I’m not a football fan – there I said it – go ahead and stone me if you must.  I never was a football fan – in high school I was a band geek and spent almost every football game either trying not to die from heat exhaustion because my uniform was made of something akin to wool combined with polyester or trying not to die from frostbite because my goofy color guard shoes were made of something akin to rice paper.  Either way, in high school, I was far more concerned with surviving the experience than enjoying what was happening on the field.  In college, I was a band geek yet again.  The issue here wasn’t so much my uniform but this little known fact:  in high school when you’re a band geek, you’re pretty much just a geek.  In college, at least my college, band geeks are elevated to some sort of obnoxious geek club, which somehow elevates your coolness level about 150%.  So, in college I was too busy trying to be obnoxious to care what was happening on the field.  (Now, basketball is a whole other beast entirely – I can sixth man with the best of them when it comes to basketball).

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, I married an avid (I almost typed rabid  - I think that might be more accurate) Alabama football fan.  I have tolerated more than ten years of listening to Alabama statistics, coach changes, player updates, and on and on and on.  (In the spirit of full disclosure, I really don’t mind – football may not be my thing, but it is Steve’s and he puts up with a heck of a lot from me).  In addition to Steve’s love of football, I also live in a part of the country where football is something of a religion. You pretty much can’t escape it here in the deep south – it’s as much a part of the local culture as walks on the beach or Sunday dinners with the family.

While I don’t think I’ll ever be sitting in my house on Saturday afternoons watching people run up and down a 100 yd. field in 100 degree heat ramming into each other to get to a ball made out of pigskin, I can get into the party aspect of it.  I’ll take any opportunity to have a party with my girls.  So, last Saturday, the girls donned their chef’s hats (and apparently some Sumo wrestler expressions) and we got down to cooking some food worthy of the first day of football season.

This year, Steve had to work on opening day of college football.  So, the girls and I decided to throw together a little party to surprise him when he came home.  We made some buffalo chicken dip and these little cookies.

Okay, a cookie decorator I will never be and I don’t think either of my girls has a future as one either, but we certainly had fun making them! 

I found this awesome little chip and dip holder at Sarah Jane’s, our local geegaw shop.  What’s a geegaw shop you ask?  It’s what my dad called little gift shops full of interesting things that my sister, my mother and I couldn’t resist.  Some of my favorite treasures have come from geegaw shops all over the country!

My favorite thing we made were the little cheeseburgers at the top.  I’ve made them several times for parties during the  Christmas season, but when I saw the little football shaped (okay, I realize I’m stretching it, but the buns were kind of oval and I saw a little bit of resemblance), I thought they’d be the perfect addition to our “party”. These little burgers are really, really yummy and since you bake them instead of frying or grilling them, they’re pretty low maintenance, which really helps when you’re cooking in the middle of a tropical storm.  I’m just saying….

Here’s the recipe if you want to try them at your next get together, be it a football party, a basketball party, or a Tropical Storm party!

Roll Tide Burgers (originally named Buffet Burgers)

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (you can use black pepper if you like, the white pepper gives the flavor a little extra depth of yumminess!)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
20 small rolls, split

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, mayonnaise, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper; mix well. Press meat mixture into bottom of a 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 inch jellyroll pan to within 1 inch of edges of pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes; drain. Top meat mixture with cheese and bake 5 to 8 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and allow to sit (about 5 minutes). Cut meat into 20 squares and place inside rolls.  Enjoy!