Oh Yes We Did

Just a short post today. This is a belated post about the Tulane Golf Classic Tourney where we brought our fabulousness out to English Turn. And yes, these adorable serving cups were donated by Mrs. Hullabaloo. Thank you, Parker Waters, for capturing them so beautifully!

So they separated us this year. (!) Keep us out of trouble I think. Well, semi-out of trouble anyways. We still managed to get our hands on a golf cart and drive around to all of the drink and food stations to barter New Orleans-style. (Okay, I have 2 of this, give me one of that).

So 2 of us stood watch over the Bread Pudding station, and 2 of us handled the Crawfish Monica station. Which our Crawfish Monica station became the Bloody Mary station and Vodka+7 station when the bloody mary bar by the clubhouse was wrapped up and they brought the leftover Zing Zang mix and vodka to our tent.

Superior Grill kept a margarita station running by the tee-practice area and I can attest that they were delish. Greenbackers grilled sausages and Ray Hester did their famous Jambalaya. It made for great bartering. I brought a grilled sausage sandwich back to Coach Hullabaloo and he attested that they were better than the ones we bought at Terranovas (which are really awesome) for Tulane Homecoming last year. The Greenbackers' sausages hailed from Rouse's.

We haven't tried the Crescent City Sausage Company ones at Turchin yet cause Coach and Mrs. Hullabaloo have been complete slackers this baseball season. What kind of fans are we? For real!


Anyways, Peggy and I took this photo with Mewelde Moore (in our cute aprons). Who I might add did not have his Super Bowl ring on.

He told us he had hoped to have 2 of them, but alas he just has one. So the one ring is locked up in safe deposit.

The day was a lot of fun, I always enjoy the Tulane Golf Classic. Also got to bid on the ballboy/girl for the opening game against Southeastern for Greenwave football season. Too cute. We hope to give it away as a gift to a worthy friend. Ha!

Enjoy spring y'all!

My Tailgating Divas

I don't know what I would do without this pair of gals ~


Priscilla and Peggy are the most awesomest Tailgating Hostesses. Their recipes are truly "the best." Most gameday fanatics will do 6 or 7 tailgates a season. I do atleast 15 for football season alone.

I've learned a lot about proper hostessing from my tailgating divas: make it easy, but always try to use fresh ingredients. The most important lesson they've imparted: the earlier you start preparing dishes vastly improves the quotient ratio of enjoyment+fun V. spousal arguments+aggravation. Honey, this is so true.

Definitively, there's no "walking taco" at our tailgates. (quelle gauche, non?). The Hullabaloo Huddle zone is unequivocably not of the human garbage disposal tailgating variety.

I've shared a few of Priscilla's recipes, here and here. She even makes her own pickles! Priscilla inspired me to make my own pickles, using Tyler Florence's ultimate B&B recipe. Tyler, a true man of the South, is my kitchen hero.


Chef Tyler's Ultimate Sloppy Joe recipe with Goat Cheese Butternut Squash Slaw is SO easy and saves you from Manwich cans. I serve the butternut squash slaw at Mardi Gras and whenever I get a chance at home. If Coach Hullabaloo would allow it, I would paste a photo of Chef Ty lovingly on my fridge so that he could look over my tailgate preparations and offer reassurance and his blessings.

mrs. hullabaloo's version of
TYLER'S CHEVRE BUTTERNUT SQUASH SLAW
4 ounces fresh creamy goat cheese, room temperature
1 medium butternut squash
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
2 stalks green onion (my addition as I love onion)

While you sip a cocktial, sweetly ask your husband to peel the squash with a vegetable peeler. Seriously, that is a hard task! So once it's clean, chop up the tip into big manageable hunks. save the bulb for something else. Grate the squash into shreds or if you have a mandolin, use that to make strips of the squash. Put into a bowl with your craberries, walnuts, green onions and parsley. Whip the wet ingredients into a smooth gravy. s+p to taste. Sneak a taste of this irresitable dressing, nobody will notice. Pour over the veggies and toss together. awesome! It's fabulous as a burger or sloppy joe topper. I promise.

So Peggy has a chicken salad that is like OMG fantabulous and Tyler Florence-worthy. We shall be enjoying it for the Sept 11 gameday.


PEGGY'S SONOMA CHICKEN SALAD
3 chicken breasts
dash of cajun seasoning
salt and pepper
quarter onion and clove of garlic
water
3 ribs celery, chopped
bunch of red unseeded grapes, chop in halves
6 stalks green onion, chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 womps of mayonaise
mini croissants

Season chicken with s+p and cajun seasoning. Put in a saucepan with onion and garlic and then cover with water. Cover. Bring to boil and then lower to medium and let poach for about 20 mins. Prick the meat to check to see if juices are running clear. Remove and let cool (toss the onion and garlic, but keep that broth for something else. like BBQ shrimp). Shred chicken up. mix up with the rest of the veggies and adjust s+p to your liking. Lovingly scoop onto les croissants.

Bon Appetit Mes Petites Choux!

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!

The Drama of the Traveling Aprons

Just Where has Mrs. Hullabaloo BEEN?

Girl, listen. Work has been getting in the way of enjoying Tulane baseball season and tailgating in the beautiful sunshine in March. But not too much you know. I got my priorities.

The Houston Cooters came into town last weekend. and stank. up. the. place. They can never be classy. An old idiot sitting in the handicap seating above 103 started desecrating the “Hullabaloo.”

We almost tossed him out.

Anyways, the morning of the Sunday game we joined the Ray Hester chapter to tailgate. Master Chef Ed grilled up my BYO-turkey burgers (made with the “no mess up” recipe). Delish, thank you Ed! Mr. Hullabaloo had his requisite hot dogs. and Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo brought all the trimmings for some fine bloody marys to share: our adorable “Hullabaloo!” throw cups, celery sticks, queen olives, Zing Zang mix, Three Olives vodka (essential) and Mr. Hullabaloo’s favorite: The Snap Beans. yummmmmm.

Of course we forgot the pickled asparagus, but we soldiered on.

Mrs. Hullabaloo also whipped up her tried, but true, corn salad from Williams-Sonoma’s fabulous, must have book: Backyard Barbecues.

Mrs. Hullabaloo has been making this corn salad for years to resounding reviews and a smattering of applause. Priscilla and Peggy requested it be posted, so I have obliged:

Williams-Sonoma Southfork Salad
(don’t quite remember why it’s from Southfork)

can of sweet corn (whole kernels)
one green bell pepper chopped into bits
one SMALL red onion chopped into bits
dozen chopped cherry or plum tomatoes (or one big beefsteak)
one minced up green jalapeno (DISCARD THE SEEDS OR YOU WILL WANT TO DIE)
one large rib of celery chopped into bits
handful FRESH chopped cilantro
handful FRESH chopped parsley
whomp of mayonnaise
few splashes from a can of chicken broth
few splashes red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

and then place into adorable serving bowl – I used a plastic baseball bowl from Party City that is fabulous.

I also leave the salad sitting out of the fridge for a bit (while I’m packing up for tailgating) and then put into the cooler. Refrigerating it right away stops the flavors from getting mingled together properly.

So after the series with Houston is where the Drama Begins.

Mr. Hullabaloo was unavoidably detained from attending the Tulane Golf Classic due to business. Mrs. Hullabaloo had volunteered (a moment of weakness) to help serve Jambalaya to be lovingly prepared by Mr. Scott of the Ray Hester Chapter fame.

How boring to be alone.

So I called in the girls for reinforcement. Peggy, the one and only Patti Terranova (she of “Fourth and New Orleans fame”) and then the very lovely Terry from baseball.

We had a lovely day being silly and laughing like girls tend to do when grouped together.

See. Here’s a picture of Peggy licking the Jambalaya paddle.


To properly prepare for an appearance amongst English Turn's finest, I had stumbled into K-Mart of all places Sunday evening and hit the jackpot. Cute top, cute flip flops and fashionable carry-all bag:

Adorable.

Well, then Mr. Scott presented us with THE APRONS.

These are not just ordinary, won’t-be-caught-dead-in-that!-aprons. These were glorious dark evergreen aprons with a stunning embroidered crested T logo.

The very instant this apron is placed over your shoulders one is transformed from ho-hum into Fabulous. The powers of this apron transcends gender and race. Mystic these aprons are.

And we were NOT giving them back.

So Terry, Peggy and I frolicked around all afternoon, complimenting each other on our aprons (You look fabulous! No. YOU look fabulous! OK, we both look fabulous!). We used the English Turn Green as our catwalk.

We did pause to take photos of NFL superstar Matt Forte.

See, this is me trying to casually hide behind Peggy to take a photo after he left our station. All I got was Peggy's ear and then all background.

When he had arrived moments before this "candid shot" was taken, we all hugged him and peppered him with questions about this and that. So we chickened out on taking a photo in front of him because we didn’t want to look like complete stallker/groupies. It somehow would look better for us to act like fools while he's trying to play golf.

Luckily Patty has known Matt since he was in diapers so when he passed by later, we promptly tossed our phone cameras at her and dispatched her to take his photo so we didn’t look like complete fools. I won’t mention that I missed Mewelde Moore, superbowl champion, when I had to run an errand. I have put that disappointment out of my mind.

So at the end of the day, Mr. Scott and his wife start asking for the aprons. I had told Mr. Scott earlier in the day that the apron would have to be pried from my dead and lifeless body. I had even offered to PAY for the apron, but Mr. Scott said “No.”

There was just one acceptable solution: Liberate the Aprons.

When they started asking for the aprons, Peggy and I did what we had to do. We tossed them in the back of my trunk (yes, Mrs. Hullabaloo drove her car out to our station using the golf trail) and pretended not to hear her.

Mrs. Scott became more persistent! I got into my car. Terry had stashed her apron in her bag in the backseat, but had gone to powder her nose in the ladies room.

Peggy wandered over to help putting away everything. Then she was acting silly by doing mime instructions on how to manuever the car in the tight golf trail. She was dancing all around and frolicking. All the while Mrs. Scott would not cease from pestering about The Aprons.

I kept motioning to Peggy to Get. In. The. Car. Finally through gritted teeth: I yelled GET IN THE CAR!

We squeeled off.

Peggy starts screaming that we left behind Patti and Terry. Patti can get a ride with Mr. and Mrs. Scott! We needed to just save ourselves and leave them behind!

We were laughing so hard I about pee’d my pants. Meanwhile Terry heard the car squeel away so mid-nose powdering she busts out of the ladies room and takes off running behind the car. Patti calls us and yells at us to stop because poor Terry is running behind us. What. A. Hoot!

We spent the post-golf reception ducking and hiding from Mr. and Mrs. Scott behind plants and under the tables and such. Of course I called Patti and explained our bizarre behavior.

So then for the Tulane-LSU baseball game and - in rare form - Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo arrive completely empty handed.

Our poor refrigerator has nothing. That seems to happen when one does not grocery shop in a timely manner. We did not want to miss a second of the afternoon's festivities. So we grabbed two koozies and decided to see what the evening would have in store for us.

Luckily our wonderful friends, the Brothers B, had a delightful set up. Real rocks glasses, an impressive array of spirits, lick your fingers blackened ribeye and barbecue shrimp.

Quick thinking I remembered The Aprons and that it would be an acceptable offering to our hosts. Being that we were empty handed and showered with such generosity. I LENT the Brothers B the stolen aprons. Big Mistake.

Because they weren’t giving them back.

Ha ha! ROLL WAVE!!

The Brother's B “Lick Your Fingers Ribeye”
meat of your choice cut into bite size pieces
2 sticks butter per pound
generous handful of Prudhommes blackened seasoning
a ziplock bag
marinate overnight

at tailgating heat up a cured cast iron skillet glowing red. Add your meat, toss about, have a few sips of your drink, toss about some more and then serve.

Barbecue Shrimp
Hi-Do bakery french bread (they're on Terry Parkway)
pound Large heads-on shrimp or small prawns (we like the Westwego market)
stick of butter (American Beauty)
chicken broth cube or packet
packet italian dressing
smidge chopped fresh parsley
tons chopped thyme
massive scoop of Cajun seasoning (we use a secret blend from a friend)
generous shakes of cracked black pepper
generous splashes of white wine
dashes of water

Toss everything (except the bread and shrimps) together into a long deep pot or roasting pan. Adjust ingredients (add more of this/more of that) until you are happy with the flavorings. Maybe add some plain cayenne and some paprika if you want. Once the sauce is to your liking, add in your shrimps and simmer until they are cooked. Put some on a plate with some scoops of the sauce, break off pieces of the Hi-Do bread and make a mess!