Food for Fall and Football

Are y’all as excited as I am that it is FINALLY getting chilly outside?! My roommate Kathryn has been teasing me because all I can talk about is how excited I am to wear a turtleneck again! I LOVE Fall almost as much as I love Winter- mainly because it means it’s almost time for coats and Christmas, but it has its own personal perks as well- one of them being football. Now, many of you who actually know me may laugh when you read that because you probably know that I don’t really understand football all that well, and you would be correct, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t LOVE it.

                Going to the University of Alabama, football is clearly a big part of life. I may not understand the game, but I definitely understand the party that goes along with it. There is nothing like waking up early for a game, putting on your gameday dress and pouring a whiskey drink. It may not be the most ladylike cocktail in the world, but goodness it’s good. When you can’t make it to the game though, here’s one of my favorite recipes for a gameday dinner at home. This is PERFECT for a house full of boys. Two weekends ago, I had a few friends over to watch the game and this is what I made for them.

The Menu:

Nana’s Babyback Ribs

Guy’s Slaw

Creamed corn

Nana’s Baby back Ribs:

This recipe for baby back ribs comes from Mrs. Vivian Martin, better known to me as Nana. Nana was Vivian’s (my childhood bff) grandmother and it is AMAZING! I always remember having these growing up- and thank goodness it was one of the few recipes that we could squeeze out of the secret Schreeder recipe lock-box. First, I need to explain my personal feelings on barbecued anything. I like it rather dry. I am not a fan of any sort of barbecue sauce, unless it is the thin liquid spicy sauce from The Dixie Pig in Blytheville, Arkansas. Don’t even get me started on The Dixie Pig- I’ll just tell you that I look forward to Suggie (my grandmother) bringing this barbecue every Christmas more than I look forward to the presents she brings. Nana’s recipe is for a dry rib- and to ask for bbq sauce with them is almost insulting. It would be the equivalent of asking for ketchup with a filet. Just don’t do it. However, if you MUST, then at least try a bite without before you ruin it. Click HERE for the recipe!

Guy’s Slaw:

This slaw is named after my grandfather, Suggie’s husband, Guy Newcomb (better known in our family as “Big Sug”). If you’re wondering where these nicknames came from, yes, they are what Guy and Jean Newcomb were/are called by their grandchildren, but what is even sweeter, is that this is what they called one another. “Sug”- pronounced “shug,” but under no circumstances spelled that way- stands for “Sugar.” And so he was “Big Sug” and she was “Suggie.” Guy Newcomb loved  his slaw, and because of that, I am EXTREMELY particular about how it is made. If you plan on buying a bag of pre-shredded cabbage, don’t even bother reading the rest of this recipe- that’s simply not how it’s done here. The way that the cabbage is chopped is what makes Guy’s Slaw unique. It must be chopped into small squares that are about they size of a key on a keyboard. Everything else is in the instructions is pretty straight-forward, but I had to be specific about that one! Click HERE for the recipe.

Creamed Corn:

Creamed corn is an ultimate Southern comfort food. I love how we consider this a “vegetable” with our dinner, when really it is a starch, heated with melted butter, then thickened with whole milk, corn starch and salt. Still sounds pretty wonderful though, doesn’t it?

I have a few tricks for you with this one. First of all, haven’t you always thought that it was called “creamed corn” because the corn was drowned in cream? I sure have. Until my Mama taught me this trick. When you are slicing the corn off of the cob you need to do it in two thin layers. First cut the kernels in half, taking the first layer off. Then cut the rest of the kernels off the cob. When you do this, you let the “cream” out of the corn. I thought this sounded ridiculous, but it really does let the milky wonderfulness out of the kernels and makes your creamed corn 10,000 times better!

                Trick # 2 comes from Rachel Ray via Mama. When cutting the corn off the cob, place a small bowl upside down in your large bowl and balance each cob on top while you slice. This makes it SO much easier! Here’s what it looks like.

This “vegetable” is the perfect comfort item to finish of this menu. Click HERE for the recipe. Enjoy!