Tailgate Recipes for Autumn Football Games

The air is crisp and the leaves are turning. Summer heat has been forgotten and winter snows are far away. It's finally football season! And what better way to celebrate than tailgating? Tailgating can be more than hot dogs, brats, and hamburgers. How about starting off with baby tomatoes stuffed with basil and pine nut pesto, creamy potato bacon soup, zippy pork chili served with a choice of seven toppings, and fresh fruit skewers. Sound good? Below are the tailgating recipes.

Stuffed Baby Tomatoes
For each serving plan on 4 tomatoes per person. Choose medium size cherry tomatoes, not the tiny little ones. Cut off the top and scoop out the seeds. Place upside down on a paper towel covered plate for 15 minutes or so to drain. In the meantime place one cup of fresh basil leaves, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup of pine nuts, and 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese in the blender. Pulse until smooth.

Place the tomatoes right side up in a plastic storage container. Press down gently to flatten the bottoms of the tomatoes so they don't rock. Fill the container with tomatoes so they support each other. Fill each tomato half way with the pesto mixtures. Refrigerate.

Creamy Potato Bacon Soup
This tailgating recipe makes 4 servings, double ingredients for 8 servings. Cut 4 slices of bacon into 1 inch pieces. Fry in a large sauce pan over medium heat until almost crisp. Add 1 medium chopped onion. Continue cooking over medium heat until onions are translucent. Carefully add one quart, 4 cups, of chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. Add 4 large, peeled, potatoes, cut into about 1/2 inch pieces. Again bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for another 10 minutes until potatoes are cooked through and soft. Add one cup of cream or half and half. Take off the heat, cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. Heat before serving.

Zippy Pork Chili
This can be prepared at the game in the parking lot over a charcoal burner or gas camping stove. If you do, prep and chop the vegetables, cut the pork at home before leaving for the game. Refrigerate all ingredients until ready to cook. Otherwise the chili can be made the night before, reheated the day of the game and stored in an insulated container to keep it hot.

For 8 servings: Chop 1 medium onion, 2 stalks of celery, 2 carrots, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 jalapeno peppers and 1 1/2 pounds of pork loin. Increase or decrease the spiciness of the dish by adding additional peppers. If you don't like spicy food leave them out. Pour 2 tablespoons of oil in a large deep pan. When the oil is hot add the pork loin and brown. Add veggies and cook for 5 minutes or so. Pour in one bottle of beer, but have another one ready. Add 2 15 ounce cans of your favorite beans and one teaspoon of cinnamon. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for one hour. Watch carefully. If too much liquid evaporates add more beer. Serve with toppings: corn chips, chopped scallions, chopped jalapeno peppers, rice, fresh or defrosted corn, lime wedges, grated cheese.

Fresh Fruit Skewers
Cut assorted fresh fruit into one inch chunks. Thread onto skewers.

And there you have a delicious fun tailgating party ready to go and be enjoyed on game day.