University of Texas daughter's '11 recruitment
 

Yes, we're still 3 1/2 weeks away from the first day of Rush (Aug. 17), but I decided to go ahead and put up the code I'll be using. When the time comes, I'll go almost-live -- aka, 1-2 days late rather than same-day posting -- so that I can protect her identity.

At UT, the first evening is convocation/orientation, then a full day to visit all 13 groups (one of the 14 doesn't participate in formal recruitment, in part because they don't have a house). The next two days are philanthropy (up to 10 houses), then skit day (up to 6), then pref (up to 2). Bid Day is Aug. 23, the day before school starts.

I chose a code based on one of the best parts of being a Texan -- the food! There are 14 NPC sororities at UT, and here's how I will be referring to them:

Fajitas
Iced tea
BBQ brisket
Chicken-fried steak
Blue Bell ice cream
Fried okra
Shiner beer
Breakfast taco
Pecos cantaloupe
Fried catfish
Texas sheet cake
Fletcher's corn dog at the State Fair
Chili
Dr. Pepper

I guess it doesn't make sense to include the one that doesn't participate in FR, but I couldn't pick which awesome food to cut from the code :rolleyes: You can see where my priorities are...
The GLOs there, in no order related to the cose, are:
SDT
KKG
APhi
DDD
DG
AXD
KAT
AEPhi
AXO
KD
ZTA
XO
PBPhi
ADPi

So, I'll be back in a few weeks. In the meantime, good luck to everyone preparing for recruitment :)

No King Ranch Casserole or Frito pie? ;)

Oooh, good ones! Why can't UT have 20 sororities???

Yum!!

If I were cheering for thefood, I'd choose Dr. Pepper or Blue Bell.

What is it with Texas and Dr Pepper? When I was in Houston a few years ago visiting a friend, it was the only thing anyone drank!


I'm pulling for Fried Okra, Chili and Texas Sheet Cake!!!

Dr. Pepper was invented in Texas and the company used to pay my grandfather, a little boy, to sweep up there so we're partial! However, I've lived in a Coca-Cola state for years and horror of horrors, there are many places where you can't even get DP here. :(

And I am from Blue Bell country....

I remember when Blue Bell was ONLY sold in texas. It was a happy day at my house when BB began regional sales and we could buy it in Tulsa. By the time we moved back to Florida they were nationwide.

I very rarely comment in recruitment story threads, and absolutely never comment (or cheer) based on the lunacity of code names. However, I will say that you have made this displaced Native Texan very nostalgic, as well as very hungry!

My fave items on your list are Blue Bell and Fletchers. Fortunately I can still get Blue Bell where I am now, but no more fresh-out-of-the fryer state fair corn dogs. :(

I will say that I, too, think no list is complete without the Frito Pie. What would Friday night football be without that "fine delicacy?"

It really has to be Dublin Dr. Pepper which is the oldest DP plant in the world and still uses the 100% pure cane sugar recipe. It's a delicious legend.

I must know what Frito Pie is...

Open a bag of Fritos. Cover with Chili. Melt cheese on top. mmmmm

LIES. I had some for the first time when I was in Galveston last Thanksgiving and loved it so much, but I can't find it for the life of me here in Chicago.

Go to www.bluebell.com ; I know that at least they used to have a list of stores where it's available.

Wary, I'm sorry! We seem to have hijacked your thread with food discussions!

Lady Longhorn....

I am sure you probably already know this...but Franklin Bar-b-que in Austin (11th Street @ 35...they use to be in a trailer) serves only Dublin Dr. Pepper (on tap and in the bottle...you know it's all about the bottle). Only Cane Sugar Sodas are served there. If you haven't been to Franklin....well...you simply must go. Crazy long lines but.....Best Brisket....EVER.

EIG

Good Luck to your Daughter!

I can't find it. Le sad. It looks like we can order some, though. I wonder how well ice-cream ships and whether or not the dry ice can stand up to the heat wave we've been having.

Also, she shouldn't have picked such delicious names! Since recruitment hasn't started, Wary shouldn't mind the hijack so much - at least it's keeping her thread at the top! ;)

Can someone tell me more about Texas sheet cake? Where I'm from, sheet cake is just a descriptive term telling you the shape and size (as opposed to a 9" layer cake, let's say). Of course I'm reading Google too, but I trust your personal descriptions more.

What do you call a big, rectangular, flat cake (any flavor, any frosting) that you buy from a supermarket bakery? Is there another name for that category of cake?

I've bought this stuff online before, and there really is no comparison with regular DrP. The cane sugar adds a rich, caramel-like flavor.

Texas sheet cake is a really rich one-layer chocolate cake made with nuts (usually pecans). Good recipe here:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2...he_best_chocol

that is the same recipe i have been using for about 25 years. it is so good, you want to roll around in it!

I hate to tell you, but I'm pretty sure I've seen Blue Bell ice cream here in Dubai. But Arabs like their sweets, ice cream is high on the list, and cost isn't an issue. So why not? Me and my lactose intolerant digestive tract have never tried it, and I'm not a fan of chocolate cake so I'm rooting for Frito Pie.

Good luck!

This is already the best recruitment story ever!!!

Unless something has suddenly changed, preference is up to three parties, not two.

I realize this is a hijack, but Ladybird Johnson sometimes gets credit for giving Texas Sheet Cake that name...it's made in a bar pan instead of a regular 9 x 13 (or other) cake pan so it's a thinner sheet...the icing is poured over the cake while it's still hot so it kind of adheres to it & seeps in...it's very moist. Seriously, it's like crack...sometimes I substitute strong brewed coffee for the milk in the icing to make it mocha...or a little orange extract gives it an interesting flavor.

This is by far my favorite dessert ever...so I'm pulling for them!

That cake sounds absolutely delicious, haha. Any Texan want to mail me a slice?

LadyLonghorn, you're right -- pref is now 3... my bad! And I have decided that Chili will now officially change to Frito pie. After all, it does have the best of all possible worlds -- Texas chili with NO BEANS, Fritos and cheese. Yum.

I have no problem with the hijack -- what else do we have to do until Rush actually starts??? As for Dr. Pepper, I'm actually a Coke girl, but a nice real-sugar Dr. P once in awhile is good too.

I could wax poetic about every food on the list -- the glory of beautifully fried okra, the amazing catfish made at Ken's in Marble Falls, the stupendous one-of-a-kind corn dogs, the singular joy that is a Shiner with a lime, etc. So if anyone wants recommendations, or just to discuss all this too-fab-to-be-remotely-healthy food, that's more than fine with me!

I go to Texas about once a month and sorry guys, not a fan of the food. I love Mexican, but all you can find in the Big D is Tex-Mex. If I never had Tex Mex again, it would not kill me. Sometimes I feel that if I have it again, it will kill me.

I always love when LadyLonghorn comes out of retirement.

Wary, good luck to your DD. My cousin's daughter is currently a Kappa at UT.

Love the use of food for your story! Best wishes to your DD Wary.
and being a fellow Texan I will have to root for
Frito Pie
Shiner
and Dr. Pepper (Dublin style)

(Side note... I <3 The Pioneer Woman. Her website rocks. I've been a fan for a year or so).

Benzgirl, do NOT judge Texas by Dallas. You can't swing a dead cat here in Houston without hitting a fantastic restaurant and many of them are neither Tex or Mex. Ethiopian to Cuban, Italian to Japanese, Greek to Middle Eastern - it's one of the things I missed most when I lived in TN. Texas food itself is more than Tex-Mex. Our fabulous seafood, east Texas coastal cuisine influenced by Louisiana, southern cuisine in the piney woods (the tea is sweet - that's how you know you are there), it's amazing.

Back to your regularly scheduled recruitment thread.

I recently saw a Food Network segment on Blue Bell and they said they they are only sold in 14 states. Mostly in the southern part of the country (I guess they must have included NM and AZ as southern states)

But good luck to your daughter. My favorite it Blue Bell.

MMM I love fried catfish-one of my favorite foods as a child. As far as Frito pie goes I had to tell one of my colleagues from Georgia what this dish was and how to make it-I thought frito pie was everywhere! Now I want some Blue Bell-the best ice cream in the country:p. Ok I am rooting for those 3:)

As far as the mexican food in Dallas is concerned-it is gross! You need to come further south for good Tex Mex.

Unfortunately, that is the only place I go in Texas. I love the Gulf Coast seafood and have many fond memories of going "crabbing" as a child. In fact, I keep looking for good seafood in Dallas and they look at me cross-eyed.

Is there a significant difference between Frito Pie and Nachos other than the variety of toppings?

Dear Wary,

I love this thread; It is about the one thing that GCers can all agree on - FOOD! And I'm learning so much about Texas dishes, including some that I never intend to sample (sorry, Frito Pie = not for me). I check this thread first thing to see what new foods are being discussed.

So, Mrs. Wary, politely I say to you: hang on, and maybe start another thread with DD's recruitment story when the time comes. Or not; this one may just keep rolling on and on, with new recipes and foods added. It may become a GC legend, or a new style of recruitment thread. Who can say?

See, your error was this: we are all starving for recruitment news right about now. It's been a Long, Hot Summer. You showed up and your thread became a feeding frenzy, of sorts.

gastronomically yours,
AzTheta

Feeding frenzy :D

lmao... my sister up there? ^^^^ She cracks me up!!!!

ElieM: Is there a significant difference between Frito Pie and Nachos other than the variety of toppings?

I'm not from Texas, but one of my grandmothers lived in San Antonio, so I can speak to this. Frito Pie is, in its traditional form, a small bag of Frito's open up with chili, cheese and onions plopped in. You would eat it right out of the bag.

Today, the idea of eating a bag of Frito's alone makes me a bit queasy, but the idea of having a Frito Pie brings back some fond memories of time with my Gram.:)

Also, concur with previous comments about the wealth of restaurants in Houston and along the coast versus Dallas.

I don't know if the Texas version is different, but in Santa Fe, Frito pie is served right in the Frito bag, and eaten with a fork, unlike nachos. This was supposedly invented at the Woolworth's on the Santa Fe plaza. At first the Fritos are crunchy, but by the time you get to the bottom, the Fritos are soft. Mmm!

I would love to hear if it is different in Texas (other than, of course, beanless chili).

Fritos =/= tortilla chips.

Gourmet Frito pie:

http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/20...xas-chili.html