Tasty Tailgate Treats A Tribute to Ben Herbstreit

Happy football Friday. Are you ready for some college football and some tasty tailgate treats? First and foremost did you enjoy last week’s Beverages for the Crew recipes? This has been a crazy week topped off with a little sadness. Ben Herbstreit the beloved Golden Retriever of ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit passed away on Thursday after a battle with cancer. Ben continued to travel in between Cancer treatments.  He was credentialed at some of the most prestigious college football fields. Ben’s sweet and easygoing smile was a beacon of happiness on gameday Saturdays. So, this week we pay tribute to Ben. I have curated some dog-themed tailgate treats as well as special homemade dog treats for the special Ben in your life. Hug your fuzzy four-legged friends and enjoy all the games this weekend.

Tasty Tailgate Treats A Tribute to Ben Herbstreit

Extra Good Puppy Chow

Ingredients: 

• 12-oz. box of rice Chex cereal (about 10 cups)
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar (more as needed/desired)

Directions: 

1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter at 30-second intervals until smooth and melted.
2. Stir in the vanilla and salt.
3. Pour chocolate over cereal – this recipe makes a very large batch so I do this in two big bowls.
4. Use a wooden spoon to gently mix the cereal with the chocolate, being careful not to break the cereal.
5. Place the chocolate-coated cereal in the bag and add the powdered sugar over the top (yes, just dump it right in). Shake the bag gently to coat all the pieces with powdered sugar – I like to go for a wet/dry hybrid approach for optimal clustering, rather than an each-piece-individually-coated-and-dry approach.
6. Transfer to a couple of baking sheets, or just lay it out on parchment paper to cool and set. Store this in the freezer for the best clustering and most satisfying crunch!

DAWG Chow – Puppy chow with a twist

Ingredients: 

• 10 cups of Chex cereal divided (any combination of rice, corn, wheat)
• 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips divided
• 1 ½ cups honey-roasted peanuts
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup red and black candies M&M’s, etc.
• ¾ cup cinnamon Red Hot candy
• 4 TB salted butter divided
• ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup water

Directions: 

1. Divide Chex cereal into two large bowls. Set aside.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, microwave 1 cup of chocolate chips, peanut butter, and 1 tablespoon of butter in 15-second increments. Stir after each time. Continue until smooth.
3. Pour the chocolate & peanut butter mixture over one of the bowls of cereal. Stir well until cereal is well-coated.
4. Put the powdered sugar in a large zip-lock bag or paper bag. Pour the chocolate-coated cereal into the bag. Shake and turn the bag until the cereal is well covered in sugar. Pour the mixture onto parchment or wax paper in an even layer to cool.
5. In the (now empty) chocolate bowl, stir together the remaining chocolate chips, butter, and cinnamon candies. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each time, until the candies start to get gooey and soft. Add the water, stir, and cook until smooth.
6. Working quickly (as the cinnamon candies will cause this mixture to harden faster), pour the cinnamon & chocolate mixture over the other bowl of cereal. Stir to coat well, and pour onto paper until cool. (Do not toss this batch in sugar.)
7. When the cereal has cooled completely, combine in a large airtight container with the peanuts and red and black candy. Toss to combine, and serve.

Hair of The Dog Bloody Mary  

Ingredients: 

Bloody Mary Mix – Serves 2-3

• 16oz Tomato Juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. Silver Spring Extra-Hot Prepared Horseradish
• 1 tsp Silver Spring Beer & Brat Mustard
• 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Celery Seeds
• 6 Splashes of Hot Sauce
• 1/4 tsp Garlic
• Pinch(es) of Salt and Cracked Black Pepper
• 1 1/2 oz Olive Juice/Brine
• 2oz-3oz of Vodka

Directions: 

Sausage with Onions and Peppers

• 1 Package of Sausage/Brat (in my case I used chicken apple sausage)
• 1 Package of Sausage/Hot Dog Buns
• 1 Green Pepper
• 1/2 White Onion
• 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
• 1/4 tsp of Garlic
• Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Ben Treats – Easy Homemade Dog Treats

Use a football cookie-cutter

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups oats (old fashioned, 1-minute oats, or instant) plus more if needed- see step 3
• 2 medium ripe bananas
• ½ cup natural peanut butter (Ensure your peanut butter is natural (the runny kind). The only ingredient should be peanuts. Avoid added oils, sugars, and especially xylitol, as it is toxic to dogs.)

Directions: 

• Preheat your oven to 300F (150C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Add the oats to a food processor and grind until they reach a fine powder. (If you do not have a food processor, see the recipe notes for other options). Add the bananas and peanut butter and blend until a sticky dough is formed.
• Remove from the food processor and roll out on a lightly floured surface. (Use whole wheat flour, more ground oats, or another dog-safe flour that you have on hand). I used a heart cookie cutter to cut out the treats but you could use any cookie cutter, or just cut them into squares with a knife or pizza cutter.
• Lay the treats on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the treats are puffed up a bit, dry, and dark brown on the bottoms, (they will still feel soft when first removed from the oven). The treats will get a bit firmer once they are cool but will still be a slightly softer dog treat. Let cool before giving one to your pup. Store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or I like to store them in my freezer which makes them firmer and makes them stay fresh for a long time.
• If you do not have a food processor, you can still make these treats. Grind the oats up in a blender or coffee grinder, then add the ground oats to a bowl with the peanut butter and mashed banana and mix to make a dough. Or you could buy oat flour and use that instead. You will need less oat flour as it is denser, so start with 1 cup and add more as needed.

Dear Ben

Dear Ben, You were the BESTEST boy!  Your sweet smile brought smiles to all of our faces.   We will miss seeing the cool new titles the schools come up with for your extensive collection of credentials. As well as, your interactions with the Royalty of College Football Mascots. But, most of all we will miss watching you roll around carefree on all of the coolest college football fields. We hope you are enjoying all the tasty squirrel-shaped treats in Dog Heaven. Thank you for making the world a better place one tail wag at a time. You will be missed.  Thank you to Kirk Herbstriet for sharing Ben with us. He was so LOVED! Love, Everyone

On The Menu

Next week we will have more tasty tailgate treats to tantalize your favorite football fans. Hope your team wins. Enjoy all the games and some tasty tailgate treats. As usual, let us know which is your favorite.