"tailgating" news and stories

Are you ready for some football? For most of us, that phrase equals sitting on the couch for a couple of hours, armed with a beer (or three) and a nice, big bowl of chips. For the football players, though, it signals the need for optimum fitness, necessitating some smart food choices.

The Washington Post reports that Clinton Portis, running back for the Washington Redskins, did as many of his compatriots do: He's hired personal chef Michael Stevenson (a.k.a. Chef Mike) to help steer him away from his beloved Chick-Fil-A and Popeyes and toward foods he'd never much cared for -- like broccoli.

Meeting the caloric needs of a professional athlete is a challenge. Jane Jakubczak, the Redskins' team nutritionist, explained to the Post that football players typically need at least double the calories of the average adult -- sometimes triple! -- and they need to come from the right balance of carbs, fats, and proteins to provide enough endurance at game time.

Of all the things we could say about this week's nail-biting, head-scratching, mouth-watering episode of Top Chef Masters, let's get one minor, blink-and-you'd-miss-it moment out of the way right now: Once, years ago, in a faraway time and place we'd rather be living in, Susan Feniger was a cheerleader.

You see, this week was all about each chef finding his or her inner jock: first by cooking a quickfire dish for Olympic gold medalist Jason Lezak, and then by serving up a tailgate feast at a USC Trojans football game.

We may have been down to a mere six cheftestants, with 5/6ths of the group in possession of a grunting, egotistical, macho Y-chomosome. We may have been in a parking lot full of jersey-clad, beer-swigging, barely comprehensible troglodytes. But who was the sportiest of them all? None other than our favorite irrepressible spitfire, Susan.

• Rick Nichols visits the Philadelphia Italian Market -- home to the famous Rocky jogging montage -- and ponders the question: Can this faltering strip be saved?
• Why tailgate when you can eat and watch the game in the comfort of your own home? The Sunday Night Foodball Cookbook argues just that point.
• The Market Basket is overflowing with environmentally friendly non-stick cookware, thin, spiced Swedish cookies and a Made in Pennsylvania vodka.
• Creme Fraiche can enhance even the simplest of dishes. If the market price is too steep for you, why not make your own?
• The Rush Hour Gourmet is serving up Pork Medallions with Squash and Greens.
• Craig LaBan picks Quicke's Cheddar as the Cheese of the Month.

Because I went to high school in Cincinnati, I have a bit of a soft spot for Boomer Esiason. Yes, it was a long time ago when he played for the Bengals, and I was in high school, so you do the math.

Since the man all about football, and it's high season for tailgating, Boomer is teaming up with Johnsonville in an effort to 1) help you with your tailgating feasts, and 2) more importantly, "make an even more significant contribution to the [Boomer Esiason] Foundation and help fight cystic fibrosis." Johnsonville has been a strong supporter of the Boomer Esiason Foundation, and the goal this year is to raise $100,000.

Esiason will share a tailgating tip or technique during each broadcast of Monday Night Football.

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Heinz has a very unusual new marketing idea, offering customized labels for bottles of their products. They are not the only company to offer custom imprinting, but surely they are the only condiment company. And who would have thought that custom ketchup would be a draw in the first place?

At MyHeinz.com you can select one of five different products and add either an "everyday message" or a "custom message" to it. The everyday messages include: Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary (would only recommend this in conjunction with another anniversary gift - like a barbecue) and Get Well Soon. The custom message can be almost anything, so get creative.

Heinz suggests that the bottles are appropriate for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, family reunions and tailgating. We're still not sold on the anniversary idea, but those last two occasions actually seem like ketchup would be a perfect topper for them, not to mention the fact that a kid would be thrilled to see his or her name on ketchup put out at their birthday party.

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