Tailgating Tech – Chapel Hill

Welcome to our second away game.

Its Military Appreciation Day at UNC and the Game is SOLD OUT.

Triangle Hokies Chapter has a strong presence on TKP, as most are aware. Theyve got a nice website at trianglehokies.org
These guys meet at the Carolina Ale House for watching ball games so, if you are ever in the area, this is the place to go.
Note, these guys have organized a tailgate for both the game this Saturday and also for the Duke Game. This Saturday is sold out but, theres space at the Duke Game. trianglehokies.org/duke2014
To segue into the From the Whit gets it file AD Whit Babcock will be attending the Duke tailgate on 15 November to support the cause of the Triangle Hokies and there may be other notables as well, depending on kickoff times. Whit did look into getting Somebody to play Enter Sandman live at our Thursday night game but, the band was scheduled already.

Its an away game so a pointer to the rules and info regarding parking and festivities.
Parking Rules and directions- be forewarned, its not as good as the VT website on this topic. UNC Parking
AAAAAAAND the Rules Tailgating Rules
A few notables.
The lots open at 8 AM. Yeah, they must not have many noon kickoffs to open that late.
Max tent size 10x10.
No smoking while tailgating and that includes electronic cigarettes.
No grills and open flame in parking decks but, there are outlets in the parking decks. I bet they may be tough to grab one. No multiple outlet type extensions.
No spikes for tents allowed anywhere. Gotta weight the corners.
All glass at tailgates is strongly discouraged.
Don't run out onto the field unless you want to be rudely tackled and lose your golf caddie scholarship.

What about Stuff?
Glad you asked. I'm going to touch on a product I mentioned in the first show this year.
We've used this every game so far this year and some at home. I like this product, its showed to be pretty durable this year and will definitely be strong enough for a couple drinks and a plate. We made one significant modification to it. We went to Lowe's and got a couple of their paint can openers that double as bottle openers. We tied them to the unused clamp. Really handy. Coil the string and wrap it around the clamp when packing to keep the string out of the way and not lose it for next week. We did get ours from Dicks Sporting Goods, $13 for 2 of them.
Canopy tray

Lowe's Paint can opener. $.46

If you haven't gotten a fire extinguisher yet, do it while you are getting your groceries today. PUT IT ON YOUR LIST.
Ok, portable trash cans. I know, its easy to hang your bag on the tent or a chair or something. But, I find this to be convenient and doesn't require 2 hands to throw everything away. Make sure the one you find collapses and has clips, to hold it closed once its collapsed. Some don't. ?

This one happens to be a Bed, Bath and Beyond for $13.
I just put 4-5 bags in the bottom, at the house and then we dont have to hunt them down. Take out your full bag and there's an empty in there ready for the next beer can or paper plate.

FOD
Its in North Carolina so, time to talk about seafood.
Easy do ahead seafood. Hm.
Shrimp Cocktail
Yes, I know, you can get it at the grocery store, already packaged. Would you buy sushi from the gas station? Shrimp Cocktail is easy. One thing to think when you cook shrimp, its more like just warming it through as opposed to cooking it.
I thaw my shrimp in a brine (we talked about that last week) then boil and cool with it. Any time you use something that touched raw meat, boil it for 5 minutes before using it in any other way.
1.5 lb large shrimp sized 26-35 per lb (Yes, I know they come by the 1 lb but the other 1/2 lb are for blackened shrimp)
6 cups plus 6 more cups of water
2 T seafood seasoning like Old Bay
2 T sea salt
1 med yellow onion quartered
1-2 lemons or limes quartered (if you have an orange, that cant hurt, add it in)
2 lb of ice cubes
In a large pot combine the 6 c of cold water and a couple ice cubes, the citrus, seasoning, salt and onion and thaw the shrimp. When just thaw, remove the shrimp to a bowl. (You've combined 2 steps, thawing the shrimp and brining.)
Bring the pot of water just to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, put in a bunch of the ice. Scoop out about 2 cups of the boiling liquid and a bunch of the citrus. Set aside.
Add the remaining 6 cups of water to the pot and bring back to a simmer. When it reaches a simmer, turn the heat back down to medium low or so. Add the thawed shrimp.
Set the timer for 4.5 minutes. Simmer the shrimp. When the timer goes off, check the shrimp for doneness, they are probably just done if you have thawed 1.5 lb 26-35 shrimp. If your shrimp are smaller, have less than 1.5 lb it will be less time. If they are larger, have more than 1.5 lb or are not completely thawed, it will take longer.

Scoop out the shrimp and add them to the ice water to stop cooking. After about 5 minutes in the briney ice bath remove them. Keep them cold until you serve them with your favorite dip. I prefer homemade cocktail sauce. Store them with citrus peel for a nice aroma boost.
If they might be on the plate for a bit, no reason not to toss in some ice cubes to keep them chilled.

Whats Brewing
The brewing is strong in the Triangle but, well stick with Chapel Hill to keep from getting overwhelmed like we were for the Ohio State game.
There's 2 breweries in Chapel Hill and 2 immediately nearby so well stick with these, in no particular order.
Carolina Brewery 460 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
919-942-1800 Hours TUES-THURS: 11am-Midnight, FRI & SAT: 11am-1am
SUN & MON: 11am-11pm

Carolina Brewery is a Brewpub that also has a branch in Pittsboro. These guys have been around since 1995. As you might expect with a brewery this old, they have a number of good beers worked out. You cant get them in the Blacksburg area except on a special arrangement. They are available on a limited basis in the Norfolk area. They are distributed in all of North and South Carolina, VA from the Beach up through the peninsula to Williamsburg and in Atlanta, GA.

http://carolinabrewery.com

Starpoint Brewing 901 Clarence Drive, Carrboro, North Carolina
http://starpointbrewing.com/
There is not much info available on Starpoint but, it looks like a production brewery. If you want to try it, Id look for 12 oz bottles locally in the Triangle. Ive never had anything from them.

Steel String Brewery 106A South Greensboro Street || Carrboro NC, 27510 || 919.240.7215 || info@steelstringbrewery.com

http://steelstringbrewery.com/
Steel String Brewery is a brewery with a taproom, they encourage walking in with food. Cant be too bad, they have a beer called Country Pie Pecan Ale.

Wine is also available and locally made sodas.
Monday412
Tuesday412
Wednesday412
Thursday212
Friday212
Saturday1212
Sunday212

Top of the Hill 100 East Franklin Street, 3rd Floor
Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Restaurant Phone: 919-929-8676
contactus@thetopofthehill.com

Top of the Hill is a Brewpub with an upscale restaurant and an organic distillery. This is another older place, opened in 1996. Nice beers but, cant get them in VA. They keep 6 taps going plus, I understand, they sometimes manage more.
Open every day from 11AM- 2AM.
http://www.thetopofthehill.com

Edit: Adding in link to eshiben5's weather report:
Chapel Hill weather prediction.

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