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Foodball: Pineapple Blue Burgers

In this heat, the simplicity of a great hamburger is what I’m in a the mood for. A grilled, juicy burger with tangy blue cheese to cut through the sweetness of pineapple, the softness of the cheese and meat tempered by a crunchy cole slaw and a chewy English muffin that soaks up every last bit of flavor. Want a little extra kick? Brush just a little bit of teriyaki sauce on the patty to caramelize on your burger over the flame.

Foodball: Smoky Hatch Chile Bacon Pimento Cheese

Smoky Hatch Chile Bacon Pimento Cheese

Hatch chiles give this pimento cheese a completely different profile. Both are a smoky pepper, but Hatch chiles match so well with the bacon, I’m pretty annoyed I didn’t have the idea to switch up my pimento cheese until this summer, as are pretty much all of my friends who I have served it to over the past few weeks.

Foodball: Hatch Chile Infused Vodka

Foodball: Hatch Chile Infused Vodka

Hatch chiles have a real floral element to them and when pared with vodka, the fruity element of the chile really sings. You don’t even need to wait to put it in your breakfast cocktail, serve chilled over ice and it is great sipping spirit. If drinking straight vodka isn’t your idea of a good time, I’ve used it in place tequila in a margarita, in a vesper and in lemon drops.

Foodball: Beer Battered JalapeÃ±os

Foodball: Beer Battered JalapeÃ±os

If you don’t have access to this year’s bounty of Hatch chiles it doesn’t mean you have to do without something spicy this season. My garden is overgrowing with jalapeÃ±os and frying them up for a game time snack is a great way to have the spicy bite without having to go through all the hassle.

Foodball: Muhammara

Foodball: Muhammara

This is a sneaky dip. I’m not talking sneaky like the Seahawks running the Auburn offense against the Packers, I’m talking sneaky like the Seahawks runningÂ a flea flicker against the Bills. It doesn’t seem like this dip should be so spicy, but ground Aleppo pepper has a front of the tongue heat the builds the more of it you eat, but at the same time has this great fruity taste to it. Much like how I feel aboutÂ zaâ€™atar, once you start using the spice you won’t be able to stop putting it nearly everything you make.

Foodball: Chicken Fried Bacon

Chicken Fried Bacon – Two Ways

You can either make this recipe with slab bacon you slice yourself or regular thick cut bacon. Both have their merits. Fried slab bacon gives you a much more meaty bite, more bacon taste. Regular bacon is easier to find and is easier to dip in your sausage gravy and raspberry preserves. Why the raspberry preserves? The sweetness cuts through the fat nicely, sort of like you were having a Monte Cristo, possibly the only snack less healthy than this one.

Foodball: 12 Chili Recipes For Your Super Bowl Party

12 Chili Recipes For Your Super Bowl Party

Foodball: Easy Pot Roast Sandwiches

Easy Pot Roast Sandwiches

Iâ€™m not going to lie, this is the same way Iâ€™ve made my regular pot roast â€” save reserving the potatoes for last and the rolls â€” Â for years. Adding a bit of cayenne and chili powder doesnâ€™t make the meat spicy, but it does add a little depth to your meat and your overall flavor. Bay leaves, rosemary and thyme always go well with beef, as well as the extra tomato paste.

Foodball: Basic Queso Dip

BasicÂ Queso Dip

Did you make myÂ Beer Cheese SoupÂ last season? No? Well, if you havenâ€™t, you should because itâ€™s delicious and great in the cold weather. If you did make it, youâ€™ve already got the basics down to make your own queso. A roux, some whole milk and some cheese. Boom. Installed.

Foodball: Shepherdâ€™s Pie Potato Skins

Shepherdâ€™s Pie Potato Skins

So if two food items can be a trend, and I already posted a recipe for Poutine Potato Skins, then yes. Potato skins are something everyone loves for football watching. And as delicious as sour cream, cheese and bacon are in a twice-baked potato, they tend to feel heavy on your stomach pretty quickly. Surprisingly though, filling the potato with beef, vegetables and more whipped potatoes makes your potato skins more like a meal, and not as greasy and weighty.

Foodball: Toasted BLT Bread

Toasted BLT Bread

A few weeks ago I was in the mood for theÂ BLT BitesÂ Iâ€™ve made a hundred times for parties and football Sundays. And while I love them, they can feel like a lot of work even though they are not much of a bother at all and I was feeling like I wanted a heartier BLT for football that day. Since a local gourmet shop in my area serves their BLT with camembert cheese, I started to play around with making it much like I makeÂ Smoky Habanero JalapeÃ±o Popper Bread.

Foodball Zesty Zaâ€™atar White Bean Dip

Zesty Zaâ€™atar White Bean Dip

Iâ€™ve already sung the praises of zaâ€™atar earlier this season when I posted the recipe forÂ Grilled Zaâ€™atar Chicken Pitas, and I wanted to give everyone a second recipe to use the beautifully earthy, smoky spice mixture in so you didnâ€™t feel bought all this zaâ€™atar then didnâ€™t know what else to do with it. I hate when a recipe calls for say, machalepi or fenugreek but then doesnâ€™t suggest what else I could use those ingredients in. After I posted how to makeÂ Chicken Tikka Masala Wraps, I posted a recipe forGaram Masala DipÂ to inspire readers to find their own ways to use up the rest of their garam masala. So if you ever see me list an ingredient you donâ€™t think you will use often, especially an unusual or expensive item, donâ€™t hesitate to ask me what else you can put it in while creating in your own kitchen.

Foodball: Smoked Cheddar JalapeÃ±o Crisps

Smoked Cheddar JalapeÃ±o Crisps

This is a combination of two previous recipes Iâ€™ve posted for the Football Foodie,Â Smoky Habanero JalapeÃ±o Popper BreadÂ andÂ Parmesan Crisps. Smoked cheddar and jalapeÃ±os go together like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, the perfect match of heat and savory. Crisps are something you can prepare ahead of time and without much effort, like working on a game plan against the Texans. Similes are a writerâ€™s lazy tool, like Albert Haynesworth.

Foodball: Thanksgiving Scotch Cider

Scotch Cider

In addition to the physical heat radiating off your cider, this drink has warmth from both the scotch and the spices.Â Peppercorns help pick up the scotch and a add nice spark. Raw sugar is just a little more earthy than white sugar thanks to the molasses, which in turn echoes the peat in the alcohol. Â In this drink I prefer using aÂ clementine instead of an orange as its smaller size helps you tame the citrus notes of a typical cider. Itâ€™s not as sharp, nor does it have so much juice as to overwhelm the apple notes or the scotch.

Foodball: Herbed Cranberry Brie Sandwiches

Herbed Cranberry Brie Sandwiches

What make this sandwich work is sautÃ©ing the herbs in wine and olive oil to make the dressing. It cuts right through the sweetness of the cranberry and the richness of the cheese so you have a perfect balance of flavors. Not too filling, but not so light that after youâ€™ve had one or two slices youâ€™re looking for chips in the cupboard.

Foodball: Sweet Ancho Chile Roasted Cashews

Sweet Ancho Chile Roasted Cashews

Out of all the nut recipes Iâ€™ve posted over the years, this is one of my favorites. The smoked paprika giving extra depth to the mildly hot ancho chile, a little extra heat from the cayenne;Â big, fat crunchy raw sugar crystals on the crust; just the right amount of salt to the sweetness. You can also use this spice mixture on peanuts if you like, but the butteriness of the cashew really is the best play with the ancho and cayenne.

Foodball: Roasted Serrano Artichoke Ricotta Dip

Roasted Serrano Artichoke Ricotta Dip

As the season goes on, itâ€™s easy to get sick of the same old sour cream based dips, guacamole or hummus, and you donâ€™t always want a heavy baked spinach and artichoke dip made with cream cheese. The next best option for creaminess and taste? Ricotta.

By roasting the garlic, artichokes and some of the serranos, it tones down their sharpness and tames the heat so the peppers wonâ€™t overpower your palate. Fresh scallions round out the dip, but if you want a little extra bite of salt or brininess, fold in a tablespoon of chopped capers or kalamata olives.

Foodball: Grilled Zaâ€™atar Chicken Pitas

Grilled Zaâ€™atar Chicken Pitas

Zaâ€™atar is a mixture of sumac, dried thyme, salt, toasted sesame seeds and sometimes dried savory, marjoram or oregano. The dominate taste comes from the sumac though; a tart, earthy spice that goes well baked on a pita, on poultry or in dressings. By using non-fat â€” but still thick â€” Greek yogurt you keep down the level of fat in your marinade, (unlike what I call â€œspecial chickenâ€ which calls for a fair amount of butter) while still adding a lot of tang and richness to meat. It also makes for a nice char when you put the skewers over the fire. Lemon zest and garlic make it a party.

Foodball Spicy Boozy Cafe Mocha For Tailgating (And Trick-Or-Treating*)

Spicy Boozy Cafe Mocha For Tailgating (And Trick-Or-Treating*)

This drink was inspired by my buddyÂ Josh in AlbuquerqueÂ who one day last year talked about having a really good chile mocha on a cold morning. Of course you could booze that baby up for tailgating. Of course you want to. The heat from the chile reaches down into your bones while the cinnamon makes the chocolate feel fuller, warmer. The Kahlua brings an extra richness to the espresso while the tequila takes you full circle, bringing you right back to the chile and the cinnamo

Foodball: Pork Rillettes

Pork Rillettes

Whatâ€™s great about a good pork rillette is that itâ€™s an easy snack you can bring together on a Tuesday night and have ready for the weekend. It takes a minimal amount of effort with a maximum of reward, highlighting the real taste of the pork without losing its essence to rubs and sauces.

Foodball: JalapeÃ±os Stuffed With Chorizo And Corn Bread

JalapeÃ±os Stuffed With Chorizo And Corn Bread

But going the extra distance to make beautiful stuffed jalapeÃ±os filled with moist corn bread, melty cheese and spicy chorizo isnâ€™t that difficult. Making a perfectly golden crust is even easier. Give the poppers a break and make the real thing.

Foodball: Smoked Salmon Fish Cakes

Smoked Salmon Cakes

We havenâ€™t featured much seafood on Foodball over the years. Lots of shrimp recipes, but not fish. Fish is a difficult main ingredient to make for a crowd without breaking your budget, unless you happen to be near water and youâ€™re fishing your own trout for the grill. But mostly I avoid it because I hate the way it stinks up the place, even if you prepare it over a hot fire outside. And aside of fish tacos or nachos, I could never think of a good way to make fish seem like something that would natural pair with football.

Foodball: Buffalo Chicken Tortilla Soup

Buffalo Chicken Tortilla SoupÂ

Tortilla soup is a natural fit for the spicy chicken treatment as you can incorporate the traditional sides of carrots and celery into the broth, adjust the amount of peppers and hot sauce to make the soup as mild or as spicy as you like it all while getting a nice â€œcrispyâ€ flavor of a wing by browning the chicken. Crumbles of mild cotijaÂ cheese help tame the heat while just a little bit of blue cheese and green onions on the top keeps the soup close to its barroom roots. The tomatoes and tortilla strips round out the bowl, providing both depth and heft to the soup.

Foodball: Poutine Mini Potatoes

Week Three. This is when we start to eat our feelings during football season.

Steelers and Browns. Buccaneers and Panthers. New York Large People and Washington Skincolors. Vikings. Donâ€™t need to say it but worth including, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hell, even Philadelphia Eagles fans might need a few extra carbs todayÂ after last nightâ€™s interception-fumbles-missed kicks-failed two-point conversion-derp-fest against Kansas City.

And gravy. Lots and lots of gravy.

One of the interesting perks Iâ€™ve found since joining KSK last year is mining through the hundreds of tags used on the site since its inception. The majority of them only used once or twice, most funny, many disturbing, a few best left deep in the archives of 2007 (unte-Pay elated-ray). Since the above teams face a potential 0-3 start, it seemed worth it to drag up this goodie from Uffordâ€™s past,Â drown your sorrows in gravy.

Foodball: Poutine Potato Skins

Week Three. This is when we start to eat our feelings during football season.

And gravy. Lots and lots of gravy.

Foodball: Chicken Schnitzel Sandwiches

Chicken Schnitzel Sandwiches

We donâ€™t give the Germanâ€™s enough credit when it comes to food creation. Take the schnitzel. Itâ€™s hearty, is a perfect counterbalance to drinking large amounts of beer, is easy to make and takes the less-desirable pieces of meat and makes them appetizing. Stadiums should sandwich beer stands between sausage and schnitzel stands, fans at home should be making them at home instead of their usual burgers. Juicy chicken drawing in the flavor of both the butter and the olive oil, a little extra crunch from crispier panko bread crumbs, just the right amount of tart from the lemon and the dressing.

(Cheering â€œZiggy, zaggy, ziggy, zaggy! Oi! O! Oi!â€ however is best left to the Germans.)

This recipe also works for veal, another traditional schnitzel variant. Since veal gets pretty pricy when feeding a crowd and some people have ethical reasons for not eating veal, chicken works just fine for football.

Roasted Mezcal Bloody Marys

Roasted Mezcal Bloody Marys

2013 Foodball Kickoff: Roasted Mezcal Bloody Marys

As I said last season when I wrote aboutÂ Pizza Bloody Marys, there isnâ€™t a better cocktail for tailgating or for morning brunch football on the west coast than a bloody mary. Still a little hungover from Saturday night? Need just a few vegetables to jump-start your metabolism with a touch of salt to balance out your dehydrated body and some booze to soothe your headache? Want to have enough energy to make it through the firstÂ gameÂ of the day? The bloody mary mini-meal in a glass is the perfect solution to all of your problems.

This bloody recipe calls for a smoky mezcal, rich and earthy as any scotch you will find. When paired with roasted tomatillos, meaty heirloom tomatoes, the heat of poblano peppers and the brightness of cilantro and lime, you get a refreshing, bracing bloody mary to jumpstart your day. Want a little extra heat and extra smoke? Add a chipotle pepper in adobe sauce to the blend, but honestly, I think the milder version pairs better with the mezcal. Poblanos have enough heat on their own to stand up to alcohol and tomatoes.

Sparking Blueberry Non-Alcoholic Mojito

Designated Driver Sparking Blueberry Non-AlcoholicÂ MojitoÂ

Be a good host and offer something more than soda or water for the designated drivers at your Super Bowl Party. Itâ€™s a nice way to show them you appreciate them driving your drunk-ass friends home at the end of the night so they donâ€™t end up sleeping on your sofa or getting arrested somewhere near the intersection of Dogfish and Stone.

(Plus if you really want, you can use it as a mixer for your drinking friends.)

Deep Dish Skillet Pizza

Deep Dish Skillet Pizza

This doesnâ€™t have the word â€œChicagoâ€ in the title for a reason, so donâ€™t come at me with how this recipe isnâ€™t like Pizzeria Uno Chicago-based friends. I typically use less cheese than a typical deep dish pie because theyâ€™re already heavy and filling enough, and also because I like to let the sausage and tomato sauce really shine through. And as friend of the Football FoodieÂ Thomas HolzermanÂ says, deep dish pizza is more like an Italian pot pie, not so much a pizza, so donâ€™t feel bad about using less cheese if any here.

You will need:

Cajun Seasoned Sausage Rolls

Cajun Seasoned Sausage Rolls

Sausage rolls are a very British snack that can be quite good, but are often missing the special extra something that would make them, well, not British. By making your own Cajun-style seasoning mix, you heat up (sorry, cannot say â€œjazz upâ€ and not hate myself in the morning) these savory bites. Not are these incredibly easy to make on game day, but you can prep these ahead of time and freeze anytime between now and Sunday and not miss a beat. (Sorry.)

Blueberry Goat Cheese Dip: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

Blueberry Goat Cheese Dip

This dip isn’t for everyone, just us sexy people. It’s tart with just a hint of sweet and spice, best matched with fresh fruit and cookies, this fruit and cheese dip a great palate cleanser on a day full of heavy football foods.

Salsa Verde: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

Salsa Verde

Personally, I like a good salsa verde over the usual tomato, onion and jalapeÃ±o routine. Roasting tomatillos creates such a beautiful smell in the kitchen and it’s a nice treat if you’re used to just pulling out a jar of whatever salsa happened to be on sale that week at your tailgate.

Roasted Pepper Artichoke Dip: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

A spin on the classic spinach and artichoke dip, roasted red peppers bring a fiery tang while fresh mozzarella makes this dip especially creamy and rich.

Garam Masala Dip: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

I came up with this dip early last summer when I was looking for a way to get the essence of aÂ chicken tikki masala dip or wrap, but without all the mucking about cooking. Â Not so surprisingly, you get a very bright, tart dip of tomatoes, yogurt, garam masala and warm ginger and cayenne. Just lovely with pita or naan chips.

You will need:

Spicy Avocado Hummus: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

Spicy Avocado Hummus

Sometimes you want to mix it up from the usual guacamole, or maybe the avocados in your market are a little on the small side this time of year. This is a good way to stretch those green goddess globes and have a good dip. Spicy pepper and cool avocado always go well together.

Quesdo Fundido: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

Queso FundidoÂ

If possible, try to use Mexican quesadilla cheese with this dip. It melts without becoming stringy and greasy, unlike many other cheeses. Queso fundido goes especially well with warm soft tortillas.

Super Bowl Recipe Month: Shrimp Rolls at KSK

Even though Iâ€™m not a huge lobster fan, but I do enjoy a nice lobster roll with a beer and a game and lobster rolls have been on the master list of Football Foodie posting ideas for at least two or three years now. The problem with lobster rolls is even if you love your snacks and you love your friends, unless you live in Maine or Alaska itâ€™s pretty expensive to procure quality lobster for a few pals, much less a dozen hungry football fans. (Maybe if the Patriots were still in the Super Bowl and you and your friends are from New England and really wanted to splurge on lobster rolls so it felt authentic you could justify the cost BUT THEYâ€™RE NOT SO HA HA HA HA YOU CAN HAVE PLEBEIAN SNACKS WITH THE REST OF US.)

Shrimp rolls on the other hand are a great snack that donâ€™t take a lot of effort to make, nor will they break your tailgating budget. Lemon and herbs bring out the best in shrimp (as they do lobster), a bit of crunch from the celery, touch of heat from the cayenne, peppery arugula and buttery bread.

Super Bowl Recipe Month: Beer Cheese Soup

Beer Cheese Soup

To say this soup was hit around here is an understatement. I had been experimenting with my beer cheese soup earlier in the year, trying to get a really nice herbal taste using one of my favorite cheeses, derby sage. (In general I love sage, especially with cheddar and mozzarella.) I couldnâ€™t get the taste just right though, and eventually I came to my senses and just added a bunch of sage and thyme to my soup. The results couldnâ€™t have been better, especially when the herbs blend so well with slight heat of the cayenne. This recipe should serve 6-8 people a 2 cup serving. Donâ€™t be surprised if four people eat it all before the end of the first quarter.

Super Bowl Recipe Month: Arayes, Quesadillaâ€™s Delicious Middle Eastern Cousin

You watch enough football, you go to enough bars, at this point youâ€™ve probably had your fill of quesadillas. Too much meat and too much cheese or not enough meat and not enough cheese. Greasy and fried in butter or dry as a bone. We like to think the quesadilla is a pretty safe menu options when we head out with friends to watch the game, more often than not they fall short. You can make quesadillas at home, but they take a fair amount of work and need some serious attention while grilling â€” is cheese melting, have I burned the tortilla â€” which isnâ€™t the best combination when dealing with tight windows of time during the playoffs and the Super Bowl.

What if I told you there was a quesadilla-like snack thatâ€™s easier to make? Full of beef and lamb, onions and tomatoes, warm spices like cinnamon, sweet paprika and allspice, with hints of cumin, nutmeg and coriander? That you could grill, bake or fry? That you could even prep ahead of time and cook when ready?

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite new football snacks of the 2012-2013 season, arayes.

Youâ€™ve probably seen arayes on the menu of your local shawarma and falafel joint, but probably never bothered to order them, too distracted by the giant spits of lamb and beef marinating and the dozens of whole roasted chickens take up entire ovens. Youâ€™re missing out, theyâ€™re possibly one of the greatest snack foods around.

Super Bowl Recipe Month - Oven Roasted Gnocchi With Rosemary

Oven Roasted Gnocchi With Rosemary

In the back of one of the fashion magazines I get they had one of those silly, â€œLetâ€™s ask a bunch of different celebrities a dumb question so they can answer and we can make a montage of answers because we need something for the back page.â€ (Or maybe theyâ€™re all outtakes from interviews. I have no idea how magazine creation works.) Anyway, in this particular magazine they asked everyoneâ€™s favorite English chef (behind Gordan Ramsey, Jamie Oliver, Two Fat Ladies and that other guy) Nigella Lawson what her favorite snack was. She replied pan fried gnocchi, which was just gnocchi cooked in a small amount of olive oil until firm when I looked up her recipe online. Nothing else. Bland. City. (Again, English.)

Ficelle - Super Bowl Recipe Month

Ficelle

Ficelle is a type of thin sandwich named for a thin baguette-style bread of the same name. (Ficelle means â€œstringâ€ in French if your guests ask.) If you can think of the combination, you can put on a ficelle, but the key to a good ficelle is not going overboard on sandwich filling since the bread is thinner. You want to pick just a few things and use the ingredients sparingly.

Whatâ€™s great about these sandwiches is that you can mix and match a bunch of different types and then slice them in to smaller portions, giving everyone a chance to sample a variety a different flavors.

Super Bowl Recipe Month - Wilted Spinach and Mozzarella Tortellini Salad

Wilted Spinach and Mozzarella Tortellini Salad

Over the past six or seven months Iâ€™ve brought this pasta salad to two football gatherings, a baby shower and a picnic, where it has disappeared every time. I usually find pasta salad, well. Hollow. Pasta and herbs. Bah. Nothing very satisfying there. By using tortellini in place of plain old corkscrew pasta, you suddenly get a very hardy side dish.

Super Bowl Recipe Month: Pizza Gougeres

Pizza Gougeres

Donâ€™t let this recipe intimidate you. FrenchÂ choux paste â€” the basis for eclairs, cheese puffs, cream puffs â€“Â is shockingly easy to make at home. By adding herbs, cheese and sun dried tomatoes, youâ€™ve just made one of the fanciest pizzas rolls around.

Super Bowl Recipe Month: Throwback Week - Stuffed Baguette

Stuffed Baguette

You can almost hear the old Steelers-Cowboys rivalry fire back up with these stuffed baguette slices. Meat, cream cheese (a popular â€™70s theme) stuffed into bread was a must at luncheons and parties thirty years ago.

Now, youâ€™ll notice I added sun dried tomatoes to this recipe, the most â€™80s of â€™80s ingredients. Theyâ€™re optional, but they really do add a nice bit of flavor to the mix.

Super Bowl Recipe Month: Throwback Week - Deli Roll Ups

Deli Roll Ups

It doesnâ€™t get much more â€™70s than a deli roll up. Meat, seasoned cheese, pickles, weâ€™ve all seen our parents and grandparents make these over the years for parties.

Why I like them for football gatherings is that theyâ€™re easy to do the night before game day and because theyâ€™re a satisfying snack and a small platter of these will go a long way to feed a large crowd.

Super Bowl Recipe Month: Throwback Week - Classic Macaroni Salad

Classic Macaroni Salad

If youâ€™re making barbecue, grilling or smoking anything for a Super Bowl or a playoff spread, few things compliment meats made over a fire like an old fashioned macaroni salad.Â The mustard picks up the smoke, you get a nice bite of crunch from the celery, and the scallions and peppers help cut the creaminess of the pasta salad.

Most macaroni salads call for much more mayonnaise, but I have found a single cup is the right amount to soak into the macaroni noodle without everything turning to an overwhelming gooey mess. If you happen to keep celery seeds around for Bloody Marys, be sure to include them in your dressing. Brightens the whole salad.