I

ENTERTAII N

LA**

COME SEPTEMBER, football fans

L

RING IN THE

A TANTALIZING
1 WITH IlIALL

TAILGATING FEAST.

STYLED AND WRITTEN BY ANNABEL COHEN I PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE BAAN

show their true colors with a vengeance.

There's nothing like cheering, bonding

— and the occasional face painting —

to work up a hearty appetite.

In the old days, a successful tailgat-

ing party was had when folks would

pack a picnic, park their station wagons

and lower their tailgates to reveal paper

plates full of sliced-bread sandwiches

and salads. Then they'd go cheer their

team to victory.

Tailgating these days isn't all about

the game. It's also about the food — no

longer will a giant sub and chips with

onion dip do. Tents and tablecloths, gas

grills and portable blenders have become

common at these grand "picnics."

We, however, found a happy point

in between bare bones and extreme

— what we call a "banquet in a box." The

biggest rule of thumb: nothing needs to

be plugged in or fired up. That means

everything can be prepared in advance

and even the host can have a good time.

' \
es (rounded loaves of French-style bread like those used for soup, only larger) from a bakery, cut a 1-inch slice from the top and hollow
This page: Forgo theggir with a variation on the picnic sandwich: Order
the interior with your finge*almost to the crust. Fill the bowls with your favo te foods — we used salad greens, grilled vegetables and potatoes topped with chicken breast, but anything goes — from Caesar salad

to sloppy Joes — then replacethe tops. Wrap the bowls in new cotton dishtowels, which can then be used by guests as placemats and napkins.