It’s Game On. It’s Grill On.
A-Tailgaitng We Will Go!
I received the instructions from my editor: “Your mission for writing a food article for the fall issue, Rosie, should you choose to accept it, is tailgating.” I didn’t want the secretary to disavow any knowledge of my actions, so my brain sparked into gear and I went out for a test drive. Bottom line: One cannot serve food while riding on someone’s tail on the bypass in Kill Devil Hills at 3 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. I complained to my editor about this. She informed me I was doing the wrong kind of “tailgating” and to cease and desist.
After “researching” tailgating, i.e. Googling it, I learned that tailgating is a decidedly American institution, involving family SUVs, trucks and tailgates, coolers and alcoholic beverages, grilling, and lots of good food, along with bucketfuls of community spirit. It’s a huge block party in a stadium parking lot with friends, neighbors, and no strangers. It’s an urban picnic on steroids. It is a lifestyle. Tailgating is all about the fun and frivolity, the friends, the food, the atmosphere. Welcome to the tailgating neighborhood.
Well, I got a truck; I got a grill.
Let’s fire it up and get started.
It’s Mission Possible!
A game plan is key. And Rosie always has a game plan.
Pizza is an American favorite, so I’ll be making miniature, personal pizzas three ways – Italian, Hawaiian, and Greek, with apologies to those cultures. The dough and toppings for these pizzas can be prepped ahead so that assembly and grilling are all that’s necessary in the tailgate lot.
Pizza Dough
I prefer making my own pizza dough, but you can purchase fresh, already-made pizza dough and portion it out; or you could buy naan, a leavened flat bread, both available in more up-scale supermarkets. Portion out the dough into two dozen balls and spread out to form a dimpled dough about 4-5 inches in diameter. Let rise.
Brush one side of your pizza dough with oil and place oiled side down on hot grill. After a minute or two, peak underneath to see if you have grill marks. If so, turn the dough 90°, and cook another minute, so you get the nice hash marks. Transfer dough to work surface, grilled side up. Arrange all prepared toppings on pizzas. Toppings needing attention before you start grilling are the mushrooms, spinach, sausage, roasted garlic, and pepperoni.
Tailgating Recipes
Sauces
It’s game on and grill on. Mission accomplished! ♦
Author: Rosie Hawthorne
Rosie Hawthorne is a blogger, gardener, wanderluster, and mother of three. She learned to cook by watching Julia Child every Saturday afternoon on her 11-inch black and white TV with legal pad and pen in hand. For the Hawthornes, every meal is a celebration of life.
