Take Me Home for the Ballgame

About author / Amy Powell

World traveler; gourmet 30 minute meals; lover of exotic ingredients; winner on FoodTV's Chefs vs City; graduate French Culinary Institute. Her recipes will tantalize your taste buds.

It has been a summer of “take me out to the ball game” but now it's time to take me “home” for the ball game. Summer is over and so ends the baseball season. With only the World Series left to go, baseball outings will likely become baseball ‘in’-ings for the rest of the season. With no tenacious vendors hailing and tempting you with hot peanuts, hot dogs, and garlic fries, you are going to have to finagle your own baseball feast. So hit the kitchen for a few minutes, then pull up a chair in a front of the flat screen for a World Series, and homemade baseball feast, to remember.

No single food screams baseball eats more than America’s favorite encased meat, the hot dog. A day at the ball park would not be the same without a foil-wrapped dog on a perfectly squishy white bun with all the condiments one could ask for. A baseball game at home, especially for a viewing as momentous as the World Series, deserves nothing but the finest wieners to celebrate the occasion.

Since chances are that most of us will not be among the few lucky thousands at the actual games, we must then use the convenience of being at home to elevate the simple hot dog to the next level. Ketchup and mustard is just fine, but a homemade Coney Island sauce with sautéed onions, ketchup, some tangy cider vinegar and the kick of cayenne is just the sort of special condiment to make that dog worthy of a World Series. Top that dog with the Coney Island sauce and some quality sauerkraut and you might just find yourself wondering why you ever leave the comfort of your own home to catch the games.

Peanuts and ice cream may be the baseball treats of yore, but these days along with the aroma of hot dogs, you often will get a whiff of something unmistakably more potent: the delicious stink of garlic fries. A bag of frozen wedge fries, some cloves of garlic, a sprinkle of parsley and this new baseball classic could be yours.

You can bake the fries, but that might be little too healthy for a baseball gorge-fest. Instead, pan fry those french fries in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil. When the fries are almost done, add another tablespoon of olive oil, along with a few cloves of chopped garlic, for another minute until the garlic is softened. Toss those fries with salt and chopped parsley and you have the makings of a perfect baseball-hot dog accompaniment.

To finish off your World Series-viewing meal, you are going to need a little something sweet. As the song says, “buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks.” In our case, we are going to make some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Cracker Jacks have been part of Americana since their introduction at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 and have become an essential part of baseball cuisine owing to their inclusion in that famous song. And then, of course, there is prize at the bottom of the box.

But as much fun as they are to eat out of the box, making it yourself is snap. Popping corn at home with either an air popper or even in the microwave could not be easier. Once that is done, a syrup of caramel and molasses is poured over and tossed with the kernels. Then it is into the oven to let the syrup dry out. In the last minutes, peanuts, preferably a honey coated or toffee variety, are mixed into the caramel corn for a delicious nutty, caramel corn baseball treat better than the best stuff out of the box. Just don’t forget the prize!

It has been a good year for baseball at the ballpark and it is time to send out the season in style. If you can’t make it to the World Series, pull up a seat in front of the flat screen and have your own baseball feast in the comfort of your home. Hot dogs with special sauce, potent garlic fries and a nutty caramel popcorn mix will have you singing along during the Seventh Inning Stretch.

Serves/Makes: 4

• 1 bag microwave buttered popcorn
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup honey roasted or toffee peanuts

Serves/Makes: 8

• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 package (24 ounce size) frozen French fries
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped garlic
• salt
• chopped fresh parsley

Serves/Makes: 1.5 cups

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 white onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 dash worchestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper