World Series Tailgate Menu, Texas Rangers Style

There's little joy in Detroit tonight; the Tigers lost their World Series slot to the Texas Rangers. Baseball fans, get ready for the World Series with these tailgate treats, Texas Rangers style.

Ranger cakes

You'll need a red velvet cake mix, a can of white frosting, chocolate sprinkles and three cans of spray frosting (with decorator tips): red, white and blue. Make the mix into cupcakes. Frost the cupcakes with a thin layer of white frosting. Arrange chocolate sprinkles to look like the seams of a baseball.

Make a solid semi-circle of red around the top of the cupcake. Finish the circle with a solid border of blue along the bottom. Attach the small star tip to the white frosting and make several small star along the border. Place the narrow piping tip on the blue frosting. Draw a star over the middle. Place the narrow piping tip on the red frosting and draw a "T" over the star. Another option is to make a two-layer round cake and create this design on the top.

Ranger fruit kebabs or beverage garnishes

You'll need a star-shaped cookie cutter (metal works better than plastic), watermelon, green grapes, blueberries and plastic cocktail swords. Cut thin pieces of watermelon (about half an inch thick) and use the cookie cutters to make star shaped. For drink garnishes, place a watermelon star, a blueberry and a grape on the sword. For kebabs, do several alternating fruit repetitions.

Ranger slaw

You'll need pre-shredded red cabbage (or shred your own), olive oil, vinegar (white or rice), two tablespoons of horseradish, 1 tsp. celery seed, 1 tablespoon honey and red bell peppers. Using the star shaped cookie cutter, cut star shapes in the pepper. You can also cut it in small squares. Lightly toss ingredients. Adjust oil and vinegar to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

Texas Ranger chili with cornbread

What would a Texan-themed party be without a huge pot of chili with cornbread? I use Krusteaz cornbread mix. For the chili, brown two pounds ground beef, one chopped sweet onion, several ribs of sliced celery and one large chopped green pepper. You can also use some Louisiana "Holy Trinity," or mirepoix: a blend of onions, celery and peppers or carrots. Season the meat and vegetables with fresh garlic, celery salt, cumin, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Add a can of chili peppers or chopped serrano chiles (wear gloves when you chop them).

When meat is cooked, drain fat and add two large cans petite diced tomatoes, three cans of garbanzo beans and a 46-ounce bottle of V-8. To turn up the heat, the word is out on which is the hottest hot sauce. Louisiana Voodoo pepper sauce gets high marks. For a tangier hot sauce, Texas Champagne has a pepper-citrus blend. Simmer for at least an hour.