This Week's Menu:

- Florida Honey Datil Wild American Shrimp Cocktail
- Steak Jalapeno
- Kickin' Corn on the Cob
- Bulldog Tailgate Peach Cobbler

I spent last Saturday in Jacksonville, FL with 100,000 or so of my closest friends. Okay, so I knew just a few of them, but looking across the tailgate lots before the Florida – Georgia game it looked like a gathering of friends. Granted, there were two groups of friends – those in blue and those in red – but even in the rain you could see why they call this The World’s Largest Cocktail Party.

I was there for The Ultimate Tailgate Chef Challenge we hosted with GreekStyle magazine. The plan was for a team of students from Florida to battle over the grill with a team of students from Georgia. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. The Georgia team backed out at the last minute so we had two fraternities from Florida cooking against each other to see who had the best food and spirit. You can read about the Challenge and who won at tailgatingblog.com, but one thing the teams had in common was they both featured a shrimp dish.

Shrimp is also the focus of a tailgate recipe contest sponsored by Wild American Shrimp. So, it seems fitting to start this week’s menu with a shrimp dish. (You can learn more about the recipe contest at wildamericanshrimp.org. If you win you get a year’s supply of Wild American Shrimp and have to invite me over for dinner. Okay, I made up that last part. But it would be nice.)

I wrap-up the menu with a dessert I found in the Half Time Lot in Jacksonville. Brent Smith is a Bulldog fan who set-up his tailgate next to our Challenge and ambled over to show me his tailgate version of a classic dessert – Peach Cobbler. This isn’t your mother’s recipe. In fact, when he first told me what was in it I wasn’t sure how it would taste, but it tasted good and reminded me how creative tailgate chefs can be.

Florida Honey Datil Wild American Shrimp Cocktail
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon fresh datil pepper, or other hot pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 pounds 16-20 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups honeydew melon, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 cups diced mango

Over medium-high heat in a large skillet, combine honey, paprika, Datil pepper and salt. Add shrimp and simmer 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are opaque. Remove shrimp, reserve and chill honey mixture. On wooden skewers, alternate shrimp with melons and mangoes. Place in a glass container and pour honey mixture over the skewers. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Serves 6
Recipe courtesy Wild American Shrimp

Steak Jalapeno
1 2-pound steak
3 or 4 jalapeno peppers
1 Tablespoon salt
¼ cup lime juice
½ cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves
½ Tablespoon ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons meat seasoning

Combine all ingredients, except the steak, in a blender and puree. Pour the mixture over the steak in a shallow dish and rub it into the meat. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat grill to medium heat.

Remove steak from container and grill to desired doneness, turning once. Cut into thin slices across the grain and serve. (You can also prepare this dish before hand and serve cold with Dijon mustard as sandwiches at your tailgate party.)

Serves 6 – 8

Kickin’ Corn on the Cob
6 fresh ears of corn

Chili Butter:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas or electric grill to high.

Pull back the husk to expose each ear of corn, but do not remove it. Remove the silk and then recover the corn with the husk. Run water into the ears of corn, drain the excess, and twist the husks at the top to close.

Prepare the Chili Butter by combining the butter, chili powder, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, and cilantro in a small bowl.

Place the corn directly over the hot fire. Grill for about 20 minutes, turning several times during cooking to get all sides. Remove from the grill and pull back the husks. You can either discard them or knot them at the base of the corn to create a handle of sorts.

Brush the ears generously with the Chili Butter. Serve hot.

Serves 6

Bulldog Tailgate Peach Cobbler
1 can (15 oz) sliced peaches, drained
1 box yellow cake mix
16 oz. Sprite
5 oz. butter, cut into five 1 oz. pads
Cinnamon

Preheat grill to high medium-high heat.

Place the peaches in a Dutch oven. Pour the cake mix on top of the peaches until it covers the peaches (you won’t use the entire box of cake mix). Pour the Sprite into the Dutch oven until it begins to bubble out. Then place the butter pads on top of the mixture and sprinkle with cinnamon to taste.

Cover and place on the grill. Cook for 25 minutes or until done.
Recipe courtesy Brent Smith, Columbus, GA