Kick off football season with Kansas City wings and Maryland crab dip

Football season is finally here! We’re kicking off celebrations with help from Kansas City pitmaster Megan Day and mid-Atlantic chef Jeremiah Langhorne. They are making a couple of classic tailgating appetizers and festive cocktails inspired by the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. Day is bringing the heat with smoky chicken wings with ranch barbecue sauce and a spicy bloody mary. Langhorne is going for the goal line with creamy crab dip and q booze-free negroni.

These wings, rich with Kansas City flavors, are what helped us claim victory at this year’s World Championship Barbecue contest. We love to cook wings slowly, build up the flavors, then hit them with high heat and some rich sauce. We take our time with these wings. It’s a winning method to slowly increase the cooking temperature and char them off in the end. The finishing sauce and dipping sauce are zesty, rich and delicious.

Tailgating is hard work, and this cocktail is sure to lay down a great base for the day’s events. While the meat-centric garnish shines bright, the drink itself is truly the star. You’ll love nibbling and sipping this favorite morning cocktail. It is the perfect blend of savory and tangy with a hint of smoke.

This dish really highlights one of the crowned jewels of the Chesapeake Bay: the blue crab. This recipe has a very high ratio of crab to sauce, making it very decadent and a crowd-pleaser.

This phony negroni features my favorite gin and vermouth alternatives with a spirit-free bitter aperitif. It’s a great way to pace yourself for a Sunday full of football.

If you like those terrific tailgating recipes, you should also try these: