Whether or not I give you recipes depends on where in Iowa you'll be taking them???? LOL!
Ames or Iowa City????
Linda....goHawks...C.

This one is always a huge hit when we go boating. Travels well, very tasty , substantial and a bit different. Don't let the ingredients list put you off it really is very easy to make.

Real N'awlins Muffuletta (Weed)

1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives crushed
1/2 Cup drained kalamata olives crushed
2 Clove garlic minced
1/4 Cup roughly chopped pickled cauliflower florets
2 Tbl drained capers
1 Tbl chopped celery
1 Tbl chopped carrot
1/2 Cup pepperoncini drained
1/4 Cup marinated cocktail onions
1/2 Tsp celery seed
1 Tsp dried oregano
1 Tsp dried basil
3/4 Tsp ground black pepper
1/4 Cup red wine vinegar
1/2 Cup olive oil
1/4 Cup canola oil
2 (1 pound) loaves Italian bread
8 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami
8 ounces thinly sliced cooked ham
8 ounces sliced mortadella orcappicola
8 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
8 ounces sliced provolone cheese

Directions
1. To Make Olive Salad: In a medium bowl, combine the green olives, kalamata olives, garlic, cauliflower, capers,
celery, carrot, pepperoncini, cocktail onions, celery seed,
oregano, basil, black pepper, vinegar, olive oil and canola
oil. Mix together and transfer mixture into a glass jar (or other nonreactive container). If needed, pour in more oil to cover. Cover jar or container and refrigerate at least overnight.

2. To Make Sandwiches: Cut loaves of bread in half horizontally; hollow out some of the excess bread to make room for filling. Spread each piece of bread with equal amounts olive salad, including oil. Layer 'bottom half' of each loaf with 1/2 of the salami, ham, mortadella ,mozzarella and Provolone. Replace 'top half' on each loaf and cut sandwich into quarters.

3 Serve immediately, or wrap tightly and refrigerate for a few hours; this will allow for the flavors to mingle and the olive salad to soak into the bread.

Linda............your post made me laugh!
Don't worry...I am in Sioux City and we mostly go to NFL games.....VIkes, KC and our favorite, Indianapolis Colts!!! We cheer on Dallas Clark........an old Iowa standout!!!!

But.......I did go to ISU, but we just don't get into college as much. If we go to a college game it is a local team. And don't hate me, we have been to some NE games.....only because my BF is an avid fan......but don't worry....I remember my ISU upbringing, cheering for any team but NE! Right now, I just watch and hope for a great game......

Thanks for the smile!!!!
Julie

(I guess I was hoping that others had some great ideas or things they have come across at tailgate parties!!!!)

Whew! LOL!
I made elaborate tail gate feasts for a lot of years....some things I took were black bean soup, a grill and a whole fillet of beef to be sliced and served with buns ( best sandwich you ever ate!), Chicken fajitas, had everything ready and grilled and sliced the marinated chicken on site. I made and took a huge loaf of French bread which I had filled with all sorts of sliced meats and cheeses, onions, tomato lettuce and drizzled with olive oil. I made quiche and packed them into stryofoam coolers where they stayed hot for easily 6 hours.
I have a butane hot tray which works for keeping nacho dip hot.
BBQ turkey to pile into buns, cheese and crackers of course, snackers ( recipe to follow) blond brownies, chocolate chip cookies, ginger snaps.
We always tailgated with a couple of other people so we planned the meals so wwe didn't have duplicates.
Snackers
1 ring Dutch Balogna ( about a pound )
2 medium yellow onions ( about the size of a baseball)
Slice and layer in a crock or straihgt sided bowl
In a sauce pan place 1 c. cider vinegar, 1 cup water and 3/4 c sugar and 1 tsp mustard seed ( whole). Bring to a boil and pour over meat and let stand un refigerated for 24 hours. Serve with cocktail rye

One of my transplanted Nebraska friends always made runzas for the Iowa-Nebraska game....and we held a funeral, complete with procession, coffin and mourners, the one time that Iowa tromped Big Red. LOL!
Enjoy...
Most of what I have listed is pretty straight forward...you want a recipe, shout.
Linda C