a winning pan of au gratin potatoes made with a blend of Parmesan, sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, accompanying thin slices of russet potatoes.
Ulrich likes to cook and said he adapted the recipe from one he found in Cook's Country magazine.
''I chose this recipe for the tailgate party because we needed a starch to go along with the ribs. Too many heavy ribs without a starch can be a bad thing,'' he said.
Lots of tailgaters turn to cooking magazines or television chefs for easy tailgate recipes.
Paula Fry of Akron adapted a Paula Deen recipe for pear crisp for a tailgate party she was attending with a group of friends before cheering on the Zips. The dessert had a classic crisp topping of brown sugar, rolled oats, flour, cinnamon and butter.
Fry made use of some smaller pears she had picked from a tree at her son's house, but grocery store pears would be an easy substitute.
She also cut down the amount of butter called for in the original recipe, and increased the amount of pears to fill a 9-by-13-inch pan and feed a crowd.
Mary June Casto of Wadsworth said ease is the key to recipes she likes to bring for tailgating. Casto was serving up a dip of cream cheese, chopped peanuts, confectioners' sugar, brown sugar and vanilla, which she served with slices of tart Granny Smith apples.
The combination tasted like a caramel apple, complete with the crusting of chopped peanuts.
''Everyone thinks it's a caramel dip, but there's no caramel in it, just brown sugar and vanilla,'' Casto said.
Casto's husband, Tom, who was head grill cook at their tailgate party, said he buys most of his meat items already seasoned or marinated and ready to pop on the grill. It assures they will have a wide variety of grilled foods without anything taking
too long to prepare.
Seasoned ham and cheese sandwiches prepared by Joan Nida of Guilford Township are another favorite of this group.
Lots of variations of the recipe are in circulation for the tiny sandwiches made on King's Hawaiian brand sweet rolls. Nida said she got her recipe from her sister-in-law, Lisa Howell of Doylestown.
The sandwiches are made with ham and Swiss cheese, then baked in the oven with a topping of melted butter and poppy seeds. The result is cheesy, sweet and savory, party-size sandwiches.
Because the sandwiches need to be made a day ahead of time, on game day they just need 20 minutes in the oven and they're ready for tailgating.
While the recipe calls for using any deli-style ham, Nida makes them with chipped-chopped ham because it is a fattier luncheon meat and makes the sandwiches even more decadent as they bake.
''The leaner the meat, the less tasty it will be,'' Nida said.
Here are tailgaters' game-winning recipes:
TOUCHDOWN TATERS AU GRATIN
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 tsp. cornstarch
4 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and sliced uniformly thin (about 1/8-inch thick)
Salt and pepper
3/4 cup chicken broth
11/4 cups heavy cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix the three cheeses with the cornstarch.
Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Evenly layer half of the potatoes in the pan. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
Spread half the cheese mixture over the seasoned potatoes.
Layer the remaining potatoes over the cheese and season again with salt and pepper.
Combine the heavy cream and chicken broth and pour over the potatoes.
Top with remaining cheese and bake approximately 80 minutes. When finished, the top should be golden brown, and a knife should be able to poke through the center with little resistance.
Makes 10 to 12 servings.
— Marcel Ulrich, Hudson
HAM AND CHEESE SANDWICH
HORS D'OEUVRES
2 packages King's Hawaiian sweet rolls (12-pack)
1 lb. sliced deli ham, chopped
1 lb. sliced Swiss cheese, chopped
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. poppy seeds
1/2 tsp. onion salt
1 tbsp. prepared yellow mustard
Do not separate rolls. Take each package as a whole and slice the top layer off.
Place the two bottom layers into a 9-by-13-inch pan. You will have to squeeze them in to fit.
Layer the roll bottoms with the ham and then the cheese.
Cover with the roll tops. Cut the sandwiches along their perforations.
Mix the butter, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, onion salt and mustard and drizzle over the top of the sandwiches. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, bake the sandwiches, covered, in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes.
Serve warm.
Makes 24 appetizer-size sandwiches.
— Joan Nida, Gilford Township
APPLE DIP
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 to 3/4 cup cocktail peanuts, chopped
Mix cheese, sugars and vanilla together. Stir in peanuts.
Serve with tart apple slices for dipping.
Makes about 11/2 cups.
— Mary June Casto, Wadsworth
PAULA'S PEAR CRISP
12 medium pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 cup warm water
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 stick butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine pears, water and lemon juice and place in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
In a bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter and stir to make a crumbly mixture. Spread the topping evenly over the fruit.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until the topping is crisp and browned.
Makes 12 to 15 servings.
— Paula Fry, Akron
Lisa A. Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or labraham@thebeaconjournal.com.
Think about tailgating and certain foods will come to mind — burgers and brats, tortilla chips with nacho cheese sauce — but how about potatoes au gratin, meatloaf or pear crisp?
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
, OH
Posted 11:33 AM, 10/21/2009
I suggest serving cheap tequila and an assortment of antacids for Browns games.
Posted 02:00 PM, 10/21/2009
GO ZIPS
Posted 09:01 PM, 10/21/2009
Lisa Abraham mailed another food section in, so the ghost of Jane Snow begs the ABJ to hire a food writer who knows how to cook and write.
.
