What a week, friends! Travel for work has me late in sharing my tailgate inspiration with you. This week’s menu is simple – because it’s a late post and an early game. I’m going easy on myself and I hope you do too. Here’s what’s cooking….

Anyone ever heard of a Bird Dog? I hadn’t either until earlier this summer when a friend made a comment about them on Facebook. After a little research, I filed that idea away right then because it is the PERFECT tailgate feature for UGA vs South Carolina! A dish created in South Carolina, a bird dog is simply a chicken sandwich in a hot dog bun – topped however you like. The traditional toppings are bacon, cheese sauce, and honey mustard, but recently Bird Dogs have found their way to Buffalo Wild Wing’s menu where they are dressed with wing sauce, BBQ sauce, and whatever your taste buds imagine. I’ll be picking up chicken tenders from the grocery store (Publix has the fattest, juiciest chicken tenders I know), but I’ll probably top with Chic-fil-A’s Polynesian Sauce because that’s how my family rolls. (And THANK YOU to whoever figured out putting that stuff in a bottle and the grocery store was a good idea!). Here’s a little more background on the Bird Dog – and you can see what BWW does with theirs here.

So what does one serve with a Bird Dog? I’m opting for some Southern and Seasonal updates to tailgate favorites. Switching up the traditional Ro-tel Dip ingredients with the addition of Black Eyed Peas gives you Hoppin’ John Queso for an obvious win, and I’m going to shred some cabbage and carrots and toss with sliced apples and an Apple-Thyme vinaigrette I picked up in the grocery store this week for a quick slaw. If you need a recipe, this one might get you started.

And, yes, we Georgians know that South Carolina produces more peaches than Georgia, so we can celebrate our football victory with a little peach cobbler after the game.

It’s an early game, so I’m thinking I’ll lay out a Bloody Mary Bar inspired by my friend Michael Gehrling, but a big glass of Sweet Tea would do just fine too!

Whatever is on your table, I hope it is surrounded by family or friends and that everyone enjoys another Saturday with the Dawgs!