 The Birmingham News / Bernard Troncale |
Granny Hester's Sweet Potato Biscuits are great stuffed with your favorite BBQ or to top off a meal. Granny Hester's Homemade Sweet Potato Biscuits top the tailgate chart! These tasty tailgating dishes will help you stay in the (entertaining) game By Chandra Temple -- The Birmingham News Courtesy of al.com |
|---|
Published October 27, 2010
Talk about quick and easy.
Several Birmingham News readers responded to our request for some of their favorite tailgating recipes, which are so simple to make that you'll be out of the kitchen in no time to enjoy the action on the gridiron.
Apple pie with sweet potato biscuit crust and barbecue sliders
Tracy Johnson, owner of Granny Hester's Fine Foods in Fort Payne, has found other uses for her 94-year-old grandmother's sweet potato biscuits than just breakfast.
The handmade biscuits, sold frozen at V. Richards Market, Piggly Wiggly, http://www.grannyhesters.com/, and online at Dreamland BBQ, work well in barbecue pork sliders, she said.
"They are quick and easy and they are really good," said Johnson. "The biscuits only take 20 minutes to cook, and you just put your barbecue in them and wrap them up and there you have it."
Besides barbecue, ham is another alternative.
The frozen biscuits, when thawed, can also be used to make the crust for an apple pie, a recipe conceived by Johnson's mother, Pat St. John of Fort Payne.
"It's something you can pop out and have ready to go," Johnson said.
To reach the Granny Hester's home office, call 1-866-227-0061.
Jamaican Jerk black-eyed pea salad
Brian Studdard and Sylvia Studdard-Jackson, the brother/sister team of Studdard Caterers & Events in Birmingham, start planning tailgating menus for the Magic City Classic months in advance. They have to because that's how early fans of the annual October showdown between Alabama A&M and Alabama State universities start placing orders.
One of the most popular requests is for their Jamaican Jerk black-eyed pea salad, a zesty dish that can be served hot or cold.
"It's something a little different from your regular tailgating fare," Studdard said. " It travels well. You can put it in a Ziploc bag, put it on some ice if you want it served cold and just put it in a bowl when you get to your destination."
But people don't limit the dish to football parties. They come back for it throughout the year.
"It's Mama Chris' recipe. That's our mother," said Studdard, who is an uncle to "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard. "She is who we got our wonderful cooking skills from."
There will be a little rivalry in the catering kitchen this year. Studdard-Jackson's older son, Gregory Rembert, attended A&M, and her other son, Weslie Rembert, is an ASU graduate. Both work for the catering company. To reach Brian Studdard and Sylvia Studdard-Jackson, call 205-705-2731 or 205-441-7388.
Turnip green soup
Angela McKinney of Homewood has been serving turnip green soup at her Mississippi State University tailgates for the last 10 to 12 years.
But don't think this is just a bowl of greens. It's full of diced ham, potatoes and more.
"The soup is hearty enough with the vegetables, meat and beans that we usually serve it as a whole meal along with cornbread," McKinney said. "Mexican cornbread is especially good with it."
The recipe was created by friend Bo Mayfield, an orthodontist from Pascagoula Miss., who tasted a turnip green soup in a Cuban restaurant in Tampa. When he asked the restaurant for the recipe, they declined to reveal it. Mayfield worked on his own version three or four times until he could get the right taste, said McKinney.
Barbecue parfaits
University of Alabama graduates Donna and Dr. Charles Robinett of Mountain Brook liked the unique way the people at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn. served barbecue and baked beans in a mason jar at a picnic, that the couple started using the same method for their own tailgating parties.
It's known as a "barbecue sundae" at Blackberry Farm. But the Robinetts call their version "barbecue parfaits." They buy chopped barbecue pork and barbecue sauce from their favorite restaurant and baked beans. They drain the beans and mix it with the pork and sauce, and heat it in the oven or keep it warm in a chaffing dish. When they are ready to serve, they fill the jar with 1 to 1½ inches of the meat/bean mixture and then add the same size serving of a vinegar-based slaw. They repeat the steps until the jar is full.
They said it's a great way to have "good barbecue and none of the mess."
Smoked salmon dip and crawfish etouffee
When Mississippi State graduate Bob Elliott and wife Judy of Oak Mountain tailgate for every home game, they and friends pick food themes based on the opposing team the school will play.
For their "Seafood Saturday," Elliott whips up his smoked salmon dip.
The dip is special to Elliott because it's made with salmon he catches in British Columbia in late August. The salmon is smoked, and vacuumed seal at a cannery before being shipped to his home.
They created the recipe with a "little bit of help" from a recipe card in the cannery's packaging, he said. When he can't use freshly caught salmon, he uses Red Sockeye canned salmon from the store.
He also likes to make a crawfish etouffee, using a recipe he got from his sister, Susan McAllister of Jackson, Miss.
"It's an easy recipe and if you didn't know the difference, you'd swear it came out of Brennan's in New Orleans," he said of the crawfish etouffee. "You don't have to tell everyone how easy it is. You serve it up and everyone says, 'Wow, this is excellent."
Tailgating recipes from Birmingham News readers
By Chandra Temple -- The Birmingham News
Courtesy of al.com
Published October 26, 2010
JAMAICAN JERK BLACK-EYED PEA SALAD
(Makes 20 servings)
2 small bags dried black-eyed peas
2 cups Hidden Valley Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons Lawry's
Jamaican jerk seasoning sauce
1/4 of a large purple onion, diced
1/2 cup diced roasted red bell pepper
1 cup banana peppers, sliced
1 large tomato, chopped
Cook peas according to instructions on bags. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Once peas are done, drain them. Mix peas with salad dressing, Jamaican jerk seasoning, onion, red bell pepper and ½ cup banana peppers. Chill for up to three hours or overnight before serving. The longer it's chilled, the better the flavor. It can be served cold or heated. When ready to serve, garnish with chopped tomatoes and ½ cup sliced banana peppers.
Studdard Caterers and Events of Birmingham
APPLE PIE WITH SWEET POTATO BISCUIT CRUST
(Serves 10 to 12)
1 can apple pie filling
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
6 Granny Hester's Homemade Sweet Potato Biscuits
Mix pie filing, cinnamon and brown sugar and put them into a 9-inch pan. Thaw frozen biscuits until they can be split open. Place biscuits on top of apples and top with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until done.
Note: You may have to use more or less than six biscuits, depending on size of surface area you want to cover. Granny Hester's Homemade Sweet Potato Biscuits can be found at V. Richards Market, Southside's Dreamland BBQ, various Birmingham-area Piggly Wiggly stores and the company website at www.grannyhester.com.
Pat St. John
SMOKED SALMON DIP
(Serves 10 to 12)
1 can of Red Sockeye salmon, drained
1 package Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon liquid smoke (Use if you are not using smoked salmon)
1 or 2 small green onions, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and stir well. Place into serving dish and garnish with paprika, a little dill weed and several capers.
Serve with club crackers.
Bob and Judy Elliott of Oak Mountain
TURNIP GREEN SOUP
(Serves 15 to 18)
1 onion, chopped
Olive oil
3 medium turnips, peeled and chopped
2 pounds smoked ham, cubed Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning, to taste
2 32-ounce containers of chicken broth
2 pounds of great Northern
Â¥beans, soaked and rinsed
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium potatoes, chopped
4 10-ounce packages of frozen turnip greens
In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, saute the onion in olive oil until almost caramelized. Add garlic and cook for two to three minutes. Stir in the meat and brown with creole seasoning. Add a small amount of chicken broth and cook two minutes, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of the pot. Add remaining broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add beans and simmer until beans are tender. Add turnips and potatoes and cook until soft. Add frozen turnip greens and simmer for 30 minutes.
Note: Instead of cubed ham, you can use cooked, smoked spicy sausage, or use half ham and half sausage in dish.
Dr. Bo Mayfield
MEXICAN CORNBREAD
(Serves 8)
2/3 cup cooking oil
1 cup sour cream
1 can creamed corn
1-1/2 cup self-rising cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 or 3 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1-1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Mix all ingredients and 1 cup of the grated cheese. Place in greased pan. Place remaining cheese on top of cornbread. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
CRAWFISH ETOUFFEE
(Serves 8 to 10)
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 stick of butter
3 26-ounce cans of cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of salt or to taste
Paprika and Zatarain's Creole Seasoning, to taste
2-1/2 pounds of crawfish tails (frozen tails work fine)
6 cups of dry white rice
Saute onion, bell pepper and butter in deep saute pan. Add the soup, Worcestershire sauce and crawfish. Heat on low for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add salt, paprika and creole seasoning and stir. Cover and let simmer over really low heat for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mixture can then be transferred to a slow cooker to keep warm while tailgating.
Prepare rice according to directions on the package. Serve in bowls over white rice.
Susan McAllister
BARBECUE PARFAIT
5 pounds of barbecue pork, cooked and chopped
Barbecue sauce, to taste
2 quarts baked beans, cooked
4 quarts of a vinegar-based coleslaw
6-ounce Mason jars
Depending on how many people you will serve, consider using 1/4 pounds of meat per person. If you are serving 20 people, for example, use five pounds of meat. Mix five pounds of the chopped barbecue with the sauce. Drain the baked beans. Mix the pork with the beans. Keep mixture warm in the oven or a chaffing dish. When ready to serve, spoon the bean and pork mixture into a 6-ounce Mason jar. Make the first layer about 1- to 1 1/2-inches thick. Then, add the same amount of coleslaw. Repeat process until jar is full. Let guests use a fork to eat right of their own personal jar.
Dr. Charles and Donna Robinett of Mountain Brook
BARBECUE CHICKEN WITH HONEY BARBECUE SAUCE
(Makes 12 servings)
12 grilling leg quarters
Lemon pepper, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Onion powder
Barbecue sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice from one lemon
Fresh cracked black pepper
1 1/2 cups water
1 quart ketchup
Season leg quarters with lemon pepper, salt and pepper. Add a little onion powder. Let spices soak into the meat overnight.
The day you grill the leg quarters, make the sauce. Combine the brown sugar, honey, lemon zest, juice from one lemon, water and ketchup in a pot and set stove to a slow simmer. Let simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Check constantly so not to scorch the sauce. Apply sauce to leg quarters 15 minutes before removing leg quarters from grill. Ten minutes later, apply more sauce to leg quarters on grill. Guests can use additional sauce, if desired.
Studdard Caterers and Events
PULLED PORK SWEET POTATO BISCUIT SLIDERS
Warm pulled pork
Granny Hester's Homemade Sweet Potato Biscuits
Bake the biscuits until done. Slice them in half and fill biscuits with pork. Add your own barbecue sauce, if desired.
Tracy Johnson