The fine art of tailgating: with custom outdoor decor and winning recipes, football enthusiasts look beyond the traditional picnic playbook.

The first time Jane Foster stood ,beside the Walk of Champions in the University of Mississippi's famed Grove as hulking football players strode through on their way to the stadium, she was hooked. Foster, who spent her college years at Mississippi State University, was certainly an unlikely candidate to become an Ole Miss tailgating enthusiast, but with every thump of the marching band's bass drums, her enthusiasm for this spectacle--this lifestyle--grew.

"I didn't expect to like it, but once I was here, I just really wanted to be a part of that atmosphere," Foster recalls.

By the next season, Foster and her family had staked a claim to their own patch of grass right next to the players' path. The tent Jane and husband Lantz now share with close friends Ken and Madeline Morris has even become something of a spectacle in its own right, with its unmistakable handpainted zebra stripes set off by cheerful brightly colored flourishes.

It wasn't difficult for Jane to convince Ole Miss alumni Lantz, Ken, and Madeline to participate in the fall festivities as the 2004 season approached. The rest of the Canton-based crew consists of Jane and Lantz's teenage children Brittany, Jared, and Landon and Morris daughters Claire and Davin--along with an untold number of drop-in visitors that the two families welcome each week.

The winning combination of unusual decorations, heaping platters of sweet and savory munchies, and lively conversation is undoubtedly what attracts so many students and alumni to stop by this tent before each home game. The tent itself, painted by mother and daughter artists Joyce Street and Noel Webb of Canton, is the first thing to catch a passerby's eye, though once inside, there's plenty more to see. Accents like a Rebel-inspired topiary from the Potting Shed in Philadelphia, funky animal-print chair covers from Lucy's and Renetta's Sewing Center in Canton, flowers from Mimosa in Oxford, and even an ornate "candelier" hanging candle light fixture from Na-Ann's in Oxford make it clear to visitors that this is no ordinary pre-game picnic.

Gameday goodies, prepared by Michelle Stubbs of Loose Ends Catering in Canton, include such satisfying snacks as spicy nacho dip, marinated shrimp, barbecued pork tenderloin with buttery yeast rolls, and pink-frosted strawberry cake. The treats are served on whimsical painted trays and platters from Judith Lee's in Ridgeland and set on coordinating handpainted tablecloths in keeping with the colorful theme.

It's fitting that this tailgating tent, the vision of a former student at an Ole Miss arch-rival, has even fostered good relations with fans of opposing teams who pass through the Grove.

"We've met so many people from other schools who stop and want to know about everything here, because they just don't do anything like this on their campuses," Foster says. "The tent is a real conversation piece."

As the marching band plays the right song and the team parades down the Walk of Champions en route to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium every Saturday, Foster says chills still go up her spine, even in the sometimes sweltering fall heat. That's when she knows she picked the perfect place to celebrate.

LAYERED NACHO DIP

1   (16-ounce) can refried beans
1/2 (1.25-ounce) package
     taco seasoning
1    avocado or 6 ounces
     guacamole
1    (8-ounce) carton sour cream
1    (4.5-ounce) can chopped
     black olives
1    can green chilies
2    tomatoes, chopped
1    small onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese,
     shredded

Mix beans and taco seasoning.
Spread in the bottom of
an 8-inch square pan, and layer
all other ingredients on top,
finishing with cheese. Chill.
Serve with tortilla chips. Yield:
15-20 servings.

BROCCOLI SALAD

2   bunches broccoli florets
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and
    crumbled
1   small red onion, cut into rings
3/4 cup raisins
1   cup sunflower seeds
1   cup mayonnaise
2   tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar

Combine first five ingredients
in a large bowl. In a separate
bowl, combine mayonnaise,
vinegar, and sugar, and
stir well.

Pour mayonnaise mixture
over broccoli mixture, and stir
to coat. Serve chilled. Yield:
15-20 servings.

MARINATED SHRIMP

5 pounds shrimp, cooked
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
Purple onions, sliced
1 (3.5-ounce) bottle capers
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco red
  pepper sauce
1 teaspoon celery seed

Combine first four ingredients
in a large bowl. In a separate
bowl, combine oil, vinegar, salt,
Tabasco, and celery seed, and
stir well. Pour oil mixture over
shrimp, and toss gently to coat.
Refrigerate overnight before
serving. Yield: 15-20 servings.

GRILLED TENDERLOIN

2 pork tenderloins
Barbecue seasoning
1 cup Italian dressing

Rub tenderloins generously
with barbecue seasoning. Refrigerate
for 3 hours. Remove
from refrigerator, and pour
Italian dressing over tenderloins.
Return to refrigerator for
1 hour.

Remove from refrigerator,
and cook on a grill until done,
about 1 hour. Remove from
heat, and wrap in foil. Refrigerate
overnight. Slice before serving.
Yield: 15-20 servings.

PENNY ROLLS

1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup hot water
1 egg
3 to 3 1/4 cups sifted flour, divided

Soften yeast in warm water.
Combine sugar, oil, salt, and
hot water; stir until sugar dissolves.
Cool to lukewarm.

Stir in yeast mixture and
egg. Add 2 cups flour; blend
with a mixer for 2 minutes. Stir
in remaining flour.

Beat vigorously with a spoon
until dough is smooth (about
3 minutes). Cover, and let rise
until dough doubles. Stir down
in 20-25 strokes. Cover tightly,
and refrigerate overnight.

Turn out onto a floured surface.
Pinch off balls of dough,
and shape into rolls. Place in
greased muffin tins, and cover.
Let rise until doubled. Bake in
a preheated 375-degree oven
for about 10 minutes or until
golden brown. Yield: 30 rolls.

STRAWBERRY CAKE

1 box white cake mix
1 (3-ounce) package strawberry
  Jell-O gelatin dessert
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1 cup coconut, shredded
1 cup pecans, chopped

Mix cake mix with Jell-O
powder. Gradually add oil and
milk. Add eggs, one at a time,
and mix well. Stir in strawberries,
coconut, and pecans.

Pour into two 8- or 9-inch
round baking pans. Bake in a
preheated 350-degree oven for
25 minutes. Cool, then frost with
Icing. Yield: 15-20 servings.

ICING

1 stick butter, softened
1 box confectioner's sugar
cup strawberries, chopped
cup pecans, chopped
cup coconut, shredded

Mix butter, confectioner's
sugar, and strawberries well.
Stir in pecans and coconut.

Recipes from Michelle Stubbs, All Tied-Up/Loose Ends Catering, Canton; 601/259-8030.