Are You Ready for Some Football? Tailgate Corn Chowder

Fall is in the air, pumpkin spice lattes are at and Michigan State's first football game of the 2011 season is Friday.

It's not that I want to rush the end of summer, but I really love fall and, more important, Michigan State football. If you haven't met me then you might not know that I bleed green and white.

For the past few years it's been a father-daughter tradition to head to East Lansing on football Saturday's and enjoy a tailgate, some beer and, best of all, some good ol' college football.

I live and breath the stuff thanks to my dad, Dave, who raised me on all things contact sports, including football, hockey and basketball. My poor fiance, Brian, refuses to be anywhere near me during a close game, when I'm likely to yell at the television and talk trash to opposing players even though I know they can't hear me. I tend to hold it all in when we are at games, because no one wants to be "that person."

To get into the spirit of the season, and fire up what I hope will be an exciting season for Spartan football, I present to you a tailgate recipe for corn chowder. The recipe originally appears in the cookbook Fan Fare and has been adapted for my own purposes. GO GREEN!

To make this recipe you'll need the following:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 10-ounce can premium chunk white chicken, undrained
• 1 15-ounce can cream-style corn
• 1 15.25-ounce can yellow whole-kernel corn, undrained
• 2 cups frozen hash browns
• 2 14.5-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup red bell peppers (I didn't use these because I don't like peppers)
• Salt and pepper

Place the milk and flour in a 4-quart saucepan (I used my Dutch oven) and whisk together. Add the chicken, cream-style corn, whole-kernel corn, hash browns, chicken broth, onions and peppers (if you use them). Stir until well mixed.

Next, place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes or until hot and thick, stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot.

For step-by-step instructions on how to make this dish, scroll through the gallery above.