Race Day Recipes: Daytona 500

by Dixie Haag | Posted on Sunday, February 21st, 2016

The Daytona 500 is like the SuperBowl in my house. Sometimes we go to watch parties, and sometimes we stay home. This year we opted for an at-home viewing. We set up optimum viewing with additional speakers attached to the TVs for the “Crank It Up” sections of the race. The race day menu for today’s Daytona 500 will include some easier options since my full-time jobs of mom and educator limit my time! I’ll be making some easy home prepared wings, potato salad, cheesy bread and strawberry cupcakes. Nothing fancy today, only some standard favorites.

Maple Chicken Wings (courtesy of Food Network)

Ingredients

3-4 pounds chicken: a combination of wing portion size and drumettes

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

½ cup lite soy sauce

2 T minced garlic

1T garlic powder

1 T onion powder

½ T black pepper

1-2 cups maple syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in large baking pan. Mix remaining ingredients and toss with the chicken to coat.

Bake for approximately one hour, tossing every 15-20 minutes. The liquid evaporates the longer it cooks.

After 1 hour, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Turn wings to coat evenly and cook an additional 45 minutes.

Hawaiian Cheese Bread (courtesy of Taste of Home)

Ingredients

1 loaf (1 pound) Hawaiian sweet bread

8 oz. grated Swiss cheese

3 slices red onion, diced

½ cup butter, melted

3 garlic gloves, minced

1 t salt

Directions

Cut bread diagonally into 1 inch slices to within 1 inch of bottom. Repeat cuts in opposite direction. Insert grated cheese into bread.

Combine remaining ingredients and spoon over bread.

Wrap loaf in foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Potato Salad

Here in Texas we all make potato salad, and there are infinite variations on the basic concept. I don’t follow a recipe, I just work with the basics to make a version my family enjoys. The basic element, of course, is the potato. I use gold potatoes. I boil them in a large pot for about 45 minutes. For variety you can use red potatoes or russet potatoes. My family really likes the flavor of the gold, though. Once the potatoes are soft, I drain the water and let them rest and cool. If I try to use them too soon, they create a mushier salad. My family likes chunks of potato, so I let them cool completely before proceeding. Once cool, I remove the skin from the potatoes and cut them up in chunks, dumping them in a large bowl. I add lots of mayonnaise, so yeah, this is not diet food. I add and mix until I get the right consistency. Then I add some dill relish, pimento and very little sweet relish and very little mustard. We don’t like our potato salad too sweet or too yellow. Then I add a generous amount of fajita seasoning. Basically, I add Fiesta Brand Fajita Seasoning to almost everything. I add finely diced white onion and celery for a little crunch. I try not to stir up the mixture too much, again to preserve the texture and not have too mushy of a salad.

Strawberry Cupcakes

My family loves the plain old Duncan Hines box version. I do the Strawberry Supreme cake, prepared as cupcakes, and cream cheese icing. I make this to be easy on myself, and these cupcakes go fast around my house. I make them fit the event with a little race day decorating, and I’m done!

Enjoy whatever you choose to make for race day! Ladies and Gentlemen, start your ovens!