West Coast Football Brunch

Artichoke and Leek Goat Cheese Spread: 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes

Tender artichoke hearts are given a boost by bright lemon juice, herbs and meaty olives while tender leeks give a nice sweetness and tang without the overpowering taste of onion in this great cheese blend. Make a day or two ahead of time to save time and sanity on game day!

Breakfast Puff Pastry Braid with Eggs, Sausage and Cheese

Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day are the last two big NFL brunch days here on the West Coast. Throw in a few random early bowl games on January 2 plus the extra relatives you’ve got hanging around the next couple of weeks and you’re going to need an fast and easy — not to mention hangover approved — breakfast.

Bacon Cheddar Doughnut Holes

So when I had the Bacon Cheese Doughnut Holes at The Den at happy hour, I knew this could be a football brunch treat for all the times I didn’t feel like making something beforehand. From the time you cook the bacon to the time you serve the doughnuts, you’re looking at only about 30 minutes in the kitchen, tops.

Grilled Fruit Kabobs

Quick intro because, well, mostly because it’s Saturday and on the weekends we should all try to take as much as of a break from information age as possible, and secondly because I’m working on getting the rest of the week’s posts ready ASAP so I can give everyone a comprehensive Super Bowl planning guide on Monday or Tuesday.

Also, we all need to save all of our energy for tomorrow’s ProBowl and NHL All-Star Game. Back-to-back games like that are sure to be exhausting.

Brunch Bread Bowls with Egg, Ham and Cheese

Long time Friday Football Foodie readers know that as a West Coaster, where football starts prompt at 9am on Saturdays and 10am on Sundays, I absolutely love the Football Brunch. You get to miss the three to four hours of meaningless pregame analysis, you can start drinking earlier if you want, and you are approximately 87% less likely to see Frank Caliendo doing his Madden impression. All wins.

Phillips Head Screwdrivers

Okay, so it is just a screwdriver. But if you make it with pineapple vodka, call it phillips head screwdriver. Still much tastier than plain old vodka and OJ.

Cherry-Streusel Coffee Cake

Long time Friday Football Foodie readers know that I love the football brunch. NFL games start at 10 am! College games at 9 am! Premier League starts at… Eff it! You’re probably still drunk from the night before for a 5:45 am start. And full of In-N-Out! Or House of Pies! Or Fred 62! Or Cafe 101! Or Del Taco! Better yet, let’s go to a taco truck! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So like any good brunch, pre-game planning is the key. In the past I’ve made Friday Football Foodie quiches, stratas, baked French toast and pear tarts. What do they have in common with Breakfast Enchiladas and Cherry-Streusel Coffee Cake? You have to make them the night before. Sunday morning before a 10 am game, you want to wake up at 9 am at the earliest. Maybe 9:30 if you need a shower. 9:50 if you still need to make fantasy football moves. 8 am? Forget it. Did I not mention the 2 am taco truck visit? The cake can be baked the night before, and the enchiladas need to rest before baking morning of the game.

Artichoke, Olives, and Capers Crostini

It is incredibly important to have a sound base. A solid running game (THAT CAN PICK UP TWO YARDS ON THIRD DOWN MISTER-BRUCE-THROW-TO-THE-END-ZONE-ARIANS), some money stashed away in savings just in case you quit your day job, and bread that has been properly toasted.

Ham & Cheese Muffins

It’s hard to believe, but this is the last weekend that you can have a NFL brunch this season. Next weekend, even if you live on the West Coast, 12pm is too late for brunch. You’ll need something heavier, greasier, and… Well. Lunch-ier.

Maple Bacon Biscuits

I love the Sunday football brunch and I am sad to see it leave us until next September. Name another sport that allows you to wake up and start drinking and eating at 10AM? (Premiere League does not count, because who the heck is going to wake up and cook at 4am for a 6am game. Exactly. Footie is for going out and drinking at 6am and letting someone else put beans on toast and spots on dicks.)

Pear Tart

I actually served it with a savory bacon, cheese, and caramelized onion tart. You can find the recipe for that – and the same step-by-step directions I usually provide – here at The Amateur Gourmet.

Breakfast Strata

Really, you can used whatever you want for the filling. Cooked sausage, bacon, just cheese and veggies (as long as they are not watery), you name it. You can also make this sweet strata by using cream cheese and raisins or other dried fruits. It is a good, “whatever the hell we have on hand” type of dish.

Overnight French Toast

Part of the beauty of this dish is all the work – what little work there is – is done the evening before brunch, leaving you to sleep in until past 9am on game day for a change. (And I bet Paula Deen would cry less than Leinart over sharing the creation of this breakfast.)

Bloody Mary

Oh sure, you can just buy some Bloody Mary mix at the store, stick a stalk a celery in it and call it day, much like the Bucs field a team, hand it a ball, and call it “football”. You are better than that, and yes, I am talking right to you Gruden.

Four Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Quiche

One of the greatest thing about living on the West Coast is the football brunch. Wake up, walk out to couch, turn on TV, football is there.

Didn't W.C. Fields once say, "During Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and IC Light?"