Memorable moments of FSU’s past and recipes inspired by them

It’s spooky — and football — season.

This Halloween, some famous Florida State moments will rise, hand gnarled out of the grave to pluck food off your grill at the tailgate. So get out your Dracula and werewolf costumes (as for me, I planned on dressing up as Sonnone or mullet Mike Gundy) and pick on some seasonal orange rivals for Ghosts of FSU, Memorial Moments in Time, and recipes inspired by them.

Puntrooski dog

The infamous Puntrooski trick play was a style of playcalling that everyone grew to love about the late great Bobby Bowden, and it shined in the 1988 win over the Clemson Tigers.

With 90 seconds left on fourth and four, the ball was snapped to Dwayne Williams instead of punter Tim Corlew. Corlew, acting as if the ball went over his head, distracted the Clemson special teams defense enough to allow for the ball to secretly be placed in the hands of LeRoy Butler, who nearly took it to the house to set up the Noles for a 19-yard field goal attempt for the win to make FSU history.

So, why choose hot dogs? Because that was an instant classic, and in going with classics, what better way to have a classic tailgate than with hot dogs?

The two keys to a great hot dog are a great bun and toppings, and since we’re all different here in America, there are lots of ideas to go around.

• Caramelized onions and bacon with spicy mayo.
• Caramelized onions, cream cheese, and Jalapeno (make sure to warm the cheese; toast the bun.)
• Potato chips.
• The classic ketchup, Duke’s mayonnaise, pickle relish, and mustard.
• Make it how you like it, and do it in the spirit of the game.

Wire to Wire Wings on Fire

“Y’all want me to finish them?” Yes, we do, with some hot sauce.

The wire-to-wire season set its fangs in the history books and cemented FSU forever in college football lore. FSU started the ‘99 season ranked No. 1 and maintained that ranking through twelve games and won their second national title going 12-0.

There were many great players on that team and almost too many to count, but one of the guys who has consistently been an advocate for recruiting and who always seems to be around the program is Peter Warrick. FSU took down the Hokies and sealed the 1999 Natty in style with this amazing catch:

Alright, so this recipe is for three pounds of chicken wings, and depending on the size of your tailgate, it can be scaled up or down accordingly.

• 3 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp of chili powder
• 2 tbsp of smoked paprika
• 1 ¹⁄₂ tsp of brown sugar
• ¹⁄₂ tsp cumin
• Salt and Pepper
• Hot sauce
• Braiiiiiiiins

Pat your chicken wings dry with a paper towel and combine the ingredients in some sort of container, I usually use a plastic bag and shake them up. You really have to press the seasoning in if you're going for it on the grill.

Come with it with the hot sauce. I personally like Tapatio (bad food from the galley will do that to you), but if you wanna get fancy:

• ¹⁄₄ cup of whiskey
• ¹⁄₄ of some spicy pepper, don't get too crazy with it unless you're just wanting to taste fire and brimstone before Monday night.
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Holy water
• ¹⁄₂ a chopped onion
• 1/8 cup of brown sugar
• And if you’re not using it with this particular recipe, a teaspoon of cumin
• 2 chopped cloves of garlic
• A can of chopped tomatoes
• Vegetable stock and tomato puree to thicken or loosen the sauce (optional)

Saute the onions and pepper in a saucepan and when the onions start to turn translucent, put in the garlic. You only want a little bit of color because the garlic will turn bitter if it burns, so throw in the tomatoes to cool the pan and turn down the heat to medium and simmer it with the vinegar, sugar, and whiskey. Get it to the consistency that you would traditionally think of hot sauce as, and season it to taste with lemon, salt, and pepper.

Cook the wings however you like (butter in a pan, on the grill, or in the oven.)

Block on the Rocks

Ahh, the sound of the modern hard rock stadium when Miami takes a 30-minute road trip to their home field. Some might say there are enough fans there for a quiet yoga class. Some might say that their largest attendance this year will be when FSU comes to town.

After trailing 13-0 late in the second, the Noles soared back to a 20-13 lead late in the fourth. The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes led by QB Brad Kaaya had their playoff aspirations snatched away by Demarcus Walker after a potentially game-tying touchdown was scored by the hurricanes.

Miami’s kicker had made an automatic 72-straight PAT attempts and assumed the 73 would be just the same until Walker got a hand on it, ruining the Canes' hopes and dreams and their fan bases’ night.

So in honor of all the sour Miami fans, here is a Whiskey Sour packed full of hurricane tears:

• Two parts bourbon.
• One part lemon juice.
• ¹⁄₂ part simple syrup (if you don't feel like making simple syrup, there are a few substitutes, but it’s better from scratch.)
• ¹⁄₂ part egg white.
• Cherry or orange slice (or both.)

Put all the ingredients in a drink mixer and shake it like Diaz was shaking Tyler Van Dyke after the infamous “Van Spike” last season. Strain it into a lowball glass filled with ice and the orange slice, and plop the cherry on top.

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*Please drink responsibly. You know there are going to be DUI checkpoints on every corner at every home game, so do us all a favor and plan ahead. Save yourself some money and potentially a life by having a designated driver.

If you have any favorite go-to tailgating recipes or stories or just want to tell us how these turned out, let us know in the comments section below, and we might feature one in the future.

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For a full list of Tomahawk Nation’s top-100 FSU moments, check out the top 100 FSU football plays, ranking the best plays by FSU football.

The weather outside is frightful.