The KC Tailgater

Tailgate Parties - Supplying Your Sports Party

B.G. Roberts — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:17:00 +0000

Tailgate parties are an American pastime to fans of spectator sports virtually everywhere in the country. From college to professional sports, tailgating adds additional entertainment to an already entertaining event. It is the hardcore fan's pre-game parking lot ritual.

Tailgate parties have been around for many decades. People have been gathering in parking lots before baseball and football games for years. Grilling and eating hot dogs and hamburgers, and drinking as much beer as possible before the game starts, has been going on since at least the middle 70's.

Only in the last few years, however, has an evolution in tailgate parties occurred. A whole new industry has sprung up from the popularity of tailgating. Tailgating supplies no longer consist of a portable grill and a couple of lawn chairs. You still see quite a bit of these items in parking lots before games, but these days there are products made specifically for tailgate parties.

Here are just a few of the tailgating supplies available that are bringing a whole new aspect to pre-game sports parties:

1. Barbecue grills made specifically for tailgating - With portability always kept in mind; manufacturers are designing grills that can connect directly to the trailer hitch on your pickup or car. Your hitch acts as a support stand when grilling. After the tailgate party is over, the grill folds up for easy storage.

Other tailgate grills are mounted on trailers. These are not the large grill trailers used by barbecue caterers, but instead, are smaller grills that are light enough to be moved and positioned by hand.

2. One very innovative idea comes from the fact that there is generally no electricity hookup for appliances, etc. in a stadium parking lot, short of buying a generator. Manufacturers now make drink blenders and food choppers that are gas powered. The engine that powers these small appliances up is similar to the 2-stroke engine you find on a gas weed trimmer or edger. Just pull the cord and mix up a batch of frozen drinks to beat that parking lot heat.

3. Speaking of beating the heat, there are many kinds of coverings and awnings made today that pop up easily and quickly, providing much-needed shade from the hot sun. Some even come with your favorite team's logo printed on them.

4. Large flags with team logos are very popular at tailgate parties. They can be attached to flag poles that will extend to 25' and higher. Of course, the flagpoles are easily folded up after the party for quick storage.

5. Tailgate party decorating is even considered. Full lines of glassware, plates, tablecloths, and various party decorating items with team colors and logos imprinted on them can be purchased and many tailgating supplies stores.

These are just a few of the supplies to consider for your next tailgate party, as new innovations and ideas keep appearing every sports season. With this growing and still new industry, expect tailgate parties to continue to get better and add more fun to sporting events for many years to come.

Kansas City Masterpiece A Winner

B.G. Roberts — Sun, 21 May 2006 22:01:00 +0000

OK, this should heat up the "who's is best" discussion!

Consumer Reports did a review of bottled barbecue sauces in their June 2006 issue. Guess who came out on top? Nope!

It was KC Masterpiece original, winning out over such other heavyweights as Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck Original, Emeril's BAM, and Famous Dave's Rich & Sassy Original Recipe (all finishing in that order).
According to the report,

Standout KC was especially tasty. Others came close, but Kraft wasn't among them.....KC was indeed a Masterpiece, and at $2.29 a bottle, it's a CR Best Buy!

It's always good to see Kansas City barbecue being recognized for what it is, the best in the world! It's a good thing for KC Masterpiece that they didn't sample Arthur Bryant's!

Smithsonian Sports exhibit at Union Station

B.G. Roberts — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 02:32:00 +0000

The Smithsonian traveling exhibit Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers brings sports history together with American history. See rare artifacts from the Smithsonian's extensive sports and leisure collections, including a handball that belonged to Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan's basketball jersey and the dress Billie Jean King wore when she defeated Bobby Riggs in the famous "Battle of the Sexes" in 1973. Examine how sports illuminate and transform a society: changing lives, affecting politics, fueling the economy, and shaping the culture.

Now thru April 30th at the Union Station!

ForMoreInfo>>>>>

KCDD at Chiefs Game

B.G. Roberts — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 04:02:17 +0000

KCDD at Chiefs Game

Kansas City Chiefs Tailgating

B.G. Roberts — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 13:39:00 +0000

7 in 7 #2... My Confession

B.G. Roberts — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 03:28:41 +0000

7 in 7 #2... My Confession

Office Linebacker 2

B.G. Roberts — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 03:29:52 +0000

Office Linebacker 2

Ty Law 5-yard tackle for loss One of the few high...

B.G. Roberts — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 06:10:05 +0000

Ty Law 5-yard tackle for loss

One of the few highlights of the game.....

Hockey in Kansas City

B.G. Roberts — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:12:00 +0000

One of my new favorite blogs is Hockey in Kansas City, written by a very insightful local fan. Today's post starts out quoting The Pitch:

We're Pucked
Seven big-league hockey and basketball teams have rejected Kansas City. When the Sprint Center opens, will anyone love us?

He then goes on to offer some great comments on sports writing, writing in general in Kansas City papers, and some thoughts on the Sprint Center.

While I'm really glad to see all of the excitement surrounding the Sprint Center, I'm also concerned about the lack of an anchor occupent being named yet. I certainly hope it doesn't wind up being the great toilet bowl, flushing away Kansas City's dreams of becoming a more vibrant city.

Chiefs Fans Number TWO?

B.G. Roberts — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 22:42:00 +0000

Does this get your goat just a little?

According to the Kansas City Business Journal :

The Kansas City Chiefs rank No. 2 for fan loyalty
and No. 3 for fan support among the 32 National Football League teams, according to a
study by American City Business Journals, parent of the Kansas City Business
Journal.
The rankings are based on such factors as average attendance, the
team's record, per capita income in the market and the December high
temperature.
For the study's period, 1996 through 2005, the Chiefs had average
attendance of 77,294 and a win-loss percentage of .556, ACBJ
said.
The Cleveland Browns rank No. 1 in fan loyalty and
No. 1 in fan support. The Philadelphia Eagles rank No. 3 in fan loyalty
and No. 2 in fan support.

How does it FEEL to be number TWO, Kansas City? Number two behind CLEVELAND!

Does that get your blood boiling just a bit?

Are you seeing Chiefs RED?

GOOD!

Don't forget this Friday, September 8th, is RED FRIDAY in Kansas City! Wear red and suppor the Chiefs. Let's show the world that we're just a little ahead of number TWO!

Chiefs - Pollard jacks up Middleton, Sapp intercep...

B.G. Roberts — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 03:56:16 +0000

Chiefs - Pollard jacks up Middleton, Sapp interception

Days of Futures Past

B.G. Roberts — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 02:51:00 +0000

Kansas City Chiefs-Dante Hall--includes music

When will we see the likes of this again?

Barbecue Tips For Better Taste

B.G. Roberts — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 23:44:00 +0000

By Daniel Roshard

We all know that for some reason there are a lot of people that volunteer to be responsible for the grilling and barbecue at every event that has this option, and many times the barbecue is destroyed for a wide variety of reasons, the fire was too strong, the wind increased the fire, the meat was not right etc.

To know how to grill successfully is not about being an expert at all kind of meat grilling and fire building, it is simply keeping some very basic rules to the way you use the grill and some advice regarding the fire. Control of the fire is a basic rule you must keep if you want a better chance of eating a nicely grilled meat, and if fact it is the most difficult to keep, you need to be slow and conscience of what you are doing.

Most people discover that grilling takes much longer than they thought it would, this brings a lot of problems to the barbecue table, the person in charge of the barbecue gets hungry, people come to visit the grill and offer a lot of advice and tips and some people just visit to see how it is doing, because they start getting hungry. The best thing to do is know your plan, find out the time that the meat is expected to be ready, and start the fire 20 minutes ahead of time since increasing the fire is not a problem, but decreasing it might be a very big problem.

Have a little something to eat before you start, or throughout the cooking to keep you focused on the quality and not the time it take to cook, take the meat out from anything that keeps it cool about 30 minutes before you will load it on the grill, this will help the meat to cook ideally.

In most cases you would want the barbecue not to have any fire but only heat and at that point you need to decide if its warm enough, or needs more heat. To increase the heat you can simply blow into the fire or use something you can wave to make it grow, if you want to decrease the fire you can use a small amount of water to kill some extra warm places and reduce the heat, do not use a lot of water because if you do you run a very good chance of killing the fire altogether. If you are unsure about the heat you can place a small piece of meat and wait 10 minutes to see the effect.

Take the fat off the meat before you cook it, the fat can increase the fire when it starts to drip into the barbecue, and in some cases, if the fire is too strong it can result in the meat actually catching fire which is a catastrophe for the person who is about to eat that piece of meat. In any case, when cooking some kind of meat you never had cooked before you should always test the fire before you introduce all the meat to the grill, so start the grill ahead of time, test the meat for about 15 minutes and see if it’s the right heat for it.

Daniel Roshard is an interior designer fascinated by outdoor architecture, he is currently studying public parks and outdoor design. Daniel is writing articles about home improvement and landscaping issues. You can read his latest work on Barbecue here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Roshard

WHITE Barbecue Sauce?..... Read on!

B.G. Roberts — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 21:53:00 +0000

White Barbecue Sauce - Gourmet Bbq Sauce At It's Best by Chris McCarthy

Barbecuing is not what it used to be. When growing up the only time that my family would start up the grill or smoker was in the summer and on the weekends. Today, people barbecue every night and all year round. Barbecue sauces have come along way since then as well. There used to be only a couple of choices at your local market. But now with the invention of "super" markets the amount barbecue sauces you can buy locally has grown significantly. For those gourmet barbecue sauces the web is probably the only place you will find these unique sauces. If you don't live in the Alabama area the only place you will find traditional White BBQ Sauce like Big Bob Gibson's is on the web or of course you can try to make it yourself.

In Alabama Barbecue traditional Sauce uses Mayonnaise as its base rather than tomato sauce, vinegar, or any of the other more typical barbecue sauce bases. It is clearly a region favorite. Bob Gibson of Decatur, Alabama is credited with the invention the white sauce back in 1925. Friends and family were first treated to this secret-recipe sauce on chicken and pork at weekend barbecues where boards were nailed to trees for tables. Today, this famous mayonnaise-based condiment is traditionally employed to baste chicken, seafood and pork.

White BBQ Sauce is as synonymous with the state with Alabama as the legendary "BAMA" football program. White BBQ Sauce's intriguing flavor complements salads and is a superb baste for chicken, pork and turkey. You can also use White Sauce as an ingredient to add an extra kick to your favorite slaw or potato salad. However, because the racks of your local grocer are dominated by many incarnations of tomato-based sauces and white bbq sauce is such a regional anomaly, most people outside Alabama have not tested this concoction of flavor.

Like many barbecue sauces you want to apply this only at the very end of your grilling or smoking. It will breakdown and separate if it is heated too long. Use this sauce on chicken and turkey. It is also good on pork. Alabama White Barbecue Sauce has a tangy flavor that is a great addition to grilled foods.

White BBQ Sauce makes a unique experience. Use this recipe when grilling chicken; brush lightly over the chicken during the last few minutes of grilling. This sauce is also great for dipping; keep some sauce aside for passing at the table.

White BBQ Sauce Recipe

Ingredients: 1 quart mayonnaise 3/4 quart apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup corn syrup 1/4 tablespoon cayenne pepper Prepared horseradish Lemon juice Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions: Place all ingredients in a very large blender or food processor. Blend for 1 minute, or until thoroughly mixed and sauce is smooth. Pour sauce into a large container or bowl.

About the Author
Chris McCarthy is the owner of InsaneChicken's BBQ Sauce Catalog. InsaneChicken is proud to sell Big Bob Gibson White BBQ Sauce.

Tips for Safe and Healthy Outdoor Meals

B.G. Roberts — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 05:03:00 +0000

Are you looking forward to a wonderful summer?

Beaches, warm weather and of course - BBQ's. Along with the relaxing atmosphere and ease of preparing a BBQ dinner or picnic for friends and family come some well known risks.

You are likely aware that e.coli and salmonella can cause symptoms that range from mild discomfort to life threatening emergencies. But why is this more common during summertime meals and how can you protect your loved ones without ruining your summer?

During the summer when we are picnicking or having a BBQ we are not preparing a meal with the usual amenities we have in the house - sink, oven, fridge. Because of this we are more likely to forget to wash hands, store food properly or even grab a clean plate to serve food. Here are some ways you can protect yourself from summertime dining outdoors:

SEPARATE From the grocery store, to the cart, to the fridge, to the table - keep meats and other food separated. Always wrap meats even when thawing to prevent the juices from dripping onto other foods, especially produce. Produce has been identified as a culprit in some food poisoning cases.

WASH Wash hands, cutting boards, dishes and food. Always wash your hands before and after preparing foods. Never serve cooked meat on the same plate or tray that you had it on when raw - make sure the resident BBQ expert is given a clean plate to place the finished product on. Also thoroughly clean knives and cutting boards. Ideally you should use a separate cutting board for bread and produce and another for meat products. Wash produce in cold water and scrub thick skinned foods like cantaloupe as the bacteria can come in contact with the flesh of the fruit when being cut.

COLD and HOT Keep cold food cold and hot food hot. Food can normally last for two hours at room temperature, but that is decreased to one hour in warm weather. Cold food (potato salad, sandwiches etc.) should stay in the fridge until ready to serve. If the food must travel, be certain to use ice or commercial freezing gel packets. Hot food should also stay insulated. When eating outdoors try to keep cold food in the shade and be sure warm food is wrapped and insulated. When the food is no longer being eaten it should be returned to the ice box or insulated carrier. Food should remain hot or cold for as long as it is being served and then refrigerated in clean, covered containers. If you are not able to refrigerate it within a couple hours it is best to throw it out.

If you suspect a mild case of food poisoning than try to limit the foods you eat to the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. In more severe cases you should seek emergency treatment when there are signs of pain, vomiting for several hours or bloody diarrhea. Pregnant women, elderly, those with immune disorders and children are more at risk. Food safety is an important part of a fun summer.

Taking precautions will help you enjoy your meals and avoid serious consequences.