Food and Beverage
Kickoff Cravings: Win your tailgate with MVP-level appetizers
Last Updated on July 14, 2024 by Daily News Staff
(Family Features) Before the end zone dances and sideline celebrations, settling in for a winning game day experience starts with delicious foods. Whether your football parties take place at home, in the backyard or right outside the stadium, kicking it off with savory appetizers can get the crowd on its feet.
Keep your game plan simple this season and light up the scoreboard with fan favorites like dips and wings. These versions are both easy to prepare and can be enjoyed fresh or made in advance and kept warm or reheated to energize your fellow diehards.
Visit Culinary.net to find more touchdown-worthy tailgate recipes.
Add Savory Spice to Game Day Celebrations
Powering up for a successful game day starts with a pregame spread, and no tailgate or homegate is complete without a spicy dip that brings the heat.
This Game Day Buffalo Chicken Dip is a perfect solution for firing up your crowd as it requires little preparation so you save precious time before kickoff. Whether you bake shortly before the game begins or make it ahead of time for a parking lot party, simply keep it warm and serve with chips or veggie sticks for a quick, shareable appetizer.
Game Day Buffalo Chicken Dip
Servings: 3-4
- 2 cups shredded chicken
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, plus additional for topping, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 heavy pinch dried dill
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 2 green onions, chopped
- blue cheese crumbles
- chips
- vegetable sticks
- Heat oven to 400 F.
- In bowl, mix shredded chicken, cream cheese, sour cream, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, onion powder, garlic powder and dried dill until combined. Add hot sauce; mix until combined.
- Transfer mixture from bowl to oven-safe dish. Top with additional shredded cheese, to taste.
- Bake until cheese is melted, approximately 15 minutes.
- Top with blue cheese crumbles and chopped green onion.
- Serve warm with chips and vegetable sticks.
Score a Touchdown with a Game Day Dip
One of the best ways to take tailgating to the next level this season is by making healthier versions of classic game day fare. For example, you can be the MVP of your game day gathering with a delicious, hall-of-fame-worthy appetizer. Call an audible by using fresh, easy and healthy ingredients to make it better for you and score extra points with family and friends.
This Game Day Taco Dip takes fan-favorite flavors – beef, refried beans, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes and black olives – and adds a twist with the Fresh Express Butter Supreme Salad kit. This tasty, colorful blend of green butter lettuce, red butter lettuce, radicchio and baby chard is available in the refrigerated produce department and is perfect for creating healthier versions of beloved tailgating dips, snacks, finger foods and more.
Visit FreshExpress.com to discover more winning game day recipe ideas and find a retailer near you.
Game Day Taco Dip
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Servings: 12
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 package (1 ounce) taco seasoning
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
- 1 can (16 ounces) refried beans, zesty salsa flavor
- 1 jar (16 ounces) thick and chunky salsa, medium or hot
- 2 cups guacamole
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 packages (5 ounces each) Fresh Express Butter Supreme
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
- 1 can (2 1/4 ounces) sliced black olives, drained
- 1 package (14 ounces) tortilla chips
- In skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef 5 minutes, or until no longer pink. Sprinkle with taco seasoning; mix well. Add water; cook 2 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Transfer to bowl; cool to room temperature. Add cilantro; mix well.
- In 9-inch pie plate, evenly spread refried beans; top with seasoned ground beef and salsa. Add spoonfuls of guacamole across top of salsa then carefully spread to smooth.
- Place sour cream in small resealable bag; cut off corner. Pipe sour cream to create football shape on guacamole.
- Put pie plate in center of 15-by-18-inch tray. Arrange salad blend around pie plate. Top with cheddar cheese, tomatoes and olives. Serve with tortilla chips.
Just Wing It
Skip the silverware at your next homegate and dive right in with a fan favorite that requires just your hands and a heap of napkins: wings.
Whether you pick through your pieces or clean each wing to the bone, these Game Day Chicken Wings are perfect for eaters of all types. A simple flour-based coating keeps the recipe easy to make and baking in the oven means you can skip the messy fryer or firing up the grill.
Cook until crispy then corral your party’s favorite dipping sauces from ranch and blue cheese to barbecue and more. Once your spread is served, it’s time to sit back and enjoy the game.
Game Day Chicken Wings
Total time: 50 minutes
Servings: 4
- 1/2 cup butter, cubed
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 10 chicken wingettes, thawed
- dipping sauces (optional)
- fresh parsley (optional)
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Line baking sheet with foil. Arrange butter cubes on foil.
- In medium bowl, combine flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Coat both sides of wings in flour mixture then evenly space among butter cubes on baking sheet.
- Bake wings 30 minutes.
- Turn wings over and bake 15 minutes, or until crispy and fully cooked.
- Serve with dipping sauces and sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired.
SOURCE:
Fresh Express
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Visit our Food & Drink section to get the latest on Foodie News and recipes, offering a delightful blend of culinary inspiration and gastronomic trends to elevate your dining experience.
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Food and Beverage
Papa Johns and Google Cloud Reimagine the Future of Food Ordering to Better Serve Customers
Papa Johns is partnering with Google Cloud to roll out an AI-powered omnichannel ordering system using Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience, bringing voice and text ordering to apps, web, phone, kiosks and in-car systems.
american pepperoni pizza with chilli pepper and parmesan cheese
Papa Johns and Google Cloud Reimagine the Future of Food Ordering to Better Serve Customers
Papa Johns is betting big on AI-powered convenience.
At NRF 2026 in New York, the pizza chain announced a major transformation of its digital ordering experience—aimed at delivering faster ordering, improved accuracy, and real-time personalization for its 150 million-plus customers worldwide. The update is powered by Google Cloud’s newly expanded AI solution, the Food Ordering agent, part of Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience. The key takeaway: Papa Johns is the first restaurant brand to bring these new omnichannel ordering capabilities to market—moving beyond basic chatbots and into what Google Cloud calls the era of agentic commerce, where AI doesn’t just answer questions, it actively completes tasks and improves outcomes.From chatbot to “agentic” ordering
Food Ordering agent is designed to unify voice and text ordering across the places customers already interact with the brand—without forcing them to repeat themselves or start over when they switch channels. Instead of treating app ordering, phone ordering, kiosks, and in-car systems as separate experiences, the platform supports high-quality voice AI agents across:- Mobile apps
- Websites
- Telephones
- Kiosks
- In-car systems
What Papa Johns is building with Google Cloud
Papa Johns says the new system is designed to make ordering “faster, smarter, and more seamless than ever before.” The company’s Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Kevin Vasconi, framed it as more than a product refresh.“Papa Johns is a digitally-driven business and, as such, one of our strategic priorities is investing in our technology to deliver a more seamless experience across our assets and owned channels, better connect with our customers, and support greater efficiency across our operations by leveraging data and AI,” Vasconi said. “We’re using Google Cloud’s Food Ordering agent to reimagine what’s possible for our customers. This isn’t just an app update; it’s a fundamental shift in how our customers interact with our brand digitally, making it faster, smarter, and more seamless than ever before.”The new capabilities focus on three areas that tend to create the most friction in food ordering: deals, complex orders, and repeat purchases.
Intelligent Deal Wizard: fewer abandoned carts, more confidence
One of the most common reasons customers abandon carts is uncertainty—Did I pick the best deal? Is there a better promo code? Papa Johns’ Intelligent Deal Wizard is positioned as a personal concierge that automatically applies the best value combinations. The benefit is twofold:- Customers spend less time hunting for discounts
- Papa Johns reduces cart abandonment and builds loyalty through instant value
Advanced Voice & Group Ordering: making complex orders easier
Group orders are where ordering systems often break down: multiple people, multiple changes, special instructions, and constant edits. Papa Johns’ Advanced Voice & Group Ordering is built to capture that revenue without requiring human intervention. By handling natural language nuances and real-time modifications, the system aims to improve order accuracy even when the request is complicated—exactly the kind of scenario where mistakes can lead to refunds, remakes, and lost customers.No-tap reordering for Papa Rewards customers
Pizza ordering is often habitual. Many customers reorder the same items, especially loyal customers. With the new experience, the agent can identify returning Papa Rewards members and proactively ask if they want to reorder their most recent purchase. That no-tap flow matters because it shortens the distance between intent and checkout—turning a routine craving into a completed order in seconds.Why it matters: omnichannel is now the expectation
Google Cloud’s Carrie Tharp, vice president of global solutions and industries, described the shift as a move beyond the chatbot era.“The retail industry is entering the era of agentic commerce, where AI is an engine for business value,” Tharp said. “By being the first to deploy our omnichannel Food Ordering agent, Papa Johns is moving beyond the chatbot era to create a fluid, intelligent experience that meets hungry customers wherever they are, whether they are in their car, on an app, or at a kiosk.”That’s the core point: customers don’t think in channels. They think in outcomes.
- Ordering hands-free while driving
- Reordering in one step from the couch
- Using a kiosk quickly while picking up
What’s next
Papa Johns will showcase the technology at the Google Cloud booth 5507 at NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show in NYC, offering live demos to attendees. The company expects to roll out these capabilities to customers nationwide by the end of 2026.About Papa Johns
Papa John’s International, Inc. (Nasdaq: PZZA) opened in 1984 with one goal: BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA. Papa Johns says it uses high-quality ingredients, including fresh, never frozen original dough made with six ingredients, real mozzarella cheese, and vine-ripened tomato sauce. The company operates more than 6,000 restaurants across approximately 50 countries and territories.About Google Cloud
Google Cloud provides AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools, offering an integrated AI stack built on planet-scale infrastructure and custom-built chips. Organizations in more than 200 countries and territories use Google Cloud as a technology partner.Resources
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Food and Beverage
Put the Grill to Work In 2026
Transitioning from high-yield meals that serve a crowd to easy, homemade dinners can be a bit of a shock after the festivities are over. Save yourself the time and hassle of cooking after a season of gifts and gatherings with this Grilled Chicken Bundt recipe that lets the grill do the work for you.
(Family Features) Transitioning from high-yield meals that serve a crowd to easy, homemade dinners can be a bit of a shock after the festivities are over. Save yourself the time and hassle of cooking after a season of gifts and gatherings with this Grilled Chicken Bundt recipe that lets the grill do the work for you. For more time-saving family dinner ideas, visit Culinary.net. 
Grilled Chicken Bundt
Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy” Servings: 4-6- 4 potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 8 Brussel’s sprouts
- oil
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder, divided
- 2 tablespoons onion powder, divided
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1 whole chicken (4-5 pounds)
- 1/2 stick butter, softened
- Heat grill to 350 F with one burner off for indirect heat.
- Cut potatoes, carrots and Brussel’s sprouts into bite-sized pieces. Drizzle with oil and mix in 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder and 1 teaspoon salt; set aside.
- Rub chicken with softened butter, remaining garlic powder, remaining onion powder and remaining salt.
- Place some veggies in bottom of bundt pan. Place chicken on top of chimney or tube of bundt pan. Fill pan with remaining veggies.
- Place pan over indirect heat and grill 1 hour, 30 minutes, or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 F.
At our core, we at STM Daily News, strive to keep you informed and inspired with the freshest content on all things food and beverage. From mouthwatering recipes to intriguing articles, we’re here to satisfy your appetite for culinary knowledge.
Visit our Food & Drink section to get the latest on Foodie News and recipes, offering a delightful blend of culinary inspiration and gastronomic trends to elevate your dining experience. https://stmdailynews.com/food-and-drink/
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Food and Beverage
Mix a Little Luck into Your Big Game Menu
Picture this: Your team is down three points, but the taste of victory is just one field goal away. Sometimes, all you need is a little luck and a whole lot of guac. Dip into good fortune this football season with help from this Good Luck Guac recipe.
Mix a Little Luck into Your Big Game Menu
(Family Features) Picture this: Your team is down three points, but the taste of victory is just one field goal away. Sometimes, all you need is a little luck and a whole lot of guac. After all, an estimated 250 million pounds of avocados are consumed during the Big Game each year, according to Hass Avocado Board Volume Data. That’s enough to fill 30 million football helmets with guac – but filling your belly instead is a win-win for good luck and great flavor. Dip into good fortune this football season with help from Avocado From Mexico’s Guac Guru, Rob Riggle, whose visionary Good Luck Guac recipe is ready to share just in time for the Big Game. Whether you’re in it for the football, the commercials or the snacks, this recipe can score major points with your entire crew.
Crafted for fans of every team, this bold, golden twist on a favorite football snack is infused with ingredients associated with good luck – edible gold flakes and pomegranate seeds – to get you through the most nail-biting moments of the game. The star ingredient is fresh, high-quality Avocados From Mexico that offer good taste, good nutrition, and good times. Beyond delicious dips, chips and lots of fun, hosting a watch party can also be a lot of work. Make sure your hosting duties don’t create interference or put you on the sidelines with these tips: Get a jumpstart on party prep. The day before the game, tidy up your space and prepare as much of the food as you can. For dishes best served fresh – like guac – take care of the ingredient prep, like chopping veggies. Create comfortable seating and viewing areas. For a watch party, you’ll want plenty of room for guests to sit comfortably where they can see the screen and have easy access to the guac. If there’s not enough space in the living room to fit everyone, consider bringing a TV to the kitchen so people can snack and watch at the same time. Know your guests. From non-alcoholic beverage options to additional entertainment like board games and kid-friendly activities, become a next-level party host by providing a setup tailored to your guests’ needs. One thing almost everyonecan agree on: Guac made with Avocados From Mexico can be the star of nearly any party’s snacking lineup. Make it your team’s lucky day with more game day recipes at AvocadosFromMexico.com/recipe. 
Good Luck Guac
Recipe courtesy of Rob Riggle on behalf of Avocados From Mexico- 4 Avocados From Mexico, halved, pitted and peeled
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon onion, minced
- 3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch edible gold leaf flakes
- In large bowl, mash avocados until chunky-smooth.
- Fold in lime juice, onion, pomegranate seeds and salt until well combined.
- Garnish with edible gold leaf flakes.
At our core, we at STM Daily News, strive to keep you informed and inspired with the freshest content on all things food and beverage. From mouthwatering recipes to intriguing articles, we’re here to satisfy your appetite for culinary knowledge.
Visit our Food & Drink section to get the latest on Foodie News and recipes, offering a delightful blend of culinary inspiration and gastronomic trends to elevate your dining experience. https://stmdailynews.com/food-and-drink/
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