Game Day in the Garden!
Nov 15, 2024
The moment the air turns crisp we are ready to gather, eat and cheer on our favorite team! Whether it's on Friday or Saturday nights (or both) the garden can be a part of all of our game day celebrations. Watching the game from home is the most comfortable venue. Preparing snacks and meals in the convenience of your kitchen doesn't have to mean long mornings of preparation on your feet. As a matter of fact, for me the first step to hosting in get together is a trip to the garden! Would you believe it if I told you we grow purple and gold cauliflower in our garden?? This photo is from one of the amazing ladies that I coach in the Wild Child Garden Club! She, like so many of us in the Wild Child Garden Club, grows this every year for LSU gameday get togethers, and after football season is over she adds some green broccoli to her roasting pan and has Mardi Gras colors! I mean, come on! If you are not excited about purple and yellow cauliflower I don't know if we can be friends! This is a winning team!
Make sure to grab some flowers from the garden for a fresh themed decor (we prefer purple and gold over here... but I guess you could use other colors. :-). I say this all the time, and I will say it again because it is that important! A wild child garden is beautiful! I believe that no garden is complete without flowers, and herbs. How many times have you thought, "I just wish I had a few flowers to go on the table" but a trip to the store for flowers is not in the cards. Flowers are the icing on the garden cake, and you don't want to skip out on them! In the early fall season the zinnias are still blooming, but as football season begins and the cooler weather comes in mums are a great option! Now I know you may be thinking, but Kellye, I always kill the mums that I put on my porch! And I hear you, that is why as a wild child we plant them right in the garden! And get this! They come back year after year! Just cut them off at the soil level when they are done this season and wait for the magic next year! I actually have a whole class called The Art of Growing Flowers in the Vegetable Garden, if mums in the garden are something you are interested YOU might be a Wild Child and not even know it! So check out that class! Of course, I am choosing purple and gold again, but there are lots of great colors out there!
Wild Child Game Day Prep
Look, us Wild Child gals are busy! I get it. We are moms, wives, sisters, daughters, and we don't have time to spend days setting up for a Game Day get-together. So, let's keep it real simple! Set up a drink station with containers of water and sweet tea, throw in some mint leaves or lemon balm to make these ordinary beverages extra special. Put ice and bottles of soda in an ice chest for easy grab and go beverages. And let's call it a day!
Appetizers can be a one stop shop with charcuterie boards. Focus on one main board or two or three smaller boards. Think of the boards in two categories: proteins like meats, cheeses and nuts and then a sweet category like fruits and desserts. If you have one large board (a wooden cutting board works well for this) include all of the categories together. Start with meats like deli cuts or slices of sausage, add cheeses of all kinds with crackers and breads. Don't forget spreads like mustards or jellies; those can be put in small bowls. Then add nuts and small or sliced fruits directly on the board. Finish with sweets like petit fours, bite sized brownies, cookies, or chocolates. And don't be afraid to run to your favorite local bakery to pick up these goodies! I love to bake but sometimes it is just not in the cards!
From the garden add in fresh broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, sugar snap peas, sprigs of herbs, and the cherry on top.....create a base for your charcuterie board out of giant kale, fig, or cabbage leaves!! This is what will really take your board to wild child level. Come on!! Can you even believe this?? Something as simple as a giant kale leaf will really turn your board into pure magic. And don't stop at charcuterie. Grab some chicken salad and a loaf of sourdough bread from the local grocery and create more game day goodness. Simply place cabbage, kale, or fig leaves on the base of your board, spoon chicken salad into a beautiful bowl and place on leaves. Then surround the bowl with slices of sourdough. Oh and make sure you have a really fun spoon for the chicken salad. 10/10 recommend.
Here are few more tips for garden to table game day charcuterie boards:
- Add herbs in bundles for fullness. Tuck the little herb bouquets under bowls and heavier items to let them fill a space.
- Add some veggies whole for lots of game day drama.
- Plant lots of pansies and violas so that you have them at the ready to decorate the boards with. And at the nursery remember this is why you are growing them, so choose your colors accordingly.
- Use the leaves!! Don't remove leaves from some veggies like celery, carrots, beets, or radishes that you are adding to boards. It is so beautiful to leave them.
- Never ever ever worry about it being perfect!! The imperfection is what makes it fun!
Here are a few of my favorite game day boards from my favorite "charcuterie Instagram" account. I have been following and swooning over @berryandtheboards on Instagram for years. She is a local New Orleans girl who is a "visual food stylist" (yes please) and creates some of the most beautiful boards ever!! Be inspired!! Go follow her yesterday!!
A Few More Pro Tips
Take a photo. It will be almost too pretty to eat. For larger crowds make multiple boards. A meat and cheese board, a fruit board, and veggie board, and a dessert board. For trips to campus or a neighbor's tailgate, these boards can transport easily. Keep fruit and meats etc. in their original containers or plastic storage (cut ahead of time) and transport in a cooler. Then simply assemble your boards on site. It's such a fun way to snack. If you need to feed a crowd something more substantial, our go to game day foods are gumbo with garden fresh okra and a cold and tangy potato salad. This can be made ahead of time and served all day long. Such a crowd pleaser! One of the Wild Child Garden Club mentors, Kathy, even has an amazing recipe for pumpkin chili, that is SERVED IN A PUMPKIN! You can download that recipe here if you are interested, along with a few other amazingly fun "First Frost Traditions!" I mean, can you imagine!? The truth is serving anything in a pumpkin would be so much fun!
Now that your table is set, your food and drink are prepped, grab your game day outfit and enjoy your family! Because the most important thing about it all is spending the day cheering on your team with the ones you love. Even if you pick up fried chicken from Rouses, and drink sweet tea out of the jug, a day spent in the garden cheering on your team will create memories that will last a lifetime! Trust me on this. Win or lose your friends and family will remember the warmth and hospitality that your garden provided. And this is what it is all about, it starts with a garden, but it is so much more.
