By Rosemary McCoy

Mike Klinedinst knows a thing or two about football, but he also knows his way around a kitchen.

As a coach, he led Brandon Valley High School teams to five state championships in the 1980s and 1990s. He wrapped up his coaching career at Sioux Falls Lincoln in 2004, moved into administration and retired a few years ago.

Now, he and his wife, Penny, own Plum’s Cooking Co., and he’s a regular coach for cooking classes at the 8th & Railroad Center business.

Klinedinst will share recipes for some of his favorite football-watching snacks at a class Tuesday night.

He’ll make jalapeno poppers that are stuffed with marinated shrimp and cheese and then wrapped in bacon. The other dishes are a hot lobster dip, a hot buffalo chicken dip and three types of chicken wings: traditional buffalo, Caribbean jerk and a Japanese-inspired version. Students will get to take the recipes home.

While the instructors at Plum’s do most of the cooking and the students do the eating, Klinedinst likes to make his classes interactive.

“If I can, I’ll make it hands-on so they can learn the techniques,” he said.

Tuesday night, he’ll teach students a simple method allowing them to turn their grills into smokers to get a great flavor on their wings.

He’s a self-taught cook, not a chef, but he has years of experience at throwing cookouts and canning his own garden produce.

“That’s how I really got into it, even when I was still coaching,” he said. “We’d have the coaches and their wives over.”

Those cookouts have grown into a tradition. His third annual Smokefest is coming up on Labor Day weekend. He and three other guys will smoke meats to serve 125 people at the Klinedinst home in the rural Split Rock Heights neighborhood just east of Sioux Falls.

There’s a growing interest in home-cooked but restaurant-quality food that Plum’s is tapping into. The business offers two or three classes a week, often featuring professional chefs who are willing to share their recipes.

Klinedinst said he teaches a class every six weeks or so and fills in as needed.

“The younger generation, the foodies, they are all over these classes and enjoy these things.”

As of Monday afternoon, seven seats remained for his class, which runs from 6 to 8 p.m. The fee is $65.

To register or see the schedule of upcoming classes, click here.