The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

This is a quick-draw down-and-dirty list with some easy pointers, because I get tired of chips and dip - usually by the second game of the season. So here are some easy options that offer up a little zip, zing and zest to your game time munchies menu.

1. White Bean and Roasted Garlic Stuff! Yes - this is awesome and beats the old refried beans with melted ched­dar every time. The night before the game, get two heads of garlic, two cans of white beans, a red onion, a fresh bunch of Italian parsley and some crunchy rustic French bread. Put the oven on low and in a small bowl, cover the two bulbs of garlic with olive oil. Roast for two hours or until just soft (check at the hour mark and again at the hour-and-a-half point). Pull the garlic out of the oven when done and let cool. The next morning as you're making your bloody mary, drain the garlic (save the oil!!!) and mash it up in a shallow bowl. Drain and add the beans, half of the red onion (finely minced), about two tablespoons of finely chopped parsley and the oil that you saved from the garlic. A quarter teaspoon of coarse salt, a half-teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, and a blast from a just-cut lemon will do it. Serve that with the bread for an awesome snack #1.

2. Larry's S&S Buffalo Wings. Sriracha sauce on wings? You bet! Here's a spicy - ok, yes they're hot - take on tra­ditional Buffalo wings. Everyone has their own favorite method of working with wings - whether fried or baked - so prep them whatever way you like. Here's the sauce: 1 cup Sri­racha, 2 Serrano peppers (fresh and finely chopped - if you want to ease up on the heat get rid of the seeds and pith but don't forget to wash your hands AFTER you're done work­ing with the peppers). A ¼ cup maple syrup, one capful fish sauce, juice of ½ an orange plus the zest finely chopped, 1/8 cup white sesame seeds, ¼ cup tightly packed fresh cilantro and a teaspoon of coarse salt. Melt a tablespoon of unsalted butter in a pan and toss in all the ingredients. When sauce is mixed thoroughly, toss with the chicken wings until thor­oughly coated. Have a lot of darker beer on hand, like a porter or a heavier red ale - these are spicy but incredibly delicious. I recommend making twice what you normally would be­cause they disappear faster than you would bet on! Here's another use for this sauce just in case you decide to make a larger batch: it works really well for seared tiger prawns!

3. Cheese plate. Yeah - boring, I know. UNLESS you go and get good cheese. Forget the cheddar and Ritz crackers! We all get lazy at pre-game time, but with a little planning, it's easy to get great cheese and bread for the game. The Mon­teillet Fromagerie, between Waitsburg and Dayton, makes incredible artisan cheeses, and Mace Mead Works carries a nice though small selection of good artisan cheeses for retail sales in their cold case. Even a slab of fresh brie at room temperature with a little honey drizzled over it rocks all over that orange stuff - not that cheddar is bad but let's leave it for the taco plate instead!

4. And speaking of tacoshellip;. Do it all up - classic tacos, EXCEPT for the meat. Go get a couple of nice pork loins (dry rub with salt and pepper and sear them off on all sides) and slow braise them at 225f for four hours in one tablespoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, one large bay leaf, one tablespoon fresh ground black pepper and four of cans of coconut milk with a cup of medium spiced rum added in for good measure. When done, drain, cool and chop the pork up and use that instead of ground beef taco meat. Squirt with lime juice and have some cilantro on hand for an extra kick in the taste buds.

There you have it - awesome munchies that go well be­yond your basic chips and dip, good for the entire season! Sante and Go Seahawks!