Food to Calm the World Series Madness

Bring in the hot dogs, hamburgers, pretzels and the beer. Bring in the big screen, the baseball hats, the peanut bags and pennants. World Series madness has arrived.

Granted, the entertainment is on the tube and the food and props, no matter how wonderful, theoretically are secondary. However, a quick scan of entertaining being done by some other fans might spark some new ideas for an impromptu party this weekend.

In New York, the concessionaire to the Mets at Shea Stadium, the Harry M. Stevens Co., which takes credit for first introducing sausage to the Polo Grounds in 1894, offers everything at the stadium from pizza, barbecued ribs, crudites and dips to seafood salads, bowls filled with crab or shrimp, and the traditional hot dogs. But their best idea may be serving potato knishes, small potato cakes you can eat out of hand.

According to John Morley, vice president of operations at Stevens, some of the more elegant fare, served in the stadium dining rooms--and do-able at home--might include lump crab, chicken over toast points or beef tips.

For day games around noon, Morley offers brunch fare, such as assorted Danish pastries; lox, cream cheese and bagels; Canadian bacon; individual omelets; corned beef hash and home-fried potatoes, and champagne.

The Sports Deli in Century City has the right idea, too. They play to a packed house of 300 during the World Series and serve such off-beat nibbles as stuffed baby cabbage, cheese and fruit, dips and quesadillas.

Chicken Dogs

A Los Angeles hostess, who is a lacto-vegetarian, munches on chicken dogs and decorates the house with paraphernalia from the Dodger or Anaheim Stadium gift shop.

Nancy Stafford, who plays a social worker on ABC’s “Side Kicks,” says this season she’s staying home to watch the game with a friend and dig into seasoned popcorn and champagne.

Daryl Trainor of Village Catering in Los Angeles says she does a big business on spicy lamb stew, chiles rellenos and grilled turkey breasts. “It doesn’t have to be hot dogs and hamburgers,” said Trainor. “You can pick up interesting deli stuff while it’s hot at a deli, or it can be heated.”

For a traditional menu Trainor prefers fried chicken. “People love fried chicken, which you can purchase anywhere. All you need to do is add cole slaw and potato salad for a complete menu.”

Caterer Darlene Miller of Savoir-Faire goes in for trendy foods--popcorns flavored with pesto or hot dogs with unusual toppings, such as bacon and Cheddar. Chili made with chicken instead of beef is served to those who are off red meat. And instead of chili made with red beans, she uses white beans for a so-called “white chili.” Soup parties offering three or four different soups of various colors, such as cauliflower, tomato-basil, celery-leek and pea are wonderful, too. So are baked potatoes with favorite toppings.

One die-hard fan invites only men to his gatherings: “We can really enjoy the game without feeling guilty. With women around you feel you should be mowing the lawn instead.” He supplies the onion dip and munchy vegetables and the friends bring in the beer, assorted meats and cheeses. “It’s all low key, but if you’re drinking in the afternoon, it’s a good idea to feed the folks.”

Big Screen Action

Another die-hard baseball fan who entertains annually rents a big screen from a local stereo shop and heads for a supplier of sports-fan merchandise--everything from baseball caps and T-shirts to mugs and pennants--to help put the house in aWorld Series spirit. Score Board, one such official supplier of fan equipment, has several stores in the greater Los Angeles area.

This fan’s menu includes chili and sloppy Joes along with hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and dips, nachos and, of course, beer. The beer is purchased by the iced keg from a local liquor store.

One Dodger-dog fan has a secret source for the real McCoy (Maloney Meat Co. in South Gate is the exclusive supplier of the one-footers and spicy dogs and will sell to the public), which she’ll serve no matter what team makes it to the series.

What makes the dogs so delicious? “It’s the way they’re processed,” claims George Skinner, director of quality control for Farmer John Co. “We use real smoke, not liquid smoke. That’s reason number one,” he said.