Planning the Ultimate Super Bowl Party: Food is Everything

Super Bowl Sunday is a holiday. Think about it! The banks are closed, government offices are closed and friends and family gather together at whoever's house is the largest...or in reality, whoever has the largest screen on their television set. Grocery and department stores set up huge displays to sell consumers all the paraphenalia they will need for that special day.

Like any holiday, the food is the center of attention. The difference in Super Bowl Sunday and Christmas or Thanksgiving, is that you want your food warm and inviting, yet simple and easy. The reasons for these guidelines are many. First, the end of January is usually really cold. Many will have several inches of snow to tread through to get to their viewing place. Second, you want foods that people can come and go and nibble at during commercial breaks. You might consider doing main dishes in crock pots where they will stay hot. Need some help? Not to worry....I've got some great ideas to pass along.

The Pre-Game Show... The Appetizers: It isn't just celery anymore.

The announcers are going to be going over the line-ups, breaking down the teams differences and giving us a list of the Patriots and Giants latest injuries, and their predictions of who will play and who will not. A devoted fan will already know these things, so you will want to have something during this time to keep Uncle Bill from going to sleep and drooling on your new sofa. Of course, you can do the traditional veggie tray with ranch dip, or maybe some sliced fruit with either a caramel or cream cheese based dipping sauce (A really easy one is an 8 ounce box of cream cheese mixed with a jar of marshmallow cream-that's it)
But you need something that is going to show everyone that you were the perfect hostess choice over Brad's wife who always has the same tired cheese dip and salsa!

Remember S'mores from summer camp? They're as American as apple pie and well...football. Now, you can make em' right at home....only with a slight twist.

Chocolate Patriot Pockets

3 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
Dash ground cinnamon
1/4 c. chocolate syrup
2 tbsp. milk

1 box of Cinnamon Graham Crackers
1 jar of Marshmallow Cream

First, make sure your cream cheese is very soft. You don't want big hunks of cream cheese in between your graham crackers.

Mix cream cheese, peanut butter and cinnamon and beat with electric mixer until very smooth. Beat in chocolate syrup and milk and continue to mix until you have a creamy texture, that is stiff enough to spread.

Microwave chocolate mixture, and jar of marshmallow cream on LOW until hot, but be carefult not to let marshmallow scorch.

On a graham Cracker, spread a generous layer of chocolate, then add a spoonful of hot marshmallow cream. Place another graham cracker on top.

Chicken strips can be purchased at almost any football stadium in America, at any level. But this is the Super Bowl! Plain chicken won't do here! This recipe can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to. Make your own meatballs, cook your own shrimp, and bread your own chicken and fry it. You could even get a recipe for sweet and sour sauce and make your own. Or you can do as I do....and head for the shelves and freezer sections and buy everything pre-cooked.

Giant Touchdown Suprises

3 large jars of Sweet and Sour Sauce.
1 pound of all-Beef Meatballs
1 pound of Chicken Bites
1 pound of Shrimp.

Place all meat together in a large sauce pan and cover with sweet and sour sauce. Heat on very low heat (it will burn if you aren't really careful) until sauce is warm and bubbly and meat is heated thoroughly. Of course, this means that you are going to have to do the taste tests! Pour mixture out onto a serving platter and place a toothpick into each piece of meat. I even went to the party store and bought toothpicks with little plastic football flags attached.

Or go one step further, and cook a box of Minute Rice, put it on the tray first and then pour the meat and sauce on top of the rice. Forget the toothpicks if you do this fade route.

Kick-off Time

We have a Lasagna-eating tradition at our house on Super Bowl Sunday. It started the very first year that Mike and I got married. Over the last 21 years, I have improvised and improved until now we have the ultimate lasagna. The name changes from year to year, depending on which team we're rooting for. This year...we are divided.

I cannot bring myself to root for the Giants since they knocked out my beloved Cowboys. Mike simply doesn't like New England. So what is the lasagna called this year?

Linebacker Lasagna

Sauce: 2 pounds ground beef, browned
2 large cans of tomato sauce
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all this together and heat so that your seasonings will dissolve well.

Cheese: 32 ounces of Ricotta Cheese
2 eggs, beaten
16 ounces of Parmesan Cheese
Mix these three ingredients together

2 pounds of Lasagna Noodles
2 pounds Mozzarella Cheese

You want to cook your noodles until they are pliable, but not so soft that they break when you touch them. I cook mine about 6 minutes.

Spray the bottom and sides of an aluminum roasting pan generously with non-stick cooking spray.
1. Place a layer of noodles. shingling them so that no sauce leaks out. If you have room at the ends, you can tear a piece in half to cover this spot.
2. Cover the noodles with a layer of Ricotta mix. Spread a huge spoonful over all the noodles.
3. Layer this with sauce, again spreading all the way to the edges.
4. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese goes over the top of this.

Start all over and continue layering until all your ingredients are gone. You want to make sure your top layer has the most Mozzarella Cheese...to give that stringy effect when you serve it up.

Bake for 50 minutes in a 375* oven .... You might time it where it's ready right before kick-off or maybe even half time. Serve with garlic or garlic-cheese bread

This year we're also going to do a Souper Super Sunday. One crock pot in honor of each of the Quarterbacks.

Eli Manning is from the south. We in the south are known for our Chili. Naturally, I will make it from scratch, as Southerner's do. Several years ago, I saw a cookbook that was called something like "Kid Proof Cooking". It was wonderful recipes that used different spices rather than big chunks of veggies, so that kids would eat it. All the flavor, none of the stuff that gets left on plates. I got a recipe for chili from it, and then made it my own.

Rebel Chili

2 pound of lean ground beef, browned
2 (46 ounce) cans of tomato juice
4-6 Tablespoons of Chili Powder (hot hot do you want it)
6 Tablespoons of Onion Powder
3 Tablespoons of Garlic
4 cans of chili beans
Shredded cheddar cheese

After browning your beef, put it into your crock pot with the 2 cans of tomato juice and cook it on high all night the night before. This is going to make your meat so tender that it will melt in your mouth. The next morning, stir in all your spices until they are dissolved into the hot meat mixture. Add your chili beans and continue to cook this on low the rest of the day. Serve with cornbread or crackers and put out a bowl of cheddar cheese so that guests can garnish if they'd like.

Tom Brady has literally come coast to coast. Born in California, he went to college in Michigan and now lives in New England. What more could someone ask for? Something that will remind them of home! So, in honor of Tom's mom....I'm making:

Mom's Chicken Soup

2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups boiling water
2 large cans chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped fresh onion
2 cans of boiled, sliced potatoes
1 can of sliced carrots
1- 16 ounce package of egg noodles
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning

Cube chicken and chop onion. Place all seasonings into crock pot and add boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Add cubed chicken, onion and chicken broth. Cook on high all night. You want your chicken and onion really tender. The next morning, turn down to low, and add potatoes, carrots and noodles. If necessary, add more chicken broth or water to ensure noodles are completely covered. Cook at least 5 hours on low so that all veggies are very soft and all flavors have mixed together. Great with cornbread, garlic bread or crackers.

Now you've got a great meal to serve those hungry football fans. Regardless of whether they're a Patriot....or a Giant in the land!