“My sisters, Mindy and Jessica, and I started tailgating at every home game when we were undergraduates at Ole Miss,” said Susan Byrd Jenkins, formerly of Bruce, and now Oxford. “We would get out to The Grove around midnight and set up the tent, table and chairs. Poor Ryan (Jenkins) would have to tag along with us girls as it was easier to put the tent up with four instead of three. We would get up really early the next morning and get the food and decor ready.”
She called Mindy the master chef of the family, finding recipes from tailgating books or on-line. Susan said she was more of Mindy’s sous-chef and learned many tailgating recipes from her.
“We chose to go with a bright colorful theme in place of the standard Ole Miss red and blue. Jessica would always make an arrangement of bright colorful flowers for our table draped with white cloths and surrounded by bright pink and teal chairs, and the food was presented on Arthur Court platters. We referred to our setup as the ‘Byrd Girl’ tent, and it was our goal to give off a friendly and hospitable vibe so all would feel welcome,” she said. “The food, however, is what kept friends and family coming back game after game, year after year.”
As they got older and her sisters moved from the area, she and Ryan joined a Grove association. “Now the tent is already set up and the food is catered. That doesn’t stop us from bringing extra food though. I still prepare some of my old favorites, but I also have the opportunity to learn new recipes from my friends in The Grove,” she said.
For tailgating, Susan tries to stick with functional dishes. “My beloved cheese dishes are better suited for fall when it’s a little cooler,” she said. Chafing dishes allow her to bring food which needs to remain on a heat source, like chorizo and potato mix. Sausage dishes are popular with her crew, and her brother is a fan of her grilled pimento and cheese dip sandwiches. That dip is versatile, and she likes to serve it with wheat thin crackers, but says it’s also delicious on whole wheat toast with bacon, lettuce and tomato. Various dips and fried chicken are also favorites.
“My in-laws, Ricky and Donna (Jenkins), have joined us in The Grove on occasion. He goes straight for the dips and chips, and he and my dad love Mississippi Sin dip. I’m not big on sweets, but Ryan loves chocolate chip cookies and brownies. So it was decided years ago we would always have cookies or brownie bites at our tent.”
“Getting the food to the tent can be quite an endeavor, but it is well worth the effort when you see your friends and family enjoying the food. Transporting your dishes and food from the car to The Grove can be quite a hike for most, so a wagon or tote bag is essential. Rolling coolers are helpful, but not always effortless, and I have had the occasional blunder when I lost the handle and the contents spilled out on the sidewalk in the midst of the crowd. Thankfully, such incidents have been met with a rush of folks eager to help a fellow fan in distress!” she said.
“My favorite food is cheese, cheese and more cheese. I eat it with almost every meal and I like all kinds. Most days, I eat a piece of cheddar cheese for breakfast.” She blames her dad for her love of cheese. “He can’t seem to get enough of the stuff either,” she said. Someone at the golf course once said to me, “I think Butch Byrd keeps a block of cheese in his back pocket.”
Susan says their 17-month old, Reagan, seems to have the same affection for cheese, and one of his favorite meals is homemade corn tortillas with goat cheese and fresh avocado.
“Ryan and I went to Milwaukee last fall, and I sampled all sorts of cheeses from hard parmesan to soft ripened camembert. I prefer classic mild cheddar for cooking. Cream cheese is not only delicious, but ideal for tailgating dips. I detest mayonnaise, so I usually substitute it with sour cream!”
“My mother, Lorenza, has been my biggest influence. Growing up, she prepared homemade Mexican food on a weekly basis. I have warm-hearted memories of me, Mindy and Jessica rolling dough and pressing tortillas with Momma’s iron tortilla press. She would let us prepare them while she stood over the stove nursing her fried rice slowly and attentively. To this day, I have not been able to perfect the art of frying rice like her.
“My dad loves beef, so we had a lot of pot roast and fried steak, always served with white rice. Many years ago she taught me how to mix scrambled eggs and tortillas with Mexican chorizo pork sausage. Add a little hot sauce, and you have a delicious breakfast dish. I also like to add baked potatoes to chorizo pork sausage with onions and cheese,” she said, one of their tailgating favorites.
Pimento & Cheese Dip Sandwiches
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz. cream cheese
7 oz. chopped pimentos drained
½ cup sour cream (can substitute ½ cup of mayonnaise)
½ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
½ tsp. of garlic powder
¼ tsp. of onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
For sandwiches you will also need 8 slices of whole wheat bread and butter
Mix all dip ingredients in bowl with mixer. Spread teaspoon of butter on one side of each slice of bread. Heat skillet on medium and add tablespoon of butter to skillet. As butter melts, spread ¼ cup of pimento and cheese dip on side of bread without butter. Place in skillet buttered side down. Place second piece of bread on top to make sandwich with buttered side facing up. Cook 30 seconds. Flip sandwich, and cook additional 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let sit. Cut into fourths and serve hot or cold.
Sausage & Cheese Dish
14 oz. smoked pork sausage links
8 oz. block of mild cheddar cheese
12 oz. refrigerated kosher dill spears
8 oz. honey BBQ sauce
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
Slice round sausage links into 1” thick slices. Place in skillet and stir in paprika and garlic powder. Brown in skillet over medium heat. Add honey BBQ sauce. Turn off heat and let sit in skillet. Slice block of cheese into 1” cubes. Slice spears 1” thick. Pour sausage and sauce from skillet into a large freezer bag. Add cheese and pickles. Shake bag thoroughly until sausage, cheese, and pickles appear to be coated with sauce. Place on platter and serve with toothpicks.
Chorizo & Potato Mix with Corn Tortillas
7 oz. pork chorizo sausage
4 baking potatoes
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
4 oz. crumbled goat cheese
½ cup white onion chopped
1 cup Maseca instant corn flour
2/3 cup warm water
¼ tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 400°. Wash and dry potatoes. Bake potatoes on middle rack 45 minutes. Mix Maseca instant corn flour with warm water and salt until soft dough forms. (If dough feels dry, add more warm water.) Divide dough into 8 balls. Heat skillet on high. Take sandwich bag and cut into two separate sheets of plastic. Place ball of dough in between two sheets of plastic. Place plastic containing ball of dough into tortilla press. Press until each tortilla measures about 6” in diameter. (If you do not have a tortilla press, you can roll dough out.) Carefully peel dough off plastic. Place tortilla in hot skillet and let cook 20 seconds. Flip tortilla and let cook 20 seconds. Flip again and cook about 5 seconds. Should see dough slightly rise at this point which means tortilla is done. Place in shallow bowl covered with damp cloth to keep warm. Stack tortillas one at a time on top of each other in this bowl as you make them. Keep covered with damp cloth until ready to serve. Remove baked potatoes from oven, let cool and slice in ½” slices. Place pork chorizo sausage in skillet with chopped onions. Mix and fry on medium heat 3 minutes. Add crumbled goat cheese and blend with sausage and onions 3 minutes. Add potato slices and mozzarella cheese and cook 2 minutes. Place on dish. Serve with fresh tortillas.
Brownie Bites
2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350°. Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray. Place baking chocolates and butter in large, microwave safe bowl. Heat on high 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until chocolate is smooth. Stir in sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, cocoa and stir well. Add salt and flour and stir. Place about 1 heaping tablespoon of batter in each muffin cup. Bake 10-12 minutes. Let cool before removing from pans.
Mississippi Sin Dip
8 oz. shredded mild cheddar cheese
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
3 green onions chopped
7 oz. green chillies chopped
4 oz. cooked ham chopped
Mix all ingredients in bowl using mixer. Pour into baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes on 350°. Serve hot or cold with corn chips.