Sports Rallyes with Chicago-style Greek Buffet and Suggested Conversation Topics by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
Background:
I
began doing tennis championship rallyes in high school featuring fresh-squeezed
orange juice for the US Open, strawberries and cream for Wimbledon, and crêpes
for the French Open.
Chicago Sports Bar
Tennis
championship rallyes morphed into football rallyes after I graduated from the
University of Chicago and worked on the first Super Bowl broadcast in the
People’s Republic of China.
I
think I sold my first sponsorship, because my telephone pitch was, “This would
be great PR for the Cubs and trade for the City of Chicago.”
Après-guffaws,
I sold a big sponsorship.
Long-story
short – I became a big football promoter.
On the weekends, I went to Bennigan’s Sports Bar and read the Thursday
and Friday editions of The Wall Street
Journal that I bought at Brentanno’s Chicago store. I read “The
Journal” while I watched the game and gave the paper to the wait staff and
cooks when I left.
Monday Night Football
Rallyes
On
Monday nights, I hosted a “football rallye” for the people who worked with me
on the First Super Bowl in China and their spouses or partners.
I
worked as an “admin,” so I could get off at 5 pm and deal with deli items for
dinner. I walked to the Treasure Island
Supermarket and took a taxi home to Marina City.
I
kept receipts that my guests and I (about 8) divvied up. My guests paid my cab fare for shopping and
bringing the deli items up to my apartment.
If they wanted beer, they went to the grocery store in the lobby of
Marina Towers where I lived.
While
I organized food, my guests and I would talk about:
-current
art exhibits
-good
magazine or newspaper articles
-movies
-books
we were reading
I
asked everyone why they thought the book, article, movie, or art exhibit they
spent time on was important.
The
Buffet was laid out nicely on tables and counters in my pie-shaped
apartment. The living room was devoted
to comfy seating for the game.
I
did football night in the era of Greek catering. We ate what we wanted and divvied up items to
be taken home. My friends shared cabs
late at night
The Mostly Greek Buffet
-Taramosalata
– Greek caviar spread – orange-colored
-Greek
Village Salad – a no-lettuce salad made with tomato wedges, feta cheese,
Kalamata olives, and mild green peppers
-Tomato
– Onion – Oregano Salad
-2
Dressings on the side:
-oil
and red vinegar with oregano (rigani)
-tzatziki
–cucumber-yogurt sauce
-2
or 3 garlic bread loaves to bake
-2
ready-made Greek bread loaves
-Roast
lemon-garlic chicken with dark and white meat separated on a plate
-cheese
cubes sprinkled with paprika
-apple
slices
-tangerine
sections
-pineapple
chunks
-banana
slices
-vanilla
bean yogurt for the fruit
-baked
Parmesan cheese sticks
-baked
spinach-feta phyllo pastry triangles
-vegetable
terrine slices
-smoked
salmon open-faced Danish sandwiches
-coffee
made from beans by me
Everyone
tried a little of everything and leftovers were sorted out for another meal or
two.
There
are lots of seasons and championships to do a sports rallye night for.
Planning
one is great training for ordering catering.
Later
in life, I loved learning how to make these items, including spinach-feta
phyllo triangle pies.
By
Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Note: Locally all 3 Demetra locations, Paprika, and Yaffa might be able to provide this meal.
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Note: Locally all 3 Demetra locations, Paprika, and Yaffa might be able to provide this meal.
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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| Ruth Paget Selfie |
