Weather you are hosting a party or joining one we have some gourmet tailgate items for the fans that take football and food very seriously. 

Cowboy Caviar Salsa

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
• 1 can white beans rinsed and drained
• 3 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 jalapeño seeded and finely diced
• 2 ears fresh corn, roasted then cut off the cob
• 1 avocado chopped
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 small red onion finely diced
• 1 bunch cilantro leaves chopped
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Place the beans, white beans, tomatoes, jalapeño, corn, avocado, bell pepper, onion and cilantro in a large bowl. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, honey, chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper.

Pour the dressing over the bean mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve as a salad or with chips.

Sticky Onion Crunch Wings

Ingredients

For the wings:

• 3 pounds chicken wings
• Salt and Pepper
• vegetable oil, for frying 
• 1/2 cup French-fried onions

For the sauce:

• 1 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice 
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar 
• 2 garlic cloves, grated or minced 
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish 
• 4 green onions, finely chopped 
• Salt and Pepper

Preparation

Put the wings on a baking sheet and season both sides with salt and pepper. Let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

To make the sauce, in a small saucepan, mix together the hoisin, pomegranate juice, brown sugar, garlic, horseradish, scallions, and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat. When the sauce starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt.

In a deep heavy pot, Dutch oven, or deep fryer, fill with oil to a depth of about 6 inches, and heat to 360 degrees F.

Working in batches, fry the wings; the oil temperature will settle at about 350 degrees ¿ try to maintain that temperature by adjusting the heat while you fry. Fry the wings until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Put some of the sauce in a large mixing bowl and toss the wings in batches, adding more sauce as needed, until completely coated. Put the onions into another large bowl, add the sauced wings in batches and toss to thoroughly coat. Serve warm.

Chef Mike’s Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon, chopped
• 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced
• 1 onion, small diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1 box elbow macaroni, cooked and cooled
• 1 cup mayo (more if you like it a bit wetter)
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, chopped
• 1 tablespoon celery seeds or you can use celery salt Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 1-3 dashes hot sauce

Preparation

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium high heat until crispy. Pull out bacon from the skillet and let cool. Save the bacon grease. In a large bowl add the eggs, onion, celery and cooked macaroni. In a medium bowl using a whisk add the mayo, bacon grease, dijon, fennel seeds, celery seeds, half the chopped parsley, hot sauce and salt and pepper. Whisk until combined and smooth. Add the mayo dressing into the pasta bowl and stir to combine. Top with remaining parsley. Chill for an hour then serve.

Cookiedillas

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temp
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4oz chocolate chips
• 1 jar marshmallow fluff
• 1 jar Hersheys hot fudge

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl using a whisk, cream the butter and sugars together until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the sugar and mix well until combined.

In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in the flour mixture into the creamed sugar a little at a time until the flour is completely incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.

On a parchment lined cookie sheet scope on the cookies about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 10-15 minutes.  Set aside to cool. 

To make the cookiedillas spread marshmallow fluff on the bottom of one cookie and then spread hot fudge on the bottom of another cookie. Put the cookies together and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes or even use a microwave just to warm up the cookiedillas. Serve warm.