The Red Gingham: Game Day Grub Ideas

Friday, February 3, 2012

Game Day Grub Ideas

Mr. VG's parents came to visit us sometime last November and, being from Wisconsin, are huuuuuge Green Bay Packers fans. Of course, we now know that it isn't in the Packers' cards to win the 2012 Super Bowl but during their unstoppable regular season, GBP fans were treated to many a great football game. It's no wonder that every time a GBP game day rolled around, Mr. VG and his parents would deck out in their Packers shirts, jerseys, hats and necklaces (made of plastic cheese and football pieces) and go into full game mode with big plates of game time grub. Loud cheers and shouting at the TV would ensue for a good three hours. Not being a fan of football myself, it was kind of fun and amusing for me to sit back and observe while I munched on the food.

Why, hello there Aaron Rodgers...

Mr.VG's mom made a totally tasty sausage and pepperoni pizza from pre-packaged ingredients. Hey when you've got an early game, you want to put the grub on the table and be in front of the TV by kickoff so shortcuts really come in handy. I was surprised at how quickly the pizza came together and even more surprised at how good it tasted. All it took were six ingredients and less than an hour.

PRONTO PIZZA

Makes two large pizzas.

Crust Ingredients:

2 (6.5 oz) packages Betty Crocker Pizza Crust mix

2 (14 oz.) jars of pizza sauce (we used Ragu)

Toppings:

You can go nuts here but we used...

1 lb. Italian sausage (without casing)

1 (10 oz.) package pepperoni

Sliced mushrooms

Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese, shredded

Pronto Pizza basics.

Brown the sausage and set aside.

Prepare the dough:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place the packaged mixes in a large bowl. Add water (1 cup total for 2 packages) and stir together. Knead the dough over and over until it comes together completely. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Divide the dough into two to make two crusts. Grease a cookie sheet or pizza pan and turn out the dough onto it. With floured hands, press the dough outward, flattening it as you go along. You should have enough to cover one cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Top with sauce, pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has melted completely.

Hot and fresh for the game!

STACKED ROAST BEEF & SWISS SUB

Mr. VG's dad put this one together and it was so good! Another quick and easy game day recipe.

Ingredients:

2 large submarine loaves of bread, any variety

2 lbs. of deli roast beef, sliced thinly

2 lbs. sliced Swiss cheese

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup sliced onions

1 tsp. garlic, finely minced

3 tbsp. mayonnaise

2 tbsp. butter or margarine
Salt & pepper

Method:

Melt the butter or margarine in a large skillet. Add the onions and mushrooms and saute until the onions are caramelized and the mushrooms are tender. Salt and pepper to taste then transfer to a plate and set aside.

In the same skillet, reduce heat to low and place the roast beef slices on it to warm them. They do render some juices which will become the au jus for dipping later. Once the beef slices have all been warmed, transfer to a plate.

Slice the submarine loaves horizontally into two. Remove some of the inner bread (to make room for copious amounts of the beef, cheese and toppings) and place the slices of Swiss cheese on the top half. Pop both top and bottom slices of bread into the toaster/oven until the cheese has melted and the bread is warm and toasted.

Mix the minced garlic with the mayonnaise. Spread it onto the bottom half then top with the beef, mushrooms and onions. Form into a sandwich and serve immediately. Enjoy with the au jus.