Holiday Gift Guide: The NFL Gameday Cookbook by Ray Lampe

With a name like The NFL Gameday Cookbook (Chronicle Books) you’d maybe think there wouldn’t be a lot to say. 150 recipes. Official NFL colors. Lotsa pictures. Add a football fan or six and some food and you’re ready to party, right?

In all fairness, though, the The NFL Gameday Cookbook is a lot more. In fact, it’s more than it has to be. First, the recipes are surprisingly varied. Sure there’s a lot of barbecue, but everywhere his name comes up, we’re told that author Ray Lampe is a.k.a. Dr. BBQ. He’s a multiple cookoff champion, has been “grilling professionally” for more than 20 years and is a columnist for Fiery Foods magazine. So Lampe knows BBQ. But he also knows football and food and it shows.

The NFL endorsees the book and, in a foreword, the NFL Network’s Rich Eisen says, “It’s a time-honored, football God-given inalienable right that cuts across every conceivable demographic -- the entitlement to stuff yourself silly while watching the game.” However, author Lampe manages to go beyond mere gourmandishness, delivering a truly well-rounded and carefully thought out cookbook. One doesn’t expect Sweet Potato Bread with Pecans; Vegetarian Chili; Lobster with Chili Lime Butter and Chocolate Martinis. The expected stuff is here as well. There’s lots of delicious barbecue as well as food clearly dedicated to testosterone heavy boys determined to have fun watching football while, as Eisen said, stuffing themselves silly. Turkey Gravy Sandwiches with Homemade Cranberry Sauce; Judy’s Double-Stuffed Cheeseburgers and Barbecued Bologna Sandwiches are just a few examples of those.

All in all, The NFL Gameday Cookbook is a terrific book that more than delivers on early promise. Lots of football and team information is well put together but never overshadows our real reason for being here: “It’s your party and you can have it any way you want! Just call it NFL game-day fusion cooking.”