Happy game day!  And thanks for visiting my tailgate site.  Today, because the Bucs are in our nations capital, I thought we would make crab cakes.  One of my waiters, Dave, is from D.C. and requested that Chip and I do crab cakes the right way.  Dave’s been jones’n for them since he moved here.

Actually, making crab cakes the right way is not so tough.  It just involves making crab the main ingredient.  So many restaurants make bread the main ingredient that they should call them bread cakes.

I think you will really enjoy theses recipes I’ve come up with today.  I’ve even included a recipe for homemade mayonnaise, if you are so inclined.

CHEF RAY’S CRAB CAKES

1 Lb Jumbo Lump Crabmeat, drained
2 Slices White Bread, crusts removed
1 ½ Tbsp Mayonnaise or Vegannaise
1 Tbsp Dijon-style Mustard
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp Garlic Salt
1 Tbsp Italian Parsley, roughly chopped
1 Egg, beaten
2 Dashes Hot Sauce
1 Dash Cayenne
1 Dash White Pepper
2 Cups Seasoned Bread Crumbs, fine
4 Tbsp Butter, soft
2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Prep
Dice or pull apart the fresh bread as small as you can.  Place the bread in a bowl with mayonnaise, mustard, Old Bay, garlic salt, parsley, egg, hot sauce, cayenne and white pepper.  With your fingers, mix together to form a paste.  Add the crabmeat and gently fold together.  Be very careful not to break up the crabmeat.  Form six 4oz patties or four 6oz patties, in the shape of thick hamburgers.

Press each patty, firmly, into the fine breadcrumbs on both sides. After all the patties are crumbed, set them aside for at least 20 minutes, or overnight covered and refrigerated.

Cook
Heat the butter and olive oil together over a medium heat.  When the foam from the butter subsides (don’t allow butter to brown), carefully place the crab patties in the butter.  Cook over a low flame until golden brown.  Turn patty carefully and brown on the other side.  Caution:  If not handled gently, the crab cake risks breaking apart.  This is due to the high percentage of crabmeat in the patty.  That’s what makes them so good!
Serve hot with tar-tar sauce.

TARTAR SAUCE

1 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Dashed Hot Sauce
1 Tsp Lemon Juice
2 Dashes Worcestershire Sauce
½ tsp Dry Mustard
2 Dashes Cayenne
2 Dashes White Pepper
2 Tbsp Capers, squeezed dry & chopped
½ Cup Dill Pickle, finely diced
Salt, to taste

Place all ingredients, except capers and pickles, in a bowl.  Whisk together.  Fold in capers and dill pickle.

Welcome to my tailgate site for game 2, at home against Seattle.  For this game I’ve chosen Wild Salmon.  The northwest is well known for their Wild Salmon and I must tell you it is delicious.  If you have not compared it to farm-raised salmon, you should.  Not that there is anything wrong with farm-raised salmon, its just that Wild Salmon is distinctively better.

You will find a darker red color with Wild Salmon.  This is from the natural diet they have, not from dyes as in the case of the farm-raised.  The Omega 3 oils are also greater in the Wild Salmon making it super heart food.  And, in addition to the health benefits Wild Salmon is more flavorful. 

Wild King Salmon from the Columbia River in Washington State is what is running now until about the end of September.  You can also get Wild Alaskan Salmon until about mid-November.  In addition, Wild Kings will also be available from Oregon and California until mid-November.  After that we will need to settle for farm-raised, which is available year round. 

So get your Wild Salmon while you can.  It will be a bit more expensive, but it is worth it.  So let’s get started!

Salmon, I believe, is best kept simple.  Today we are going to grill salmon with some fresh vegetables.  I will give you an easy pan sauce to make for it.  Also included in today’s recipes will be a wonderful Spinach & Arugula salad with gorgonzola cheese, onion slivers and toasted pine nuts.

RULE #1 – Always start with a clean, brushed grill top
RULE #2 – Have as much prepped as you can before leaving for the stadium.  It will make for a more pleasant time while you’re grilling
RULE #3 – HAVE FUN!

PAN SAUCE

¾ Cup White Wine
1 Tbsp Finely diced Shallot or Scallion
1 Fish Cube*, or vegetable cube, or chicken cube
1 Dash White Pepper
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
4 ounces butter, soft
1 Tbsp Chopped fresh Dill

In a saucepan bring the white wine, shallots fish cube and pepper to a boil.  Reduce the liquid by ½ (about 2-3 minutes).  Whisk in the lemon juice and soft butter.  Turn the heat down to medium and continue to whisk until slightly thickened.  Don’t stop whisking or it will break.  Though, even broken this sauce tastes great with salmon.  When the reduction is done you will have about ¾ Cup.  Whisk in the dill and serve.

*Fish cubes are found in the same section as chicken and beef bouillon.  You may use chicken or vegetable cubes if necessary.

SPINACH & ARUGULA SALAD
Serves 4

6 oz. Spinach
5 oz. Arugula
½ Small Red Onion, slivered
1 Small Tomato, diced small
4 oz. Gorgonzola Cheese Crumbles
4 Tbsp Pine Nuts, pan-toasted
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

Make sure the spinach and arugula are well washed, as they can be quite sandy.  After the spinach and arugula are washed, spin them in a salad spinner, or pat them dry with paper towel.  Mix the spinach and arugula together gently. 

Make a nice large bed of the green mixture on an attractive large salad plate.  Sprinkle the red onion slivers, diced tomato, Gorgonzola and toasted pine nuts, evenly, over the greens mixture. 

Serve cold, with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, on the side.

Pan-Toasting Pine Nuts
Place the pine nuts in a sauté pan over medium heat. (No oil)  Toss them until nicely browned.  Remove.

Hey, thanks for visiting my tailgate site for week three, which puts the Bucs in Oakland.  Exactly what paella and Oakland have in common, I have absolutely no idea, however it is this week’s tailgate.  Perhaps I chose it because both Oakland and Tampa Bay are known for seafood.  Also, Tampa Bay has a large Spanish influence and Spain is where paella originates. 

The Spanish dish Paella is actually named after the pan in which it is cooked and served.  A Paella pan is wide and shallow, generally 13 to 14 inches in diameter with a handle on either side.   To make Paella however, does not require that you make it in a genuine paella.  It is, though, easier to make in a wide shallow pan.   Especially because Paella is made and served in one pan, making it a perfect dish for a tailgate.  I have done this twice myself, right outside of the ‘old big sombrero’, once before a Bucs game and once before a Pink Floyd concert.

The dish consists of saffron flavored rice cooked with a plethora of seafood, meats and fowl.  In Spain, each area differs its ingredients according to what is available locally.  Paella is often cooked right on the beach in Spain.  I even have friends who say that it doesn’t taste right without a little sand in it!  I think we can forego the sand.

The most common foods to find in Paella are: chicken, pork, chorizo, smoked ham, shrimp, lobster, clams, mussels, fresh peas and olives just to name a few.  I have to admit that I have never made the same paella twice.  Here is an idea of how it is done.  Please feel free to substitute whichever ingredients make sense for your paella party.  You can make it as large or small as you wish.  The only restraint is the size pan you use.  I happen to own a 16” enamel coated, cast iron Paella (pan), which max’s out at about 8 people, but is very comfortable for about 6 people. 

So here is a typical paella I would make for 6 people.  All of the work is in the ‘prep’ so don’t be afraid of this, just because it has many ingredients.

PAELLA
Serves 6

2 Cups Rice, (Uncle Ben’s is easy & nutritious)
3 1/2 Cups Stock, (chicken, fish or vegetable will work)
1 ½ Cups Diced Onion
2 Cloves Garlic, pressed
10 Strands Saffron
1 Pinch Thyme
1 Dash Cayenne Pepper
1 Bay Leaf
Salt, to taste
¼ Cup Olive Oil
1 Lobster Tail, cut in 6 pieces
6 Jumbo Shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 Jumbo Scallops
6 to 12 Mussels
½ Chicken, cut in 6 pieces
Six 2” cubes of Pork or Smoked Ham
1 to 2 oz Dried chorizo sausage, sliced thin
½ Cup diced Red Pepper
½ Cup Stuffed Olives

Lets Get Started!

Make your stock…
 In a separate pan, bring the stock to a boil with the saffron, thyme, cayenne, bay leaf and salt to taste.  Then let stock steep for 20 minutes. 

Brown the meat…
Meanwhile, heat your Paella pan (or pan of choice), over a medium heat with the olive oil in it.  Season the pork and chicken with salt and pepper to taste.  Brown the pork and chicken in the olive oil.  Once the meat has browned, remove it from the pan and reserve for later. 

Add Onion and Rice…
Add the diced onion to the pan, stir and cook a minute or two.  Now add the rice to the pan and stir so all of the rice is coated with the oils from the pan.

Add Stock and Meats…
Add the seasoned stock, garlic and chorizo slices, then bring to a boil.  Taste for salt at this time.  Season it until it tastes like a good soup.  Add back the pork and chicken, evenly, around the pan.  Turn heat down to a low simmer and cover.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Check from time to time to see that the rice is not sticking to the pan.  If it is, turn down the heat.

Add Seafood, Red Pepper and Olives…
Add the lobster, shrimp, scallops and mussels evenly, over the entire pan.  Sprinkle the entire top with diced red pepper and olives.  Cover and cook another 5 to 1- minutes, or until most or all of the liquid is gone.  Serve immediately right from the pan. Also, A nice dry Spanish or Provencal Rosé goes great with this dish.

Note:  Crusty bread and a nice Green Leaf salad with a vinaigrette make great accompaniments.

Some Tailgate hints…
1. Cook the stock in the morning with the seasonings and put it in a thermos.
2. Have all of your ingredients laid out in a Tupperware pan in the order you are  going to add them.
3. Don’t rush things!

Happy tailgating!  Chef Raymond

Can you believe it!  Game four is upon us already.  Welcome again, to our tailgate site.  The Denver Broncos are in town today and they’ve made a long trip from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.  So, to their honor I thought we would do something they are known for.  Colorado is known for their great beef, but they are also known for their lamb.  In fact, they arguably produce the best lamb in the world. 

Ground lamb can be found in most grocer’s, in the butcher section.  We are going to put a twist on the traditional hamburgers and make lamburgers today.  We’ll even take it one step further, and stuff the lamburger with gorgonzola cheese and serve it with a tomato-mint relish. 

Let’s get to it…

LAMBURGERS
Serves 4

1 to 1.25 lb Ground Lamb Meat
8 oz Gorgonzola cheese, or blue cheese substitute
Black Pepper, to taste
Garlic Salt, to taste

Make 8 ground lamb patties of equal size, 2 to 2.5 oz each.  They should be quite flat, not more than ½ inch thick, and as round as you can make them.  Place 2 oz of thinly sliced gorgonzola pieces on four of the patties, leaving ½ in gap between the cheese and the edge of the lamburger.  Sprinkle the other four patties with a little black pepper.  Place the peppered sides of the patties on top of the gorgonzola patties, lining up the edges as close as you can.  Pinch the edges shut on all of the patties.

Now, reform the patties making them as thin and round as you can, leaving them no more than an inch thick.  Make sure the edges of your patties are well sealed.  You should now have 4, 6-7oz Gorgonzola stuffed Lamburgers.

To Cook
Always start with a clean, freshly brushed, hot grill.  I can not stress this enough. 
Season the lamburgers with garlic salt and black pepper on both sides.  Place the lamburgers on a hot grill and leave then alone, until they start to crisp.  Carefully turn them a quarter turn with a spatula large enough to fit under the entire burger.  Turn your grill down to medium.  Cook another 2 minutes and carefully turn the burgers over.  Finish grilling until well done, 165ºF.  **All ground meats should be cooked well done.
Serve immediately.

Some great accompaniments for this Lamburger are grain mustard, ketchup, raw onion, pickles and chips just to name a few.  I am also going to include a tomato & Mint relish recipe because mint and lamb go hand in hand. 

A lamburger is really just a glorified hamburger.  And a hamburger is a sandwich.  Here is my philosophy on the sandwich.  Which is that a sandwich is nothing more than bread with whatever is inside of it.  So, I contend that the bread you use on a sandwich is every bit as important as what is in it.  Long story short…don’t buy cheap bread.  For the lamburger I suggest a nice crisp hard roll with a chewy center.

Another nice side dish would be a good garlicky hummus with some pita, pepperoncinis and Kalamata olives. 

TOMATO MINT RELISH

1 Cup Ripe Tomato, finely diced
½ Cup Scallions, sliced
2 Tbsp Mint or Basil, chopped
1 tsp Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Mint Jelly
Salt, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
1 Dash Cayenne

Place the tomatoes in a stainless bowl with 2 pinches of salt and let stand for 10 minutes.  Press out as much remaining juice from the tomatoes as you can.  Reserve juice for another use if you wish, or discard it.  Place tomatoes back in stainless bowl with scallions, mint, wine vinegar, pepper and cayenne.  Toss and taste for salt and pepper, add if necessary.  Add jelly and mix well.  Serve chilled as an accompaniment with lamb.

Happy tailgating!  Chef Raymond

Hi again and welcome to my tailgate site.  This week our Bucs are in the Big Easy for their first conference game of the season.

New Orleans is known for many things, but what they are probably most passionate about is their cuisine.  I know this because I worked in New Orleans’ kitchens, as an apprentice.  Every since D’Arcy and I lived in New Orleans, back in ’77, I have constant cravings for Cajun food.

The Muffuletta is probably New Orleans’ most famous sandwich, but they have other sandwiches too.  Next to a Muffuletta the Po’Boy is almost as popular.  Po’Boys come in many flavors: shrimp, scallops, soft-shell crab, and oyster to name a few.  A Po’Boy is similar to a smaller version of a sub sandwich.  It is put on an elongated roll, not unlike a very large hot dog bun.  What is on the bun is any of the aforementioned items, alone or in combination, in a breaded and fried fashion.  Along with the fried seafood are usually some sliced tomatoes and shredded lettuce.  The inside of the bun is often buttered and grilled.  When ordered out, a waitperson will usually ask if you would like mayonnaise or rémoulade sauce on the sandwich.  I prefer mayonnaise, but for those of you who want rémoulade, I will include a recipe for a homemade version. 

Rémoulade sauce is actually a French sauce, akin to our tartar sauce.  It has mayonnaise, mustard, chopped capers, sweet gerkins, and is frequently seasoned with anchovies.  The Cajun version of rémoulade is very different from the French recipe.  Cajun rémoulade is a spicy red sauce more like what we call cocktail sauce. 

Today we are going to make shrimp and oyster Po’Boys.  Here are two quick lists to give you an example of the ingredients you need and or may choose from.

Fried Shrimp
Fried Oysters
Buns (well-made large hot dog roll, or hoagie roll)
Butter, (if grilling the buns)
Mayonnaise
Cajun Rémoulade sauce
Sliced Tomato
Shredded Iceberg Lettuce

Here are a few Cajun sides
Pickled Okra, spicy or mild
Cajun or Jalapeño potato chips
Variety of Hot Sauces
Watermelon, (to cool off your mouth)
Lots of Beer

FRIED SHRIMP & OYSTER PO”BOYS

2 Cups fine breadcrumbs, seasoned
1 Cup Cornmeal
1 lb Large Shrimp, peeled & deviened
1 lb Large Oysters, shucked
2 Cups Corn Oil or Olive Oil
Salt, to taste
White Pepper, to taste

Prep the Seafood
Mix the seasoned breadcrumbs and corn meal together in a pan. 
Butterfly and flatten the shrimp with the palm of your hand.  Season the shrimp with salt and white pepper to taste.  Place the flattened shrimp in the breadcrumb mixture, on at a time, pressing them firmly into the mixture on both sides.  As you bread them, lay the breaded shrimp out on a pan, without stacking.  Next, bread both sides of the shucked oysters and lay them out next to the shrimp. 

Allow the breaded shrimp and oysters to rest from 15 minutes to 2 hours.  (NOTE: If they will be resting more than 15 minutes, be sure to refrigerate them!)

Fry the Seafood
We will be pan-frying rather than deep-frying today, as I believe deep-fryers are dangerous at tailgates.
Heat some corn oil in a frying pan, about ½ inch deep, to 350º.  Place as many shrimp in the pan as will fit without overlapping.  When they reach golden brown, turn and brown the other side.  Move the shrimp from the fry-pan as they finish and on onto a pan lined with several layers of paper towel.  Repeat this process till all the shrimp are fried.  Keep warm.  Continue the frying process with the oysters.

Butter and grill the rolls if you desire.  Lay out all the Po’Boy fixings and trimmings together and let people create their own.

NOTE: Replenish the cooking oil as necessary.  It the oil gets to dark or full of debris from frying, clean your pan by whipping it clean with a dry paper towel, and start with fresh oil.  Never pour oil down your sink drain.
 

CAJUN REMOULADE

¼ Cup Celery hearts
¼ Cup Onion, diced
1 Tbsp Parsley
1 Tbsp Fresh Grated Horseradish, or use prepared
1 Tbsp Paprika
1/3 Cup Dijon-style Mustard
1 Tbsp Ketchup
½ tsp Sugar
¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
½ Cup Corn Oil

Place the celery, onion, parsley and horseradish in a food processor with the metal blade in place.  Process on & off a few times until everything is well chopped and mixed.  Add the paprika, mustard, ketchup, sugar and cayenne, process again.  Pour the corn oil into the bowl in a slow stream with the machine still running.  Scrape bowl down and process again for another minute.

Happy tailgating!  Chef Raymond

Welcome to Tailgating 101, Hot Dogs.
I suppose you’re wondering why I’m preparing hot dogs for Chip and my tailgate segment this week.  Well, there are a number of reasons…

The main reason I’m preparing hot dogs is that most of the ones you find out there are garbage.  I was raised in an area where sausage is king, and to get one of those skinless, tasteless, white pieces so called meat on a piece of soft bread is simply unacceptable. 

As we discussed this before, a hot dog is a sandwich.  A sandwich is nothing more than bread and what is in the bread.  For heaven’s sake be sure the bread, in this case a hot dog bun is a good hot dog bun.  Usually a bakery has much higher quality buns than those awful pre-made things you find in the convenience store.  Also, the butcher usually has wonderful hot dogs, made with a natural casing, instead of those pre-packed anemic looking meat sticks.

My wife and I have an RV.  I love to collect sausages from around the country.  That probably sounds funny, but sausages, including hot dogs, freeze very nicely.  It’s fun to compare the different flavors from all the different regions of America.  Well, enough rambling about hot dogs.  Bottom line…get good ones, and good buns too.  Those other kinds are best left for give-aways at car dealers.

O.K.  The Bucs are in St. Louis this week, home of the arch.  No not the golden arches.   Then we’d be talking about hamburgers.  It’s the arch that separates the east from the west, called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.  However, St. Louis is also the home of (you guessed it) the hot dog.  Well, not the wiener or the Frankfurter, they were invented in Germany.  But...

When the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened, there were weiners or frankfurters sold there.  Arnold Feuchtwanger, the sausage concessionaire in St. Louis in 1904, is said to have provided white gloves for his customers to use while eating his sausages.  When people began taking the gloves home, he asked his brother-in-law, a baker, to make a sausage-shaped bun in which to serve the frankfurter.  Soon there were people all over the country eating sausage sandwiches in a long soft roll. 

Here are a few ways to cook hot dogs…

1. Just plain boil them in water.  Try adding a few pinches of salt or maybe some hot sauce for a little extra kick.

2. Believe it or not, microwaving works pretty good for heating hot dogs.  Make sure you cover them with some paper towel in case of explosion.  The one drawback to this method is that if you are tailgating, chances are your car doesn’t have a microwave in the trunk (like mine). 

3. Steamed or boiled in beer and onions is also a good option.  The best part of this technique is the wonderful aroma it gives off.  

4. Charcoal grills also make for delicious dogs.  They give you a nice crispy outside, especially with a quality natural casing.

5. Direct flame is always a party pleaser.  Build a nice campfire and give everyone a stick.  The individual can cook their dog as little or as crispy as they wish.  This is a favorite for kids, with the proper adult supervision of course. 

If worse comes to worse and you can’t get your fire started, just fire-up the old Coleman stove and cook right over the propane flame – its perfectly acceptable.

Hot dogs are precooked so just heat them through and put then on a good bun with your favorite accompaniments and dig in.

Some Popular Accompaniments
Ketchup
Mustards (I like to offer 2 or 3 at least
Dill Pickles
Sweet Pickle Relish
Dill Pickle Relish
Diced Onions
Sauerkraut
Coleslaw
Corn Relish (Foghorn Leghorn’s favorite dog)
Onion Relish

Good Sides
Chips of almost any kind
Potato Salad
Green Salad, its nice to have something healthy too

Welcome to our tailgate site and game seven.  This week the Bucs are hosting the Chicago Bears, a great old rivalry from the Central division.  “What better way ta celebrate da Bears be’en in town den wit a Polish sausage!” 

Every time I here da Bears mentioned, I can’t help but think of Mike Meyers, Chris Farley and George Wendt sitting at a round table in Swerskis’ Tavern, somewhere in South Chicago.  It’s that old Saturday Night Live skit where they talk about da Bears, heart attacks, and ate massive quantities of pork and pork products.  One of them being Polish sausage.  Accompanied, of course, by a huge plate of sauerkraut.  

Polish sausages come in different shapes, sizes and flavors.  Some are pre-cooked and others are raw.  All of them are delicious.  If you select the uncooked Kielbasa (another form of Polish sausage), I suggest that you pre-cook it yourself.  It’s easy and tasty.  Just steam them over some beer and onions until the inside is at least 165ºF.  Then you may use them as a pre-cooked product.  Steam them the day before or use them right out of the steamer.  My favorite way to heat Polish sausage is to braise them right in sauerkraut.  This is also a convenient tailgate method.  Try a number of different types of Polish sausages, and let people choose which they want. 

Here is a typical recipe for Polish sausage braised in ‘kraut’.  The kraut recipe is one I came up with years ago.  I call it Himmell Kraut, which means Heaven’s Cabbage.  Even people who don’t like sauerkraut love this recipe.  I hope you do too.

Happy Tailgating!

POLISH SAUSAGE BRAISED IN HIMMEL KRAUT

1 Recipe Himmel Kraut
Copious Amounts of Different Polish Sausages

HIMMEL KRAUT
One 27oz. Can Sauerkraut, drained
¼ lb. Bacon, diced fine
1 Apple, cored, peeled and diced fine
1 Tbsp. Flour
1 Medium Onion, finely diced
¼ Cup Brown Sugar
¼ Cup Cider vinegar
½ Cup Dry White Wine
White Pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
2 tsp. Caraway seed
1 Bay Leaf

The Kraut
Sauté the bacon over a medium heat until brown.  Pour off excess fat.  Add onion and cook a minute longer.  Add flour and cook another minute.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer, slowly, for one hour.  If Kraut gets too dry, add more wine or water. 

Braising The Sausages
Place the Himmel Kraut in a pan that will hold it and the sausages comfortably.  Place the sausages around the kraut in an attractive manner.  Cover pan and place in a 350º oven for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until hot throughout.  The sausages will start to burst from the heat.  That is OK because they will also burst with flavor.  Serve right from the pan.

For Tailgating, you may bring the pan along hot.  Wrap it up good and it will stay hot a number of hours, or reheat it on your Coleman stove or a grill.

Serve with Rye bread and Hot Potato Salad on the side. 

Well its week eight and Tampa is hosting Kansas City.  Located right in the middle of the U.S., Kansas is also located in the heart of beef country.  Not only is it known for it’s beef, but specifically for it’s steak.  Maybe you are familiar with the Kansas City Strip.  It is, to me, the best cut of beef there is.  It is the center cut from the sirloin of the beef, and in the case of a Kansas City Strip, it is left bone in.  It looks similar to a T-Bone, only with the tenderloin missing.

Today, we are going to make a strip steak sandwich.  Obviously, to make it a sandwich the bone will not be in it, but the edible part (which without the bone really makes it a N.Y. Strip) will be. 

Find some nicely marbled sirloin strip steaks, preferably prime.  Remove the fat cap and fat tip from the steaks.  Slice the steaks from ¾” to 1” thick.  If you are uncomfortable trimming and cutting your steaks, have your butcher do it for you. 

KANSAS CITY STEAK SANDWICH

#4 6-8oz Strip Steaks, trimmed of all fat
#4 Hoagie Rolls, or any good crispy rolls
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 cloves fresh Garlic, pressed in a garlic press
Garlic Salt, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
1/8 lb Butter

Preheat a gas or charcoal (preferably) grill to very hot.  You want a very hot grill because the steaks are thin.  So to get some good color on the steaks without over cooking them it needs to be hot!

Brush the steaks with a little olive oil and season them liberally with garlic salt and black pepper.  Melt the butter over a low heat with the pressed garlic until the garlic starts to pick up a little color.  Do not let the garlic get too brown, or the flavor will get bitter.  Set garlic butter aside.

Place the steaks on a hot grill.  While they are browning, toast your rolls, open face, on the top grill or on the side of the grill.  When the steaks have nice grill marks, give them a quarter turn.  When the rolls are toasted brush the insides liberally with the garlic butter.  Turn your steaks over and put grill marks on the other side.  Finish cooking the steaks to your guests liking, and serve on your toasted garlic rolls.

Really nothing else is needed on this delicious sandwich, but it might be nice to offer some raw onion and mustard, also a nice relish tray with olives, radishes, etc.

Waldorf Salad is also a great accompaniment to this meal, along with the usual chips and junk food.

The Waldorf Salad was created at New York’s famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, in the 1890’s.  Originally it contained only apples, celery and mayonnaise.  It wasn’t until later that the walnuts were added.

Many people also add raisins to this classic American Salad.  Here at Euphemia Haye we have a version we call Nouveau Waldorf.  It consists of sliced pears arranged on frissee lettuce with vinaigrette, gorgonzola crumbles and candied pecans.  We have always had some version of a Waldorf here at Euphemia, but today my recipe will be more of the classic style Waldorf Salad.

CLASSIC WALDORF SALAD

2 Apples, cut in ¾” cubes, peel if you wish
½ Cup Celery, finely diced
½ Cup Raisins or Currants
2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
½ Cup Mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon-style mustard
¾ Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 Pinch Black Pepper
1 Head Soft Lettuce, for garnish
1 Red Apple, for garnish
2 Tbsp Chopped Parsley

It is always fun to mix up the types of apples for different flavors.  My personal favorite is the Fuji apple, but they are all good. 

Toss the apples, celery, raisins and lemon juice in a non-reactive bowl.  Add the mayonnaise, mustard, pepper and ½ Cup of the walnuts.  Mix well.  Lay out the soft lettuce in an attractive fashion on a serving platter.  Mound the Waldorf Salad on the soft lettuce.  Garnish with sliced red apple, chopped parsley and remaining walnuts.  Serve chilled.

Black Beans
1 lb. Dried black beans
4 qts. Water
1 Large onion, diced
1 Large green pepper, diced
1 Large red pepper, diced
8 Cloves garlic
Dash Red pepper
Dash White pepper
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Thyme
2 Bay leaves
1 tsp. Black pepper
¾ - 1 lb. ham hock
Salt to taste

Pick through beans and discard the damaged ones. Rinse beans well. Place the beans in one quart of water and soak, in refrigerator, overnight.

Combine soaked beans (do not drain or rinse again) with the remaining 3 qts. of water, and the rest of the ingredients, in a pot large enough to fit everything comfortably.

Bring to a boil, over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until tender, but not mushy, (about 3 hours). You may need to replenish water occasionally. Serve hot with rice.

CAUTION: Unless you have an extremely efficient exhaust fan, this preparation should be done outside. It will produce heavy peppery smoke.
 
(Yield ½ Cup Sauce)
 
1 Cup (+/-) Corn or Peanut Oil
1 Flank Steak (trimmed of all fat and sinew)
Salt, to taste
2 Cups Cracked Black Peppercorns (you will not use all the pepper)
3 oz. Brandy
Juice from 1 ½ Orange, (6 oz.)
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
10 oz. Euphemia Hayes’ Famous Steak Sauce (or substitute A-1)                       
4 oz. Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
1 Large Crisp French Bread
 

Stuffed potatoes are good, and an easy thing to bring to the tailgate.  I’m going to give you two ideas for stuffed potatoes or Potato au foil.

I really hate when I go into a restaurant, and get a baked potato that has been wrapped in foil.  This is really not a baked potato, but a potato steamed in foil.  The gooey, yellowish-white substance inside tastes nothing like a baked potato.  It tastes more like seawater soaked cardboard.

That being said, lets start making our potatoes in foil.  The real trick to this is to bake your potato the right way in the first place. 

Scrub your potato good, under cold running water with a brush.  Place potato un a pre-heated 425 degree oven for about 1 hour, or until a paring knife slides in and out of the potato without much resistance.  There, now that wasn’t so hard, was it?  It’s even easier than wrapping it in foil. Now you have a perfect baked potato, and it will taste great.

I suggest that within a couple of days of your tailgate, plan a meal including baked
potatoes.  Do a few extra potatoes at that meal and save, then refrigerate for your
tailgate.  Of course you can bake them especially for your tailgate too.  It’s perfectly permissible.

Heat the olive oil in your paella pan or large pot.  Add onion, celery, thyme, bay leaf, and cayenne.  Sauté for a minute or so.  Add ham and andouille and sauté until the meats pick up a hint of color.  Add rice and stir together until rice is coated well with the oils in the pan.  Add chicken stock, tomatoes, and garlic.  Stir well and season with salt to your taste.  Bring liquid to a boil, and turn down to simmer.  Cover pot or pan and simmer slowly until all the liquid is gone.  (About 20 minutes)  Serve right from the pan. 
A mixed green salad with a vinaigrette dressing goes well with this dish.  If you are having chips, I would suggest some nice smoked mesquite, or BBQ chips.

Happy Tailgating