Jim Coleman: World Series party fare: Pair players with fave foods

Q. I am having a party for the World Series. We are hosting about 25-40 people (not sure how many will show up) and I would like it to be fun and easy. Can you tell me some fun foods we can make to make this special? Thanks for any suggestions and for your attention.

- Conrad L.

A. Everyone knows about Super Bowl parties with dual team themes, but we aren't going that way. Just focus on the Phillies and offer strictly Philly food. Besides, what would Tampa Bay food be - dolphin?

When planning a Phillies party, you have some pressure to live up to Citizens Bank Park, which was voted as Best Ballpark Food in a survey of Food Network viewers and voted No. 1 by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals as America's most vegetarian-friendly ballpark.

Here are some suggestions for feeding your World Series party guests. You'll notice that there is an obvious omission: the ballpark hot dog. If I'm going to serve hot dogs, then I'm just going to have a hot dog and beer party. It could be fun and easy in that comfortable-as-a-worn-out-glove kind of way, but it wouldn't be very memorable. The following ideas would rev it up a little, by pairing certain foods and drinks with specific Phillies players. Here are some of my match-ups.

Tastykakes: Joe Blanton. Hey, he's a man after my own heart (he shops at the Big Man shops, too).

Soft pretzels with a variety of mustards: Jimmy Rollins, aka J-Roll. Because if anyone has some good spicy mustard in him, it's got to be J-Roll.

Build-Your-Own-Cheesesteak Sandwiches: Ryan Howard. If for no other reason than he's 6 feet 4 inches, 260 pounds, and if I ran into him on the street, I would refer to him as Mr. Howard.

Yuengling Marinated Chicken Wings: Jamie Moyer. Because even though he's been around for awhile (like Yuengling), he's still one of the best.

Chips and Dips: Pat Burrell. They will absolutely go with any meal, however let's face it, they've been a meal.

Shoo Fly Tart or Pie: Brad Lidge. He can nail a fly in the kitchen from the den 49 out of 49 times with his fastball.

Create-Your-Own-Hoagie: Italian-Chase Utley. If anyone was the opposite of a ham, this is the guy. Add some hot and sweet peppers - Jason Werth. When his bat gets hot, his swing is really sweet. Put mayonnaise on it - Shane Victorino. Don't go thinking it's sacrilegious, because when it works, it really works.

Basset's Ice Cream: Cole (Cold) Hamels. It gets cold, very cold, for the other team's lineup when he is serving up.

Philly Sodas (Hires Root Beer, Franks Black Cherry Wisndak, Hank's Cream Soda): Carlos Ruiz. Everybody likes them and, trust me, if they weren't around, you would miss them.

Philly Beers (Flying Fish, Dogfish Head, Stoudt's, Weyerbacher, Troegs, etc.): The rest of the team and the reserves. Whichever one you reach in and get, you can't go wrong!

YUENGLING MARINATED

CHICKEN WINGS

3 cups Yuengling beer

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 1/2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Approximately 35 to 40 wings

Combine the marinade ingredients and divide between two resealable plastic bags. Divide the wings between the bags and seal, squeezing the air out. Allow the wings to marinate at least overnight.

Remove the wings from the marinade and place either on a grill or on a rack on top of a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Grill or cook in an oven that has been preheated to 450 degrees.

Depending on the size of the wings, cooking time will be approximately 15 minutes.

You can partially cook the wings to almost done the day before and then finish them off in the oven as needed throughout the game.

SHOO FLY TARTS

Miniature tart shells can be bought at almost any grocery store or use a store-bought 9-inch pie crust

For the crumb topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

For the filling:

3/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

1 extra large egg

1 cup of boiling water

1 teaspoon baking soda

For the topping: Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Measure out approximately 1/2 cup for the topping and set aside.

For the filling: In a mixing bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water. Stir in the corn syrup and the molasses. Then mix in the egg, making sure you stir well to blend and that the egg doesn't cook. Divide the crumb topping that was not reserved into the bottom of the tart shells. Ladle the filling into the tart shells and then sprinkle the reserved crumb topping on the surface of the tarts. Bake at 400 degrees until topping browns (about 10 minutes) then reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake until filling is set. Makes one pie or 8 tarts.

Chef Jim Coleman, corporate chef at Normandy Farm and Blue Bell Country Club, is the author of three cookbooks and hosts two nationally syndicated shows: "A Chef's Table," noon Saturdays on WHYY (91-FM); and "Flavors of America," 1 p.m. Saturdays on Channel 12, and 4:30 p.m. weekdays on CN8. He and his wife, writer Candace Hagan, will answer questions.

E-mail ChefColeman@aol.com.