CSI Turchin

Ummm, where did the baseball season go? As you can see, we have CSI Turchin on this. They're all over it.

Well, I can share with you that Mrs. Hullabaloo enjoyed baseball season thoroughly. Any season in which we beat LSU is a season to remember fondly. and especially when they get knocked out of the post season. Yay!

Coach Hullabaloo (yes, he was promoted emeritus as there was a glaring vacancy on special teams) - as I was saying, Coach Hullabaloo and I watched Game Two of the College World Series last night. Sigh, the end of college baseball season....

While watching this wonderful American pasttime, I have to point out that we were mightly disappointed with several items, the most important which was UCLA just giving up and robbing us college sports fans of a third game. Quelle Lameness.

The other points of contention: Why didn't ANY of South Carolina's uni's display the shortened version of their moniker? I would SO have loved a CWS of South Carolina v. Oregon State. Or even Irvine. That would have provided hours and hours of jokes and entertainment!

and lastly...apparently in the past decade, only TWO College World Series have taken place. Nothing else to see here, but highlights of that particular team which must be played continually throughout the breaks between innings. Luckily the remote control was quickly at hand to solve that problem.

So, as I mentioned above, CSI Turchin was commissioned and put out on the beat. The story of the christening of CSI Turchin: it started out as some innocent little jokes, but then became the overall mantra of the season.

Who is this team in our uniforms that lost so miserable to UAB and then came back to life for a mid-week game? Someone check the roadside rest areas. Koozie picking up on subtle changes to our tailgating set ups. Nothing gets past him.

So we snicker, but tailgating with our lovable Koozie is always hoot. He is our official Eagle Scout. Meticulous about protecting our tailgating wares. Adamant about proper sanitation and proper tailgating procedures (nothing bad with that). a friend to the environment by insisting in taking one car to the game and thus foiling all plans for a surprise birthday.

The photo above, we tried to distract Koozie by sending him off on a ghost errand with Coach Hullabaloo. Coach Hullabaloo tried his mightiest to keep Koozie distracted to no avail.

See, Peggy had spent weeks organizing a surprise party for Koozie, every detail was mapped out, duties delegated, everything ready to be set in motion. All to be derailed when he refused to take his own car to the game as requested. Such a simple request! But in the end a fun time was had by all. Getting there was hilarious.

So anyways, the photo above was taken after we had successfully fended off Koozie on the errand so we could set up the party and all the surprise guests could arrive. Only to find that Koozie locked the car and took the keys with him. Peggy and all of us were trying to break into the car to rescue all of the party wares.

What a hoot ~ so we made one of our more popular dishes for this tailgating season: PIGS IN A PEN/Meatballs in a Pen*.

PIGS IN A PEN
Fresh French Bread (do not deviate, you must buy same day fresh loaves from a preferably vietnamese bakery)
Your best chili recipe
Grilled hot dogs
shredded cheddar cheese
diced onions
(for meatballs in a pen *substitute hot dogs and chili with meatballs in marinara, and use mozzarella instead of cheddar)

The magicalness of Pigs in a Pen, is to scrape out the inside of the loaf and make a cavity. Put in your hot dogs, generous scoops of chili, layered in between with cheddar cheese and onions. A No Mess, Messy Delicious Tailgating Meal.

So the season was not a complete loss. See statment above about beating LSU 9-1 (!). SO close to being a shut out game, but they scored a homer in the 9th. We made the ESPN play of the day though.

And our very own Seggy, he of The Hot Corner fame, is now with the New York Yankees. I don't know what we are going to call the seating at Third Base anymore. This was a photo taken of us volunteering at the Tulane Golf Classic at English Turn, where we got to meet several of our favorite players including Seggy. Our favorite booster group below: The Greenbackers.

We heart the Greenbackers. So much fun, such good tailgating chefs, irrepressable sense of humor. God love em.

So the next task for CSI Turchin is what to do about Peggy's Patio. Peggy's Patio might need to be rechristened into Peggy's Loft. We had ALL manner of folks intruding on our Patio this season. Seriously. We are considering taking action and building out a deck with a lock on it, and putting up an official plaque:

"Peggy's Loft: No Trespassing. Unless of course you are bringing a delightful treat to add to our tailgating buffet, in which case: Welcome Y'all!"

We had some wonderful additions of to our tailgating krewe from amongst the assorted fans who have wandered into Section 110. I hope to add their recipes soon. But in the meantime I leave you with The Famous Guacamole (I swear it is famous).

THE FAMOUS GAUCAMOLE
2 or 3 Regular "alligator pear" avocadoes (the little dark green ones, not the big Haas ones that are light green)
smidge chopped FRESH cilantro (honey, if you can't use fresh ingredients, don't bother)
1 chopped Roma tomato (or handful cherry or grape, they key is small and flavorful)
1 or 2 sprigs chopped Green onions
Knorr Cilantro Mini Cube (available at mexican groceries)
squeeze of fresh lemon or lime (just a squirt or two)
salt and pepper to taste
packet of sugar (or a sprinkle of you are eyeballing it)

Sugar!? I know it sounds weird, but I promise it brings out the flavors of the avocados beautifully and I promise you won't have a single morsel left in your serving dish after you set it out at your tailgating party.

What I do is mix my seasonings first, crush up the cilantro cube, squeeze out my lemon or lime. Then I chop up my avocado, mush it all up and mix in the seasonings. adjust my salt and peppa, and taste. Then I chop up the tomaters and the onions and cilantro and toss it all together with my fabulous avocado mixture. Died and Gone to Heaven Delicious.

It's a secret recipe from a fine establishment that I worked at in college that keeps their recipes under Lock and Key. It was served briefly and always had a cult-like following. I promise, you will come back here and THANK me for this recipe!

Roll Wave!