Slam Dunk Tips for Game Day

Great Food for the Game:
The idea, of course, is to watch and eat at the same time, so serve food you can eat without a fork and knife. Food that is reminiscent of stadium food, this is not a sit down dinner party! Topping the list of fan favorites are chicken wings (buy boneless so it’s easy to eat), Nachos, and sliders, and fries. Stick to the basics for dessert too with brownies and cookies. Cupcakes are great too and you can easily decorate them to look like a basketball or with your team’s colors.

Sliders

Score big and feed a crowd with this recipe for Sliders that are easy and delicious. Prepare ahead of time and you’ll be ready cook up some hot and juicy sliders mid game.

Ingredients (30 Sliders):

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 Lbs. ground beef (85% lean)
• 3 Pkgs. Dinner Rolls (12 Rolls/Pkg.)

Preparation:

The sliders can either be cooked on an outdoor or indoor grill/griddle pan. Place the ground beef in a large bowl and mix in onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and salt – combine well with your hands. Divide ground beef evenly. Fill two 13” x 9” baking pans/dishes with 2 lbs. each of ground beef. Cover meat completely with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Using one 13” x 9” pan, place it over the other pan and push down meat until it covers the surface of the bottom pan. The goal is to evenly distribute the meat throughout the pan. Do the same to the other pan of meat. Cover well and refrigerate. Cut the meat into 15 even squares (tip: cut into a 5 x 3 grid), this yields 30 sliders. Cook sliders for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until they are hot, juicy and sizzling. Serve up in buns and allow guests to top with their own selections.

Decorate:

Decorate your viewing room for the fans. If you all cheer on the same team, decorate with the team colors and hang pennants, flags and posters. Encourage guests to show their spirit and to dress in their team colors and apparel. If you have a mixed crowd, decorate with a general basketball theme so there is no home court advantage. Hang hoops and let guest toss around foam basketballs.

Don’t Forget:

• Seating is key. Rearrange a room for the day. Bring in chairs and a table for the food. Obviously, the most important thing is that everyone has a good view of the game.

• Invite the guests to arrive 30 minutes before game time. This allows everyone to catch up before the game starts.

• If you are paying for the game on pay per view, make sure your account is set up and working properly.

• Always have a designated driver.