2026 Baseball World Series Cuisine - Milwaukee Brewers vs. Tampa Bay Rays

I have no skin in the game, as my team, the LA Dodgers, was shut out of the baseball World Series. Well, to the victors go my recipe spoils! 

It's come down to the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Milwaukee Brewers for the title of World Series Champions. 

In my wind-up of food blogging, I'm deliciously pitching Cuban Sandwich vs. Bratwurst.

First up to bat is a Tampa Bay Cuban Sandwich. A regular Cuban Sandwich is a bases-loaded combination of sour mustard and pickle, tart, creamy Swiss cheese, sweet cured ham, and tender Cuban roast pork - all on a crunchy, crusted grilled bread roll. 

Cubans first made the sandwich with mojo-marinated roast pork and ham. While Cubans arriving to Key West and Tampa brought the sandwich, local European designated hitters added Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard. 

This pressed and toasted grand slam of a sandwich deserves the Commissioner's Trophy.  

A Tampa Bay Cuban Sandwich pinch-hits with the addition of Genoa salami. Roast pork, ham, and salami load the bases with flavor. But if you're a cheap$kate like me, then substitute similar-tasting pepperoni from the Dollar Tree.

Check out my recipe for a Cuban Sandwich by clicking here. Your fellow bench bums will line up for a bite. 

When Germans settled in Milwaukee, they filled the city's dugout with sausages. My favorite of theirs is a pinch-hitting Bratwurst. And the locals steam them in beer just like my recipe below. They also grill the sausages and steam them in a bath of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and sliced onion. 

My local supermarket grocer in L.A. put Bratwurst on sale, so I had to make a video recipe. Check it out below. Do a quick grilling and slide them between hot dog buns with a smear of mustard and topped with the steamed onions (I like the addition of sauerkraut).

Whew, these recipes are making me thirsty, and I don't mean for Gatorade. I think it's time for a couple of cocktails that the Brewers and Rays would bring back to their bleacher seats.

Nicknamed "Brew City", Milwaukee was a historical global hub for the beer industry, anchored by giants like Miller, Pabst, and Schlitz. 

The Brandy Old-Fashioned is Wisconsin's unofficial state cocktail, made with brandy instead of whiskey, muddled fruit, and a splash of sour or sweet.

I made a Classic Old-Fashioned Cocktail video, and you can read all about it here. Of course, substitute brandy for whiskey and you have the famed  Milwaukee Brandy Old-Fashioned.

The favored drink of Tampa Bay is the Cuban-style Mojito. All you need is rum, mint leaves, lime juice, and sugar (if you can get real sugar cane stalks or juice, go for it). My cocktail recipe is below.

Set out a pitcher of Mojitos, and you'll have your guests rounding the bases for a refill.

For your World Series viewing party, catch my curveball recipes - there are no fouls. Your guests will be cheering you on - from their cheap seats way out in right field!

Witches Brew Coffee

 The Sinister Chef is cursed to be a cheap$kate. But you can benefit by scrolling down this food blog and clicking on my Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube accounts. The typical Chef model had a spike driven through its moldy heart when I started making my fanciful food videos 20 years ago. 

So keep checking back for a cauldron full of tasty treats. Don't burn me at the stake for my budget ingredients because one day you or someone you know, who's hit hard times, may need my price-slashing cooking tips to scrounge up a meal. 

In my latest Halloween video, the Witching Hour has never been so sweet.

Allow me to put a spell on you to keep visiting here this month...and beyond!

                                Play it here, video runs 1 minute, 53 seconds.

To link or play on YouTube, click here.

National Pasta Day Recipes

National Pasta Day - what's not to like? I probably have the most food recipes involving pasta. Just type and enter the word pasta into my blog search window to see them.

I'll save you some search time and highlight some of my most delicious ones below. And click on any recipe name to see the original blog post with tasty text and yummy photo illustrations.

Instant gratification.

Dried Pasta is still cheap. I find it in my local grocery store and Dollar Tree.

If you have a favorite jar or can of tomato sauce, then sprinkle in some dried Italian herbs for a quick pasta sauce.

SpaghettOs are still around since I ate a can or two in my high school daze. The photo below was taken years ago from the 99cent Only Store.

You should have a pasta sauce to start with. My homemade version is quick and easy to do.

My Tomato Marinara Sauce is a click away, here. Check out the video.

I like recipes that you can devour a few ways. My Lighter than Air Meatballs fit the bill. I usually have the Meatballs in tomato sauce over Pasta. 

You can also make a fat Meatball Sandwich. My Meatballs have a lot of veggies that make them lighter than the average Meatball. I like the addition of spinach and mushrooms in my Meatballs. It's okay to leave out some veggie ingredients for a more solid Meatball. Check out my video below.

For the simplest Pasta recipe, how about canned Sardines in Tomato Sauce? It's ready to go once you've cooked some spaghetti. I like fish from a can.

Open a can of Sardines in Tomato Sauce, heat for a minute, then top the spaghetti with fish fillets and tomato sauce. It could be easier and quicker to do.

One of my first recipes on this blog was canned Baby Clams with Spaghetti.

I don't find cans of baby clams for 99 cents anymore, but small cans or packages of clams show up quite cheaply.

My local Dollar Tree carries small packs of cooked salmon, imitation crab meat (not so much these days), and cans of tuna. I have mint in my small garden, so combine salmon (or any of the above) and add fresh or frozen peas for my Peas, Mint & Salmon with Pasta. 

I 

The other main sauce for Pasta is made with cream. I like Sauteed Mushrooms with Cream and Pasta.

Another creamy dish is my Ham, Peas, & Cream with Pasta.

My favorite cream Pasta meal is a ripoff recipe called Olive Garden Fettucini Alfredo. 

It's just pasta, cream, and Parmesan cheese. Okay to add a little protein and a favorite veggie.

One of my earliest stop-motion videos is Baked Pasta with Cauliflower & Cheese. It's basically a Mac & Cheese with cauliflower. Cauliflower and cheese are a tasty combination.

Let's go from heavy to light. Sauté some kale in a little olive oil, then add garlic, and you have a veggie Pasta. Click on my Pasta with Kale and Pasta with Brussels Sprouts, here.

You can't get much leaner than my Veggie Pasta Salad. Steam your fave veggies and mix in a light salad dressing to add to cooked pasta. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

A little salad dressing for your Pasta Salad?

I also like frozen, canned, or jars of veggies to add to a Pasta salad, like my Peas, Artichoke Hearts, Broccoli & Wheat Pasta recipe.

My nephew Zak has a filling Cajun-style Tuscan Primavera Pasta. 

I always have a fun time when I cook with my family.

Zak's Tuscan Primavera Pasta uses pine nuts. I find them quite expensive. A cheap substitution is bags of nuts I get from Dollar Stores. The amounts are enough for a serving or two. If they are salted, it's easy enough to shake the salt off or even rinse the nuts. When you saute them, they will dry out. 

Try my Pasta with Garlic and Cashews...or Almonds, or Peanuts, or Walnuts - you get the idea.

You can combine almost any protein to pasta. Chicken is still cheap, so try my Chicken & Lemon Cream with Pasta. 

Sometimes, I like ground poultry, now that it is cheaper than ground beef. Everyone likes Baked Lasagna, just add a one-pound package of Ground Chicken or Turkey.

Salami or Pepperoni anchor a pungent pasta sauce. All you are doing is heating up the meat with a little onion and garlic then adding pasta. Click here to read all about it.

A delicious slow-cooking pasta sauce is made with the cheapest cut of beef I can find, called beef shank. It has a bone with marrow, so this is an extra-rich, meaty sauce.

The other main ingredients are half a dozen sliced cheap onions. Do try out Pasta alla Genovese. 

I'll end with my most outré entrée, a Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Bacon Bits.

No self-respecting chef would ever use Bacon Bits instead of Pancetta. 

Well, I'm a bottom feeder and proud of it. If you don't want to use Bacon Bits, then fry up a couple of slices of Bacon, and it's still a cheap dish.