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by Borracho

Gridiron Grub: Texas Caviar

I screwed up! It’s true — it happens often, though I seldom admit it. But I have made a major oversight in this inaugural season of Gridiron Grub. We are here to talk about foods that fit perfectly with watching pigskin, and yet I have overlooked one of the ultimate football foods…Dip!!! I mean seriously, what the hell was I thinking? A bowl of something to slather on chips, pitas, tortillas or (gasp) veggies is almost mandatory when you invite people over for the game. Now the possibilities are endless, from standards like spinach-artichoke dip to the more inventive options that incorporate acorn squash or corn and walnut.

A few weeks ago, I began the popular P90x program to get an early start on a New Year’s Resolution. While it has proven effective I have found that 1) Tony Horton is a spandex laced devil and 2) It has really taken an effort for me to come up with new recipes and dishes that fit with the nutrition program. Because of that I wanted to stay away from the typical calorie busting dips. I also thought that since my Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys, I would give the great state of Texas some props in the form of Texas caviar. Depending on where you’re from you may know it as Mississippi caviar or may have no idea what I am talking about. Texas/Mississippi caviar is a fairly common cold dip in the south. It has a ton of variations but obviously neither of those states has a plethora of sturgeon so this “caviar” actually has no roe but instead black eyed peas.

in Recipe 3 comments

by Borracho

Gridiron Grub: Say it ain’t Samosa

If you have been following this series you know it is for those of us that are just slightly snobby when it comes to food but still love the flavors and feel of tailgating. I must apologize though, because we are in week 10 of the NFL season and I have not suggested a single dish for the large population of vegetarians who read ES. To be fair, football is pretty carnivore-centric: stadiums and tailgaters produce and consume huge amounts of all sorts of grilled meats; football terms like pigskin, alligator arms, wing formation, wishbone and meathead abound, and yet I felt bad for my oversight and thought I would make amends this week to all of our vegetarian friends.

Every culture has their own way of making a pocket of bread and filling it with all sorts of tasty goodness, whether vegan, pescatarian, freegan, flexitarian or unitarian. A samosa is a stuffed pastry popular in parts of Asia and Africa. I have had delicious versions with peas, lentils, ground chicken/beef and a whole lot more, but it is a dish most people do not tackle ( I was shocked to see that even ES hadn’t touched on the subject before). So here’s my take on one of the original hot pockets:

by Borracho

Gridiron Grub: Sweet P Slices

So here we are again, another week of football and food. This entire series came from the idea that the two go hand-in-hand in this country. It is so ingrained in our culture that even someone who has no interest in the sport has probably attended a Super Bowl Party or gone tailgating. I remember 2 things about the first Super Bowl party I ever attended: that girls were invited (back when they still had cooties) and that we got to stay up late and order whatever toppings we wanted on our pizza.

Just like your favorite football team or player, pizza is always up for debate. Whether it is what cities or shops make the best pizza or whether you choose to call it a pie, tray or dish, everyone always have very strong opinions. My go-to pizza is a vodka sauce-covered cut of Old Forge style pizza, but I don’t think I have met a pizza yet I didn’t enjoy. This week, after daydreaming about a fave local Indian restaurant but not getting a chance to go, I decided to mash up the taste of Indian sweet potato roti and a laundry list of ingredients I had on hand for Sweet P Slices:

Recipe after the jump.

in Recipe 4 comments

by Borracho

Gridiron Grub: Roasted Tomato and Chevre Chiles

I can explain the merits of a 3-4 versus a 4-3 defense. I know the 3^rd string running back on your favorite team, what college he went to and can discuss why I think his downhill running style will compliment their style of offense. The first professional photograph I ever took was a 10 month old Borracho in a Philadelphia Eagles sweatsuit! I love football and have watched countless hours of games and been to numerous stadiums.

Fans go to stadiums hours (and sometimes days) before games to tailgate. They set up in parking lots across the country with everything from disposable charcoal grills to elaborate set-ups of culinary ingenuity that fill the pre-game air with delicious scents. Once you’re inside a stadium, there are always options; different towns have their own signature foods and some stadiums even go as far as: sushi, Rocky Mountain oysters , lobster rolls, ahi tuna sandwiches and even pork chops on a stick!

While the hospitality is great, I have seen too many burnt wings, lukewarm dips, stale chips and flat beer. This is the year that I say no more! I am on a quest to sack traditional edibles and up the quality of football food. Some will be familiar gridiron grub, some tributes to various cities and some will come from your suggestions. Because sometimes you need to call an audible to make something happen.

in Cheese / Recipe 11 comments

by gansie

When It’s Too Damn Hot…Make a Hoagie

I think I’ve now seen 5 Facebook updates where someone has taken a picture of their car’s internal temperature and it has read over 100 degrees.

It’s fucking hot.

What should you do? Stay inside and play computer games. Be a hoagie hero. Or mix a fruity cocktail for cartoon duchebags on vacation. Just. Don’t. Go. Outside.

in Drinks / Sandwich 2 comments

by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

– Reading about World Cup food is clearly a better way to waste your work day then trying to make ESPN’s shitty live feed function. Regarding our list, FrenchTwistDC makes a fair enough point:

England should NEVER come as number one on any ranking that involves food

Further antagonizing the Brit contingent, Ben dares to go there:

So as a Yank, I had to figure out what the heck went on top of Chip Butty…turns out its either ketchup or brown sauce.
It’s super uncouth, but, liking neither of those toppings, a super American variation might be to add Cheese Whiz to it…cheese friends on bread…yum

Our Britannia calls it sacrilege but as a fellow Yank I say, why not? Philly Butty, anyone?

in Uncategorized 1 comments

by gansie

Pork and Nail Polish

I stopped the paper trail. When I lazily let my Gourmet subscription expire, I also stopped receiving Bon Appetit. Coincidentally, my dad stopped getting Cooking Light. I went from getting at most four magazines (Cook’s Illustrated expired just previously) down to tired zeros.

I realized that tired wasn’t an issue though. There was no way every month that I could flip through 4 mags. I saved the mags that were never opened. And now I have a pretty clear collection of just-old publications to scroll through. I forgot how much fun it is to flip through pages of carefully worded articles and recipes.

Blogs are pretty perfect. Perfect for their searchability. Perfect for their brevity. Not perfect, however, in the physicality. Which is why in this drunken typing state I present to you: an ad that is geared to women, possibly a sexist ad, but that I don’t care because I love nail polish that much.I’ll also see it a real live and flesh magazine. Crap. Not making sense. Sorry.

I miss magazines.

Advertisement language and commentary [Tigers and Strawberries]

in Pig 6 comments

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