NASCAR Goes Gourmet: Food for the Fast Lane

March 10, 2007 — -- NASCAR fans all know that good food is essential when it comes to watching the big race. With 75 million fans, America's leading spectator sport is creating a new market of cookbooks for those who want to refuel on race day.

Mario Batali proved in his cookbook "Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style," that good tailgating food isn't just hotdogs and hamburgers anymore; he offers some mouth-watering gourmet delicacies such as Mortadella Skewers and Prosciutto-Wrapped Grilled Asparagus.

The sizzling recipes in the newest NASCAR recipe book, "Race Day Grub," written by Angela Skinner, wife of racing great Mike Skinner, is sure to draw hungry tailgaters hovering over your grill in no time.

The recipes were inspired by their fast-paced lifestyle during racing season.

Eager to impress her husband and truly experience the NASCAR cookout, Angela Skinner began collecting recipes and cooking tips from the entire NASCAR community. From the "Skinnerite Breakfast Casserole," to David Starr's "Texas Hot Sauce," race fans are sure to find something to make their taste buds sizzle.

Tune in to ABC NEWS NOW's What's the Buzz on Monday at 12:35, when Angela and Mike Skinner will reveal their favorite recipe.

Excerpts from "Race Day Grub," By Angela Skinner.

THE LAZY MEAT AND EGG BAKE

One race day morning I decided I wanted an omelet for breakfast, but I really didn't want to stand over the stove flipping and paying close attention to a soft, fluffy-egg breakfast. So I came up with this semi-quiche — a lazy way to make an omelet pie. I guess the fancy name for this is frittata, but I like my name better.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound bulk sausage

1 small onion, diced

6 large eggs

Splash of milk

1 ½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 small can sliced mushrooms (or ½ cup fresh mushrooms, sliced)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Hot pepper sauce and toast, for serving

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

In a large skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat. When the sausage is halfway cooked through, stir in the diced onion.

While the sausage cooks, beat the eggs with a whisk or fork and add a splash of milk.

Remove the cooked sausage from the skillet and place on paper towels to drain. Add the sausage mixture to the egg mixture. Add the cheese, mushrooms, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Blend all the ingredients together and pour into a greased, 9-by-2 inch round glass baking dish.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Slice and serve with a little hot sauce and toast!

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

INSIDER RECIPE — Jenna Robinson

BACON THINGIES

Jenna Robinson's husband, Clay, works at Hendrick Motorsports and gave her nontraditional rumaki this unique name — which I think is much more attention-grabbing. Jenna notes that traditional rumaki calls for rolled liver, so she usually gets big thanks for making them this way instead. I second that!

INGREDIENTS

1 pound thick-cut, maple-flavored bacon

One 8-ounce can whole water chestnuts

Toothpicks

2-3 tablespoons brown sugar

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Cut the bacon slices and water chestnuts in half. Roll half of a water chestnut into a half piece of bacon and stick a toothpick through the middle. Continue until all of the chestnuts are rolled.

Line the "bacon thingies" in an 11-by13-inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes.

Carefully pour off any excess grease and sprinkle with brown sugar.

Put back in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp and the brown sugar is melted.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

CREW TIP:

You can prepare these ahead of time, but make sure you serve them hot. Any thick-cut bacon will do, but if it's not maple flavored, you'll need more brown sugar. The pan will get rather messy, so after you remove your food, fill the pan with hot water and soak a fabric softener sheet in it overnight. In the morning, it'll be much easier to clean.

I would just purchase a foil baking tray and pitch the pan. But that's just me -- I hate scrubbing messy pans!

INSIDER RECIPE -- Henry Benfield

HEART ATTACK ON A PLATE

Henry Benfield might be the most outrageous character in the NASCAR garage. Mr. Benfield has driven a few race cars himself, along with a few race haulers for teams. He's also served on may pit crews and has cooked for most of us in the garage at one time or another. Henry's been around for many years and can share a lot of great stories, but now it's time for me to tattle on him a little.When I first started attending NASCAR races, Henry was one of the first to greet me, and the first to offer me a sandwich-it was his "Heart Attack on a Plate" creation, and it was delicious. I thought everything was great until a few amused friends warned me that I should be more aware of Henry's cooking.

Apparently, Henry has taught a few rude garage guards a lesson or two. For example, one hot summer day in Richmond a guard was a little smart with Henry, so Henry decided to make his special lemonade-containing a few special drops of citrus magnesium. The rest of the afternoon the guard stayed locked inside the port-o-john, and practically everyone ended up in the garage! The next guard who treated Henry somewhat rudely ended up with some Ex-Lax brownies. You can imagine why some folks are a little hesitant to taste Henry's meals, but the only questionable step that I noticed was how he cleaned his skillet. I guess a little SD-20 never hurt anyone, though.

INGREDIENTS1 tablespoon butter

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 onion, sliced

1-2 large eggs

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

2 slices of white bread

1 slice American cheese

1 teaspoon powered garlic

PREPARATION

Heat the butter in a skillet and cook the peppers and onions over medium heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside. In the same skillet, fry the eggs until hard. Remove the eggs from the skillet and set aside.

Spread mayonnaise on one side of the bread slices. Add more butter to the skillet and brown the bread (use the side without mayonnaise).

While the bread is browning, place the cheese on one slice and top with the eggs. Add the peppers and onions and sprinkle with garlic powder.

Once the bread is browned and the cheese is melted, remove from skillet and make a sandwich.

Serve quickly.

Makes 1 serving.

For more information check out the book "Race Day Grub," By Angela Skinner