Shot of Brandi* Tailgating Week

Monday, August 27, 2012



Next to Fashion Week, The Oscars and Halloween, one of my absolute favorite “holidays” kicks off this week – FOOTBALL SEASON!



I don’t know about you, but I’m super pumped for the college football season to start! The hubs and I are proud grads of the almost unanimous #1 Party School – West Virginia University. In addition to a B.S. in glitter, I feel that feel that I have an unofficial doctorate in partying!



I’m so excited for football, I wanted to theme things up here this week by devoting every day to tailgate season. I’m plan to cover what to eat, drink, wear and tips for throwing a good party out of the back of your car.

Today, let’s start with the food. My parents like to go all out and make warm dishes on site, but for me, I tend to keep things simple right now and just make things that 1. Won’t spoil too quick and 2. Don’t need to be heated. So here are my suggestions (with help from Shot of Mom!).



1.       Pasta Salad with WVU Noodles! Shot of Mom’s recipe is a variation of the one linked here – but she uses pepper jack cheese and pepperoni

2.       Taco Dip – shout out to my Chi O’s with this dish. Shot of Mom would make two batches – one for the tailgate and one for the late night snacking. Sue’s recipe = 1 jar of taco sauce mixed with 2 cream cheese blocks. Then layer with lettuce, diced tomatoes and Mexican cheese.

3.       Jell-o Shots – of course in blue and yellow! Shot of Dad’s trick is to NOT use water. He replaces water with vodka. Yellow = pineapple Jell-o with pineapple vodka. Blue = blue raspberry vodka or regular vodka with some blue curacao. People in Pittsburgh – you can get mini cups with lids for shots at Mike Feinberg in the Strip!

4.       Say Cheese – my go to is always a cheese plate. I basically just raid the cheese aisle and add some nuggets to my awesome state of West Virginia tray. My current fav is Robusto from Whole Foods.

5.       Baked Potato Dip – a new one from Shot of Mom, she’s made this for some recent tailgates and it’s gone over super well. See below for the full recipe!

Loaded Baked Potato Dip
·         1-package fully cooked bacon slices ( I did not use the pre-cooked--I fried my own bacon)
·         1-8oz cream cheese
·         1-16 oz sour cream
·         2 cups freshly shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
·         1/3 cup sliced fresh chives
·         2 teaspoons hot sauce

Directions
·         Fry bacon (if not using the pre-cooked) and drain on paper towels.
·         If using the pre-cooked, microwave according to package directions until crisp.
·         Cool and then crumble.
·         Add cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar cheese, chives and hot sauce,
·         Cover and chill at least one hour before serving.

·         Serve with a strong potato chip. Sue used Ruffles Ridged potato chips, but if you are making this for an at home party, you can use waffle fries.


There are SO MANY MORE recipes, but I wanted to just share my fav today : )