Outdoor Entertaining: Fly, Eagles, Fly! Let’s Tailgate at Home
Eagles fans know that football season isn't just a time of year – it's a way of life. While most of my fellow fall-lovers are busy celebrating pumpkin everything, we Eagles fans are imagining another wildly successful season of football. Sure, we’re 90 miles from Philly and still enjoying endless summer beach days, but fall’s Philly spirit is alive and well on the Island, so let’s create an epic home tailgate party that celebrates the green!
As if beginning this season with real hopes of reaching another Super Bowl is not reason enough to get us pumped, the Eagles have a little more in store this year with the return of the kelly green uniform for national-TV games against the Dolphins and Bills. The iconic Eagles' throwback uniforms hold a special place in the hearts of fans, and because I am as big a fan of tradition as I am of our Eagles, these throwback uniforms make me nostalgic for the Sundays of my childhood. Church, football pool picks, food prep, game. That was Sunday. It was simple, it was routine, and it was nice. Maybe for just one afternoon, it can be that simple and that nice again.
Let’s begin with some simple décor, which naturally will be kelly green-themed. A kelly green tablecloth for your serving table will go a long way to setting the stage, or maybe even a bit of Astroturf on the table would be fun. If you’re lucky enough to have some vintage Eagles gear, it’s time to dig it out. Posters? Banners? Footballs? Use it all. Finally, I get to wear my dad’s Chuck Bednarik Jersey. Only we seniors will remember “Concrete Charlie,” but that’s OK; these vintage things make great conversation starters, and that’s what we’re after. Encourage all your guests to come wearing their best old or new Eagles gear for lots of good stories and walking décor!
Obviously, bringing the game outside is your primary task. If you’re not already set up for outdoor TV viewing, it’s not so difficult. Of course, if you expect to do it frequently, installing an outdoor TV is your best bet. There are specialized ones for outdoors. These models are designed and engineered to be safer than the indoor type and to provide a better viewing experience. If that’s not in the cards for this time, just give some thought to location before bringing out an indoor TV, as the screen is not designed for outdoor light. If your yard does not have a covered patio area, you might need a large umbrella to shelter the TV from the sun’s glare, but the trouble is so worth it. Just think, guests can actually toss around a football while watching the game. While many guests will mingle and stand for part of the game, still provide plenty of comfortable seating. You can create some stadium-like seating with low beach chairs in front, some higher beach chairs behind them and then standard height chairs behind that. Ask guests to bring some along if you need to.
With our Philly football theme coming along nicely, let’s discuss the menu. Our one buffet table will work as our focal point as well as for serving food. My table is the countertop in the cabana just underneath the TV, which is placed high enough for viewing above the mingling guests.
A cooler or bucket of ice just off to the side will hold the drinks – both soft drinks and, of course, beer. I’ll offer a nice selection of pale ales, stouts, light beers, and of course, some Yuengling to support our Philly theme. One specialty drink is on the menu – an Eagles Wings Cocktail. It’s a pineapple juice, blue curacao and vodka-based drink garnished with a nice big sprig of mint for the Eagles’ wings – pretty and delicious!
Starters will include some football favorites including chips and pretzels along with a fun throwback – French onion dip. Remember the packets of French onion soup dip mixed with sour cream? Let’s do it.
More football food rounds out the menu with Bundt pan nachos grande and roast beef sliders. This slider recipe uses the attached type of slider rolls (like King’s Hawaiian). Just slice the whole thing through the middle without separating the rolls. Spread it all with mayo, then cover generously with deli roast beef heated with sautéed peppers and onions and, finally, provolone cheese. Cover with the one-piece top rolls, then cover with foil to heat and melt the cheese. You can do this in the oven or on a top rack of the gas grill set on low. After, just slice into individual slider-size sandwiches – simple and delicious. The Bundt pan nachos is one of my new favorite recipes. I always struggle doing this on a sheet pan and the Bundt pan makes it simple as well as eye-catching. If you prepare the ground beef ahead of time, you can put this together rather quickly. Buy the squeeze-type sour cream for topping, and if you have a way to elevate a small bowl in the center of the nachos, serve some guacamole in it. You’ll get lots of compliments on this. This recipe serves four, so if you have a crowd, make more than one.
Finally, we need a dessert for our Philly fans, and there’s nothing more Philly than Tastykake. This is something I just never buy, so I am really happy to have a reason. Let’s get them all – chocolate cupcakes with that amazing vanilla cream inside, Butterscotch Krimpets, a selection of pies (whatever kind you want as long as you include lemon), and of course, those peanut buttery delights called Kandy Kakes. So simple and so nice. I bet they will all disappear by the end of the game, especially if we get a victory. If not, I’ll send them home with guests so they don’t become bedtime snacks for me.
There you go. Now that you have football to get you through, the next few months will fly by. Missing the beach won’t sting quite so much, and I am already imagining recreating an Eagles celebration in February – right before we begin our 2024 Memorial Day countdown. Keep believing, fans. Fly, Eagles, fly!
Eagles Wings Cocktail
Ingredients:
One 6-ounce can pineapple juice
¼ cup blue curacao
¼ cup vodka
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Mint leaves for garnish
Instructions:
Fill two martini glasses with ice water and set aside. Fill a cocktail shaker or pint glass halfway with ice. Pour the pineapple juice, blue curacao, vodka, and lime juice into the shaker or glass, and shake or stir as appropriate. Discard the ice water from the martini glasses. Strain the cocktail into the martini glasses, dividing it evenly between the two. Garnish each cocktail with a sprig of mint leaves. Serve immediately.
Roast Beef Sliders
Ingredients:
1 (12-ounce) package slider size soft rolls (attached)
1½ tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeds removed and thinly sliced
½ pound thinly sliced deli roast beef, sliced into strips about an inch wide
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup mayonnaise
6 slices provolone cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice the rolls in half, place in a baking dish and set aside. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and green pepper and saute approximately 7 minutes, or until onions and peppers are tender.
Add roast beef to mixture and cook for an additional minute to heat roast beef, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Spread the mayonnaise evenly over the bottom rolls and on the bottoms of the top rolls. Spread the beef, onion and pepper mixture evenly over the bottom rolls. Evenly top with the six slices of provolone cheese. Place top rolls over beef mixture and cheese. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Slice rolls and serve hot.
Bundt Pan Nachos
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
½ pound lean ground beef
½ cup diced yellow onion
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
8 ounces block of Colby jack cheese shredded
12-ounce bag of Tostitos tortilla chips (you will only use about 2/3 of the bag)
Garnish:
Sour cream
Diced tomatoes
Black olives, sliced
Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a Bundt pan (12-cup capacity) with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the lean ground beef, diced yellow onion, salt, and black pepper. Cook the meat for 6-7 minutes or until no pink remains. Drain as much excess fat as possible from the skillet. Return the skillet to medium heat and stir in the water and taco seasoning until all the ground beef is coated in the seasoning. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat. Add a layer of half the shredded cheese to the bottom of the sprayed Bundt pan, followed by half the ground-beef mixture and then one-third of the bag of tortilla chips. Do not pack the chips down into the Bundt pan. Add the remaining shredded Colby jack cheese, ground beef mixture, and another one-third of the tortilla chips. You do not want to overfill your Bundt pan with all the tortilla chips; however, you want an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the Bundt pan from the oven and place a heat-proof large plate (larger than the width of the Bundt pan) inverted over the top of the Bundt pan. Carefully flip the Bundt pan over so that the plate now has the Bundt pan placed on it upside down. Carefully remove the Bundt pan to reveal the nachos on the plate. If you have some of the cheese stuck to the bottom of the pan, you can carefully remove it and place it back onto the top of the nachos. Top them with sour cream, diced tomatoes, sliced olives and chopped fresh cilantro.
Tip: A standard-sized bag of Tostitos brand original tortilla chips is 12 ounces and slightly too much for using the whole bag for this recipe. Resist the urge to stuff the Bundt pan full of cheese, meat, and chips. When it is too full, too much cheese sticks to the sides, and the chips do not warm through evenly.
