Since Ben and I didn’t have tickets to the opening game of the Iowa Hawkeyes’ football season yesterday, we brought the game, and the ultimate home tailgate, to us!
Instead of huddling in a tiny tent somewhere in Iowa City while it was poured nearly the entire game, we setup shop in our cozy, dry garage. (Yes, we were those neighbors for the day! ;) )
I laid out food and drinks galore, while Ben setup a tv to watch our boys take on Tennessee Tech. This is the way to do it!!!
We masterminded the whole indoor tailgate party on Friday night circa 9pm, a couple Skinny Girl Margaritas (her) and Hoptoberfests (him) deep, which didn’t leave us a lot of time to cook much of anything. Instead I opted for buying the most basic, crowd-pleasing food options for the wide variety of people we had invited to stop by.
A plethora of munchies,
including Parmesan Garlic Popchips (YUM!),
freshly sliced peaches dusted with powdered sugar,
assorted veggies & dips,
smoked baby back ribs,
and White Chocolate Covered Popcorn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, this stuff is like crack. I don’t even know if I’ll ever be able to make it again because my hand was in the bowl ALL. DAY. LONG. It was AMAZING (the popcorn, not the fact that I ate about 16 cups of it!) FYI – I used puffcorn instead of popcorn. UNBELIEVABLE!
Our guests, including my parents, started trickling in about 10:30am for an 11am kickoff.
We grabbed a drink and got ready for another great season of college football!
Our boys played relatively well, and won, considering the fact that it rained the entire game. The fans looked like they were having a great time regardless, but you know I have an irrational hatred for getting rained on. I was so glad to be home!
Friends and more family trickled in and out throughout the game and the day.
And at one point the rain stopped long enough for Ben to get an impromptu haircut!
In the driveway.
Please don’t judge us! ;)
Oh boys, no, do it this way!
Oh, tailgate shenanigans!
Back to business. :)
Aaron, our barber, cut Ben’s super long hair into a mohawk to rock for the day.
But the resulting rat tale was just too much for anyone to look at longer than a few seconds.
All cleaned up!
The festivities lasted all through the afternoon, evening AND night, and Ben and I didn’t hit the hay until nearly 12 hours after we started.
Party animals! Who are we?!
We woke up feeling surprisingly good, and are off on a loooong, LOOOOONG, walk to burn off some of those extra calories. Gah – I forgot what an ish-show tailgating can be! Oh well, no regrets!
See ya!
~~~~~
What’s your favorite tailgate treat?
Hey! I just found your blog, and wanted to show you some love! I, too, am an Iowa food blogger, and die hard Hawkeye fan! Tomorrow’s the big day! Go Hawks Go!
Happy start-of-college-football-season! I’m so happy to be back living in the center of Badger craziness. Tailgating is a lot of fun.
It’s going to be weird not seeing the Badgers play the Hawkeyes this year. Guess we’ll get to keep that Heartland trophy in Madison for another season. ;)
Ha, sounds like fun! I must admit I’m not much of a sports fan, especially with football…however I don’t mind the hanging out with friends and food part that comes when gathering people to watch a game :)
YAY for college football! Nothing beats tailgaiting & rooting on your team this time of year (which, for me is Cal – GO BEARS!)
Anyway, it looks like it was a fun tailgate! Your white chocolate popcorn looks especially delicious – it reminds me of this white chocolate candy cane popcorn that I saw on pinterest:
http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/01/07/white-chocolate-and-peppermint-covered-popcorn/
Love the Skinny Girl Margaritas :)
I just have to ask – is there a U of I connection in your family? I guess I just don’t get being such a fan of a school other than the one you graduated from.
I cant believe the wait was so long!! Only to not have like anything happen afterwards.. haha but YAY hawkeyes! so glad football season is back!
One of my FAVORITE gameday treats – Snicker Popcorn! Yum! I made a batch for the Husker game on Saturday. It’s my mom’s recipe – LOVE!
Ohhh you were really smart to do this. I went to that game and actually had a blast standing in the rain – until I woke the next day with what feels like bronchitis and a water-logged camera and cell phone. Oh college. Maybe I’ll make some white chocolate covered popcorn to feel better :)
Take out your phone battery and put it in rice (it helps absorb the water).
Looks like a great time and, it’s not a party until someone gets a haircut ;)
Oh Kristin. If only you were a Cyclone fan. ;)