Tailgating Time: Build a Better Sandwich Bar

Entertain/Food / October 3, 2014

Tailgating Time: Build a Better Sandwich Bar

Who doesn’t love a good sandwich? Where meat, cheese, veggies and bread come together to form dozens of perfect bites, all wrapped up in one convenient hand-held package.

For this installment of Tailgating Time, we put together a sandwich spread that can be tailored to any group – big or small. It works well at home or to pack up and bring to a parking lot tailgating party.

The Game Plan: Tips for Setting Up a Sandwich Bar

Give them options: Let your guests build their favorite sandwiches – or explore a new creation. Include your basics, like turkey, ham and roast beef, but toss in something special too like prosciutto, buffalo chicken or bacon. (Pictured above: sliced chicken breast, roast beef and prosciutto with colby jack, swiss and provolone cheeses.)

Buy beautiful buns: Make sure you buy buns that hold up to your guests’ sandwich creations and look good doing it, too. We found some lovely pretzel buns at our local bakery that were super tasty and hearty enough to hold a heavy stack of meat and toppings.

Include interesting toppings: No ho-hum mayo here! How about some garlic aioli and fancy pickles? Sprouts and avocado, maybe? Find interesting toppings while you’re out shopping that will take those sandwiches to the next level.

Dress up the table: Use what you have in the house and supplement with extra flair you find when out shopping. For our sandwich spread featured here, we used a sheet of brown paper (pick up a roll at your favorite home improvement store). Then, we decorated it with some simple football placemats and our own football-inspired artwork.

Have a wine for everyone: Pick up a few of our favorites this season and you’ll be sure to have something for every wine-drinker. Here’s our Tailgating All-Star Team, wines that we think fit right in with your favorite tailgate foods: Wine Sisterhood Ravishing Red Cabernet Sauvignon, Deep Purple Zinfandel, PromisQous Red Blend, Middle Sister Wild One Malbec or Monogamy Cabernet Sauvignon.

(Looking for our wines? Fill out this form here and we’ll help you track them down!)

Other Tips for Hosting a Crowd

Make sure you have enough wine and other beverages on hand. Use our Drink-U-Lator app (iPhone and Android) to determine how much you’ll need for the number of guests you’ve invited.

Set the bar. Set up a drink station or bar cart that gives guests enough space to make fun cocktails and mingle with each other.

Tailgating Time Wine Sisterhood Blog - Middle Sister Wicked White

Keep it simple. When in doubt, keep it simple – from food to decor and everything in between.

Put on a playlist. Set the mood with a fun playlist. Like one of ours!

Get crafty!

We found a simple tailgating craft that will make your guests smile – astroturf coozies!

What you’ll need:

One 4-inch strip of astroturf (check your local home improvement store, they usually keep a roll of it in the carpet area)
Glue (we used Gorilla Glue)
Clips or clothing pins
Scissors

Grab a soda or beer can to use as your measuring device. Measure out just enough astroturf to wrap around the bottle once. Cut the turf at that length. Secure the cut edges with glue and use the clips to secure the ends together while the glue dries.

Once the glue is dry (give it at least an hour), fit your coozies over your cans and you’ve got yourself one fine tailgating craft!

Go the extra mile and decorate the coozies with your team’s colors!

What tips do you have for hosting a crowd or tailgating party? Share them with us in a comment below!

And, if you haven’t heard… we want to see your tailgating photos! Share your tailgating fun with us on Instagram this football season and you could win Wine Sisterhood goodies. Get all the details here.