Kap & Mina's Sunday Afternoon Tailgate: Pro Bowl

We have a tradition here at the tailgate, we make breakfast for dinner and then barely watch the game. Why? Because it's the Pro Bowl, and no matter what the NFL does to try and spice it up, it always turns out to be a dud of a game--especially in recent history. It's an all-star game, but one problem is that, by the time they get done eliminating the players who will be resting for the Super Bowl, as well as those who are injured, it's like watching a bunch of 4th-stringers out there (barely) competing. 

Still, we're featuring some interesting recipes, and this week Mina and I will be making our Super Bowl picks, so this should still be worth reading . . . .

---

"Brinner"

TOUCHDOWN FRUIT SALAD

In the winter, a fruit salad is a bright colorful addition to any breakfast, and you can combine canned fruit with fresh to amp it up beyond the seasonal variety available in your grocery stores.  We added Triple Sec to make it into a dessert for our classy breakfast-for-dinner, but it would be a welcome addition to any brunch, too. 

- Kap & Mina

• Red Grapes
  
• Pineapple, diced
• 1 Green Apple, diced
• Grapefruit wedges
• Mandarin Orange wedges
• Blueberries
• 1 Banana, sliced
• 1 oz. Triple Sec
• 2 TBSP Lemon Juice
• 2 TBSP Honey

Thoroughly wash the fruit. In a bowl, mix the fruit. In a separate bowl, combine the triple sec, lemon juice, and honey. Pour over the fruit and toss gently. It's that simple.

---

BIRD'S NESTS

I wanted a quick and easy egg-dish to compliment Kap's shore-lunch, and I went back to a Mina-family-favorite: breakfast bird's nests! These are so easy to make, and if you put them in paper muffin cups, then you can heat them in the microwave and have an awesome breakfast, or hot snack for the rest of the week.  

- Mina

• 1 lb. Potato Hash Browns, cooked and shredded (use a bag of the frozen stuff to make your life easier, and just follow the directions on the bag). 
  
• 1/2 lb. Breakfast Ham, cooked and diced
  
• 1/2 lb. Breakfast Sausage, browned and crumbled
  
• 6 Eggs, scrambled
• 1/2 c. Milk or Light Cream
• 2 c. Mild Cheddar (or creamy white cheese), shredded (again, the bag stuff works fine, here). 
• Chives (optional), for garnish
• Hot Sauce (optional), for condiment
• Paper Muffin Cups

Prepare the hash browns, ham and sausage according to directions on label, or until they are browned and cooked through. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Put muffin cups in muffin tins, and line bottom of each muffin cup with hash browns. 

Scramble eggs with milk until almost frothy, and separate into two medium-sized bowls.  Add sausage into one bowl, and mix well.  Add ham in to the other, and mix well again.  

Pour egg and ham into half of the muffin cups, and egg and sausage into the other half. 

Top each egg/muffin with shredded cheese.  Cook for 10-12 minutes, or until cheese has browned on top. 

Serve with chives as garnish.  

---

SHORE LUNCH SLIDERS WITH HORSERADISH TARTAR-SLAW
SERVED WITH A SIDE OF UNCURED BACON

A picture of the Walleye over the fireplace at my parents house, caught in the Bay of Quinte, Ontario. (Click for a larger Walleye image.)

It may have "lunch" in the name, but a shore lunch is actually a great outdoor breakfast tradition. Anglers will fish through the early hours of the morning until shortly after sun-up, and then wade or boat to shore with their catch. It'll be breaded and fried up in a cast iron skillet over a campfire and served in the fresh morning air with eggs, home fries, and bacon. Delicious!

I haven't been fishing this season, so I don't have any fresh fillets, and we won't be cooking over a camp fire--I'll get kicked out of my apartment if I try that--but we will use my cast iron skillet to fry up some Walleye, just like the kind my father, my brother, and I always ate in Canada.

Walleye is a delicious, flakey, mild fish. I'm putting a twist on this recipe by serving it as a slider with some tangy horseradish and tartar sauce-inspired cole slaw. Mina's bringing the eggs in her dish, and I'll be plating this with some uncured Irish bacon (which Mina thankfully introduced me to earlier this year). 

- Kap

• 2-4 skinless Walleye Fillets (12-15 inches is ideal, anything larger may become fishy-tasting). For those who need information on filleting a fresh-caught Walleye, fishing pro Jason Boser has an excellent video available here. 
• Vegetable Oil, for frying (I used the bacon grease left over after frying it up)
• 1 c. Milk
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• Shore Lunch brand fish breader (or make your own--recipe follows)
• Horseradish Tartar-Slaw
• Slider Buns
• Uncured Irish Bacon (I used a Black Forest Dry Rubbed Bacon from Trader Joe's), for serving

Soak the Walleye fillets in milk for 10 min. (to reduce fishiness). 

Dip each fillet in egg wash, then immediately roll in the fish breader. Repeat if desired.

Fry each in about 1/4" of oil over medium-high heat until browned, about 3 min. per side. 

Drain on a paper towel. Then serve on slider buns with horseradish tartar-slaw (recipe below) and a side of uncured bacon.

Homemade Fish Breader

• 1/3 c. Flour (I used House Autry Fish Breader)
• 1/3 c. Corn Meal
• 1/2 tsp. Onion Salt
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper, cracked
• 1 tsp. Paprika

Mix thoroughly.

Horseradish Tartar-Slaw

• 1 package Slaw Mix (cabbage and carrot)
• 2 Green Onions, chopped
• Small Capers, to taste (probably about 2 TBSP)
• 5-6 small Sweet Gherkins, chopped
• 1 TBSP Prepared Horseradish
• 1 TBSP Lemon Juice
• 1/2-1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 c. Mayonnaise
• 1/2 TBSP Tarragon, dried
• Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
• Pinch of Dill

Mix well and serve.

---

DRINK RECOMMENDATION: BLOOD ORANGE

DRINK RECOMMENDATION: IRISH COFFEE

Beer is always a good choice with fried fish or eggs, and it's the ultimate breakfast splurge. We'll be drinking some this weekend for sure. But there's also a great mixed-drinks-for-breakfast tradition that we're hoping to tap into this week. We wanted something hot and something cold. So we went first with a dark, kicked up citrus cocktail--kind of a cross between a Martini and a screwdriver. Then, even though Kap is not a coffee drinker, we decided to brew a traditional Irish coffee in honor of Mina's Irish heritage and Kap's love of whiskey. Even Kap will like this one!

- Kap & Mina


Ed.: No, Kap will not. But you might, dear reader!

Blood Orange

• 2 oz. Citrus Vodka
  
• 1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
• 1 oz. Orange Juice
• 2 dashes of Bitters
• Orange Wedge, to garnish

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour into a long glass and garnish with an orange wedge.

Irish Coffee

• 3 oz. oz. Coffee, dark roast is preferable
• 1 1/3 oz. Irish Whiskey
• 1 oz. Fresh Cream
• 1 tsp. Brown Sugar
• Whipped Cream (optional), to garnish

Heat the coffee and whiskey until hot (not boiling). Add sugar. Float cream over the back of a spoon held above the surface of the coffee. Drink the coffee through the layer of cream.

---

PRO BOWL PREDICTIONS

Who cares?

---

OUR SUPER BOWL PREDICTIONS

Kap

Does any team have to win this one? I suppose I should do my best to pick accurately here, after going 0-2 last week. (Ouch.) That said, Mina has, for the first time in tailgate history, corrected picked the Super Bowl teams. She did this all the way back in August, and I'm not above saying that I am a little proud of her for it. She may cap this all off with a winning Super Bowl prediction this week.

Up to this morning, I was certain that the Deflatriots with their superior playoff experience would win. And they might--this should be a close one. But the last time they had a distraction like this before the big game, they ended up losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl, bringing their undefeated season to and end. History repeats itself this year.

Winner: Seattle Seahawks

Score: 27-24 (in OT)

MVP: Russell Wilson -- He orchestrated a gritty comeback against the Packers (with some help from Green Bay's meltdown). I expect his charmed season to be capped off with a big night in Arizona.

Mina

Instead of resting on my laurels after my stellar picks back in August for this year's big game, I am making my Super Bowl picks!!!!! To heighten the sense of drama, and to support (even if only half-heartedly) the team that was THE THING back when I lived in Boston for my Bachelor and Master's Degrees, I am going to pick the Patriots for this Super Bowl. I don't think that Deflate-gate (Ball-ghazi?) will really bother the solidity of the Patriot's offense. (Moreover, I don't think that the Seahawks have been as consistent in the postseason as they were last year.) 

To be honest though, I kind of feel like Kap, in that neither of these teams gets me really excited. But I hope that you, good readers enjoy the menu that we're cooking up for the first days of February. Trust me, you won't be disappointed! 

Winner: New England Patriots

Score: 35-28 

MVP: Our favorite Ugg Boots wearer: Tom Brady.  (Though I think we can all agree that this hat is the real winner, here.) 

---

All recipes listed above come from our own imaginations unless otherwise indicated. If you try one of these recipes in your own kitchen, leave a comment below and tell us how it goes. And, of course, share your modifications, enhancements, improvements, etc.