Tailgate – Hokie Style!
Thanks to everyone who submitted information on Hokie tailgating and recipes. See a sample of the submissions below. Go Hokies!
Submitter:
Debbie Barackman-Flippo ‘83
H-O-K-I-E Poppers Recipe
Needed:
- 20 medium jalapeno's (cut lengthwise and remove seeds - makes 40 poppers). Each jalapeno should be about 2-2.5 inches long
- 1 lb of hot Italian sausage (ground...not links)
- 1 block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- 20 pieces of bacon (cut each piece in half for wrapping)
- Toothpicks
- Cut jalapeno's lengthwise and remove most of the seeds - seeds make 'em hotter!
- Brown Hot Italian sausage and drain - make sure that the sausage is really ground up
- Remove Philly cream cheese from packaging and microwave for about 1.5 minutes (you want the cream cheese soft)
- Mix drained Hot Italian sausage with soft Philly cream cheese
- Stuff each jalapeno with above mixture - amount is about a tablespoon
- Wrap horizontally with 1/2 slice of uncooked bacon
- Hold together with a toothpick
HOKIE Poppers cook for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees in the oven or until the bacon is completely cooked. You may also decide to grill the poppers at your tailgate, which takes about 60 minutes on the grill for the bacon to really cook, but they are a great tailgate food.
Submitter:
Erica (Weikel) Muddiman ‘02
HOKIE GOES TO BUFFALO
Turkey meatballs served 'Buffalo' style!
- 1 pound ground turkey breast
- 1/2 small onion, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 package crumbled blue cheese
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 3 scallions, green and white parts thinly sliced
- A couple of handfuls celery sticks
- A couple of handfuls carrot sticks
MAKE BEFORE TAILGATE
For the Meatballs: In a large bowl, mix together the turkey, onion, garlic and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture in your hand and press a clump of the blue cheese into the center. Shape the meat around the cheese to form a ball. Repeat until turkey mixture is gone. Store in sealable container for easy transport. Stack meatballs to conserve space and use wax paper in between layers so meatballs do not stick together.
For the Sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add hot sauce and stir to combine. Transfer to a sealable container for easy transport
AT THE TAILGATE
Arrange meatballs on a nonstick baking sheet (size appropriate for your grill) and drizzle with the olive oil. Grill until meatballs are cooked through. Be sure to bring a small sauce pan, bowl to reheat the sauce. For best (and easy) results, you can also use a gas grilled slow cooker. Once meatballs are cooked, toss in hot sauce until completely covered. Transfer to serving dish (or leave in slow cooker, if available) and serve with carrot and celery sticks on the side.
Submitter:
Rich Carpenter ’67, ‘69
Annual E Company Tailgate Ritual: It is required that all members of E Company give the E Company cheer before they can eat. They are also required to recite the E Company motto.
Description: Since the early 90s my wife Libby and I have invited all the Cadets from E Company - Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets (my former Cadet Company when I was in the Corps) to join us at our tailgate during one of the games each fall.
Recipes: My wife Libby has made her "Good Luck Brownies" for every home game for approximately 20 years and for every E Company Tailgate. They have a 97% success rate. In those instances where they were not effective we thoroughly believe it is because not enough people ate one.
Recipe makes 24 brownies.
- One package Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
- 1/2 cup soft margarine
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- Give the "OLD HOKIE" cheer
- Scramble the egg, mix in all other ingredients while doing the Hokie Pokie and spread it about into a 9 1/2" x 6" Pyrex dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-28 minutes.
Submitter:
Mike Schroder (1992, 1994 and ABD 2004 (Hokie-Man) pictured with wife Beth Schroder (1994 and 1999) and Caleb Schroder (TBD 20??)
Hokie-Man Catered Tailgate Ritual
Every year for the past decade the Hokie-Man (Mike Schroder) puts together a catered tailgate event with Professional Catering.
The event features a huge tent, lights for night games, tables/high-tops, linens (Burnt Orange and Chicago Maroon of course), flower arrangements, food stations, and beverage stations. At least one tailgate is held each season at a home game and most years two are held, usually a Thursday night game and then a Saturday game.
The tailgate features many rituals and traditions from the menu (filet mignon sandwiches and hokie jello) to the bartended (and monitored) beverage services with everyone’s favorites. There are traditional challenges where some of the opposing team (yes, we welcome the other fans to join us, so we can show them Hokie Respect and how to do a real tailgate) challenges Hokies in bean-bag toss and ring toss. The losing teams have to wear the opposing team colors (to date the Virginia Tech fans have not lost, must be the home field rules). One of the fun pieces of the tailgate is the traditional paint session where anyone at the tailgate can get painted up like the Hokie-Man, there are usually at least a dozen takers that participate each year and some that come already decked out and ready for Hokie pride and a Hokie win!
The feature at the tailgate is the famous Hokie-Man Dip (turkey shredded - cooked, buffalo wing sauce, special blend hot sauce with home-grown hot peppers finely chopped, blue cheese dressing – mix all and layer in a casserole dish, bake for 20 minutes and serve hot with sliced French bread, crackers or Fritos Scoops).
Submitter:
Jacqueline Nottingham 1988
We've been tailgating since our return to Virginia Tech in 1990.
In the mid-nineties, we were assigned parking spots near George and Siham Oley, from Richmond, VA. Each couple had 2 spots and with the additional spot shared with us by Jeff and Sandra Birch, we got up to 5 spots in a row in Lot 2.
From there the tailgate just exploded. We now have two tents, 3 tables for food and refreshments, 2 grills, a generator for blenders, crock pots, toaster ovens, a variety of coolers for drinks, and trash cans. We have tent sides and heaters if the weather is bad; a satellite dish with Tivo for pre/post game watching, a picnic table and folding chairs, etc.
Before the first game of the year, there is always a trial run tailgate in our back yard. We set up the tents, check supplies, and cook out on the grills to make sure we are set for the season.
Tailgate planning begins a week before each game. Quinton and George figure out set-up time (no less than 3 hours before kick-off) and discuss menu items. The largest tailgate we've had was when Virginia Tech played Miami in 2005. Some friends helped us roast a pig - the cooker took up one whole spot. It felt a little like Bourbon Street at night in New Orleans with so many people coming in/out of our spot.
George's eyes are bigger than all the guests stomachs, so there is always more than enough food - mostly all homemade and delicious - to try. Some of our favorites include Lebanese food, large shrimp, oysters, pork BBQ, crock pot macaroni and cheese or crock pot spaghetti, and lamb chops.
For most tailgates, there are about 50+ regulars who come or stop by. Other times you can find any number of ole (and new) friends who stop by such as Ace Custis, Bimbo Coles, Ray Crittenden, Dean Lay Nam Chang, and former President Torgersen are just some of the Hokies you might see dropping by.
Submitter:
Bob Bowden ’58, ‘63
Emeritus Professor of Physics (1963-1996)
Our ritual is to take our HokieBird tailgating with us to the game.
That seems more than equitable since he brings his own transportation – a 1968 short-bed, step-side Chevy pickup truck that once belonged to a previous generation of the family. We enjoy the waves, cheers, honks, and other signs of Hokie spirit that the HokieBird garnishes on the way to and from the game. HokieBird usually sits quietly on the tailgate of the truck as we eat. He seems to be a favorite of kids of all ages and is a prime choice with which to pose for a snapshot. Gentlemen, usually with a touch of gray hair, tend to favor the truck.
Bob, Gail, Todd, and Brent Bowden
Seven Degrees of Hokies:
M.S. ’58, PhD. ’63, B.S. ’94, B.S. ’97, M.S. ’01, M.S. ’03, PhD. ’09