Hosting good eats on Super Bowl Sunday has been a tradition in our household for many years. It all started when we raided Trader Joe’s about ten years ago, realizing how much fun it was to eat a variety of foods–not just the typical chips and wings.
Since we moved to Brooklyn, Chris and I spent many a night pondering our Super Bowl spread, as we finally had some room to prepare and serve a large quantity of food. He volunteered to spend the weekend slicing and dicing for the main event, whereas I coordinated the snacks and treats that our guests would bring. Although neither of us were New York Giants fans, we hosted a “Go Giants” party in honor of living in New York City.
Leading up to the party, we were absolutely starving, so I picked up a pair of Proscuitto Biscuits from Brooklyn Larder.
Peppered with miniature pieces of proscuitto, these biscuits were awesome. They had a nutty texture, which added to the flavor. They appeared to be brushed with butter before they were baked, but it was still fun to slice them in half and spread some butter inside. Yum.
After filling our bellies, it was time to lay out the first course. Here are some of the highlights:
- Cowgirl Creamery Devil’s Gulch Cheese (shown in each picture above): being huge fans of Cowgirl Creamery, Devil’s Gulch was a no-brainer. The consistency was similar to Brie, but the red pepper flakes coated on the outside of the cheese added a wonderful kick in each bite.
- Robusto Cheese from Whole Foods: those who love nutty cheeses will fall in love with Robusto. It’s similar to aged parmesan in texture and flavor, and pairs very well with meats.
- Sopressata, Mortadella and Salame from Whole Foods: my favorite, hands down, is the mortadella. I consider this “bologna on crack.” The salame was nice too, but I found the sopressata much too fatty tasting for a snack.
While all our guests nibbled on the snacks spread, Chris was hard at work with final preparations for the mains he spent all weekend preparing. He staggered these dishes out over the course of three hours leading up to the game, so he didn’t have to cook during the game–this ended up being a wise plan.
- Korean Beef Tacos with Kimchi Slaw, Scallions and “Beef Concentrate”: Chris started prepping the beef two days ahead of the Super Bowl. He brined and slow-cooked it for hours. Being the master at slow-cooking meat, it was no surprise that the succulent beef chuck was not only spot-on in flavor, but was incredibly tender. The kimchi slaw was excellent, packing a tangy punch. The “beef concentrate”–drippings from the Korean beef boiled until concentrated–turned this Oriental favorite into a next level sensation. I added srichacha to my taco for an additional kick.
- Dr. Pepper Wings: using one of America’s favorite sodas, Chris made a sauce which surprised everyone in flavor. He could have called these Asian wings and you wouldn’t have known the difference. Our guests gobbled these up as well.
- Eggplant Parm: Chris spent about seven hours prepping for the eggplant parm the night before the game. I chuckled repeatedly and let him know I thought he was crazy–maniac even–but he was determined to make this dish. His blood, sweat and tears were well worth the effort. This was the dish of the night for our guests, who couldn’t stop raving about how delicious it was. Well done, Chris!
Although no one really had room for dessert after all the delicious food we had eaten prior to the game, we served multiple desserts during halftime. I advised most of our guests to bring desserts, so we were overloaded with sugary goodness.
- Robicelli’s Cupcake, Cannoli, Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pies, Momofuku Milk Bar Truffles
- Robicelli’s Buffalo Chicken, Chicken and Waffles Cupcakes
The pictures represent about ten percent of our total dessert volume, but should make you all drool. The Robicelli’s chicken cupcakes received an insane amount of press, so although they weren’t very tasty, this was a genius marketing move. I saw at least five articles published the following day about these cupcakes alone. I’ve eaten about fifty Momofuku Milk Bar truffles in my day, so I love having these at every party we host–they are that good. My shining star of the night was the Four and Twenty Blackbirds Salty Honey Pie. The consistency was similar to pumpkin pie, but the flavors were so different. I have quite a salty palette, so the specks of sea salt across the top of the slice were absolutely delicious paired with the honey in the pie.
As you can see, we had quite the variety of edible delights for our first Super Bowl party ever in Brooklyn. Now that we have room to host, we will undoubtedly throw this type of soiree every year. The Giants ended up winning the game, which livened the party up even more, and all of our guests left satisfied. If I have my way, the Chicago Bears will be victorious when we host our Super Bowl party next year! If Chris has his way, the New York Jets will win. Regardless of who plays in the championship game next year, all appetites will be satisfied.
