Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Homegrown Gourmet 11: Game Day Dishes

Welcome back, Homegrown Gourmet! My little blogging event dedicated to the joys of local cooking traditions has come back to me by way of a tasty margherita pizza. A big thanks to Elizabeth for a great round and the honor of hosting again!



The air is getting brisk here in New England and the days are getting shorter, which triggers some deep instincts in me- inadvertent smiling, a craving for soups and warm comfort food, and an undeniable desire to watch sports on lazy Sunday afternoons. Yes, I can't lie that September is one of my favorite months when it comes to sports. Football is back on the air with new season excitement and the Red Sox are usually making a sprint to the finish as baseball comes to a close. The only thing that could make it complete is if cycling moved the Tour de France a few months to round out my top 3 spectator sports.

With all these athletics making their way back into my yearly schedule, I can't help but choose GAME DAY DISHES as my theme for this round of Homegrown Gourmet!




I hope that this round brings out the creativity and international crowd- I'd really like to know what folks eat while watching cricket or sumo wrestling! Now first, let's face it- we don't want a round up that shows a collection of potato chips from a bag, Cheez Whiz dips, and plain ol' nachos. BORING! Let's get INNOVATIVE, my fellow chefs.

  • Do you have a special regional dish that you always serve to watch the Big Game? I want to see it!
  • If Doritos and Bud are you typical fare, why not take inspiration from your favorite team?
    • Minnesota Vikings fan? Why not make a Scandinavian entree!
    • Looking for the Chicago White Sox to take home the pennant? Make an all white dip!
    • Rooting for rugby stars the New Zealand All Blacks? A healthful fruit salad with Kiwi fruit is a fun play on words fit!
  • Not feeling that creative? Take those late harvest local fruits and veggies and twist that tailgating chili into something really special!
  • Maybe you have a spouse or roommate that insists on hogging the television all weekend, numbing their brain watching grown men or women be overpaid to play a game? Game Day for you might be all about a chance to have the kitchen to yourself for some fancy, not-suitable-for-a-stadium cuisine. Let's see that too!
Sound good? Great- here are the rules:

  • Anyone can play!
  • The theme will be picked by the host. Participants will make a dish that follows the theme (Game Day Dishes) and that somehow represents their home region- town, state, area. Representation can feature a local ingredient, be a traditional dish from your area, or be a creative twist.
  • Participants will have 3-4 weeks to complete their recipes and post them to their blog (or email the pics and text) and they notify the host via their preferred method as stated.
  • An explanation of your dish is required; it can be a story about the local custom or ingredient, how you came about eating/ making the recipe, or an explanation about how your creative dish fits the theme.
  • Please link back to this post in the host's blog.
  • Fresh and local foods are encouraged!
  • When the round is done, the host will announce their favorite dish by updating their blog. "Favorite" is completely subjective to the host- no one expects the host to make and taste test all the dishes, it is just something that strikes the host's fancy! The creator of the fave gets the honor of hosting the next round, if they so choose.
Deadline: Monday, October 13th

Please send the following to homegrown.gourmet@gmail.com:

  1. Your name
  2. Your location
  3. Your blog- name and URL (If you do not have a blog and wish to participate, please just send along a description of your dish and a brief story about it!)
  4. The permalink to your Game Day Dish
  5. A photo of your completed item
I look forward to seeing what wonderful treats you all come up with!

    3 comments:

    That Girl said...

    I'm so excited you're hosting again!

    Elizabeth said...

    Fun theme!

    Anonymous said...

    Good post.