Match day food

So football fever is once again gripping the nation as the controversial World Cup gets underway.  Whatever the rights and wrongs of Qatar hosting we are getting into the tournament and are really enjoying it.  The positives are that people are now talking about human rights and LGBTQ rights.  Tonight England play the USA and a win will mean we should make it through to the next stage.  A loss for England and a win for the US will leave Group B wide open for anybody to take.

The great thing about a Friday match means you can get into it, have friends and family over and really enjoy it.  If you are having people over then picky bits will take the pressure off and also means people can pick and choose what they have and how much.

I have recently been testing wings with a beer sauce.  This might sound a little strange but it works really well, you get a little spice and a back note of beer without any of the bitterness.  I am not a lover of beer but I love these wings.  Because they are baked they are so easy to get sorted ahead of time.  There are a few wing recipes on our site (I adore wings) so if beer is not your thing, try the Chinese inspired wings or the Asian inspired wings.  Wings go very nicely with ribs and we have some lovely baby back Chinese inspired ribs, coca cola ribs which cook low and slow in the oven and with a more American twist try our dry rub beef short ribs. 

There is also a recipe for ‘mummy’ sausage rolls, which works just as perfectly as normal sausage rolls just don’t cut the pastry into ‘bandages’.  They are very easy and really delicious.  So much nicer than what you can buy and you can decide exactly what sausages you want to put into them. Victoria loves them with a tiny amount of crab apple jelly in them, it really does add a certain something but they are just as good without.

A great bowl of pasta is also good for crowds - for me one of the joys of wings and ribs is eating them along side a bowl of beautiful creamy macaroni cheese.  Probably an American style way of eating. Other American inspired snacks are burgers - either ‘le smokey’ or the ’juicy lucy’ although I find burgers for a large crowd a bit more tricky.  If you wanted something more substantial then another great dish you can do is the easy crispy chicken because you can get it into the oven while you get drinks and are getting things ready and then you can dish up and you are ready for kick off.

If you are a vegetarian or vegan try the mushroom burgers or the bang bang cauliflower in place of the meat dishes.

I am going to stretch the US theming and go tex mex. Ish! What about a gorgeous bowl of sharing chilli, with or without meat and with guacamole, doritos, wraps, jackets or rice, cheese sauce and salsa. One of my favourite sharing meals ever.

Whatever you decide to cook or however you watch, enjoy.