Now That The NCAA Hoops Tournament Is Here, It's Time To Get Serious About Food

OK, by now you’ve put the finishing touches on your bracket and have invited a couple friends over to watch the opening games of the NCAA college basketball tournament. You just might just be using some "vacation days" at work too. This is also a great time to start thinking about the serious food you will be serving. But not too serious — you don't want to miss any buzzer beaters because you're stuck in the kitchen trying to get that nacho cheese to melt better. We at Food Republic HQ are here to help with 10 of our easiest snack recipes. All require less than an hour total, but without sacrificing any of the gooey, crunchy, cheese-stretchiness your friends demand. As a bonus, we’ve included our guide to some seasonal craft brews and a couple of simple cocktails to help you beat the odds and pull off a major upset in the kitchen.

Now That The NCAA Hoops Tournament Is Here, It's Time To Get Serious About Food

Chipotle Popcorn Chicken Recipe

A recipe for popcorn chicken that'll make you hot

We thought we'd kick off tailgating season with the least intimidating and most user-friendly food, easy to make in massive batches: popcorn chicken. Ready for the easiest use of canned chipotles you've ever seen? 

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Sriracha-Honey Wings Recipe

Spicy sriracha gets sweet wings all fired up

Recently, sriracha has become more popular than William Shatner at a Star Trek Convention. The sriracha gives the wings a spicy kick, while the sweetness of the honey and the tanginess of the rice wine vinegar balance each other out. Make these for your next tailgate and convert your friends to the red side. 

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Baja Fish Nachos Recipe

Our favorite tacos meet nachos. Mexican showdown!

The thought of folding and frying 20 fried fish empanadas in non-self-adhesive dough and finding five or six photogenic ones made me sad, so I decided to throw the whole concept on top of nachos. Problem solved. Shortly after this photo was taken, the team descended upon this plate like sharks. That's the only measure of success we use in Test Kitchen.

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Sweet Potato Skins With Bacon Recipe

Update your loaded potato skins for a sweet game

Personally, I could eat potato skins every day of the week, but for a different take on one of the world’s best bar foods, try using sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. They are every bit as good as regular potato skins and they taste just as great topped with sour cream.

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Spicy Cheese-Stuffed Fried Olives

The ultimate bar foods are fried AND stuffed.

Fried olives may have originated in the Le Marche region of eastern Italy. There, they take pancetta, ground meats, cheese, herbs and spices and stuff large green olives, breading them and then deep-frying them to a golden crisp. Olive all’Ascolana is the name of the dish.

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Slow Cooker Chili Recipe

Our classic chili recipe is super easy to make

If there's one classic recipe every man needs to have ready at hand, it's chili. A slow-cooker or crockpot will make this already simplified dish even easier, but a nice heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid will do the trick as well. 

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Mini Roast Beef Sliders Recipe

This sandwich is three bites of meaty perfection

We quickly realized at the Food Republic Test Kitchen afterparty that we were going to run out of these mini roast beef sliders. Unabashed consumption is the sincerest form of flattery. Look at it. Look at that little sandwich with its teeny cheese slices. You're gonna grow up to be a big strong hoagie, yes you are!

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Spicy Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

Kick off your dinner party with this delicious app

We love how mushrooms provide an edible transport for all types of fillings from leeks and goat cheese to pepperoni and mozzarella. We chose a mix of spicy Italian sausage and sweet Italian sausage to give our earthy mushrooms a meaty filling. Top with a little melted Parmesan cheese and you've got a simple appetizer that looks as good as it tastes.

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Crunchy Coconut Shrimp Recipe

Fry up addictive beer-battered coconut shrimp

Coconut shrimp are ubiquitous in restaurant chains and steakhouses, but 9 times out of 10 they are frozen, then deep-fried and served with a cloyingly sweet sauce. More people should make them at home, as they are so easy to execute and they're a perennial crowd pleaser.

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Scotch Egg Recipe

Coat an egg with sausage, bread it and deep-fry it

Too many people don't know about scotch eggs. They're a genius combination of two major players in the brunch game — sausage and eggs — into one baseball-sized package of perfection. The concept of this beloved English pub snack is simple: hard-boil an egg for slightly less time than you normally would (about 8 minutes), cool, peel and sculpt a layer of ground pork sausage around it.

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10 Craft Beers On Our Radar This Spring

From Oregon to Michigan to the New Hampshire woods

Welcome to Spring, beer lovers! While it's supposed to be warming up some time soon, it still feels like winter here in the Northeast. Don't worry, we have you covered for whatever face spring decides to show us. We really branched out and tried for something different like light dessert stouts and fruity, imperial IPA's. Here are our top 10 beers to look out for in the Spring season.

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Chester's Rum Punch Recipe

A party punch from Barbados

This sweet, spicy, and refreshing punch comes to us from mixologist Chester Browne, who has the enviable job of traveling the world as Global Brand Ambassador for Mount Gay Rum.

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How To Mix The Perfect Gin And Tonic

The secret? Navy strength gin from Brooklyn.

Though we often don't drink gin straight, many lovers of the spirit really look to actually taste it in a drink, and with this G+T, that's precisely the point. This is the best gin and tonic I've ever had.

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Black and Blue Lemonade Recipe

A refreshing lemonade drink featuring blackberries

The Black and Blue is the most delicious and versatile drink recipe. It fits in at a Super Bowl party as it is at a wedding reception. Blackberries and black pepper are a knockout combination. I’m sure you will find great uses for the simple syrup recipe alone.

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