Tag: USC

Tailgating on Thursday Night Sucks!

uscwthursAny true college football fan knows that spending all day Saturday tailgating is as much a part of the experience as the game is.

Whoever decided to add Friday night games (the traditional high school game night), then compounded that mistake by adding Thursday night games to the schedule, took away a lot of the fun of hanging with old and new friends and getting hyped up on game day.  That marketing “genius” should go down in the football hall of shame.

HELLO! People work and a 6:00 PM weekday/workday kickoff in a downtown location like USC in Los Angeles makes for a much shorter, less fun pre-game experience – not to mention the traffic nightmares that face people who can’t get off early meaning seats look empty on the national TV broadcast.

Even worse, in a non-college town (unlike most of the towns around colleges in the South) game day is just another day in the week when it’s not a Saturday.  The stadium isn’t as full as it would be on a weekend (especially one that holds 90,000 + when sold out) and, no matter how good or bad the team is doing, more and more people are skipping the game and/or giving away their Thursday night game tickets.  The excuses are varied yet all some version of the same: unable to face the traffic, hate the rush to get there, and need to get up too early for work the next day.  I am part of the working world, we are more than an hour from the stadium on a good day, but we only get 6-7 home games a year, so we’re blazing ahead!

Weeks like this are great opportunities to cut down the usual prep time, combine ready made foods in grocery stores with easy snacks, save setup and eliminate the need to cook on site, so we can enjoy our shortened time together!

IMG_4227[1]Needless to say it won’t be like our Week 1 Lobster boil, but I’ve huddled with our fellow tailgaters and we’ve come up with a total no-cook pre-game plan:

  • 2 Buckets of Grocery-Deli Fried Chicken
  • Deli Potato Salad
  • King’s Hawaiian Rolls
  • BBQ Sauce (for making chicken sandwiches on the rolls)
  • Chips & Sour Cream Onion Dip (OK we will have to add the envelope to the container)
  • Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies and various no-cook, grab & go snacks
  • Beer/Wine/Cocktails & plenty of Water for re-hydrating

If you are on Facebook and are interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to, recipes, food facts, nutritional information, photos and other things that make my mouth water, I have a page on Facebook you can visit too:  https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood

 

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I Like My Coleslaw With a Kick!

We are 3 weeks into tailgate season at USC and already we’ve set the bar high with our pre-game feasts:

  • Week 1   For the 8:00 PM game against Arkansas State, we had all day to tailgate, so we did a traditional lobster, clam, mussel & Andouille sausage boil with corn on the cob, red potatoes, and crusty bread.
  • Week 2   It was a middle of the day scorcher in LA when we played Idaho so we took things easy by picking up “Godmother” sandwiches from Bay Cities Deli in Santa Monica.  If you’ve never had one, and you are anywhere near Los Angeles, do yourself a favor and get over there! It’s unbelievably good and the line is always out the door so order ahead.
  • Week 3   When Stanford comes to town that means one thing for our particular tailgate group:  Greg’s Dad’s bloody Mary’s.  They are the BOMB and thus require a suitable food performance to accompany them.  The smoker was hauled out for ribs, Carl’s Fat Boy Pie (A spicy potato concoction) and my Memphis Coleslaw.

Lisa’s Kicked Up Memphis Coleslaw

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the ingredients for the dressing: 

coleslaw

2 Cups Best Foods Mayonnaise, 4 TBLS Creole Mustard (I use Zatarain’s), 4 TBLS Apple Cider Vinegar, 6 TBLS Sugar, 2 tsp Onion Powder, 4 tsp Celery Seed, and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

Once the dressing is combined add:

1 Head Green Cabbage Shredded,  1/2 Head Red Cabbage Shredded, 1- 10 oz bag (About 8 large if shredding yourself) Shredded Carrots, 1/2 Large Jicama Grated

Toss, cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. It tastes the best when salad sits overnight in the refrigerator.  Makes a good sized bowl and can feed 8-16 depending on serving size.

This girl loves to eat this as is, but if you like more crunch you can also add finely diced celery, green apple or even some radish.  For more kick you can add another TBLS of the Creole Mustard or even creamy (straight if you’re brave) horseradish.

If you are having pulled pork or corned beef this would be great piled high within your sandwich.  I’ve also served it with ribs, steak and alongside hotdogs & hamburgers.

If you are on Facebook and are interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to, recipes, food facts, nutritional information, photos and other things that make my mouth water, I have a page on Facebook you can visit too:  https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood