Tailgating By The Sea-Recipes & More

~Doc Lawrence

Chef Lara Lyn Carter

JACKSONVILLE, FL-With the mighty St. John’s River spilling into the Atlantic Ocean, plentiful local seafood is taken for granted. The area has always been a trove of fruits from the waters and when you add in some college football, bet the ranch that Tailgating takes on real meaning. 

It’s time again to share recipes gathered from this Jacksonville Tailgating experience. Included are the amazing Datil Bloody Mary made with the pepper that came into St. Augustine over five centuries ago, plus Lara Lyn Carter’s latest, another spectacular from our Emmy Award winning Chef.

The wine we chose was in part a salute to victorious Georgia. Wolf  Mountain Vineyards just north of Atlanta produces a renowned sparkling wine that pairs with almost any dish from appetizers to coconut cake.

Seaside Bloody Mary

 ~Chef Lara Lyn Carter

Lime for the rim of the glass

Celery salt

Ice

1 jigger Vodka

5 drops Worcestershire sauce

5-6 drops Datil Pepper Sauce (available online)

4 oz. fresh pressed organic tomato juice

Coat the rim of the glass with lime and celery salt. Add ice ¾ of the way up the cocktail glass.  Pour 1 jigger of vodka over the ice and then add the Worcestershire, Datil pepper sauce, and Clamato juice. Garnish with celery, asparagus, bacon, olives, or more lime. Enjoy.

Scallops in Whiskey Cream Sauce

~Chef Lara Lyn Carter

6 slices bacon

1 sweet onion chopped

2 tbsp. butter

1 clove garlic minced

1 tbsp. flour

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp. Jack Daniel’s Whiskey

1 lb. scallops

1 lb. cooked linguine

Chop bacon into one inch pieces and cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat until done. Remove bacon from the skillet and drain on paper towels. Cook the onion in the bacon drippings until tender. Reduce the heat to medium and add butter and garlic to skillet cooking for one minute. Whisk in the flour and cook for one more minute. Add cream and Jack Daniel’s stirring until well blended. Add scallops to cream mixture and continue cooking for 5 to 7 minutes until the scallops are cooked through. Serve the sauce over linguine and sprinkle bacon over top.

Wolf Mountain Sparkling Wine enhances the experience.

Tune in anytime from any place to Tailgating Down South on Marilyn Ball’s wonderful show, “Speaking of Travel.” Tailgating is one of the most original travel experiences taking us-and you -from Boston to Miami, and Atlanta, Louisville to Baton Rouge and Nashville and many other great college cities. We combine sports, local cuisine, wines, whiskies and lots of excitement.

ALABAMA WEEKEND: TAILGATING & FOLK ART

~Doc Lawrence

Driving into Tuscaloosa means an embrace by the spirit of Alabama. Here, in the city that’s home to the University of Alabama, authors Harper Lee, Howell Raines and  Fannie Flagg matriculated along with countless celebrities including newsman Joe Scarborough and a wonderful Hollywood cowboy, Johnny Mack Brown. If any one spirit dominates today, it is legendary football coach Bear Bryant.

This was another double-header. Tailgating was in full swing before Alabama took on Tennessee in college football. Simultaneously, the Kentuck Arts Festival, now in its 46th year, featured the glory of the country’s largest and best outdoor exhibition of self-taught folk artists showcasing their wonderful works.

A Mary Proctor Original

While there was food galore at both, you owed it to yourself to dine at The Bright Star in nearby Bessemer. Alabama’s oldest restaurant and a James Beard Heritage Award recipient, the menu is filled with Greek-American cuisine with the freshest seafood north of the Gulf Coast. We had shrimp with spicy remoulade sauce, Greek fried snapper, the house special-cut filet mignon, allowing time to enjoy Jack Daniel’s in the unbelievably comfortable lounge.

Kentuck is where I first met Rev. Howard Finster, Mary Proctor, Danny the Bucketman and many others. Only Mary Proctor survives and this was her weekend. Lines formed with people eager to make a purchase and get a selfie with her. 

Alabama is one of our barbecue shrines and no other place embodies the state’s traditions with slow cooking and smoke better than Big Bob Gibson’s, a national champion barbecuer year after year.  I’m not saying he invented white barbecue sauce, but he certainly popularized it to such fame that it is commonly called by the state’s name. When you’re in Decatur, Alabama stop in and enjoy the food and traditions of Big Bob’s. It’s also an easy walk over to the mighty Tennessee River.

Here is Big Bob’s recipe:

Alabama White Barbecue Sauce

 Credit: Big Bob Gibson

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon sugar

‘Ol Hank’s Remoulade Sauce

(Perfect for Fried Green Tomatoes)

1 1/4 cups Duke’s mayonnaise.

1/4 cup Creole mustard 

1 Tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika.

2 teaspoons Tony Chachere’s Original Creole seasoning.

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish.

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Tabasco

1 large clove garlic, minced and smashed.

Note: Tune in to Tailgating Down South on Marilyn Ball’s terrific show, “Speaking of Travel at http://speakingoftravel.net and on the iHeartRadio Network.

Olivia's Poster of the Tailgating Feast

  

Tar Heel Tailgating: New Gumbo, Carolina Wines

~Doc Lawrence

Chef Lara Lyn Carter

An ancient campus with an advanced lifestyle, thriving in an academic atmosphere where sports, restaurants, bars, students and locals mingle comfortably. Sounds like a place that takes to tailgating with ease. Welcome to Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina and one of the ACC’s most prestigious institutions.

North Carolina is diverse in geography and food preferences. But, barbecue seems to be consistent from the Outer Banks along the Atlantic to Western North Carolina’s Great Smokies. It’s smoke-flavored meat and chicken, slow-cooked and served with a vinegar-based sauce with cole slaw. 

The Yadkin Valley, North Carolina’s acclaimed wine producing region is home to many of the South’s best known wineries. On this beautiful Carolina day, I selected one of my favorite wineries, RagApple Lassie for wines we would enjoy with Chef Lara Lyn Carter’s dishes. A Viognier, with origins in France’s Rhone Valley and a Syrah, also a French grape transplant paired perfectly with our Emmy winner’s delightful Gumbo, Crab Dip and more.

Laura Lyn’s Red Wine Gumbo

Serves 6-8

New Gumbo

1 tbsp. butter

1 large sweet onion

1 bell pepper

1 cup celery

1 clove garlic chopped

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

6 oz. tomato paste

14 oz. diced tomatoes

8 oz. tomato sauce

6 cups seafood stock

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. dried rosemary

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 bay leaf

12 oz. Andouille sausage

1 lb. large shrimp - peeled and deveined

12 oz. lump crab meat - flaked

1 cup Pinot Noir

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Chop the onion, pepper, celery and garlic; add it to the skillet cooking it over medium heat until tender. Remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside while you make the roux.

 Roux

4 tbsp. flour

1/2 cup olive oil

1 stick butter

Melt butter in large stock pot over medium heat. Add the oil to the butter and whisk the flour into the butter and oil. Whisk constantly 10 to 15 minutes until the roux becomes a dark blond color.

Add the vegetables and garlic to the roux and then begin adding the Worcestershire, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and stock. With the heat still on medium, add the herbs and cayenne pepper. Cover the pot and allow the gumbo to simmer for 45 minutes.

While the gumbo simmers, chop the sausage into bit size pieces. Add the sausage, shrimp, crab and wine to the pot and stir well. Allow it to simmer another 15 minutes.

Ladle this rich and meaty gumbo over basmati rice. The sweetness of the rice is delicious with the spiciness of the gumbo. This gumbo is even better the next day. 

Sweet Onion Crab Dip

2 cups sweet onion, preferably Vidalia if available, chopped

½ cup red pepper chopped

½ cup green pepper chopped

2 cups of grated Swiss cheese

2 cups of mayonnaise

1 lb. lump crabmeat from Outer Banks

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. fresh dill chopped finely

Mix all of the ingredients together and pour into a buttered baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

I use Vidalia onions when they are available for this recipe. However, you may use any sweet onion available.

This is a rich and delicious appetizer however; it is hearty enough to serve as a main dish.  Serve it alongside toast points or crackers.

Tune in Marilyn Ball’s wonderful show, Speaking of Travel for Tailgating Down South reports each weekend on www.speakingoftravel.net and on iHeartRadio.

The Great American Tailgating Party, a wonderful poster print is a perfect holiday gift for the accomplished tailgater. Contact BigO Studio: bigoart1@yahoo.com. A bargain at $28.00.

Tailgating Knoxville: Ukrainian Food & Oregon Wine

Karen Blake Honors her Ukrainian Heritage

~Doc Lawrence

This college town sits along the mighty Tennessee river. Knoxville, home of the University of Tennessee is the “capital city” of East Tennessee. It’s on the tourism-oriented Moonshine Trail, accessible by Interstates and boats and is second to none as a city with a thriving arts center. Blessed with many exceptional restaurants and a world-class performing arts venue, there are good bars and clubs serving generous pours of Jack Daniel’s and other libations.

On a Tennessee Vols gameday Saturday, orange, the UT color, is slathered everywhere.

There was Tailgating in the sun beneath a deep blue sky. Later in the day, there would be a football game with the visiting Bulldogs from Georgia, a special day honoring the Tennessee great Peyton Manning. From early morning light until kickoff, the tables, racks, tents, trucks and boats would be decorated, serving those special dishes created by the kitchen wizards from not only all parts of the Volunteer state, but throughout the South. 

Two creations stood out. The casserole, a Saturday delight from Estelle Collier, a UT fan from Johnson City, had some taste components that really took off from the first bite forward. I had a bottle of a dry red, Beans Creek Cynthiana from the acclaimed Tennessee winery in Manchester, Tennessee that soared as an accompaniment.

Tailgating on Tennessee River

The other winner, prepared by Nashville attorney and UT stalwart Karen Blake, represented her Ukranian heritage. Her Pierogis connected the Deep South’s love of good food with her Ukranian ancestors, adding greatly to this food and football festival. Wine? An unforgettable 2016 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris from Oregon’s heralded King Estate. Combined, these dishes and wines symbolize the majesty of our country that honors and absorbs the contributions from many cultures. Tailgating is a wonderful way to extend hospitality out in the fresh air while the celebrations continued around Neyland Stadium.

Thunder Road Casserole

Estelle Collier

Ingredients

2 onions

2 bell peppers

2 celery stalks

1 can mushrooms

1 jar stuffed green olives

1 lb. ground round beef

1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage

1 pkg. egg noodles

1 can tomato paste

1 can tomato soup

1 can tomato sauce 

1/2 lb. Cheddar cheese, grated

Chop vegetable, mushrooms, wilt in a small amount of peanut oil in frying pan. Brown beef and sausage, mix together. Cook noodles. Blend together and place in baking pan. Top with cheese. Bake for one hour.

Ukrainian Varenyky (Pierogis)

Karen Blake

Dough:

 2 c. flour

Steve Blahitka & Kevin Beyke enjoy Pierogis

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

2/3 cool water.

 Potato filling:

 4 Large cooked potatoes

1 c. Farmer’s cheese (or cream cheese)

½ c. vegetable oil

Salt/pepper dash of each.

Onion topping:

 ½ - 1 stick of butter (1/2 melted, ½ for browning)

1 large chopped yellow onion

 Mixing:

1.    Mix ingredients for dough, knead lightly.  Cover with kitchen towel and set aside

2.    Combine ingredients for filling, adding a little sour cream if dry.

 Forming :

1.    Roll dough thin, cut rounds with inverted water glass dipped lightly in flour.

2.    Stuff with spoonful of filling.

3.    Wet edges with water, pressing edges to seal. 

4.    Lay them on dry kitchen towel and cover.

Cooking :

1)   Bring large pot of water to a rolling boil.

2)   Bring sauté pan to high heat, coating with butter.  Bring butter to brown and caramelize onions.  Set aside onions.

3)   Drop pierogis in a few at a time, letting them cook about 4 minutes.

4)   Drain in pierogis in colander.

5)   Use the pan that caramelized the onions and fry the pierogis lightly.

6)   Remove and layer in pan with remaining melted butter and onions.

Tune in Tailgating Down South on Marilyn Ball’s marvelous show, “Speaking of Travel”-www.speakingoftravel.net and the iHeart Radio Network.

Olivia Thomason’s one-of-a-kind print, “Great American Tailgating Party,” makes a wonderful gift. bigoart1@yahoo.com