Your Favorite Teams, Your Favorite Treats

Yes football season seems an eon away as does tailgating. Yet the season will be here soon enough. With it comes  a recipe book that has the yummiest tailgating dishes. Keep in mind that these also work at a barbecue too.

Chef Tim Lopez  who created dishes for the Philadelphia Eagles for sixteen yeatr put together Kickoff Kitchen  Sixty-Four Game Day Recipes inspired by Every Pro Football Team.(quarto Publishing Group 2025). He has divided the recipes into the eight divisions where the teams stand.The first chapter has a playful picture guide to what home chef's will need in creating recipes.There are pictograms of blenders and even toothpicks. There is some great advice about not combining both hot and cold dishes along with how to cook with cleanliness when dealing with tailgating cooking. Home chefs should bring both thermal bags for keeping foods hot and bags of ice for keeping cold ingredients frosty.what is good about all of these recipes is that they would fit right in a backyard barbecue. Tailgating foods are not just hot dogs and hamburgers. Chef. Lopez takes into consideration the local ingredients and culinary traditions of the teams ' home cities.The Miami Dolphins has a mini Cuban sandwich  which has roasted pork and ham. Also there are extra points section that offer good tips about the ingredients or cooking process. The back of the book has interesting tidbits about the teams such as their mascots ,when they were first formed and hometomwn fun fact

The recipes are perfect for any cook out and party too.Being from Northern New Jersey I love the recipe for the NY Giants disco fries this is a big plate of crispy fries smothered in a homemade beef stock based gravy rife with onions, celery and carrots. Mozzarella is melted on top of all this. It's definitely going to be a fun weekend dish.Another alluring dish is the roast beef on weck sandwiches celebrating the Buffalo Bills. This is Buffalo's much beloved sandwich with a large pie of roast beef on a flavorful kummelweck roll with a slick of a horseradish and mayo spread on it. Tailgating food doesn't have to be all beef. Chef Lopez shines a light on the Atlanta Falcons with a tasty shrimp and  cheesy grits bowl.It's shrimp cooked with bacon and paprika along with other spices  and ladled on the grits redolent with cheddar. Then there's the Cincinnati Bengals Skyline chili,a fiery and spicy chili that's served over spaghetti with a sprinkling of shredded cheddar on top. This is the perfect meal for a chilly autumn night. Yes there are hot dogs here There are Sonoran dogs full of veggies  that celebrate the Arizona cardinals.and Coney dogs from Detroit .This last is a chili dog with cheese.

Tailgate season will soon be upon us. Use the fun  and filling recipes of Kickoff Kitchen  for your menu.everyone will love their teams and even the opposing ones favorite bites.

Food Unifies Us

It cannot be said often enough about how food is a great uniter. Breaking bread allows us to see each other in a different, less confrontational light. We need to have more  socially distanced community dinners and picnics. Coming together over a plate of something is better than having that plate thrown at us.

Of course there should be more discourse however for now we should think of having town or block funded barbecues where law enforcement is invited.If cops  got to see how neighborhoods are , maybe there wouldn't be so much fear - yes fear - and prejudice on their part. Inviting them over for burgers and dogs isn't such a bad idea. They can get ideas about how to patrol and what they're looking at if they know the people. This is also a good concept for churches to follow too. Now that the weather is warmer , gatherings can be held outside to allow for social distancing. Imagine it like a big pot luck where people bring main dishes and sides along with desserts. Other congregations can also be invited. They too can bring different foods, reflecting religious and ethnic backgrounds. Not only is it a chance to come together but try recipes that are out of their comfort zone. Baked mac can be served alongside kugel and falafel. Kids can snack on cotton candy or baklava.  Individual barbecues can be set up for s'mores and toasted marshmallows.

Since cops are also our first responders, we need to remember the efforts and sacrifices they make during this ongoing pandemic. It's nothing to whip up a batch of cupcakes and homemade icing for your town's finest. Make an ice box cake if the weather is too hot. Another idea is sending pizza and prepared meals from your local pizzerias and restaurants. You'll be helping eateries in the area as well as providing a hot lunch or dinner for the force. If you have a neighbor who works on the force, treat them and their families to something, whether a cake or extra spaghetti and sauce.  They'll appreciate the gesture and the fact that you're behind them. As social gathering restrictions get lifted invite them over for a backyard meal. It's a great time to talk and find out about who they are and what's going on in your area. It's also the perfect time to suggest starting mentoring multiracial youth groups and having a police backed baseball or football team. Also tell them what you've seen in town and if there is a need for improvement.

Food will always unite us. If we start a dialogue, then it needs to be over a hamburger or a slice of cake. Eating brings us together - which is what we need right now.