Game Day

I have a deliciously beautiful and beautifully delicious online store to tell you about. And, with the holidays practically on our doorstep, the timing couldn’t be better.

Global Gardens Gifts has the most beautifully bottled and wrapped vinegars, mustards, oils, and gift baskets (plus a lot more) that you’ve ever seen.

I’ve personally tried the Strawberry Champagne Vinegar and the Blood Orange Vinegar, and if they are any indication of the other products.. quite frankly, I MUST try them all!

The Blood Orange Vinegar makes an unforgettable guacamole. I was a little skeptical at first, because I LOVE guacamole and didn’t want the flavor I adore so much to be screwed around with. (Besides, with the price of avocados, I didn’t want to regret it in the end!) But when I poured a drop or two of the vinegar on a piece of bagel and tasted it…. I knew it meant my guacamole no harm.

The. Guacamole. Was. Delicious. I can’t even tell you how fast it disappeared. Below is the recipe - it’s from the Global Gardens Gifts website, and it’s a total winner. Total!

Blood Orange Guacamole

1 Clove Garlic
3 Tbsp Global Gardens Blood Orange Vinegar
2 Avocados
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Peppercorn

Mince Garlic and add Avocados and Global Gardens Blood Orange Vinegar and Sea Salt and Fresh Peppercorn to taste. Enjoy!

And enjoy you will - this is absolutely remarkable. It’d make a very impressive holiday snack. You know the ones you nibble away on while playing games, with one eye on the snacks and one eye on the family member who makes up her own rules. Every game my mom ever played came with two sets of instructions - the manufacturer’s and her’s. She seldom ever lost. She would have loved this guacamole!

I used the Strawberry Champagne vinegar with the recipe that follows.

Fruit Vinegar Reduction Glaze

Put the Global Gardens Fruit Champagne Vinegar into a heavy saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low boil for 20 minutes, stirring frequently and being careful not to let it burn or carmelize! Ratio of reduction will be about one half to one third of original measurement.

Use reduction glazes over meats, seafood, cheeses, fruits, cheese cakes…anywhere you want to add a little sour to your sweet. It’s easy to use all Global Gardens Champagne Vinegars this way…try them all!

I actually poured mine over sugar cookies. OMG - delicious!!!! I’m going to try it tonight over cheesecake and fish. I know it’s going to blend with the cheesecake in such a way that I’ll go a little bit delirious.

To see their other recipes, click HERE. The Savory Grecian Delight and the Pomegranate Appetizer Spread would also be perfect holiday snacks - for games, watching football, decorating the tree, wrapping presents, etc. The images on their recipe page aren’t showing up for some reason, but don’t let that slow you down - the recipes are the stars of the show anyway!

The Mediterranean Almonds would make great gifts. People LOVE things you prepare in your own kitchen.

Speaking of gifts, be sure to check out the following pages:
Gift Baskets

Mustards (These look amazing - I’m going to try them out asap.)

Gift Sets

Take a look around Global Gardens Gifts.com - you’ll love what you see. Also, rest assured that if you have gifts mailed to people on your list, they’ll arrive in a very impressive box, wrapped extremely well and read to impress.

Oh, yeah, football season is back in full swing! And since football fans love food like nobody else loves food, tailgating and gametime snacks are on everyone’s minds. Apparently, including Emeril’s. We all know that when food’s on Emeril’s mind, something astonishing is going to happen!

The Emerilware Stainless Tailgate Barbeque Set can help anyone get their Emeril on.

From Metro Kitchen.com:
This set includes the following items: 6 qt. Stainless Steel Stockpot, Black and Yellow Insulated Food Carrier, Stainless Barbeque Tongs, 2 Barbeque Sauces, Grilling Mitt, 4 Recipe Cards

I’ve been looking at Emerilware all morning (there’ll be more featured in the next few posts), so I can’t remember the exact price of this Emerilware Stainless Tailgate Barbeque Set, but I think it’s just under $100.

Below are some of Emeril’s best Tailgating recipes Ev-er:

Emeril’s Tailgating Crawfish Boil Recipe

Oyster Stew Over Spinach Potato Cakes Recipe

Sour Cream Apple Cake

Click here for more Tailgating Recipes from Food Network (Over 10 pages of recipes!)

My ongoing search for great looking Halloween/Autumn dishes continues. I found these handsome little spreaders earlier this morning. While these Halloween Stripe Spreaders (set of 4) would add a lot of fun during September and October for those of us who have a ball with Halloween, they’d do double duty for those of you who are Bengals fans.

I haven’t been able to find the great dishes that are in the picture with these spreaders, but worry not - I’m on the case.

With all of the talk about Brett Favre, I’m getting worked up for football season. I know, I know, I’m rushing things… But if you think that’s bad, my daughter Brittany and I went for a 30 minute walk yesterday and talked about Christmas the entire time. Never mind the fact that it was in the 90’s and we were wilting, we had Christmas trees, shopping, and Christmas cookies on our minds.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to rush summer along. As a fresh produce fan and baseball fanatic (St. Louis Cardinals!), I love every second of this season as well. I’m just anxious for football. This is (for sure this time) my Denver Bronco’s year, and I just want to see them razzle and dazzle.

I also love the food and fixin’s for football games - whether you tailgate in a parking lot or in the space between your kitchen and television, good food and good games make for great fun.

I’ve started a new category called Tailgating to show you just how serious I take this stuff. I’ll be adding my favorite recipes as well as links to other recipes and must have products. If you have your own favorite recipes, gadgets, or traditions, by all means, e-mail them to me and I’ll post them right here on the blog - along with your name and link to your site, of course. Even if you aren’t a Denver Bronco fan. I’ve got nothing but love for fans of other teams. I pretty much have to - everyone in our family is a huge fan of different teams. My husband is a Jets fan (and riding high with the Brett Favre news), my oldest daughter Emily, ironically, is a Green Bay Packer’s fan, my middle daughter Brittany is a Dallas Cowboy’s fan, and my youngest Stephany loves the New England Patriots and whichever team Randy Moss is on.

Needless to say, football is on all season in this house. It’s especially fun when our teams play one another. Whoot! At least we all agree on the college football teams we like: UK Wildcats and U of L Cardinals. We never know what to expect with these two, so it’s always (always?) entertaining.

Create a Favorites Folder called Tailgating and when you find a recipe or product suggestion you like in any of the tailgating posts, throw it into the folder. Then, when the season’s finally here and you’re ready to break out your team’s sweatshirts, hoodies, blankets, etc - they’ll be there waiting for you.

Here’s a link to a recipe you can start things off with. It’s from one of Emeril’s Tailgating episodes - the recipe is for Grilled Corn Salsa with Blue Corn Tortilla Chips. When serving this salsa, I’d also serve a hefty serving of traditional Salsa AND, you’ll notice that the recipe calls for jalapeño - until we have the “go ahead,” I’d buy a jar of sliced jalapeños and use that instead. Hey, I want you to be well enough to see the Broncos in the Super Bowl!

Dancing Snacks- Set of 3 Tin Sign
Buy at AllPosters.com

Okay, I’ll admit it - I’m a snack junkie. My whole family is. It’s actually my fault, really. After all, I’m the one who instituted Monday Night Football snacks, Survivor snacks, American Idol snacks, St. Louis Cardinal ballgame snacks, etc. I even make snacks for The Biggest Loser - but at least I make darn sure they’re healthy snacks. I usually pull them right from The Biggest Loser cookbook.

My family has gotten so spoiled to special snacks, they’ll call or text (or Steph will just come find me in whatever room I’m in!) and ask, “What are we having during (insert the television event of the night)?!” Normally I make something special, whether it’s my killer Spinach Artichoke dip and tortilla chips, guacamole, enchiladas, cupcakes, cookies, or other dessert. Last night I was running verrrry late on time, so I grabbed a bag of Frito’s - a new flavor, Lime and Salt. Delicous! As soon as you see this on your shelves, grab a bag - whether there’s anything on tv that night or not. The tanginess of the lime is absolutely perfect with the deliciousness of the Frito’s.

They’d be really good served alongside Taco Burgers or tacos.

A good snack for the health-conscious crowd is this simple idea: Take store-bought granola bars, regular flavor, and spread creamy peanut butter on top. You can leave it at that OR you can sprinkle sunflower seeds on top. Another option is to slice a layer of banana and lay it on top of the peanut butter. YUM!

Having special snacks for special family gatherings just makes it even more enjoyable. It lets your family know that nothing in the world is as important to you as the time you spend with them.

Here’s a link (Artichoke Dip With Pretzels) to an Artichoke Dip with Pretzels recipe that’ll be making an appearance in my house tonight.

While I’m cheering on my faves at the Oscars……If Jennifer Hudson doesn’t win, I’ll insist on having a melt down…..we’ll be wrapping our faces around this dip. It’s the first time I’ve seen one call for Blue Cheese Salad dressing. That’s one of the husband’s favorite things in the world, so he might just eat the dip out of the bowl with a spoon. Actually, he might put it on a burger - that’s where he likes to put his Blue Cheese dressing.

I always thought he was certifiable….until I tried it. I liked it muchly, so if he’s off his nut - I guess I’m right there with him. (There was never really any doubt about that one!)

Popcorn is one of those things we munch on around our house all year. It sees us through Football season (Next year, Broncos, next year), St. Louis Baseball, UK Basketball, countless award shows, Survivor, American Idol, card games, moives, Scrabble, and (of course) nights in front of the Food Network - popcorn and Alton go especially well together.

The gorgeous
Nostalgia Electrics Old Fashioned Kettle Popcorn Maker
, above, would add a perfect touch of class and nostalgia to all of these family gatherings. Maybe it’d get my family’s mind off of the beatings I put on them during card games. Probably not…but it couldn’t hurt.

The Nostalgia Electrics Old Fashioned Kettle Popcorn Maker is a hot oil popcorn popper that is easy to use, just add the popcorn turn on the machine and watch the popcorn flow! It fits on a countertop or on a table, and would be perfect to have in place before March Madness!

I’ve been shopping around for a chip/dip tray. We do A LOT of snacking around our house - especially during sports. Whether we’re watching our beloved St. Louis Cardinals, UK basketball, or NFL (everyone in the house has a different favorite team - mine’s the Broncos, my husband likes the Jets, and my daughters cover the Eagles, Cowboys, and Packers. Someone’s team is always playing, but the fun really starts when they play one another! )

I try out lots of different salsas with tortilla chips for game day/night, and I have a favorite Spinach-Artichoke dip I use often. Sometimes we’ll go a weee bit healthier and have a ranch-type dip with baby vegetables.
The Large Serape Chip and Dip from Target.com looks perfect - Especially for salsa and chips. It’s gorgeous!

Target.com also has the following matching pieces:

Serape 3Section Condiment Server

Serape Mugs

Serape Dinner Plates 11″ Set of 4

Serape Rectangular Platter

If you’re as into as the authentic Mexican look (not to mention food!) as I am, I’m sure you’re as in love with these pieces as I am. They are just gorgeous.

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By the way, speaking of this amazing food group, if you have an authentic Mexican restaurant near you, here’s an idea you might end up loving. See if they have a take-out deal on chips and salsa. My favorite Mexican restaurant (Real Hacienda - Owensboro, Kentucky) has a GREAT deal on both Salsa/Chips and Cheese Dip/Chips. Last Sunday, my youngest daughter and I grabbed a large order of both to bring home. Delicious! - And you can’t make it for the price. Ours was under $10.oo for everything.

Have a totally relaxing Sunday!
Joi

Below is a fascinating recipe that was in the November/December issue of “Cooking with Paula Deen.” Now that my favorite season, Baseball Season, is here - these will make awesome game day snacks.

4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups crispy rice cereal
1/2 tsp salt
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well and form into small balls, about the size of quarters. Flatten each ball with fingertips until dough is very thin. Arrange discs on a cookie sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until crackers are slightly brown around the edges.

Anything within shouting distance of Paula Deen is awesome, and these crackers are no exception.

Give ‘em a try!
Joi

2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 hard-boiled eggs
2 TBS onion
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup almonds, sliced
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 - 3/4 cup Ritz Crackers, crumbled

Combine all ingreidents in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Top with cracker crumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I love this stuff!