Sunday Afternoon Tailgate: Week 2

This week, I'll be whipping up some good eats as the Eagles take on the Chargers. As always, the menu will be focused on quintessential gameday foods--nothing frou-frou, but instead dishes so simple and delicious that even those guys and gals out there with zero ball-skills in the kitchen can make them. This is Sunday Afternoon Tailgate.

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Pulled Chicken Sliders


I'm picky when it comes to "pulled" sandwiches. Too often, they are simply an excuse to eat flavorless, low-quality, poorly cooked meat that's been drenched in BBQ sauce. This recipe, however, puts a premium on the flavor of the chicken. If you like your sliders hot, (yeah, baby!) add more of the chipotles. If you like your sliders mild, omit the chipotles entirely (or substitute a can of green chiles instead and just add the adobo sauce separately).

• PAM Cooking spray
• 1 small sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 lb. skinless chicken (breast or thigh, can do bone-in or boneless)
• 1/2 c. honey BBQ sauce (store bought--you can make your own, but let's keep this simple)
• 1/8 c. orange juice (pulp or no pulp)
• 1/8 c. water
• 1 small can (7 oz.) of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (to taste--I use 1/4 to 1/3 of the can, including at least 1 TBSP of the sauce)
  
• 1 bay leaf
• Slider buns (if you can, get either whole wheat or onion flavored. If not, regular or potato buns work fine)
• Sliced sharp cheddar or pepper jack cheese (depending on preference) 
• Shredded lettuce

Spray your pan and cook pepper, onion, and garlic over medium heat for about five minutes. Add remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer for about 30 min. Remove bay leaf and discard. Remove chicken and let it cool for 10 min. Using two forks, shred the meat. Then return it to the pan and toss it in the warm sauce.

If you like to heat your buns (yeah, baby!), then do so now in the toaster or microwave. (You can add a slice of cheese if you prefer it melted.) Otherwise, put a healthy serving of chicken on the bun, add the cheese and lettuce after, and chow down! I suggest serving these with a dill pickle.

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Ratatouille


On the surface, this might sound a bit too fancy-pants for football, but just because we're tailgating doesn't mean it's only brats and beer, right? I mean, it wouldn't kill us to throw in a vegetable every once in a while (unless you want have a stroke before we get to halftime). This dish is easy to make. It tastes great. And if you have a loaf of crusty bread or some crackers on hand, you can almost treat it like a dip.

• 2 small eggplants (cut into small cubes) 
  
• 2 small summer squash (cut into small cubes) 
  
• 1 green bell pepper (finely chopped) 
  
• 2 small red potatoes (diced) 
  
• A pint of cherry tomatoes (diced) 
  
• 1 onion, diced
  
• 4-6 cloves garlic (chopped) 
  
• olive oil
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• Fresh thyme (or half a teaspoon of dried thyme) 
  
• Paprika
  
• 2 fresh basil leaves (or half a teaspoon of dried basil) 
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  
• Mild chili powder
  
• Crushed red pepper 
  
• Half a cup of grated cheese (Parmesan, or a firm Havarti both work very well: something salty to cut the sweetness of the vegetables and the basil)  
  
• 2-3 eggs
  
• Toasted bread or crackers
  
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
  

Saute eggplant in olive oil on medium heat until the pieces fall apart under a spoon, and are buttery in texture. Keep adding oil if needed, and reduce the heat to medium low to avoid the pieces sticking to the bottom of the pan. (NOTE: to really do this right, you will have to be patient--it takes about 20-25 minutes. But hey! You can prep all the other veggies while they cook!) 

Remove the eggplant from the heat, and start a new pan, sauteing the garlic and onion in more olive oil on medium heat.  When the onions are pretty much translucent, raise the heat on the burner a bit, toss in the bell pepper, and red potatoes.  Let these things soften in the oil for a few minutes, and then add the summer squash. You want all of that to brown, which will take another 7-10 minutes, depending on your stove, but don't stir it too often. Let the vegetables keep their flavor (and pretty much their shape if possible). 

When the vegetables have browned to your satisfaction, turn the stove back down to medium, add the tomatoes, and then the spices. Cook, blending everything together for a couple of minutes. 

Remove the big leaves (basil and bay and the thyme if it's fresh) and add the eggplant back in, seasoning with salt and pepper.
 
(NOTE: I DID THIS RECIPE OVER TWO DAYS FOR THE FOOTBALL GAME. ON DAY ONE, I STOPPED HERE, REFRIGERATED EVERYTHING, AND THEN CAME BACK ON DAY TWO TO FINISH COOKING, SIMPLY REHEATING THE VEGETABLES IN A SAUTE PAN, AND MOVING FORWARD.) 

Preheat your broiler, remove your vegetables from the stove top (NOTE: If your mixture looks too soupy, you can drain off some excess liquid reduce it, and pour it back over the top). Transfer to a deep, oven-proof pan. Take a spoon or a spatula and make two or three indentations in the mixture, BUT not deep enough to scrape the bottom of the pan. Crack your eggs into these hollows (don't break the yolk!) And then sprinkle your grated cheese over the whole thing, not as much as a pizza would have, but still a generous level of cheesiness. 

Put the whole pan into the oven for about 3-5 minutes under the broiler. (The key is to melt/caramelize/crispy-fy the cheese, but to leave the egg exquisitely soft.) While you are broiling everything, you can toast your bread, if you have bread, or prepare your hearty crackers, if you prefer those.  Remove the ratatouille from the oven, scoop the mixture over the toast, or the crackers, and enjoy with a glass of red wine, or an amber ale-type beer!

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**Recipe courtesy of Dominique Bruno

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Drink Recommendations

Wine: Liberty Bell


I've always got beer on hand for the big game, but sometimes it's good to switch things up. This week's menu pairs really well with wine, and so I'm going to kick back and uncork a few bottles. Now, drinking fancy wines and appreciating all their subtle notes is fine if you are at a poetry reading or a fancy dinner party, but for the game, I am basically looking for one characteristic: is it drinkable? I don't want to have to think too much about the wine I'm drinking, and I don't want to have to appreciate its character to enjoy it. I want it light, sweet, fruity, and above all else smooth. The kind of glass I can drink with a hamburger (or in this case, chicken sliders). In other words, the traits that some wine snobs tend to look down their nose at. For today's game, I've chosen Liberty Bell, a Pennsylvania white wine by Benigna's Creek Vineyard and Winery, which I picked up at the Hometown Farmer's Market in Hometown, PA. It's got everything I'm looking for (plus, it has a pretty cool dog on the label!). Being a Philly fan, this wine spoke to me somehow.

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EAGLES PREDICTION: Win! -- I guess Philip Rivers looked pretty good in last week's game, and this could be a risky pick because the Chargers are desperate to make amends for blowing a huge first half lead against the Texans. That said, I've never been sold on Rivers as an elite QB and the Chargers have too many question marks in their secondary. Give this one to the Eagles.


MY RECORD: 1-0

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All recipes listed above come from my own imagination unless otherwise indicated. 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.