Sunday Afternoon Tailgate: NFL Draft (Special Edition!)

Well, it's been an exciting year in the Sunday Afternoon Series. We covered the entire NFL season, a few major holidays, The Daytona 500, and the Kentucky Derby, and though we've had fun, it's time to wind things down. What better way to do so than to return to where we started by covering the NFL Draft.

For hardcore football fans, this event marks the opening of the season, as teams scramble, trading up and down through seven rounds to nab the most coveted players on their draft boards. For this tailgate, we're switching things up a little and conducting our very own inaugural "food draft." Of course, no draft special is complete without top-to-bottom coverage. Fortunately, at Jason Kapcala Online, we have the best third-string color commentary crew in the business on hand to meet all your draft needs--Mark Maxwell and "The Coach" Brolin Schutlouszki. . . .

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The Competitors . . .

Dominique Bruno

Height: Not Tall

Weight:  A lady never tells

40-time: Varies depending on whether she's on fire

Culinary Experience: Back after an exclusive three-year cooking tour of Europe, Scandinavia, and the sub-continent

Motto: "It's not the size of the girl in the fight but the size of her knife that matters"

Jason Kapcala

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 215 lbs.

40-time: 2.35 seconds (driving)

Culinary Experience: Runs a popular-albeit-fundamentally-suspect cooking blog

Motto: "Slow cooking is the incremental incineration of an unstable oleaginous rump roast and its catastrophic disintegration to a perplexifying indigestion"   

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The Rules . . .

Scouting:

Prior to the draft, participants will collaborate to make a master list of all meats, starches, produce, and dairy products that will be eligible for the upcoming draft.


Draft Order:

The draft begins with a coin toss. The winner of this toss gets to choose one of the following options:

• Draft first: In this scenario, the person will get first pick in each of the first three rounds, but will cook second. In rounds 4-7, this person will draft last.

• Defer: In this scenario, the person will pick last in each of the first three rounds, and will cook first. However, in rounds 4-7, the pick order is reversed and this person will draft first.

WINNER: Jason Kapcala (chose to defer)


Selection Process:

• Each competitor will draft an ingredient from the list according to their draft order in each of the seven rounds
• Once an ingredient has been selected, it is no longer available for selection by other participants

Timing:

• Each participant receives 90 seconds in each round to make a selection. If a selection isn't made in 90 seconds, the pick is not forfeited, but the next participant may move ahead in the picking order. After which, the clock resets.

Supplemental Picks:

• Between rounds three and four, each participant gets to choose one supplemental ingredient that the opposition must use in his or her dish.

 Preparation:

• Each participant must use all eight selected ingredients to create a single dish.
  
• Amount/Number/Quantity of each item is up to each participant's discretion (though trace amounts, such as one grain of rice, is considered unsportsmanlike conduct)
• Type/genre of the dish is up to the participant
• Any cooking method may be employed
• Participants may use any condiments or spices in or on their dish (or in combination to make a sauce or garnish for their dish). They cannot add additional meats, starches, produce, or dairy items. Special allowances (e.g. butter when used as a condiment; flour when used as a thickening agent) and borderline cases (such as salsa) will be agreed upon before cooking commences.
• Participants will have 5 minutes to organize their kitchen, followed by 90 minutes to prepare their dishes. This does not include bake or cook time. In other words, a cook must "walk away" from the kitchen after 90 minutes, but items may continue to cook indefinitely. After the dishes are done cooking, participants receive 90 seconds to assemble or plate their dishes.

Judging:


The merits of each dish will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Creativity/Originality (40%) -- How unique was the tailgater's recipe? How well did he/she integrate the ingredients (especially the supplemental pick)?
  

• Flavor/Taste (40%) -- How edible and enjoyable was the dish?

• Presentation (20%) -- How appetizing, fragrant, and visually appealing was the dish?

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The Picks . . .

Dominique Bruno

Round 1: Chicken Cutlets

Round 2: Mushrooms

Round 3: White Rice

Supplemental Pick: Gin (chosen by Jason Kapcala)

Round 4: Broccoli

Round 5: Garlic

Round 6: Shallots

Round 7: Pine Nuts

Jason Kapcala

Round 1: Black Beans

Round 2: Onion

Round 3: Peppers

Supplemental Pick: Potatoes (chosen by Dominique Bruno)

Round 4: Chicken Breast

Round 5: Corn

Round 6: Avocado

Round 7: Flour Tortillas

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The Dishes . . .

Mexican Steamboats

"Mexican Steamboats" 
Tailgater: Jason Kapcala

• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1 Red Onion, chopped
  
• 2 Serrano Chili Peppers, chopped
  
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless Chicken Breast
• 1/2 c. of Spicy BBQ sauce
• 1/4 c. Queso Dip
• 1/8 c. Water
• 2 TBSP Agave Nectar
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• 1 tsp. Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. Oregano
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
  
• 2 tsp. Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 bag Frozen Hash Browns
• 1 can Black Beans
  
• 1 can of Mixed Yellow and White Shoepeg Corn
• 2-3 Sweet Peppers (yellow, red, and orange), chopped
  
• 1 Avocado, diced
  
• 1 TBSP White Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. Dried Cilantro
• 1 box Old El Paso Stand N' Stuff Soft Flour Tortillas
  

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Mix corn and black beans in a pan on the stove and cook through until heated. Set aside to cool, and then chill in the refrigerator for later.

Heat oil in a pan and cook red onion and chopped peppers until soft (about 5 min.). Add chicken to pan and cover with bbq sauce, queso, water, agave, and dry spices. Mix well and cover. Let simmer on medium heat for 25-30 min. until chicken is no longer pink inside. Let sit 5 min. Then shred with a fork and return to the sauce to reheat.

In a skillet on the stove top cook hash browns according to directions on the bag. (You may need to cook them longer as you want them to be very crispy--almost like shoestring potato chips!)

Take corn and black bean mixture and add to it the diced avocado, white vinegar, a pinch of salt, and chopped sweet peppers. Toss gently. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Heat Tortilla bowls in oven for 5 min.

To plate: Place hash browns in a thin layer in bottom of tortilla bowl. Cover liberally with shredded chicken. Cover with chilled corn and black bean mixture. Add hot sauce, if desired.

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Post-Colonial Stir-Fry

"Post-Colonial Stir-Fry"
Tailgater: Dominique Bruno

• 1 lb. Chicken Cutlets, diced
• 4 stalks Broccoli, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 Shallot, chopped
• 1 lb. mixed Mushrooms, diced
• 1 1/2 c. White Rice
• 2 handfuls Pine Nuts
• 8 oz. + 2 shots of Gin
• 2 TBSP Corn Starch
• 1 tsp. Rice Vinegar
• 3 tsp. Sriracha Hot Sauce
• 1 tsp. Sesame Oil
• 1/4 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Chinese Five-Spice Powder
• 2 TBSP Oyster Sauce
• 2 tsp. Teriyaki Sauce
• 1/2 c. Soy Sauce
• 1/2 tsp. Sesame Seeds
• 1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Dried Chives
• Olive Oil, as needed for frying
• Water, as needed
• Salt, to taste

Soak diced chicken in 8 oz. gin to tenderize (about 15 min.).

Coat frying pan with olive oil. Add shallot, garlic, vinegar, sriracha, sesame oil, oyster sauce, teriyaki sauce, and 1/4 c. soy sauce. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 min. Add chicken, red pepper flakes, 5 spice powder, sesame seeds, chili powder, and chives. Cook for 15 min.

While chicken cooks, boil water and cook rice according to the directions on the packet.

Add mushrooms and half of the pine nuts to chicken-sauce mixture. Cook for 5 min.

Add broccoli and cook for ten min. more, covered.

Stir in corn starch and water to thicken sauce.

Garnish rice with chives and the remaining pine nuts. Serve chicken mixture over rice.

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The Results . . .

(Each Category Graded on a Scale from 1 to 10)

It was a close, close competition, but the judges did award a winner and, in the process, offered some favorable comments on both competitors' dishes!

Jason Kapcala
(88/100)

Creativity/Originality (40 pts.): 36

Flavor/Taste (40 pts.): 32

Presentation (20 pts.): 20



"Inspired--they're boats!"

"Way to make the potatoes work in your favor! It should have been redundant with all the starches, but the crispiness of the potatoes cut against that potential for heaviness."

"Fresh in flavor, but a bit too spicy. Adding some shredded cheese would have helped a lot to complete this dish."

"Colorful--I really liked the bowl concept. They were a little tricky to eat, but it was a fun idea and the layers kept things interesting."

"These Tex-Mex boats may not have reinvented the eating experience, but they sure are tasty. The sauce came out well with the Agave."

Dominique Bruno
(86/100)

Creativity/Originality (40 pts.): 36

Flavor/Taste (40 pts.): 32

Presentation (20 pts.): 18



"Restaurant quality looks--very appealing and professionally done. This is the kind of dish I could see at a fine Asian bistro."

"Though not the fault of the cook, the brand of rice had a funny flavor (present even when eaten without any sauce or garnish)."

"The decision to combine gin with pine nuts was inspired. This was a tough challenge, but the blend was good."

"Tons of depth--the flavor of this dish almost changes from bite to bite. Does every flavor go together? Honestly, I don't know, but it was fun."

"It didn't reinvent Asian dining, but the subtle flavors of spice powder, oyster sauce, and teriyaki are quite nice. Could have used more mushroom (they got lost a little). Probably would be better with rice wine instead of gin, but that was the challenge."

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PREDICTION: Marqise Lee, WR, USC

This is still a tailgate, and so it's up to me to try and make a pick. In the case, of the NFL Draft, it's almost impossible to guess which players each team has on its draft board outside of the top four or five players. Sure, the mock drafts will try, but a lot will change when the countdown clock starts ticking. Because of that, I am only going to try to predict the Eagles' first round pick. The Birds have a lot of needs on the defensive side of the ball (a rushing LB, CB, and most of all a starting Safety). That said, following the release of Desean Jackson, and with Jeremy Maclin remaining unproven and injury prone, I expect the Eagles to look for a help at the receiver position. Lee isn't the biggest, and he isn't the fastest, but he is a proven vertical threat. LSU WR Odell Beckham, Michigan State CB Darqueze Dennard, and Notre Dame NT Louis Nix are all alternative possibilities. If Louisville's Calvin Pryor (S) or Bama's Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (S) fall outside of the top 15, they should also be targets. That's probably not going to happen though. At #22 overall, Dennard would be the smart pick, but I don't expect to see him wearing midnight green next year.

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See You Next Fall!

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