Henley Gracie - Game-day eats: 100 recipes for homegating like a pro

But both of my grandmothers were highly regarded cooks in the community, so I think its safe to say the food bug was in my blood as much as being an athlete was. My lifelong love of food all started with a biscuit. My grandma Geraldine was the head chef at my towns local high school, and every morning for more than thirty years, she made biscuits for the eagerly awaiting students. I tagged along with her to watch, and help, her make these fluffy treats, a daunting task for a scrawny five-year-old who stood heads below the commercial mixers. I can still remember the feeling of flour covering my face as my grandmother reached over my little shoulders to show me how to use a rolling pin for the first time. Through many burnt crusts and rock-hard biscuits, I began to perfect my pastry-otic craft.

Little did I know this was the beginning of a lifelong culinary adventure. I moved to Dallas, Texas, at the age of ten with my dad, Big E, who has long been an influence to me on and off the field. My dad was a military guy, which meant he didnt take any mess, a fact I found out the hard way on several occasions. But any father-son disagreements were always worked out over a great meal and conversation. My dad is the son of cookbook author Annie Ruth Jacksonmemories of her decadent four-layer caramel cake still make my mouth waterand the food bug is strong in him as well. His particular passion is the grill.

Settling down in Texas made it easy for him to fall in love with Lone Star staples like tender brisket, spicy chili, and gamey meats. We had a tiny apartment in north Dallas with a patio just big enough for two Weber charcoal grills. We grilled up everything imaginable: chicken wings, pork butts, and even fresh-caught fish. Saturdays and Sundays were our Patio Days, where we would lounge outside with the game on, meats on the grill, and smooth jazz in the background. Everything changed for me on January 31, 1993, when three pivotal things occurred: my hometown Dallas Cowboys won Super Bowl XXVII; my favorite entertainer of all time, Michael Jackson, rocked out the halftime show; and, most important, my dad turned the tongs over to me and let me man the grill. After spending the day dishing out succulent wings and molasses-glazed baby back ribs, I never looked back.

I became more and more intrigued with food and cooking, and I would often shadow my dad in the kitchen. He welcomed me home from long school days with down-home country cooking taught to him by his mother. Each day of the week represented a dish: Meatloaf Mondays; Chicken Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (For some reason, we would always have chicken coupons, so midweek you would find several varieties of chicken dishes on our table: chicken and dumplings, fried chicken, chicken chili, chicken pot pie... you get the picture.); Fish-Fry Fridays, accompanied by yellow mustard and white bread; and Patio Saturdays and Sundays, when we would man the grill all weekend. With my dads continued guidance on the field as well as in the kitchen, I was rewarded with an athletic scholarship to the University of Arkansas. Woo Pig! In my coveted spot as a Razorback, I was a four-year starter and SEC champ in football and an All-American in track and field.

Even though sports occupied the majority of my time, I continued to explore my passion for food and cooking by practicing in my small off-campus apartment. I was known for my athletic abilities but won the admiration of my teammates through their stomachs. The downfall for many college athletes is being away from Mamas (or Dads) home cooking. I saw this as a lucrative business opportunity that would further my cooking skills and continue a weekday traditionpackaging tasty meals for my eagerly awaiting teammates... for a nominal fee of five bucks! Meatloaf Mondays became Meatball Mondays with mashed potatoes and homemade gravy; Chicken Tuesdays became Chicken Taco Tuesdays; leftover chicken would be used for Chicken Spaghetti Wednesdays; Thursdays featured Chicken and Laya (short for Jambalaya); Fish-Fry Fridays remained the same, supplied by trips my teammates and I often took to Beaver Lake, where the trout was plentiful; and Friday nights fish fry continued through into Patio Saturdays and Sundays with penny beers in hand. After many five-dollar Styrofoam packaged meals and athletic accolades, I went on to play five years in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots.

After succumbing to injuries from the game, I decided to retire and see where my other childhood passion, food, would take me. Throughout my travels as a professional athlete, I would find myself gravitating to the food trends of the cities I visited. For instance, each time we visited New York to play the Jets or the Giants, I would find myself eating homemade meatballs in Little Italy or Peking duck in Chinatown. For a country boy, this was food heaven. The first time I went to San Francisco to play the 49ers, a few of my teammates and I visited Fishermans Wharf, located just off the Golden Gate Bridge along the bay, the mecca of seafood. With food vendors lining the pier and the smell of the water and fresh seafood in the air, I was instantly transported back to Fish-Fry Fridays.

After retirement, I settled down in tropical Miami, Florida, known for its beautiful beaches, nightlife, and diverse food culture, where I focused on perfecting my homegrown culinary skills for the ones I love. I started to create dishes that took pieces of my travels as a pro athlete and combined them with the flavors of the local Caribbean culinary scene. Through word of mouth, the demand for my food grew, and I began catering events, offering private cooking lessons, and, ultimately, opening my own food truck, the Caribbean Grill. Traditionally, Caribbean cuisine features bright and vibrant flavors from allspice berries (pimento seeds) or sour oranges, but it can have pops of spice from chiles, especially Scotch bonnets. Whether in the Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba, or Puerto Rico, there are staples you will always find, such as seafood fresh out of the water (like escovitch fish with pickled veggies from Jamaica) or juicy pork dishes (like crunchy-skinned, slow-roasted whole pig from Cuba topped with tangy mojo sauce). I fell in love with this cuisine, and I was able to create a menu that reflected my style of cooking and allowed me to creatively and seamlessly integrate new flavors into the staples I grew up loving and preparing.

My culinary path led me to Food Networks hit show Food Network Star, where I was a contestant on season 11. My savvy cooking chops, outgoing personality, and competitive nature got me crowned the ultimate champion. Since my victory, I have gone on to host several shows on Food Network, such as