This has been the best baseball season ever. My dad and I have been able to go to quite a few games this year and it has been so much fun. I was always a girl that kinda shunned sports (a true abomination to my raising – I couldn’t care less about football which is true sacrilege in Texas) and would rather go to the movies or shop during major sporting events (i.e. the super bowl). This is until I realized how good game day fare is and I have since accepted every invitation to a Super Bowl party that I have received.
Anyway back to baseball. I love it. And my team will always be the Texas Rangers. My dad (AKA their biggest fan) took my brother and me to countless games when we were kids and here’s the run down of things:
Me: Dad, can I have some cotton candy?
Dad: No. We just got here. Watch the game.
1 inning later
Me: Dad, there’s the cotton candy man. Can I have some now?
Dad: No. You don’t need any cotton candy
1 inning later
Me: Dad, he’s here again and it’s really mean that every kid around has cotton candy and I don’t
Dad: Eat the peanuts that I brought
1 inning later
Me: Dad…
Dad: If you ask me for cotton candy one more time, you will not come to the next game
What a dictator.
My mom would have totally bought me some cotton candy.
We have a good laugh now every time we see the cotton candy man. It brought me much joy this season when I sat next to a little boy who was attending his very first game and as he offered me some of his bright blue cotton candy he looked up at me and said “I love cotton candy.” Me too kid-O. Me too.
This might be kinda weird, but sometimes I think about times in my life that I could relive. Like, if by some divine intervention I was able to go back in time and relive three nights, which would it be. One of the nights that would for sure make the list was the night the Rangers won their first ALCS against none other than the Yankees. I will never forget how the ballpark EXPLODED when the last strikeout of the night went to none other than Mr. Alex Rodriguez. It was electric!!! So much tension and so many breaths were released when that last pitch was thrown.
And so much was set into motion. Here we are in another explosive year for the Rangers and the anxiety has not let up yet!
So where am I going with all of this? Here’s where I’m going. Ballpark food. Sure you could settle for a hot dog or pretzel, but my money is on the carnitas nachos.
Here is the Ballpark version:
And here is what I made for a Game 1 of the World Series Rangers VS Cardinals watching party:
3.5-4 lb pork shoulder
Rub:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp ancho chili powder
½ tsp cinnamon
In slow cooker, pour 2 cups chicken broth, 2 bay leaves and 1 quartered yellow onion. Add pork shoulder after you have coated it in the rub. I also pour about ¼ cup of green salsa on top of the pork if I have it on hand. Cook on low for 8-9 hours, turning once midway through cooking. When it’s done, you’ll see that it just falls apart so I pull out all the meat and then obviously discard the huge hunk of fat that comes on the pork shoulder.
When serving, warm it up in the oven so it gets a little crispy. My brother says traditionally they cook it in lard, but I think it’s ok to skip that step.
And then top with all of your favorite toppings. I had 3 types of cheese – rotel queso dip, shredded monterey jack cheese, and crumbly cotija cheese. And tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and salsa. You can serve with chips and/or tortillas.
My President is a fan of the Rangers? Are YOU? Let me know your favorite Rangers memory and what you like to get when you go to the game!!!
RoadTrippinTexas 
