2021 Tailgate Preview: Team Out East

For this week’s Tailgate Preview, I asked some very special guest pickers to help me out.

Weather - Hot. Really hot.

Guest picker - Mother Nature

I know you were hoping to wear the cute new vintage-inspired sweatshirt you bought this summer while you were dreaming of football weather. This is not the time. It’s gonna be a toasty one, guys. Not as hot as Las Vegas will be next week...but still really, really warm. Just wear as little as possible. It’s going to be too warm to be self-conscious about your body and honestly, I saw you all last week and you look fantastic. Each and every one of you. Gorgeous. We are a very good-looking fanbase.

And don’t forget your sunglasses.

Food - Sloppy Joes and Corn Salsa

Guest picker - Marcus

If they gave out medals for tailgating, Marcus and Sarah would win gold. They somehow outdo themselves every year and I was so glad they took me up on being guest pickers.

They’ll be serving sloppy joes on Saturday because they can be made the night before and left to warm in a crockpot while you take in the College GameDay pregame festivities. These sandwiches are also a great tailgate choice because they feed a crowd and are fully customizable.

The corn salsa was chosen because you can’t have the biggest Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk game without a corn recipe. Marcus and Sarah were generous enough to share this recipe with you. Enjoy!

Mix together and bring to a boil for 1 minute:

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tsp black pepper

Cool the mixture and set aside.

Mix the following in a large bowl:

• 1 can white corn
• 1 can yellow corn
• 1 can mexi-corn
• 1 can pinto beans (drained)
• 1 can black beans (drained)
• 1 can black eyed peas (drained)
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup green pepper (chopped)

Pour cooled liquid mixture over bean/corn mixture and stir well. Refrigerate. Either strain before serving or serve with a slotted spoon. Delicious with Frito Scoops.

Drink - Cyclone Sunrise Shots

Guest picker, Sonny (Mr. Megatron)

I asked my husband to be my guest picker and he knocked it out of the park. Per usual, he pondered, planned, changed his mind several times, thought some more, sketched out a diagram, made a spreadsheet, implemented a trial run, gathered feedback (I’m exaggerating, but only a little), and came up with a delicious and fun idea: Cyclone Sunrise Shots.

Buy a gallon of orange juice and pour ¾ of the gallon into a different container. Replace the orange juice you emptied with your favorite tequila. This can go on ice in a cooler to stay chilled until it’s time to line ‘em up and knock ‘em down. When you’re ready, pour into shot glasses and top with a splash of grenadine. Admire the beautiful colors, cheers to our team and good health, drink, and then bring one to me.

Also, let’s all drink a lot of water on Saturday. It’s going to be so hot and I’m already a little worried about all of you. Water. So good. Please drink a lot of it.

Game - Flippy Cup

Guest picker - Sarah

It’s a race. It’s a drinking contest. It’s a battle of dexterity. It will make you drunker than you realize because you’re so caught up in the competition and screaming for your teammates, you forget you’ve just slammed beers repeatedly and then you will maybe need a nap. If you’ve never played, some rules are here, but it’s pretty straightforward and supply needs are relatively small. You can also play in a small space, which will be important for what’s certain to be a PACKED tailgate situation.

And when you’re done playing, how about a bottle of water? Doesn’t that sound good?

Song - “Levitating” by Dua Lipa

Guest picker - My kids

I asked my precious teenagers to choose a song together. After some vetoing of each other’s choices, some nixes from me, and a little arguing, they settled on this. I’ll be honest, I just kept asking them to choose songs so they’d hang out with me. Worked like a charm.