Drinking the Tipsy Tea

I wanted to just go get toe up over at The Boot when I walked in and saw this on Friday.

Like ohhhh emmmmm geeeee.

What's that? This WAS our venue for our annual PreSeason Tea, which me and my gals throw each year before football season. I walked in there 2 days before this year's event and fainted.

Peggy was with me thank Yahweh because I was not going to be responsible for my actions if she hadn't been there to control me.

It was a typical Tulane scenario - nobody knows what's going on anywhere until something hits the fan and then everybody is scrambling to fix it. The office responsible for not notifying anybody this was happening totally stepped up and found us a new venue and got all sorts of concessions worked out since we already had catering lined up and blah blah blah. Thank goodness, because like MrsHullabaloo's wrath is like no joke.

I had been having nightmares for weeks, for weeks - but they were all around the idea that food didn't arrive in time or that I forgot something critical. I even dreamed that Peggy was bouncing people from the tea - vicously, I might add - due to their attire. As a joke, she brought a "fashion citation" pad on Sunday and we laughed about it.

It didn't even cross my mind that the nightmare could be that our venue was flippin caved in.

Anyways, me and my girls are all pretty much Type "A" people (but we follow the Greenwave, so go figure that one out) and we worked ourselves to almost our final breath getting it set up in the new location.

It turned out so fab that society editor Nell Nolan is going to cover it for the New Orleans Advocate!

We were initially having heart palpitations because the RSVPs were coming in like a runaway train and stress doesn't adequately describe our worry.

And another major stresser was donations for our silent auction were just pouring in. We were going to have to display things straight up on top of the floor or something in our original venue.

Everybody in New Orleans is waking up to the fact that we have a college team in New Orleans and so they are all bandwagoning now - good problem to have in the silent auction business.

And lawd have mercy the silent auction. LMAO - we have some serious silent auction shoppers here in New Orleans!

Ladies were parking themselves in front of "their" item and not letting others get to the clipboards! My friend Peach's decorations and centerpieces for the tea were so cute that people wanted to bid on those too.

One of the donors was Sew Much Fun and I had asked her to make me an adult version of her cute baby bubbles with the meanie greenie on it that I love so much. We compromised on a fancy ruffled apron. But people were wanting to bid that sucker right from off my body.

I had found this miniature scale VW van online and didn't realize that it actually had to be assembled and painted, so Peach's son T got that as a little summer project (We take our tablescaping serious around here, there's no child labor laws when it comes to tailgating and tablescaping). Ladies tried to bid on the little volkswagen too!

Anyways, it was fab. Not sure what we can do to top it next year..... But whatever we do I am making these tea sandwiches again because they are now my new favorite thing:

CARROT & MINT TEA SANDWICHES
1 carrot, shredded
1 tbs of chopped fresh mint
2 tbs of raisins
1 tbs of olive oil
1/2 tbs of white vinegar
a dusting of s+p
loaf of good wheat sliced sandwich bread
tub of plain hummus

Mix your veg, add the olive oil, vinegar, taste for s+p. Cut the crusts off the bread slices, slather each side with hummus and put a pinch of the veg mixture between and then I cut into 1.5-2" strips - you get about 3 out. and I ate the random ends as I went along. So that's my secret.

'til Sept 6th y'all!

"Where Are They Now?" Part Deux

(to be contributed by our Exiled Contributing Editor, Che. Thank you Che!)

So the official baseball season has ended, and the Greenies made it into the Conference Tourney by the hair on their chiny-chin-chin. While a mid-week trip to the hamlet of Pearl, Mississippi is quite enticing, I don't think we'll be going (why again is it in Pearl?).


Of course, unless we win the tourney outright (ha!) we will not get an at large bid for the regionals. It's disgusting to me that the barney purple will get a bid even though they don't even have a .5 in conference record. I swear, I feel chunks rising in my throat just at the very thought of Miss Scott Cody producing breathless segments on this. I hope they get embarrassed. That alone will soothe this injustice.

I did not stay for the final game yesterday, although those extra innings sounded quite exciting and I held out hope. I was only able to swing in for a hot dog at tailgating and then had to head back to my sweatshop. Mega sighs.

Coach Hullabaloo made me SO proud and made his very first Coleslaw! Yes! Very easy:

Coach Hullabaloo's Coleslaw
chopped cabbage
chopped green onions
shredded carrots
pickle relish
marzetti's coleslaw dressing
you could add regular onion in this, shred it with a grater.

It was a great first start!

So Coach stayed and sweltered in the stands with a long lost friend, Mr. Bacchus, who also made it to the game with his little Bacchus, jr. Later on Mrs. Bacchus came after the 5th inning. I was glad that Coach got to have a man-date with Mr. Bacchus.

Coach wore his Tulane Blue golf tourney polo, apparently Football Operations Director, David Fox wore the same shirt as did Brandon from the Tulane Athletic Fund. So the three of them were standing together saying hellos and Mr. Bacchus commented that he didn't know it was wear Tulane Golf Polo day. And the response was that yes, if you actually go to the Golf Classic. Ha! We love picking on Mr. Bacchus for being a slacker the past couple of seasons. That and for letting his wife, Mrs. Bacchus, use their home plate seats for her and her lsu friends. For real! I know. I can't get over that either.

Okay, so the other funnies that have come up: last week was our team's weekendus horriblis at Marshall. Coach RJ really got worked up over that and finally said something. Cause he's had it up to here with their thundering bull. So much so that they're officially The Plundering Turd to us now. Now my dear fans, I cannot take credit for such genius terminology. Apparently that was christened by Mountaineer Fans, because these individuals have some nerve!

2 football seasons ago, The Turds, horsecollared Peyton Jason into having to get his petellar tendon replaced with a cadaver tendon. In baseball that year Tulane was in the middle of a sweep when they decided to spring it on Coach RJ that they would be wrapping up the game that inning cause their flight was in an hour or some other bullshit lie. It wasn't enough innings or points for the game to count, so we were essentially forced to forfeit. The previous friday night game from that series, their coaches were ejected for being classless fools, their players flipped the bird to our fans sitting behind their dugout and they spit on Greer Field. (!) This year, they literally tell Coach RJ at the game-end handshake that a doubleheader was happening in an hour. Because there would be too much sunshine the next day or some other equally cataclysmic event preventing a Saturday game to continue as scheduled. We took the series despite their lame attempts at mindgames.

Okay, so on to the news portion of this blogpost:

Tulane Homecoming 2011 is officially 5 months out. Crunch time on finalizing our menus. I have stumbled across some barefoot southerner, Dave, and his food blog. I'm intrigued by this biscuit sandwich with green goddess mayonaise.


Looks good, huh? Might have to include it on our menu. I'll christen it The Creole Tea Sandwich. LeRuth's Green Goddess avocado dressing is legendary and must be used. And on a biscuit! As a co-ed my favorite breakfast was a good cup of coffee and a still hot buttery biscuit from the Architecture snack bar. Yum.


Michael Aubrey hit 4 homeruns last week for the Syracuse Chiefs. And yes, Syracue-ans: it is pronounced Too-lane.

.....and, finally, my petites choux, from our Contributing Editor, Che:

With the college baseball season winding down and the major and minor leagues in full swing, here is another installment of "Where are they now" of former Green Wave baseball players. One month into the MLB season and about 1/2 a month into the Minor League Season things are already crazy. Of course that's baseball. This is up to date as of May 4, 2011.

First off the pitchers:
Brandon Gomes - Tampa Bay Rays
Aaron Loup - Dunedin Blue Jays (Class A, Toronto Blue Jays)
Shooter Hunt - Ft. Meyers Miracle (Class A, Minnesota Twins)
Micah Owings - Reno Aces (Class AAA, Arizona Diamondbacks)
Taylor Rogers - Augusta Green Jackets (Class A, S.F. Giants)

Position players:
Mark Hamilton - St. Louis Cardinals
Brian Bogusevic - Houston Astros
Brad Emaus - Colorado Sky Sox (Class AAA, Colorado Rockies)...here is the craziness of baseball Brad was released by the Mets, became a free agent, signed by the Rockes and optioned to AAA
Tommy Manzella - Oklahoma Red Hawks (Class AAA, Houston Astros)
Rob Segedin - Charleston River Dogs (Class A, N.Y. Yankees)
Anthony Scelfo - Charlotte Stone Crabs (Class A, Tampa Bay Rays)
Josh Prince - Brevard County Manatees (Class A, Milwaukee Brewers)
Sam Honeck - Savannah Sand Gnats (Class A, N.Y. Mets)

Roll Wave and cheers to the Wave's chances in Pearl. (Mississippi that is)!

Den of Iniquity

So I dragged Coach Hullabaloo all the way out to Kennah, bra.

Since UCF is our opponent this week and they are in somewhat proximity to one of our favorite cities (Miami! Home to our SUPERBOWL!), our tailgating menu is lucious latin. Unfortunately I just do not have the time to roast a Lechon (a cuban cochon du laît) to make Cuban sandwiches for tailgating. So off to the famous Norma's we went to taste test and, if tailgate-worthy, place an order for Saturday.

Of course it's a Honduran bakery that is famous for their Cuban sandwiches, but whatever. They barely speak english, so that's authentic enough for me and they were delicioso.

Coach Hullabaloo approved, but said that while they were not "Miami-worthy," they were excellent for New Orleans. Note, he did not say "Orlando-worthy," but Miami-worthy. Since apparently the trend is that Dens of Iniquity tend to have better food. All of that immorality and temptation just hanging out on the streets everywhere, crosses over into seriously sinful food eatin'.

That must be why fans are just so rabid and ugly at UCF. No seriously good eatin' amidst all that boringness and empty subdivisions. I might go a little Phaedra Parks on ya and even accuse them of only eating canned food. That angst and hunger must leave UCF'ers just wanting to lash out.

(ooop! ooop! wait, I hear that there are tawdry strip clubs on international drive....)

Anyways, while we were admiring the deliciousness of the sandwiches, guava pastelitos and tres leches at Norma's we noticed they had this wonderful poster on the wall.


We just knew that this was culinary Beshert for Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo!

So Roll Wave y'all!

P.S. Dear Sad Little UCF'ers: Just because we have a beautiful decaying city in New Orleans, does not excuse your fans from behaving like they were raised in a barn. You may not come to my blog and criticize my wonderful city just because you have trashy fans. Well, maybe you were raised in a barn, but clearly you are just jealous. Using cities is a lame excuse! So anyways, thanks for stopping by! Have fun with your post or pre-game at Oz on Bourbon!

Records

OMG, the heat Saturday afternoon was absolutely unbearable.

Except that our tailgating was really cute so we soldiered on.





And "waves" to our neighbor tailgating krewe hostessed by Hullabaloo Huddle fan, Brittany. They had the cutest drink cups!

Some pictures of our cute sign, and the cute nametags that Cody Spark's family and friends wore to the game.



The only real downer (because the game was great) was that we had some, shall we say, colorful Ole Miss fans sitting in section 143. It was people watching central. We laughed until we cried (for real). OMG on the crazy and inappropriate outfits.

As far as what went on out on the field - without their felon QB having a few key moments, that game would have gone sideways for Ole Miss. What caught me completely by surprise was that Houston Nutt ran circles around the fans in the class department. I was not expecting that turn of events. My Ole Miss friend, Miss Glitter, is wonderful and always gracious. and has impeccable taste and manners. So I was expecting the roles to be reversed - classy fans and questionable team.

The fans that traveled pretty much just "sat" stone cold in their seats until a final QB in the 2nd half distanced out the score (yet still UNDER the point spread). I think they were gun shy after the loss to J-ville state. But came alive with that last TD. So after that TD, an Ole Miss fan who had sleeves (you know - the full on tatoo on the arms) got up, turned around and dug into Founding Father Jim.

Of all people. This guy seriously had no clue who he was trying to start something with. First of all - Jim is twice his size, so he's lucky that Jim didn't stand up. Because that would have been an "Ohhh, Noooooo" moment. and secondly, Jim has an encyclopedic knowledge of sports in general, in addition to having a college degree not from Mississippi. Here's a recap of the exchange:

Tattoo Man: blah blah blah take that. tulane sucks, ole miss is superb blah blah blah

FF Jim: Ole Miss lost to Jacksonville State. Do you know who Jacksonville State lost to today? Appalachian State.

Tattoo Man: *head exploding* Well, yeah? blah blah our record blah blah bowl game

FF Jim: After TODAY - our records will be THE SAME. and if you want to discuss records, Massoli has 2 felonies on HIS record. You wanna talk about records?

Tattoo Man: blah blah blah. turns around and sits down.

FF Jim: Y'all may win this game, but you have to go back to Mississippi. (and as the saying goes in Louisiana - Thank God for Mississippi so we aren't "last" always).

Anyways, enough with them. They came and spent money in New Orleans and our athletic department got paid. Yay!

So how PERFECT is this? My Town Daughter, Chickadee, is working at the Ticket Office in the Wilson Center. Chickadee also worked at the game on Saturday, was out on the field and got to hand out the fuzzy hair pieces that the student section was wearing. She's such a cutie pie.

And speaking of cutie pies, how about this little story sent to me by a friend (Yes, I have very dear friends who are LSU fans - don't tell anybody it will ruin my street cred, ok)?

"Dear Mrs. Hullabaloo, My Brother works the Tulane homegames and is on the field, so he asked if he could bring his 6 year old son. Well, as you know, I come from a family of Tiger fans, BUT, my nephew had a ball at the Tulane game. He made friends with the student section and was cheering and throwing footballs with the students. LOL. Nephew told my brother it was one of the best days of his life. We were cracking up. He had to go with my brother to another section of the field and said, "Dad, I better go back over there, my friends are looking for me to cheer with them!"

L-eaux-L...

Now, finally, to the recipe sharing.

Priscilla brought some pork for sandwiches. I'm not sure how she prepares it. When I cook it, it's so simple girl - you'll want to slap yo momma.

Momma Hullabaloo's Pork
(this is my mother's - who can't cook - recipe and it is delish)
So take your cut of pork, we use the "Picnic" Cut
(as I google, the Picnic cut is the lower shoulder.)
a can or two of coca cola
optional: s+p, garlic powder
cajun injector

The seasonings are completely optional, it is delicious just with the coca cola alone. I promise.

Preheat your oven between 325-350. Lovingly place your picnic shoulder in an oven roasting pan with the skin facing up. Shower with a can of coca cola - you can add a second can during the roasting if you see there isn't enough Jus emitting from the pork. Take a cajun injector and fill the meat up with as much coke as it can handle.

Cover loosely with foil and put into the oven for 3-4 hours until the pork is done (internal temp should be 180 and the juices should run clear). While the pork is roasting, every half hour or so - keep injecting the meat with the Jus.

Once cooked, let cool and then slice up for sandwiches. And to accompany this deliciousness, onion relish and hot mustard caper spread is the way to go.

Pickled Onion Relish
One whole onion (white, yellow, red. don't matter)
quarter to half a tomater
boiling water
s+p
lemon juice
splash vinegar
splash water
splash canola or olive oil (whatever you have)

Boil some water. Slice up your onion into super thin rounds and put in a bowl. Cover onions with hot water and let steam for a few minutes. Drain.

Slice tomaters and place on a paper towel to pat dry. Chop up tomaters into small quarter inch cubes. Add to onions

Season tomaters and onion slices with juice from about half a lemon, capful or more of white vinegar, drizzle with canola or olive oil. Tons o salt and dash or so of pepper. If too lemony or vinegary, add just a teaspoon of water. Cool before serving. I leave it out of the fridge to cool so that the flavors mingle and marinate.

Carmelized Red Onion relish (yum-o)
One whole red onion
Balsamic vinegar
nonstick cooking spray or some olive oil
dash saltnpeppa

Slice up your red onion into thin rounds. Sautee up in a pan over low heat and drizzle with balsamic - just dashes at a time. Don't over balsamic the poor things. You can sample a bit while it's cooking down to judge if you should sprinkle more balsamic in there. Sprinkle a little saltnpeppa. Keep sauteeing until they are soft and carmelized. Cool before serving.

Hot Mustard and Capers Spread
Chinese Hot Mustard (a few tablespoons)
Regular yellow mustard (a few tablespoons)
Dollop or so of mayo
dash of honey
teaspoon or two of capers (brined green peppercorns)

Whip together the wet ingredients. Chop up the capers into bits and then fold into the mix. Spread onto your roll with a slice of pork and some onion relish.


Easy Peesy Red and Sweet Potato Salad
One sweet potater or yam
3 or 4 small red potatoes
small yukon gold potato (optional)
packet of ranch dressing
whomp of mayonaise
generous tablespoon of pickle relish
handful super sweet yellow corn (can or frozen)
saltnpeppa

Scrub wash and chop up your potatoes, skin on into half inch sized cubes. Cover with water in a large stock pot. Salt the water generously. Bring to boil and boil for about 8-10 minutes. Taste a tater piece to see if cooked through. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool.

Whip a generous whomp of mayo with about quarter to half packet of ranch dressing mix. Add taters, corn, relish and stir together to combine. add saltnpeppa to taste. Voila.

Raspberry Vinaigrette for Spinach Salad
1/2 cup raspberry vinegar (I cheated and used orange champagne vinegar)
1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a blender or food processor, combine raspberry vinegar, raspberries, honey, and basil; whirl 1 minutes or until well blended. With the motor on, add olive oil in a slow steady stream, whirling until dressing is smooth.

Candied Pecans (garnish for spinach salad)
Roughly chop about a cup or so of shelled pecans
2 tablespoons of butter
1.5 tablespoon brown sugar
sheet of wax paper

Melt butter in a pan over medium low heat, add brown sugar and stir to combine. Toss in pecans and turn to coat with brown sugar butter. Scrape out onto a sheet of wax paper, spread pecans out to cool and then store in a ziplock and refrigerate.

Hi my name is Mrs. Hullabaloo and I am a recipe junkie. Welcome to my tailgating blog.

One of my favorite “go to” brands for pre-made dressings and relishes is Stonewall Kitchen, which I try to use as inspiration for new tailgating cuisine. My heroine, Ina Garten, even has a line for Stonewall Kitchen. It is THAT good. So when our local Whole Foods brain farted and eliminated the SK Cilantro Lime dressing from their inventory of offerings, I staged a one woman protest. To no avail, sigh, so I actually have to mail-order this dressing. Quelle domage....


But seriously y'all...I need an intervention. I caught myself post-iting my latest Stonewall Kitchens catalogue because they have an eggplant relish that I just need to try to see if I can replicate it. You see, Chef Adolfo Garcia (Riomar, Boca, Amano) opened up a little eatery attached to the new Theatres at Canal Place. The new cinema is so totally my speed.

One of the tasty creations on the menu at Gusto is an Eggplant Caponata. My only complaint about it is that the portion size fit in the palm of my hand. and I was expected to share this heavenliness with Coach Hullabaloo? I don't think so. Okay, so my second complaint is that movie tickets are $13 a piece, the morsel of caponata is $9, with a refreshment and parking, seeing a 2 hour movie becomes a $50 situation. That’s like a new pair of cute sandals for gameday, or a down payment towards these fabulous $200 marc jacobs.
Don't you just love?

I digress...so this Eggplant Caponata is dreamy and I can’t wait to test out versions and bring the results to you. Only tailgate-worthy is shared with you.

If you can picture this: said post-iting occured immediately after I had finished polishing off my newest tailgate cuisine creation. Which I’ll call Mrs. Hullabaloo’s Simply Delicious Chicken Salad. Yesterday I finally posted Peggy’s amazing recipe for Sonoma Chicken Salad (also simple and delicious) which set off an immediate craving. Just so you know, Sonoma Chicken Salad made it’s debut a thousand years ago in October 2008 when Tulane played at Gormley. We could tailgate under the oaks. It was just fabulous. So very Tulane.

I just had to make a batch of chicken salad for lunch. But I had no celery or red grapes. I did, however, have apples, green onions, a some fresh dill from my latest venture to emulate Priscilla. I made Chef Ty’s bread and butter pickles and canned them myself y'all (such a proud moment)!

So of course, I also have 2 jars of said pickles that Coach Hullabaloo and I are slowly working through.

Side note: ladies, always keep fresh herbs on hand. The amazingness of a potato salad with fresh parsley just cannot be adequately captured in words. Whether you buy some planted herbs to toss in your garden (I promise I kill everything. With partial shade, herbs grow like weeds and require little if no attention) or if you buy fresh bundles from your nearest Vietnamese Grocery to keep in your fridge for cheap. I do a hybrid of both. I heart me some Vietnamese grocery stores y'all. All their fresh veggies and cheap! Ditto the Mexican groceries for awesome butcher selections at amazing prices. That is your secrets to haute tailgating right there.

The Crown Ingredient to my chicken salad is a new mustard introduced to me by my dear sorority sister Buffalo Heidi. Girls, one of the best decisions of my life was to pledge a sorority. Mrs. Hullabaloo as a young alumna with sorority sisters...


To any naysayers: if Mrs. Hullabaloo is accused of paying for friends, Honey, let me tell you I still owe somebody some money. Because I definitely struck oil on that bargain. I cannot imagine my college experience or adulthood without my sorority. I have an amazing coterie of sisters throughout our great nation, not just from Newcomb. I met Coach Hullabaloo while living in an entirely different state, through a sister who had pledged at University of Delaware. and most importantly here, I was introduced to Weber’s Horseradish Mustard of Buffalo. The pride of New York. It says so on their website!

Weber's Horseradish Mustard should be an immediate staple in any Tailgatress’ kitchen cupboard.


MRS. HULLABALOO'S SIMPLY DELICIOUS CHICKEN SALAD
this is enough for 2 large portions or 4 mini portions for cocktail rolls, so double or whatnot depending on your crowd. Since my “crowd” was me and the hullabaloo kitties begging for scraps I eyed it for a small portion. I’m trying to approximate my measurements, but you can adjust this or that.
1/2 cup chopped cooked chicken breast (I totally cheated and cut from a roasted chick I'm not ashamed to admit I picked up @ Sam’s)
1/4 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
1 stalk green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons of FRESH dill chopped (I promise, there is a difference using fresh)
couple slices of Sir Tyler’s bread+butter pickles (recipe to follow)
generous tablespoon mayo
teaspoon Webber’s Horseradish Mustard – just a touch is enough, I promise.


CHEF TYLER “Mansicle” FLORENCE’S BREAD+BUTTER PICKLES
a real life LARGE mason jar – run it through your dishwasher
5 pickling cucumbers (about 4 inches long)
4 slices fresh horseradish, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
4 sprigs fresh dill weed
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar
3 cups water
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons pickling spice (this is impossible to find so I winged my own of crumbled cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice, whole coriander, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, black peppercorns, crumbled bay leaves. try to use whole dried herbs in lieu of ground powder)
2 teaspoons ground turmeric – WARNING, this stains like crazy so don’t wear your favorite outfit. It will come off kitchen counters using liquid dishwashing detergent.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash cucumbers, slice into 1/4-inch thick rounds, and place in your heated, sterilized mason jar with horseradish and fresh dill weed. Where do you pick up mason jars? I found some at one of my favorite shops for kitchen cooking stuff: World Market. So this recipe says one LARGE jar, but there is nothing wrong with using several smaller ones and sharing with other tailgating friends.

In a large pot add vinegar, sugar, water, garlic and pickling spices. Bring to a boil and then, very carefully, pour over the veggies in your mason jar and top with the flat lid piece, and then twist the jar closed with the 2nd round lid piece. Let it cool down before putting it in your fridge. Gotta let the flavors combine some. You can actually hear the sucking sound as the jar “seals” closed. It’s the neatest thing. As tempting as it might be, leave the jar of pickles alone for at least 8 hours.

So now that you have pickles done (check!), you can toss together a proper chicken salad, which I can’t wait to do for Coach H this weekend.

I'll be honest. Mrs. Hullabaloo was so intimidated at first about the whole picking situation as I am an uber impatient cook, which has lead to many disasters in my immediate past. Pickling seemed very daunting. However, if you chop the pickling duties in half: slicing and putting the veggies in the jar, then mini cocktail or magazine break before resuming again to tackle the boiling of the marinade, it really is very easy.

Fait Accomplis!

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!

The RV Brigade Is Coming

We've been hit with everything but the plague here at Hullabaloo Huddle: swine flu, hospital visits, the mormons, the dreaded Aslutians. We've survived and thrived.

Photo op of Mr. and Mrs. Greenwave Mobile.

Our adversity only make us stronger. (Our Personal Tragedy Will Not Affect our Ability to Do Good Hair.) See Matt Forte in game one of regular season. Perfect example. Jay Cutler has a massive meltdown, confusing the white and red jerseys with the green and yellow jerseys. Yes, Matt Forte wore a green jersey. Two years ago. Not that particular week though Jay. So Cutler is throwing every ball directly at the Packers. But Who Was The First To Get There and Tackle the Packers and keep them from scoring a touchdown? on that particular play anyways. Mr. Forte! 4 years of simultaneous playing running back/safety during the exact same play taught Mr. Forte that instant reaction to up and at 'em when things go south. Matt Forte injured his knee his junior year tackling a Marshall player after an interception. So there.

Well now we have ourselves the RV Bridgade trying to taunt us. Ha!

The McNeesians have taken to posting on our Tulane boards out in the internets. They're clogging up our tubes. Sayin' that cause they have RV's (!) at their tailgatings, they are ultimately superior.

Well I am here to say: We ain't scared of your stinkin' RV's! Dude, we stare down the throat of bigger programs than Lake Charles ball. We even scared LSU straight off into breaking a 10 year contract (cowards). McNeese? Puh-sha!

So in August, we had our hands full. I tell you.

First, Cody up and gets hurt on us during pre-season practice. So while getting therapy, his girlfriend succumbs to ailment. In the middle of the drama and phone calls with Nell, Coach Papa T calls together a very serious press conference to announce that 27 members of the football team had swine flu symptoms. OMG. Like for real, this isn't a funny movie. Talking to Nell, I could just picture the little couple all bandaged up in wheelchairs. And now the entire football team was running around with those little hospital masks.

The biggest tragedy was that Fan Day was cancelled. But Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo trugged on and made do with the Tailgating Festival.

And it rained. every. freaking. day. in August. Not just a little love sprinkle. We are talking biblical flooding. Like Everyday. I thought Coach Papa T was just gonna have to put on a wig, beard and a dress like Charlton Heston, grab some tablets and part the waters. Cause this weather was serious as a heart attack. We got $27 million donation to football last spring and the idea of Covered Practice Facility has not yet been discussed. All of Tulane Nation was having palpitations due to the turn of weather events in August. And then swine flu. We were ready to start staging town hall encounters like the radical crazies were, but with the football and weather gods over this situation. I'm serious.

Mr. Hullabaloo got to watch a private pre-season practice at the Dome with all of the special donors. He loved it! He got to rub shoulders with THE Vince Gibson, former HC of Tulane Greenwave.

So then after our Tailgating-apalooza, Mrs. Hullabaloo succumbs to the flu. It was my "weekis horriblis" (did you know there is no latin word for "week?"). I could only think of Queen Elizabeth when she addressed the House of Commons the year Windsor Castle caught fire, her children were getting divorced left and right, all manner of tragedy befell her poor little kingdom and she came out and started her address in Latin: "Her Annis Horriblis." So the week between Tailgating-palooza and the game against Aslut was my "Weekis Horriblis."

I barely dragged myself to the Superdome, barely managed to toss on my adorable Michael Kors top and cute shoes. But we managed to set up our tent with my fabulous chandelier.


Nell made this adorable stadium cake that was just to. die. for. Look, she had little fans, players and uprights!

Priscilla made her World Famous Brisket. It's true. It's famous. People came from far and wide to the Hullabaloo Huddle Tent, just to taste a sampling.

Priscilla's World Famous Brisket

Plan a full day and a half in advance (no cheating)
Oh, and if you are NOT a Tulane Fan, Ms. Priscilla respectfully has asked that nobody BUT Tulane fans are allowed to have this recipe. So Go Away Non-Greenies.

1 trimmed brisket

put into a plastic bag

season with garlic powder,onion powder, celery powder, salt and pepper
douce with a small bottle of liquid smoke
and 1/4 cup of worcestershire sauce

Marinate brisket OVERNIGHT in the fridge. Do not pretend and try cooking the brisket right away, you must marinate overnight.

The NEXT day cook the brisket COVERED at 225 degrees for AT LEAST 6 hours. Yes, 6 hours. So about 5.5 hours into cooking, make the BBQ sauce: a bottle Kraft Original BBQ Sauce; a Small bottle of Honey; one cup of A-1 sauce. Mix in a small pan and simmer until thickened.

Once the 6 hours have past, take the brisket out and drain the jus. Cover drained brisket with the BBQ Sauce.

The next home game against BYU. it rained. But not enough to run us off. Listen, Mrs. Hullabaloo has been watching Tulane games since 1991. Mr. Hullabaloo since the Perfect Season. We've endured a lot: the Katrina road games, the Stolen Game at Michie Stadium, the late hit on Joe Kemp at Houston. A little rain? Puh-sha!

I'm not kidding when I tell you that we in New Orleans are weather trained professionals. Any one of us could take over a weather person's position at a moments notice. We know how to graph storms coming off the coast of Africa, we know wind speeds, surges, all that. So Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo looked at the accu-radar, judged the distance of the red and orange clouds and rightly guessed that the really nasty stuff wouldn't hit until about 3pm.

So Mr. and Mrs. Hullabaloo managed to grab a few things and join the Tulane Nation that was braving the sprinkles. I wore my fabulous new necklace made by Peggy's little Hullabaloo-ette, Allison.

Nell again, provided a fabulous dessert. and How adorable it was! Nell's Delightful Desert Canapés: Green and Baby Blue personalized M+M's with "Tulane" and "Football" printed on them; on a dollop of chocolate; resting on a mini pretzel. Delish!

So since we have these expectations to meet with the RV Brigade, I've been trying out menu items in anticipation. Let me tell you those RV's have seriously upped the ante, we can't just suffice with just regular Cheeseburgers with the Cowboys.

Last Sunday, the New Orleans Saints beat the tar out of Kevin Kolb (THANK YOU WHO DAT NATION!). Yes, THAT Kevin Kolb. He of idiot Houston pedigree. Saints ran the score up on Kolb, sacking him, intercepting him until he left the field in tears like a sissy at the end of the game. Boo Hoo! Since the Saints were out in Philadelphia showing Kevin Kolb some angola-style "brotherly love," I spent the first half of the game cooking and trying out new recipes on Mr. Hullabaloo. Alternating between running in and out of the kitchen to catch the replays of 6 touch downs.

Mrs. Hullabaloo has discovered Tyler's Ultimate on Foodtv. Let me tell you Tyler did a fabulous show on Sloppy Joes paired with Butternut Squash Goatcheese Slaw and I can attest it is delish. I made a few adjustments* (the * means that these are my adjustments):

Mrs. Hullabaloo's Ultimate Sloppy Joes

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced

1 small roma tomato, diced*

smidgen diced green bell pepper (maybe a tablespoon worth)*

teeny tiny smidgen diced jalapeno (no seeds, about 1/4 teaspoon worth) *
1 1/2 pounds ground meat of choice (we used Turkey)

sprinkles of garlic powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 3/4 cups ketchup
1/3 cup yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

some sprinkles of water if too thick*
Rolls (we used wheat rolls with oat sprinkles)

Sautee your onions and the peppers in the olive oil until translucent, add in your meat, sprinkle with garlic powder and brown, add the rest of the ingredients, simmer. If taking to Tulane tailgating, put into a foil pan and keep warm. Whomp onto a roll with some Butternut Squash Goatcheese Slaw as garnish topping and make a mess!

The Ultimate Butternut Squash Goatcheese Slaw

Half a Butternut Squash, peeled and julienned (I just chopped, chopped, chopped it into long stringy bits and alternated some parts with a grater)

4 ounces of Goat Cheese (ok, 5 ounces so you can nibble on an ounce. I totally heart chevre cheese)

2 very generous tablespoons honey (if 3 sneak in there, no harm in that)
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 toasted walnuts, chopped up
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves

1 stalk of green onion chopped*

Whip together (seriously, with a whisk) goat cheese, honey, EVOO, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a froth or until your arm gets tired. Take a sip of wine and rest. Toss in your julienned strips of Butternut Squash (or my grated mishmash mess), the cranberries, walnuts, parsley and green onion. Turn everything (cause tossing is impossible) a bunch of times until everything melds together. Dollop on top of your Ultimate Sloppy Joes. mmmmm!

So I'm ready for that RV Brigade. Bring 'em on. Plus the Fan Day festivities have been rescheduled for that game, should be fun! ROLL WAVE!