Category: Tailgating (Page 9 of 10)

      He-Man fiery sausage and peppers

      January 6, 2011 /

      Hey guys. If you are like me, and like spicy food to the point that you sometimes crave it, I’ve got a great dish for you to try. This is probably not the kind of thing women will like, so it’s a good dish to make for your buddies for an NFL Sunday or other get-together. And the cool thing is you can make it extra spicy just by making a few adjustments. And hey, there’s beer in it! Are you ready? Oh, by the way, this was originally published on Bullz-Eye.com’s Grub for Guys.

      Here is what you’ll need:

      2 Tbsp. olive oil
      4 links pre-cooked smoked bratwurst (or 4-6 hot dogs)
      2-3 poblano peppers (the dark green, oblong ones)
      3-4 jalapeno peppers (fresh, not from a jar)
      ½ cup beer
      ¾ cup diced tomatoes
      ½ cup barbecue sauce
      Hot sauce to taste
      Salt and pepper

      Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat. While that is heating, cut the peppers—slice off the top stem of the poblano, remove the seeds and membrane and slice thinly. Then slice the jalapeno carefully—first cut off the stem, and then cut into rounds. I like to do this and leave the seeds in for two reasons. One, it won’t burn your hands (though you still might consider plastic gloves), and two, the dish will be spicier with the seeds intact. Throw the peppers into the skillet and stir fry until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes.

      Then cut up the bratwurst into slices about ¼ inch thick, and add those to the skillet. Let them start to brown just a bit, maybe 2-3 minutes. Then pour in the beer slowly, which should loosen all the brown stuff at the bottom of the pan (if you use cold beer, you can drink the rest of the bottle). Add the tomatoes, barbecue sauce and hot sauce, then sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper, and let simmer on low to medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the sauce starts to reduce and thicken.

      If you want the dish to be really hot, try any combination of these tips….use a hotter hot sauce, use Ro-Tel extra spicy tomatoes (trust me, the stuff is nasty hot), leave the seeds in the jalapenos, and maybe buy a sausage that’s already spicy—I’ve seen some habanero chicken sausage that would work well for this.

      That’s it…you might want to serve this with bread or crackers to help soak up the heat, or just let it burn your mouth and cool off those taste buds with a frosty, refreshing beverage of your choice.

      Food on a Budget, Recipes, Tailgating, Your Kitchen

      All-natural hangover cures

      December 27, 2010 /

      Chef JimHung over after too many cocktails over the Christmas weekend? Maybe not, but chances are better you will be after New Year’s Eve this coming weekend. And if you are, you may or may not have your go-to remedies such as Tums or Alka-Seltzer (my personal favorite). Or you may opt to cure it with food or, for you hardcore drinkers, more alcohol. A great food cure is huevos rancheros, or a couple of the other recipes we posted recently on Bullz-Eye’s Grub for Guys–“hangover” soup and bloody marys. Here are those recipes….but either way, be safe during this holiday season and always by not getting behind the wheel if you’ve had a few too many:

      Hangover Soup and Bloody Mary
      Okay guys. The following recipes are for those days when you wake up after a night of imbibing, and have cottonmouth, a pounding headache, sore muscles, and a thick fog hovering atop your very existence. That, and you surely don’t want to put anything into your body right now. Well, you sort of need to, because you need to replenish with fluids and protein, give yourself a jolt with hot sauce, and if using vodka, getting the dog that bit you last night. And believe me, I know firsthand that these both work, as well as drinking plenty of water.

      Hangover Soup
      Ingredients:
      1 carton (or 2-3 cans) chicken broth
      ½ cup small pasta such as orzo
      1 egg, beaten
      ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
      Black pepper to taste

      Directions:
      Bring chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add pasta and cook according to directions, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat, and slowly add egg as you stir the soup. Add Parmesan and pepper, and serve. Makes about 4 1-cup servings

      Bloody Mary (or Virgin Mary if you omit vodka)
      Ingredients:
      2 cups tomato or vegetable juice (such as V-8)
      1 shot vodka (optional)
      1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
      1 Tbsp. hot sauce (more if you like it hot)
      Juice of ½ lime
      1 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
      ¼ tsp. celery salt
      Salt and pepper to taste
      1 stalk celery

      Directions:
      Combine all ingredients except celery in a tall glass. Stir, add ice and serve with celery stick. Serves 1, but if it does the trick, you may want to have another…I’m just sayin’!

      Ingredients, Recipes, Tailgating, Your Kitchen

      A Can A Week: Hormel Hot Chili with Beans

      December 14, 2010 /

      A few weeks ago, I posted my Grub for Guys chili recipes. But if I have to eat chili from the can, it’s almost always going to be Hormel Chili. I mean, right on the can, it says, “Since 1891.” Holy crap, they’ve been making chili for 120 years and in three differet centuries.

      And being that they make several different kinds of chili, I thought we’d review a few of them on our “A Can A Week” feature. This week it’s Hormel Hot Chili with Beans. Hot as in spicy, and when the word “HOT” is almost as big as the “Hormel Chili,” you sure expect at least three chili peppers on a scale of 1 to 5. I’m going to give it about a 3.5 there–I love spicy food, and this chili is maybe one of the spicier canned foods you’ll find, but it’s not like I was reaching for a glass of milk after each spoonful, or even water. I’d say, though, that it’s just the right amount of heat, so as not to overpower the chili.
      The heat also creeps up on you a bit, like a swift kick in the back of your throat.

      Flavorwise, you really can’t beat Hormel Chili, and this one is no exception. There is a real depth of chili flavor, with tomatoes being there but more in the background. The bean to beef ratio is about 50/50, and pretty decent for a can of chili.

      If you eat the whole can (and just like with last week’s Chef Boyardee review, why wouldn’t you?), you’re ingesting 520 calories…but you’re also talking 32 grams of protein and 14 grams of fiber. So no, Hormel Chili may not be classified as health food, but it’s got some nice nutritional value too. And as I write this, I’m FULL and may not eat until dinner time.

      So if it’s been a while since you’ve tried Hormel, or if you haven’t tasted the Hot Chili with Beans, go check it out and see if you agree with this assessment. And now, time for a nap (well, not literally).

      Next for the Hormel line, we’ll review their Turkey Chili.

      Food on a Budget, Tailgating, Your Kitchen

      Product review: Pomegranate 7-Up

      December 9, 2010 /

      This holiday season, if you’re looking for a refreshing non-alcoholic drink, you might try new (and for a limited time only) Pomegranate 7-Up Antioxidant. The original 7-UP lemon-lime and cherry flavor are very refreshing (with no caffeine), but this pomegranate one is even more so, at least in my opinion. The pomegranate flavore is sublte at first and then creeps up on you, unlike what you might expect from juice-based drink. I’m also not a huge soda pop guy, but this stuff is really tasty and I’d be inclined to buy it in the store. Bonus: it reminds me of the Shirley Temples my dad made me as a kid.

      Oh, and they send a bottle of the diet version too, and while I’m not a big fan of diet soda, this one had an especially strong after-taste of artificial sweetener. Of course, the one with “real sugar” is actually made with high fructose corn syrup, but HFCS does make drinks like this taste pretty good!

      It came with an info sheet that has recipes for cocktails, and I take it this would make a nice holiday mixer based on the light flavor and cheery red color alone. Definitely a product worth checking out.

      Ingredients, Tailgating, Uncategorized, Your Kitchen

      Steak and potatoes 101

      December 7, 2010 /

      This was the first entry I did on Grub For Guys a couple years back. And since tomorrow is my birthday, we’re going to have my favorite meal for dinner–a thick, juicy steak. Of course, my wife is making a cake, and that’s good, because I am pretty much clueless when it comes to baking, and because who wants to make their own cake anyway?

      Here is the steak and potatoes 101 piece. Enjoy!

      Hey guys—whether or not you want to impress your lady (assuming she eats meat), your buddies that are coming over for the big game, or even if you’re just cooking for yourself and are craving steak, I’ve got a simple menu for you and some easy preparation tips.

      This also assumes that you know how to operate a basic grill, so if you don’t, you can refer to Bobby Flay’s website for help with that. Then I will help you with the rest!

      Here is what you’ll need, assuming two people or one really hungry dude:

      2 NY Strip steaks
      2 Idaho baking potatoes
      1 bunch asparagus
      1 red or yellow bell pepper
      Olive oil
      Kosher salt
      Black pepper

      First things first — if you want a good baked potato, use the brown, Idaho type, and don’t ever microwave them. Microwaving a potato is the man-law equivalent of putting orange slices in your beer. So rinse the potatoes, being sure to scrub off those gnarly dirt specks.
      Then wipe them off with paper towels, and stick in the oven at 450 degrees for 1 hour, flipping over once at the 30-minute mark.

      When you’re at that 30-minute mark, get your grill pre-heated. I like to do the vegetables first, because they cook quickly and you can keep them warm while preparing the steak. For the asparagus (yeah, it makes your pee smell funny, but it tastes damn good off the grill), rinse and break off the rough ends. Sprinkle liberally with olive oil, and a few sprinkles of salt and pepper. Take the bell pepper, cut off the top, then remove the inner membrane and seeds. Cut that in half and sprinkle that with olive oil, salt and pepper as well. Throw these on the grill, being careful not to let asparagus fall through the grates. Depending on how thick the asparagus is, cooking time ranges from 2 minutes to 5 minutes. Once it starts to brown, remove from the grill onto a plate and cover with foil. The bell pepper will take up to 10 minutes, and you’ll want to flip it a few times until charred nicely. Remove that to the plate with the asparagus.

      For the steak, I like to use New York strip, and not because I’m from New York. They are sometimes pricey, but almost always tender and tasty. Sprinkle both sides liberally with salt and pepper, and slap them on the grill. Trust me, you don’t need foo-foo marinades for steak either, because the salt and pepper will bring out the natural flavor nicely. Grill to desired doneness, which can be anywhere from 5 minutes for rare to 12 minutes or so for more well done (a meat thermometer is also not a bad investment). If you really want to look like a pro, after flipping the steak a third time, move it at a 45-degree angle for criss-crossing grill marks. Once you flip it over and see you’ve done this properly, pounding your chest is optional.

      By the time the steaks are done, your potatoes should also be ready. Put everything on a plate, and bring some butter and sour cream to the table for the potatoes. Steak sauce is optional, but I’m telling you, you won’t need it if you follow this simple steak recipe.
      That’s it. Throw in a nice bottle of red wine or a hearty beer, and you’ve got a meal that’s simple and yet restaurant quality.

      On the Grille, Recipes, Tailgating, Your Kitchen

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