Tailgate titans

There are only two home games this month, but one of them is the Homecoming celebration and the other is against Florida. That’s reason enough to get serious about your tailgate plans. Continuing our look at football fans who know how to play up their game-day cuisine, we present:

Shea’s crew, dubbed TBA, is known for some show-stopping grub outside Boyd and Coates halls—cochon de lait, venison empenadas, alligator sauce piquant, frying “anything you can think of.” Clearly, they know a thing or two about wild game. Shea’s rabbit fricassee is a definite hit with the TBA crew, though its presence on the tailgate menu depends on if he’s shot some rabbits recently. Shea, who lives in Covington, chops the veggies, seasons the rabbit and even makes the roux beforehand. It’s all put together at the tailgate that morning, along with a side of warm cornbread.

Local rice has Tigers flair
What began as an attempt to develop a variety of rice resistant to disease is now practically a shoo-in for the title of LSU Football’s Official Rice—if such a distinction existed.

The Blanca Isabel brand of deep purple rice, grown in fields outside of Rayne, La., by retired LSU researcher Milton Rush and his family, began as a pet project during his days at the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Experiment Station in nearby Crowley.

In the late 1990s, Rush crossed the Cypress variety of rice from Louisiana with the Sri Lankan Hitan Kitan rice to produce a long-grain rice with a dark purple color that sticks with it even after cooking.

“It cooks just like white rice; the texture is the same, but it’s high in all these antioxidants,” says Rush’s daughter Claudia Rush, who manages the company.

The purple rice is touted to have similar health benefits to blueberries, green tea and red wine, and researchers believe it may be healthful for diabetics and people with cholesterol issues.

Of course, it goes well with any dedicated LSU fan’s tailgate party. 225 recommends it with some grilled yellow and orange peppers.

Find it at Maxwell’s Market, Fresh Pickin’s Market locations, A-Z International Fine Foods and any Rouses location. purpleblackrice.com