Football Friday Tailgate Recipes: Tasty Trophy Treats

Football Friday Tailgate Recipes: Tasty Trophy Treats

Gingerbread Buddies

There’s a well-known tale about Lincoln that centers around gingerbread men. As a child, he shared his delicious cookies with a boy less fortunate than he, and used this story to turn the tables in a famed debate against Stephen Douglas.*

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup water
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Cinnamon bear-shaped crackers
• Cinnamon Chex
• Frosted bite-sized shredded wheat cereal

Frosting:

• 1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 5 teaspoons water
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Paste food coloring
• Assorted candies

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in molasses and water. In another bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a 3-1/2-in. gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Place a bear-shaped cracker, Cinnamon Chex piece or mini shredded wheat piece in center of each cookie. Gently fold cookie arms toward cracker or cereal piece; press lightly to adhere to bear.
3. Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
4. In a small bowl, beat confectioners’ sugar, water, corn syrup and vanilla until smooth. Tint frosting as desired with paste food coloring. Transfer frosting to a resealable plastic bag; cut a very small hole in a corner of bag. Pipe frosting onto cookies. Decorate as desired with candies.

Apple Pie Bites 

President Lincoln was big fan of apple pie. So, we picked a more modern recipe fit to serve a crowd.

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 sheets refrigerated pie crust
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted, divided
• 2 medium tart apples
• Caramel sauce, optional

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425°. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon; reserve 1 tablespoon. On a lightly floured surface, unroll pie crusts; roll and trim each to an 8-in. square. Brush with 2 tablespoons butter; sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Cut each square into eight 1-in. strips.
2. Peel and cut each apple into 8 wedges; wrap 1 strip of pastry around each wedge, placing sugared side of pastry against the apple.
3. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush tops with remaining butter; sprinkle with reserved sugar mixture. Bake 13-15 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve warm, with caramel sauce if desired.

Pecan Bacon

Another favorite of President Lincoln’s food was BACON!

Ingredients: 

• 12 bacon strips
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Place bacon in a single layer in a foil-lined 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, 16-18 minute
2. Remove bacon from pan. Discard drippings from pan; wipe clean if necessary.
3. In a shallow bowl, mix remaining ingredients.
4. Dip both sides of bacon in brown sugar mixture, patting to help coating adhere; return to pan.
5. Bake until caramelized, 8-10 minutes longer. Remove immediately from pan

*the above stories and recipes are courtesy of Taste of Home article 

Crock Pot Chicken Fricassee Recipe

Another favorite of President Lincoln’s. I found a recipe that is easy, toss it all in the crock pot.

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Thighs
• 2 TBS Butter
• 2 Carrots
• 2 Stalks Celery
• 1/2 Onion
• 8 oz mushrooms
• 2 TBS Flour
• 1/2 cup White Wine
• 2 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 Sprigs Thyme
• 2 sprigs parsley
• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
• 1 Egg yolk
• 2 sprigs tarragon about 3 TBS chopped
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1 TBS Butter

Directions: 

1. Season your chicken thighs with salt and pepper. In a large pot melt 2 TBS butter and brown your chicken skin side down. Place into crock pot skin side up.
2. In the pot that you browned the chicken add chopped carrots, celery, and onion. Cook a few minutes and then add in mushroom and flour. Stir together to cook the flour a minute or two.
3. Stir in the wine and allow to thicken in the mixture. Then stir in the chicken stock, thyme and parsley stirring and scrapping up any brown bits. If you don’t cook with wine you can just use extra stock.
4. Pour over the chicken in the crock pot. And cook on low for 6-8 hours.
5. About 20-40 minutes before serving time. Mix 1/4 cup cream with 1 egg yolk.
6. Add 1/2 C of liquid from the crock pot to that mixture to temper.
7. Remove chicken from the crock pot.
8. Add 1 TBS butter to the crock pot, stir in egg cream mixture, and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.
9. Add in chopped tarragon and chicken. Allow to cook covered for another 15-30 minutes before serving.

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