Marina's Menu: TAILGATING TIME

With football season in full swing, it's time for game day get-togethers and tailgating. Check out our roundup of easy and fun recipes from Fleischmann's, IMUSA and Jim Beam. We are certain you will be a fan of these tasty selections.

Mini Football Pizzas

Ingredients

CRUST:

-1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

-1 envelope Fleischmann's® Pizza Crust Yeast OR Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast

-1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

-3/4 teaspoon salt

-2/3 cup very warm water (120° to 130°F)*

-3 tablespoons oil

-1/2 cup pizza sauce

-2 cups (8 ounces/250g) shredded mozzarella cheese

-Pepperoni slices

=Green pepper and onion strips for the laces

Directions: Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute.
Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead** on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. (If not using Pizza Yeast, allow dough to rest 10 minutes.)

Pat dough with floured hands to fill greased pizza pan or baking sheet. OR roll dough on a floured counter to 12-inch circle; place in greased pizza pan or baking sheet. Form a rim by pinching The Edge of the dough.

Spread with pizza sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Form an outline of a football with pepperoni slices, rearranging as needed to get the correct shape. Fill in outline of football with pepperoni. Use green pepper and onion slices to make the "laces" on the football. Bake on lowest oven rack for 12 to 15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.
*If you don't have a thermometer, water should feel very warm to the touch.
**To knead the dough, add just enough flour to the dough and your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Flatten dough and fold it toward you.Using the heels of your hands, push the dough away with a rolling motion. Rotate dough a quarter turn and repeat the "fold, push and turn" steps. Keep kneading dough until it is smooth and elastic. Use a little more flour if dough becomes too sticky, always working the flour into the ball of dough.

IMUSA'S MANGO GUACAMOLE

Ingredients:

3 ripened avocados

1 ripened mango

¼ cup lime juice

½ cup cilantro

½ cup white onion

3 teaspoons salt

Directions: In your IMUSA Molcajete, add half of the diced mangos and mash with the pestle into a pulp. Then add one avocado and mash into a pulp with the mango. In a separate bowl mix remaining ingredients, including mango, and add more lime juice if needed. Fold mixture with pulp inside Molcajete and serve with tortilla chips.

Jim Beam Caramel Apples

Ingredients:

2 cups Light Brown sugar

8 oz. unsalted butter

1 cup light corn syrup

6 oz. cold half and half

8 oz. Jim Beam® Apple Bourbon

10 Granny Smith apples on thick wooden skewers

4 cups chopped salted peanuts

(Makes 10 caramel apples)

Directions: In a large pot over medium high heat, cook brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup until a light boil begins. Whisk in half and half and bourbon and continue to whisk until the caramel sauce reaches 248°. Remove from the heat. Dip each of the apples into the caramel, coating on all sides and set on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. If desired, coat apples on all sides with chopped salted peanuts. Serve once the caramel has cooled.

Fred's Smokehouse BBQ Ribs:

Ingredients:

1 tbs. vegetable oil

1 diced yellow onion

4 minced garlic cloves

1 cup Jim Beam Black® Bourbon

½ cup Light Brown sugar

½ cup light molasses

½ cup apple cider vinegar

24 oz. ketchup

1 cup water

3 tbs. soy sauce

1 tsp. chipotle powder

3 lb. bone-in country style ribs

¼ cup fresh parsley

¼ cup green onion

Salt and Pepper to taste

(Serves 6 to 8)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 325°. In a large pot on high heat, add vegetable oil, onions and garlic. Cook until lightly browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add bourbon and cook over medium heat until there is about 2 tablespoons of liquid left in the pan. Add brown sugar, molasses, vinegar, ketchup, water, soy sauce, chipotle powder, Salt and Pepper and simmer over low heat for 2 hours. Season ribs with Salt and Pepper and sear in large sauté pan on high heat until golden. Once the ribs are browned, transfer to a large casserole dish and pour ½ of the BBQ sauce over top. Cover pan with foil and bake in the oven for 2 ½ hours at 325°. When ribs are done cooking, remove from pan and serve alongside the remaining BBQ sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley and green onions.

For more information on Fleischmann's, visit: http://www.breadworld.com/

For more information on IMUSA, visit: http://www.imusausa.com/

For more information on Jim Beam, visit: http://www.jimbeam.com/

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jim Beam