17 Recipes From San Francisco and Kansas City for This Weekend’s Football Parties (2024)

Even if you aren’t a big football fan, there’s plenty to love about food served at game day parties this weekend, especially when the teams are from food-loving cities like San Francisco and Kansas City. Whether you are leaning towards smoking a brisket to cheer on the Chiefs or simmer a pot of cioppino in honor of the 49ers, we have recipes to fill out your party menu.

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Cioppino

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If you are cheering for the 49ers, you’ll want to make a pot of Bobby Flay’s cioppino, the iconic San Francisco seafood stew. It often includes a range of shellfish like Dungeness crab, squid, and mussels, but is flexible depending on what is available at your fish market. Simmer everything in a tomato broth spiked with wine and offer up some sourdough toast for dunking.

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Sourdough Country Bread

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San Francisco’s chilly, damp, salty weather is the ideal climate for making sourdough bread, which we love at a game day party on its own to dip into stew or chili, or toasted and made into garlic bread. Food editor Paige Grandjean’s recipe is perfect for new bakers and if you don’t have a sourdough starter, ask the folks at a local bakery if you can buy some of theirs.

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Crab Salad Sandwiches

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When Dungeness crab is in season, San Francisco cooks eat it every way they can. Make this crab salad with Dungeness or lump crabmeat, and serve it on slider buns for parties.

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Buttery Garlic Crab Noodles

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Garlicky, buttery pasta is our go-to for any occasion, including a nail-biter of a football game. Cookbook author Diep Tran adds fish sauce to the pot amp up the umami factor in her take on this Vietnamese crab dish, served over bucatini.

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Irish Coffee

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Irish coffee was created in San Francisco in 1952 at the Buena Vista restaurant, after a patron wanted to recreate a popular coffee drink he enjoyed at the Shannon airport. Make a batch to go with brunch before the game, or to sip with dessert.

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Moo Shu Pork

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San Francisco chef Brandon Jew makes this classic Chinese dish of stir-fried pork, egg, and mushrooms and serves it with a tangy peanut butter-hoisin sauce. Serve this recipe with Mandarin Pancakes.

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Zuni Chicken (Roast Chicken with Bread Salad)

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One of the most iconic dishes to come from San Francisco is Zuni Café’s roast chicken with bread salad. Salting the chicken a day in advance is key to getting the crispiest skin.

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Almond-Poppy Seed Granola

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Chef Belinda Leong creates chewy-sticky clusters of oats, nuts and poppy seeds for the granola she served with her Greek yogurt panna cotta at B Patisserie. We like to spoon it over ice cream for a simple, easy dessert.

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Brat and Pepper Tacos

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These tacos might be just the thing to serve if you have a roomful of fans from Kansas City and San Francisco. They call for corn tortillas like the tacos you find in San Francisco’s Mission District, with a filling inspired by Midwestern sausage-and-pepper subs.

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Barbecued Brisket and Burnt Ends

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Was it even a Kansas City party if you didn't serve burnt ends? Let's not find out. Ten hours on the grill with a slather, a rub and a mop give Paul Kirk's brisket an extraordinarily robust flavor. The recipe calls for a whole packer brisket, which includes both the flat (the larger, leaner portion) as well as the point (the smaller, fattier part for the burnt ends). When slicing the brisket, cut perpendicular to the grain to keep the meat juicy.

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Glazed Cinnamon Rolls with Pecan Swirls

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Pastry chef Megan Garrelts makes these cinnamon rolls, which have become a favorite treat for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, at Rye, the award-winner restaurant she owns with her husband, 2005 F&W Best New Chef Colby Garrelts, in Kansas City. Bake up a batch for a pre-game brunch party — or to ensure your Monday morning is a sweet one, no matter who wins the game.

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MoKan Nut Pie

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This riff on pecan pie from Rye chef Megan Garrelts is called MoKan because it refers to Missouri and Kansas; when Garrelts makes it, she uses Missouri pecans and Kansas black walnuts. It has a great flaky crust and plenty of fragrant nuts, with a classic sticky pecan pie.

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Pork Belly Burnt Ends with Barbecue Sauce

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If you find burnt ends irresistible, then this recipe of slow-smoked pork belly will win over the most passionate burnt ends purist. Enjoy them with piles of white bread to sop up the sauce, along with tangy pickles and raw onion to cut through the richness.

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Smoked Brisket Sandwiches with Pickled Vegetables

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While most pitmasters religiously smoke their brisket low and (incredibly) slow, 1998 F&W Best New Chef Michael Symon takes another approach. He uses a moderate smoking temperature and speeds up the cooking process by wrapping the brisket in a double layer of foil for its last few hours on the grill.

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Fried Cheese Curds with Buttermilk Ranch Dipping Sauce

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White cheddar cheese curds are battered and deep-fried until they're golden brown for an irresistible appetizer or snack perfect for game days whether you’re in the Midwest or anywhere. The batter includes white rice flour, which is the secret to extra-crispy frying. Homemade buttermilk ranch dipping sauce is a tasty complement to the crispy curds; the fresh chives, parsley, and dill in the sauce make it nice and herby.

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Gina Mae’s Baked Beans

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Your Kansas City barbecue plate needs baked beans. Dr. Regina Bradley turns canned baked beans into something special with sweet onions, ground beef, and bacon, and dresses up store-bought barbecue sauce with extra brown sugar, along with apple cider vinegar to cut through the smoky sweetness.

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Mac and Corn Cheese

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Macaroni and cheese and cheesy corn are both beloved in Kansas City. This dish combines the two, with melty cheese, pasta, snappy kernels of sweet corn, pungent onion, and fruity jalapeños.

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