Table Scraps: How About Breakfast With 50,000 Of Your Closest Friends?

I appreciate it when someone wants to pick my brain, especially when it's about food.

Last week, I received an e-mail from a friend who said she was headed to Gainesville for a Gators game. She wanted to do an easy brunch at the stadium before the game started. There would be four people, a cooler and a small grill.

"Got any ideas for me on what I might make under these tailgating conditions?" she asked.
Personally, I don't tailgate. It's not that I don't like football; I just happily prefer to "sip and dip," while I watch my Bucs, Jaguars, Vikings, Twins or Rays from my living room couch. Yes, I'm a transplant from Minnesota via Jacksonville.

Camping Is Like Tailgating

I do enjoy dining al fresco, though. On this topic, I have years of fun-filled camping experience.
Camping and tailgating seem to go hand in hand. Both venues require planning, packing and enough gear to climb Mount Everest.

To help my friend score an early touchdown with a hearty breakfast, I found myself ruminating on ideas for her parking-lot celebration.

I first thought of bagels with smoked salmon and a thermos of coffee. Yum. I suggested she take along baggies filled with extra fixings of sliced onion, capers, sliced tomatoes and a block of cream cheese. It sure beats the heck out of lugging a grill or standing over hot coals. She really liked this idea.

Another suggestion was to make something the night before, bake it game morning and take it along for the ride. There's nothing froufrou about a breakfast strata or casserole made this way. It's hardy and filling when combined with a fresh fruit salad. She liked this one, too.

The Thrill Of The Grill

For many sports fans, grilling is an essential element of football mania.

The smell of bacon and eggs cooked on the grill is still one of the things I most love about cooking outdoors. Most memorable is the time-honored frog-in-a-hole. All that's needed is a slice of fresh bread with a hole cut out of its middle to hold a fried egg.

Grilling pre-cooked sausages on a stick makes for easier handling. Flattened skewers are best because they turn easier and prevent the meat from spinning when you pick the skewers up.

These breakfast tacos, wrapped up tightly for any tailgating party, are a surefire hit. They're so easy.
All you do is scramble some eggs, cook your favorite breakfast meat, add shredded cheese and assemble. Take along a squeeze bottle of salsa for a spicy touch.

Are you ready for some tailgating?

GAME-DAY BREAKFAST TACOS
12 flour tortillas
12 eggs
1/2 -pound bacon
1/2 -pound bulk breakfast sausage
1/2 -pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Salsa
Sour cream

Fry the meat products until crispy and set aside. Warm the tortillas slightly in the oven and gently scramble the eggs. Put a tortilla in a square of foil, top with a little egg and the topping of your choice. Mix it up, and make some bacon/egg, sausage/egg, egg/cheese or bacon/cheese variations.
Roll up the stuffed tortillas and mark the outside of each foil packet with a marker, then pack into a heated bag or cooler. Reheat foil packages on top of grill. Serve hot.

Makes 12 servings.

Source: Adapted from www.rocmen.com