Friday, August 10, 2023

Tailgating – the Ultimate Guide

Tailgating season is just around the corner. Are you ready? Even the most basic, no-nonsense guys will admit that a certain amount of preparation is needed if you want to host an enjoyable tailgating party. Here is a very thorough list that will guide you from packing to execution.

 

What to Pack Things to Set-up Shop

For many, tailgating can be an all day event. Or at the very least – several hours long. You’ll want the experience to be as enjoyable as possible. So, you need the best possible set-up.

 

  • Bungie cords and/or rope (they will come in handy when you need to secure a tent, rain tarp or flag
  • Tent or canopy (something to provide shade
  • Table, chairs, and table cloth
  • Flag

 

Giving your guests directions to your tailgating party can be challenging. Utilizing things like tents and flags provide landmarks to make the task easier (and add team spirit to your festivities).

 

Grilling Supplies

You can’t really call a gathering a tailgate unless there is a grill involved. It doesn’t need to be fancy; it just needs to get the job done! And, it would be a real bummer if you were all standing around watching the burgers burn because you don’t have anything to flip them.

So make sure you have the following items:

  • Grill
  • Extra gas or charcoal and lighter fluid
  • Matches or lighter
  • Cooking utensils (spatula, cooking fork, spoon, a good knife, etc.)
  • Oven Mitts
  • Apron
  • Water to douse flames before kick off
  • Fire extinguisher

 

Food

TailgatingSome people might like to branch out and offer creative food options at their tailgating party. If women get involved, the food selection might even border on froufrou. However, there are some tailgating staples that just shouldn’t be messed with:

  • Burgers, hotdogs, brats (with appropriate buns)
  • Chips and dip/salsa
  • Anything that can be grabbed by the handful
  • Sweets
  • Anything above and beyond that is optional!

 

 

Beverages

While tailgating, you can never have too much!

  • Ice
  • Water
  • In order to meet the needs of all your guests, you should have plenty of:
  • Non-alcoholic beverages (iced tea, sodas)
  • Alcoholic beverages (beer, rum, etc.) and mixers (orange juice, 7Up, etc.)

Also, make sure you have enough coolers to keep it all chilled.

 

Serving Necessities

  • Time to eat!  You will need:
  • Utensils (to serve food and to eat with), plates, cups
  • Napkins
  • Serving platters/plates (remember: cooked meat can’t be put on the same plate that held uncooked meat)
  • All the fixins: cheese, onions, tomatoes, pickles, barbecue sauce, salt/pepper, ketchup, mustard, etc.
  • Bottle opener/can opener/wine opener
  • Trash bags

 

Extras

Though they may see small and insignificant, these things can really put your tailgating party over the top.

  • Radio/iPod with play list
  • Extra batteries
  • Containers or plastic bags to store leftovers
  • Toolkit
  • Camera
  • Blankets
  • Rain gear/poncho/umbrellas
  • Sun block
  • Antacid
  • Toothpicks
  • First aid kit

 

Cash for parking

Always plan an activity or entertainment for your tailgating guests. Eating and drinking can only keep them entertained for so long.

  • A deck of cards
  • Cornhole,  ladder golf, washers, or other lawn games
  • Football
  • Frisbee

Perhaps this goes without saying, but don’t forget to pack the TICKETS!

 

 

Luxury Items

While not necessary, these items definitely make the tailgating experience more enjoyable.

  • Lighting (flashlights and lanterns) if the tailgating will extend past dusk
  • Extra rolls of toilet paper for the not-so-clean portable bathrooms
  • A bottle of hand sanitizer
  • For hot tailgating parties, a portable fan, for cold tailgating parties, a portable heater.

 

Packing It All Up

While you are packing, keep these things in mind:

  • Separate perishable and non-perishable foods. Also, keep uncooked meat separate from other food items.
  • Creating a tentative guest list will help gauge how much food and beverages you will need.

 

Execution of a Perfect Tailgate

The ultimate tailgater will take these things into consideration:

  • If you aren’t on home turf, make sure you are aware of applicable traditions, regulations, and expectations.
  • Plan on arriving at your tailgate site early or you may not be tailgating at all.
  • If you will have a lot of tailgaters, bring multiple vehicles.
  • Upon arrival, immediately set up your tailgate area’t boundaries so others won’t encroach on your space.
  • Make friends with your tailgating neighbors; you may need to borrow something.
  • Plan accordingly. You will need plenty of time to teardown your tailgate area before the event starts (keeping in mind grills will need time to cool down).
  • It is probable that some of your tailgating guests won’t have tickets for the main event. Bring a TV so some (or all) of your guests can watch from the comfort of the tailgating party.

 

    • If you’ve been drinking, make sure you have a designated driver.
    • Bring snacks and drinks for after the game while you wait for traffic to die down.

    Extreme Tailgating

    Some people subscribe to the concept that a tailgating party can never have enough team spirit. If you fall into that category, here are a few ideas that will probably be right up your alley.

    Create unique beverages or unusual snacks to match the setting (your team’s opponent, location, etc).

    If your event falls near a holiday, create a theme to add to the festivities.

    However, every tailgater should set a limit. You don’t want set-up and teardown to take longer than the actual party!

     

    Deane Adams is a professional tailgater; he has hosted a tailgating party at nearly all of his alma mater’s home football game for the last thirty years. His parties are never lacking in perfectly grilled food or entertainment (he gets all his cornhole supplies here.

 

  

 

Friday, August 10, 2023

Three Things That You Probably Didn’t Know About Pizza

Pizza

Pizza

 

3 Facts About Pizza

 

Pizza has become one of the staple diets of the country. It’s become not only a favorite dish, but pizza has also evolved through the years. From pizzas with simple tomato sauce and spices to pizzas with unique toppings such as anchovies, different kinds of cheese, scallions, shrimps, and a whole lot more, you can now easily create your own pizza using your favorite ingredients.

Listed below are some fun facts that you probably didn’t know about pizza.

Naples is the birth place of pizza.

People have long been cooking flat bread over hot stones and putting different toppings on them. However, the pizza that we know of today came from Naples, Italy. It was created in the 16th century, at the time when tomatoes were first used in the kitchen.

Pizza was considered as a working man’s bread, owing to the fact that it was the workers and their families who commonly make this meal. It was not only a cheap dish to make, but it was also very convenient. After all, the flat bread also doubles as a plate, and there’s also the fact that utensils are not required to eat this dish.

When tomatoes were added to the flat bread, pizza gained the attention of even the rich people. It also piqued the interest of the royal families that, pretty soon, pizza became a popular food in the city. In time, its popularity spread across the country, and due to migration, the popularity of pizza spread even further.

Cheese, as an ingredient, was not included in the original toppings.

Contrary to what many people think about pizza, cheese is actually not included in the original toppings. In fact, cheese was only added to pizza during the 1880s.

Cheese on pizza became all the more popular when Queen Margherita of Italy visited Naples and asked Chef Raffaele Esposito to make her a pizza. Thinking to impress the queen, the chef and his wife made the queen three types of pizza, one of which was a flat bread with tomato sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese as well basil. The colors of the pizza so impressed the queen; they accurately represented the colors of the national flag. If the colors impressed her though, so did the exquisite taste of the pizza. She liked it so much that this type of pizza was named after her, the Pizza Margherita.

Pizza is a billion dollar industry.

From a humble poor man or working man’s meal to a billion dollar industry, pizza has really come a long way. It has made millions of people full and happy, and it has also made millions of people rich.

It was in the late 1730s that the first pizzeria was opened in Naples, and it was named Antica Pizzeria. The pizzeria became a huge success that many pizzerias soon opened, and from Naples, the pizzeria industry boomed.

The first pizzeria in the United States was opened in New York City by Gennaro Lombardi, an immigrant from Italy. From there, the popularity of pizza grew. Today, it is a 30-billion dollar industry in the United States and has become one of the most ordered and consumed dish especially during holidays and special events like the Super Bowl.

Jennifer Dahling is a self-proclaimed pizza addict. She regularly contributes articles about this famous dish to a Wakefield Pizza provider, a pizzeria where you can satisfy your pizza cravings.

Thursday, August 09, 2023

Where Does Tea Come From?

teaDid you know tea is the second most popular beverage in the entire world?  It is second only to water!  Its popularity can probably be attributed to the cooling – slightly bitter – astringent flavors.  Also, the abundance of health benefits associated with tea definitely don’t hurt the beverage’s reputation!  Tea has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, the ability to regulate food intake, and the capacity to suppress pain and nausea while providing calming effects.

While the popularity of the beverage is world-wide, very few countries actually have the ability to produce tea.  So, where do all these helpful, yummy leaves come from?  Approximately ninety percent of the world’s tea comes from Asian countries.  More interestingly, the majority of the world’s tea production happens in just ten countries.

The World’s Ten Leading Tea Producing Countries

Iran is number ten in the world’s tea production. Its annual production of tea is approximately sixty thousand tons, landing it in the top ten list. Iran is actually known for its red Iranian tea, which is drank locally and exported all around the world.

Argentina is the only country in South, Central, or North America that is on the list. It sits so high (at number nine) because of its 76,000 tons of tea per year.

Japan comes in at number eight, producing over 110,000 tons of tea, including green tea. Tea is an important part of Japanese custom.

Indonesia is number seven on the list. While many people know Indonesia for its delicious coffee, it is also a leader in tea production for over 150,000 tons of tea per year.

Vietnam lands the sixth spot because of the 174,900 tons of tea it produces each year. The province of Lam Dong is the largest tea producer in all of Vietnam and grows 27% of the country’s tea.

Did you know that Turkey produces almost 200,000 tons of tea per year? That makes it the fifth largest tea producer in the world.

Sri Lanka’s tea production totals 318,470 tons per year. This constitutes nine percent of the world’s tea and makes them the fourth largest tea producer in the world.

Kenyais the third largest tea producer in the world with over 345,800 tons annually.

Indiais second on the list because it produces over 800,000 tons of tea per year. This is almost one-quarter of the world’s tea production.

Finally, Chinais number one with well over one million tons of tea per year.  With such a flourishing tea trade, it isn’t surprising to learn that 15% of the total land area in China is used for crop production.

Guest blogger Doug Adams works in web design (learn more here).  He was recently hired to design a site for a local tea room.  In the beginning, he was woefully ignorant of the popularity of tea.  After doing some research for his client, he finds himself more intrigued by the beverage with each passing day!

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