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Hamburgers and hot dogs are always great at a football game. How about some pimento cheese melts Casey Cizikas Jersey , fried ravioli or a brat wrapped in a blanket of fried cheese curds on a pretzel bun.

Hungry yet?

For dessert, try a battered and fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich dusted in powdered sugar.

On a stick too. For easier eating, of course.

With the start of the NFL season, teams hit the field trying to show just how much they've improved. In the stands, the pressure is just as intense when it comes to feeding fans. Chefs spend weeks and months each offseason scheming up tasty new dishes to help lure people away from their couches and big-screen televisions into NFL stadiums and up to concession stands.

"We always try to add a few items every year," said Camilo Baquero, executive chef for Delaware North, the food service provider for MetLife Stadium and home to the New York Jets and Giants. "We try to make sure that we stay competitive and trendy with the items that are being put out there. So we always challenge ourselves either to come up with a brand new item or add to concepts that may already exist here at the stadium."

Inspiration for that fried PB&J sandwich served at New Era Field, home of the Buffalo Bills, came from the annual Erie County Fair. Executive chef Jonathan Wilson with Delaware North wanted to boost a stand at the stadium and took inspiration from the fair wanting to make an item that could be held with only one hand. A year ago, they introduced a Polish kielbasa corn dog.

Creating this dessert on a stick required lots of testing. Wilson and his assistants made their own jams and breads with nothing clinging to a stick. Then they tapped the ingredients already used in the meal, and the crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich worked after a dip in the batter and 10 minutes in a blast chiller before frying. A stadium steal at $5.

"We figured it would hit everybody," Wilson said. "Kids http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/anthony-brown-jersey , adults, something fun to play with. That's how they get legs on the menu. We obviously want to sell it, but we've got to have a good price point."

That pimento cheese melt 鈥?with bacon no less 鈥?can be found at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay.

Some food companies like Aramark, which works with nearly half the NFL teams, tapped celebrity chefs to create some of its new dishes for stadiums . Cleveland native and Food Network star Michael Symon devised the B-Spot Red Zone Bratwurst with kraut, spicy mustard and Tony Paco's pickles for FirstEnergy Stadium and his hometown Browns.

Hometown inspiration came easily to chefs at Lambeau Field, where fans can buy Brat in a Blanket: a brat wrapped in melted cheese curds inside a pretzel bun. Or they can grab a ham and bacon sandwich with sauteed onions and a beer mustard cheese sauce on a pretzel bun. Executive chef Heath Barbato calls it perfect glove or mitten food when the weather turns frigid in Wisconsin.

"Lambeau is still a king of selling brats and cheese curds and things like that," Barbato said. "So we always try to feed the fans that only get out to one or two games something different other than the normal food here."

Sometimes new food items are held back until later in the season, or when a team makes a run to the postseason.

Fried ravioli and jambalaya aren't usually connected with Jacksonville. But the Jaguars teamed with a company called Grunt Style this year to create a military-themed area in one end zone , and executive Sean Kinoshita looked to MREs, or Meals Ready to Eat, in devising chicken and andouille jambalaya with dirty rice. Ravioli also is a popular MRE item, so they decided to fry them up with 10 ravioli per serving.

"It should be pretty decent deal Womens Charlie McAvoy Jersey ," Kinoshita said.

Fans decide just how good each dish is, of course, though chefs and their companies usually give an item at least a whole season to test its popularity. Demand decides whether a dish stays on the menu or winds up being replaced by something new, and companies closely monitor sales.

Baquero's staff introduced The Fat Rooster spicy hot chicken sandwich a year ago, then looked for something that could appeal to more customers. That led to The Fat Rooster Drummies, chicken brined in buttermilk and hot sauce before being battered and fried and served with either a hot honey or honey mustard dipping sauce.

Jets fan Justin Sandomir, 40, of Nanuet, New York, and his 12-year-old son, Ryan, at a preseason game gave the drummies an early review.

"I like the crunch ..." Sandomir said. "I like the dipping sauce. The spicy honey gives it that little extra kick that I like in my fried chicken."

Sounds like a keeper.

AP Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak contributed to this report.

— Viewed as a power pitcher, Jon Gray always felt he needed to rely on strikeouts.

He altered that thinking. This is Jon Gray: Version 2.0.

Gray threw effectively into the seventh inning and Ian Desmond hit a two-run triple in the sixth Kevin Shattenkirk Jersey , leading the Colorado Rockies to a 6-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night.

“Jon wasn’t as crisp as we’ve seen him, but yet he pitched into the seventh inning,” Rockies manager Bud Black said.

All part of his change.

He was sent to the minors earlier this season to hone his command and Gray returned a different pitcher. He doesn’t rely on his fastball as much as he placed more faith in his breaking pitches.

“It’s more of a controlled aggression than being aggressive,” Gray explained. “I’m not trying to make it nasty and throw it under their bat. I’m trying to make a quality pitch that’s sharp, that’s in the strike zone, but keeping it out of the heart of the plate.”

Gray (10-7) went 6 1/3 innings and allowed two runs before running out of steam and turning it over to the bullpen. He’s now 3-0 with a 2.59 ERA over seven starts since his recall from Triple-A Albuquerque.

“I hit the reset button,” Gray said.

After allowing a run in the first, Gray settled into a groove against a Padres team that was missing infielder Wil Myers after he was a late scratch. Myers sustained a cut on his nose when a grounder hit him in the face while he was fielding during batting practice.

Padres manager Andy Green said after the game there was no concussion.

“He definitely took a hard one off the face. I don’t know that he was ever pretty but he’s definitely not pretty right now,” Green said. “Probably down (Thursday) and hope we can get him back in rhythm in L.A.”

Myers was scheduled to make his eighth start at third base as the Padres experimented with sliding the veteran first baseman across the infield. Instead, Cory Spangenberg moved to third and Jose Pirela played second.

Rockies catcher Tony Wolters added an RBI triple and a run-scoring sacrifice fly for the rolling Rockies, who began the day 1 1/2 games behind NL West-leading Arizona.

Jacob Nix (1-2) turned in a solid outing in his first career road start. He allowed three runs over five innings.

“There’s still very much to like and a lot to look forward to,” Green said of his right-hander.

The Rockies improved to 24-24 against teams with a losing record. In contrast, they’re 45-33 versus those at or above the .500 mark.

“It shows you why you can’t sleep on anybody Womens Joe Flacco Jersey ,” said Carlos Gonzalez, who had an RBI single in the first.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Padres: INF Christian Villanueva has a fractured finger and will be placed on the disabled list, Green said.

ROSTER MOVE

The New York Yankees acquired catcher Chris Rabago off waivers from the Rockies and optioned him to Double-A Trenton. The move freed up a spot on the 40-man roster for the Rockies, which could potentially be used to add Matt Holliday. The slugger is currently hitting .346 with Triple-A Albuquerque.

GONE TO THE DOGS

It was a “ruff” night as a parade of pooches made their way around the field before the game as part of a promotion called “Bark at the Park.”

“This is the tail end of the dog days” of summer, Black joked. “This is the back end of the dog days.”

TROUBLESOME INNING

Spangenberg had an RBI double in the first, which has turned into a problematic inning for the Rockies. The starting pitchers have allowed 110 runs in the opening inning this season.

START OF SOMETHING

The Rockies have now won each of Gray’s last nine starts. It matches Ubaldo Jimenez’s stretch in 2010 for the team’s longest win streak during a pitcher’s starts in franchise history.

THIS & THAT

Gray was cruising along, retiring 12 straight, before SS Freddy Galvis lined a solo homer in the seventh. … Desmond scored two runs and stole a base.

UP NEXT

Padres LHP Joey Lucchesi (6-7, 3.79 ERA) makes his fourth career start against Colorado on Thursday. The Rockies counter with LHP Kyle Freeland (11-7, 2.96). He’s 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 11 starts at home.

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