The Post-Football Fete

For one of October's most inviting recipes, take a cool Saturday afternoon, stir in approximately two hours of gridiron grandstanding, moisten whenever necessary with eau de vie from a hip flask, then simmer down to a leisurely evening repast in the mellow light of your own digs. Ever since Englishmen in the 11th Century engaged in the manly sport of kicking around old skulls on battlefields, "futballe" has remained one of the most uninhibited forms of ordered mayhem known to man. Happily, it has its own highly civilized safety valve—the convocation at cocktails and dinner following the game when the afternoon's formations and strategies are all relived calmly in the vicinity of home bar and ice bucket. Only a fiercely (continued on page 152) Post-Football Fete (continued from page 109) loyal alumnus returning from his own campus can appreciate October's rich colors—the scarlet of a bloody mary, the harvest yellow of a 16-ounce mug overflowing with frosty ale, the autumnal haze surrounding a double old fashioned glass filled with whiskey and rocks. Football fans have no less an appreciation of October's culinary attributes. Although the oyster season starts in September, the plumpest of the marine bivalves are just now appearing on the half shells. Coolish nights once more bring out the carnivore in men. Huge rib roasts are readied for the fire. Beef in Burgundy simmers.

Every chef planning to tackle an after-football repast is automatically guided by one obvious ground rule: All preliminaries for the party must take place either before or after the game. You can't retire to the kitchen between halves. A dinner that is cooked before the game and held for serving time can be as elaborate as you wish as long as it doesn't keep you from reaching your seat before the first kickoff whistle blows. An after-game menu naturally must consist of ready-in-a-minute foods. Wise kitchen strategists often combine both styles into winning combinations. An oxtail stew, for instance—cooking time four hours—may be simmered a day or two before the game (stews always taste better when reheated). Easy delicacies like hot smoked oyster canapes are tossed under the broiler flames while your guests are still making their first sweep toward the ice bucket. Double or triple portions are the order of the day. Before the game is over even the most jaded epicure is apt to develop the appetite of a tackle.

Just when the thundering herd will arrive at your apartment for dinner is rather hard to pinpoint. A party starting out to return from a game in a solid phalanx is apt to be splintered in the inevitable traffic snarls. Select those foods, therefore, which don't make you a slave to the clock. If you're making oyster or clam stew or other seafood that is inclined to get tough upon standing, don't put it on the fire until you're almost ready to eat. You should avoid at all costs foods that collapse—like baked soufflés, which must be both cooked and served by a stopwatch. Braised steaks, sauerbraten and casseroles that can be carried directly from the warming oven to the buffet table have always scored at grid dinners.

The protracted cheering and jeering that goes on at any big tilt always creates a special symptom diagnosed as pigskin thirst. The most obvious kind of first aid is the double highball. Very prominently favored in the football pharmacopoeia of this department is the hot Rob Roy. In its original form, the Rob Roy is simply a Scotch manhattan made with three parts Scotch, one part sweet vermouth and a dash of bitters. You pour this same formula (undiluted with ice, of course) into a thick-bottomed old fashioned glass or mug, fill it almost to the rim with boiling water and stir with a piece of stick cinnamon. For those of pure Scotch blood who'd rather skip the vermouth, a hot Scotch old fashioned made with two ounces of Scotch will provide instant comfort.

Rating high in the autumnal feast list everywhere is the bursting apple bin. Winesaps, Cortlands and McLntosh are just a few of the several thousand varieties that roll into deep apple pies, Dutch apple butter, hard cider and apple brandy known by its national nickname as applejack. As a dessert for the football dinner a bowl of juicy red apples and a platter of ripe cheese is irreplaceable. Before dinner the apple's essence can be celebrated in the frozen apple, a cocktail made by spinning in the well of an electric blender 1/2 cup diced peeled apple, 1 jigger applejack, 1 ounce lemon juice, 1 heaping teaspoon sugar and 1/2 cup coarsely cracked ice. Pour the frozen apple into a deep saucer champagne glass or old fashioned glass.

Many college men, past and present, simplify the whole problem of entertaining both their friends and some of their gridiron enemies by offering the oldest of all Anglo-Saxon potables—liquid malt. It was no accident that for many centuries breweries were located right on the campuses of English colleges, just as the art of winemaking on the Continent was entrusted to the good hands of monks in their monasteries. As the fall deepens into winter a thirst doth rise for nut-brown ale and creamy stout. Both of them blend beautifully when poured together into tall seidels and served with seafood. Malt men need never concern themselves with such problems as matching red wine with red meat, deciding whether the Rhine wine should be served with the seafood or chicken. Gambrinus' brew may flow with any food and at any time.

And now, let us move on from gridiron to groaning board.

[recipe_title]Clam broth bellevue[/recipe_title]

(Serves four)

(Don't be misled by the title of this soup. It's a lusty seafood classic.)

[drinkRecipe]7-1/2-oz. jar whole clams[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 8-oz. bottles clam juice[/drinkRecipe]

[recipe]2 12-oz. cans clear chicken broth[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon onion salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon celery salt[/recipe]

[recipe]4 dashes Tabasco[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup heavy cream[/recipe]

[recipe]4 pats butter[/recipe]

Drain whole clams. Pour juice from clams into soup pot. Add clam juice and chicken broth. Slowly bring to a boil. Season with onion salt, celery salt and Tabasco. In a narrow bowl whip cream until thick. Put two clams and a pat of butter in each soup bowl. Pour hot broth into bowls and top with whipped cream. Serve with oyster crackers.

[recipe_title]Fried oysters with sesame[/recipe_title]

(Serves four)

[recipe]24 large freshly opened oysters[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup sesame seeds[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup bread crumbs[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon soy sauce[/recipe]

[recipe]Garlic powder[/recipe]

[recipe]2 beaten eggs[/recipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 tablespoons milk[/drinkRecipe]

[recipe]Deep fat for frying[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup catsup[/recipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 tablespoons lemon juice[/drinkRecipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons brown sugar[/recipe]

Place sesame seeds in a shallow pan or pie plate. Bake in oven preheated at 375° for about 20 minutes or until medium brown. Combine bread crumbs and sesame seeds, mixing well. Drain oysters and pat dry with paper toweling. Put oysters in mixing bowl. Add soy sauce. Sprinkle lightly with garlic powder. Dip oysters in bread crumbs, coating thoroughly. Combine eggs and milk, beating well. Dip oysters in eggs, then again in bread crumbs. Pat crumbs well, coating oysters thoroughly. Heat deep fat to 370° or until it shows the first wisp of smoke. One-half inch of fat in an electric skillet may be used in place of deep fat. Fry oysters, one layer at a time in frying basket, until golden brown. Combine catsup, lemon juice and brown sugar. Pass in sauceboat.

[recipe_title]Calf's liver calvados[/recipe_title]

(Serves four)

[recipe]1 1b. sliced fresh calf's liver[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms[/recipe]

[recipe]4 tablespoons butter[/recipe]

[drinkRecipe]Juice of 1/4 lemon[/drinkRecipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]Flour[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons salad oil[/recipe]

[drinkRecipe]4 slices ham about 1-1/2 ozs. each[/drinkRecipe]

[recipe]2 ozs. calvados or applejack[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup light cream[/recipe]

[recipe]4 slices toast[/recipe]

Wash mushrooms in cold water. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan. Sauté mushrooms until just tender. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until serving time. Season liver with salt and pepper. Dip in flour, patting off excess. In a second pan heat salad oil and remaining butter until butter melts. Sauté ham until it just begins to turn brown around the edges. Remove ham from pan. In the same pan sauté liver 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove liver from pan and keep it in a warm place. Add calvados to pan. Flame it. When flame subsides, add cream plus any liquor remaining from mushrooms in pan. Scrape pan bottom to loosen drippings. Bring cream to boil. Reduce flame and simmer very slowly about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Place toast on serving plates or platter. Add ham and liver. Top with mushrooms. Pour pan gravy on top.

[recipe_title]Swiss steaks with burgundy[/recipe_title]

(Serves Four)

[recipe]4 pieces round steak, 8 to 10 ozs. each, 1/2 in. thick[/recipe]

[recipe]1 large Spanish onion[/recipe]

[recipe]1 green pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1 sweet red pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1-lb. can Italian plum tomatoes[/recipe]

[recipe]Salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1 clove garlic, minced[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup red Burgundy[/recipe]

[recipe]1 bay leaf[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon marjoram[/recipe]

[recipe]2 envelopes instant beef broth[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper, monosodium glutamate[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce[/recipe]

Cut onion and peppers into very thin julienne strips. Drain tomatoes, reserving juice. Chop tomato meat coarsely. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large thick skillet fitted with lid. Sauté steaks until well browned on both sides. Add onions, garlic and peppers and continue to sauté until onions are limp. Add tomatoes, Burgundy, bay leaf, marjoram and instant beef broth. Simmer slowly, covered, until meat is tender—about 2-1/2 hours. Use a very low flame. Stir occasionally, scraping pan bottom, to keep meat and gravy from sticking. If gravy seems watery, cook uncovered until thick. Season with salt, pepper and mono-sodium glutamate to taste. Add Worcestershire sauce. Serve with white or brown rice or buttered noodles.

[recipe_title]Sherried ham steaks[/recipe_title]

(Serves four)

[recipe]2 center-cut ham steaks (ready-to-eat ham) 1/2 in. thick, about 1 lb. each[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup dry sherry[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup sherry wine jelly or apple jelly[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons butter[/recipe]

Cut each ham steak into two equal parts and place them in a shallow pan or bowl. Pour sherry over steaks and marinate them overnight. Remove ham from sherry, reserving sherry. Heat salad oil in a heavy wide saucepan. Sauté ham steaks over low flame until brown, 5 to 8 minutes on each side. Pour sherry into pan, add jelly and butter. Simmer slowly, stirring frequently, until liquid in pan reduces to about a half cup. Pour gravy over ham on serving plates or platter.

[recipe_title]Oxtail stew[/recipe_title]

(Serves four)

[recipe]2 oxtails cut for stewing[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1 large onion, minced[/recipe]

[recipe]2 pieces celery, minced[/recipe]

[recipe]2 cloves garlic, minced[/recipe]

[recipe]1/3 cup flour[/recipe]

[recipe]1-lb. can tomatoes[/recipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 quart water[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 pint dry white wine[/drinkRecipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons minced parsley[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon rosemary[/recipe]

[recipe]1 bay leaf[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon tarragon[/recipe]

[recipe]3 envelopes instant beef broth[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper, monosodium glutamate[/recipe]

[recipe]6 carrots, 1/2-in. slices[/recipe]

[recipe]4 medium potatoes, large dice[/recipe]

[recipe]10-oz. package frozen peas[/recipe]

Place oxtails in a shallow baking pan in oven preheated at 500°. Bake, turning occasionally, until meat is deep brown. In a large stew pot heat oil. Add onion, celery and garlic. Sauté until onion is yellow. Stir in flour. Simmer until flour mixture is deep yellow. Chop tomatoes coarsely, reserving their juice. Add tomatoes together with their juice, water, wine, parsley, rosemary, bay leaf, tarragon and instant broth. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Reduce flame as low as possible. Add oxtails. Simmer until meat is very tender, 31/2 to 4 hours. If liquid evaporates noticeably during cooking, replace it with water. Season with salt, pepper and monosodium glutamate. Skim fat carefully from gravy. About a half hour before cooking is completed, add carrots and potatoes to pot. Cook until vegetables are tender. Cook peas in a separate pot. Serve oxtail stew in a large casserole or individual casseroles. Spoon peas over meat.

The fact that the Yales upended the Harvards, or that State went down to ignominious defeat at the hands of Tech, will seem of little import as conquerors and conquered alike savor these fruits of culinary victory.