Super Bowl Menus?

Probably the usual pizza and wings here. I think wings became a staple when the Bills went to 4 straight Super Bowls in the early '90s.

Have to determine if we are having guests before firming up plans.

The only for-sure so far are homemade tater tots, buffalo cauliflower and guac.

The only for-sure so far are homemade tater tots, buffalo cauliflower and guac.

Tell me about the homemade tater tots, please. I love home made french fries, nice thick ones, dressed with olive oil and roasted. So good.

We usually give at least a little thought to what foods are popular in the competing cities -- New Orleans made that interesting a while back.

I figured Denver is a good place for Chili, and Seattle for seafood. (Someone in the group pointed out that both places are known for marijuana these days and talked about having brownies, but presumably that's a joke).

So I think I will cook up a big pot of "Texas style" mostly beef chili. The flavor of tender beef cubes simmered for a long time with top quality chili powder is hard to beat, and I suppose it's become my go to recipe for our neighbor's Superbowl party. My neighbor took the Seattle suggestion seriously and he'll be making octopus with potatoes. Pulpo gallego, you see it served all over Spain.

I read somewhere that Denver chili is different in that you see green chili almost as frequently as red. But red is what I like best...

The only for-sure so far are homemade tater tots, buffalo cauliflower and guac.

Tell me about the homemade tater tots, please. I love home made french fries, nice thick ones, dressed with olive oil and roasted. So good.

Karen, I've not made these but the recipe caught my eye a couple of weeks ago and I immediately thought "Super Bowl!" I've seen other similar recipes and many are pan fried.

Hand-Formed Parmesan Tater Tots
Serves 4

3 large red potatoes (1 1/2 pounds)
2 cloves of roasted garlic
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 dash freshly ground sea salt
Olive oil for greasing pan

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Scrub the potatoes clean and roast until they are fork tender. Cool them rapidly by plunging them in ice water. Change the water, and repeat, until the potatoes are cool.
Shred the potatoes on the large holes of a box grater. You can peel them first; I didn’t.
Place the other ingredients into the bowl with the grated potatoes and use a fork to fully combine everything.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and rub it with a layer of olive oil.

Using about a teaspoon of the potato mixture, form it into a cylinder about 1 inch long. Place on baking sheet and repeat until all the tots are made.
Bake about 35 to 40 minutes, turning once about 20 minutes into the cooking time.

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Cowabunga! Those look great.

Looks like it will be just us, so we'll do nachos. Will jazz them up with our own Italian sausage crumbled, goat cheddar, and smoky Green Mountain salsa. Vermont salsa!!!! Yeah, Tex.

[Jenise]

Gotta have some smoked salmon for the home team, but I do declare those tater tots look supoib. Will have to do them, too! They'd actually be great with something I often make for marathon TV watching like a Superbowl: chunks of boneless chicken, marinated overnight in Dijon mustard with a bit of oil and lots of tarragon (enough that it's almost a batter), then rolled in a seasoned dry mix of half flour/half cornmeal.

Gotta have some smoked salmon for the home team, but I do declare those tater tots look supoib. Will have to do them, too! They'd actually be great with something I often make for marathon TV watching like a Superbowl: chunks of boneless chicken, marinated overnight in Dijon mustard with a bit of oil and lots of tarragon (enough that it's almost a batter), then rolled in a seasoned dry mix of half flour/half cornmeal.

Jenise, the chicken sounds great but I've been avoiding meat hence the buffalo cauliflower. I love to do smoked salmon on belgian endive leaves with creamy horseradish sauce. I think I may have to add that to my list!

[Jenise]

Have to admit the buffalo cauliflower sounds just as good, Fred. I love cauliflower and hot sauce, would be an excellent way to cut back on meat.

Wow - the tots sound great!

Cauliflower Buffalo Wings

1 Head Cauliflower
1 Cup Milk
¾ Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon Butter
½ Cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
½ Cup Blue Cheese Dressing

Preheat oven to 450 Degrees.

Trim the head of cauliflower into appetizer sized bites and set aside.

In a bowl stir together milk, flour and garlic powder. Dip each piece of cauliflower into the batter and allow the extra batter to drip off. Place on a greased baking sheet. Spray the tops of the florets with cooking oil. Bake for 18 minutes.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat and add the Frank’s hot sauce and stir. Toss cooked cauliflower pieces with the sauce. Put back on cookie sheet and bake for 5 to 7 more minutes in the oven. Remove and serve with a side of Blue Cheese Dressing.

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[Jenise]

Fred, I'm doing it.

Btw, I know you have gout. You don't have any problem with cauliflower?

Fred, I'm doing it.

Btw, I know you have gout. You don't have any problem with cauliflower?

I rarely have a bout with gout anymore, and when I do it's usually not the result of any one food or meal. Just excess over a number of days, like the holiday periods. I generally don't enjoy large holiday family get togethers (I know, sad isn't it?) and the stress of that combined with a few days of lots of food, wine, beer and general excess gets me.

On those rare occasions I have a scrip for an NSAID, Indomethacin and that knocks it pretty well. And an aside, it's not gout that's got me limiting meat, just a quest to continue to be healthy.

[Jenise]

And an aside, it's not gout that's got me limiting meat, just a quest to continue to be healthy.

Yes, I had supposed that from other things you've talked about. I just also remembered you saying you hardly eat asparagus anymore because of the gout problem, though, so I wondered if cauliflower wasn't also an issue. I thought they were the two worst in the vegetable bin.

We usually give at least a little thought to what foods are popular in the competing cities -- New Orleans made that interesting a while back.

I figured Denver is a good place for Chili, and Seattle for seafood. (Someone in the group pointed out that both places are known for marijuana these days and talked about having brownies, but presumably that's a joke).

So I think I will cook up a big pot of "Texas style" mostly beef chili. The flavor of tender beef cubes simmered for a long time with top quality chili powder is hard to beat, and I suppose it's become my go to recipe for our neighbor's Superbowl party. My neighbor took the Seattle suggestion seriously and he'll be making octopus with potatoes. Pulpo gallego, you see it served all over Spain.

I read somewhere that Denver chili is different in that you see green chili almost as frequently as red. But red is what I like best...

Super Bowl is at our house this year, my wife is making chili and an apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. The rest of the people are bringing "nibbles" whatever they so desire. Oh yeah, some white and red wine plus Nevada Pale ale. I think a couple of the people have a passing interest in football. The day has become a mandatory ritual.

[Jenise]

Lou, I'm coming to your house.

Lou, I'm coming to your house.

Any time, I'll sneak in a better bottle of wine for us without letting the rest of the people know like Richard Nixon did at state dinners. One of the few things he did that I understood.

I'm going to braise a corned beef brisket and slice the night before. Then I will make either custom reubens or corned beef sandwiches with sour cream potato salad, lots of beer (champagne for me and my girlfriend) and a citrus poundcake for dessert.

[Jenise]

Lou, I'm coming to your house.

Any time, I'll sneak in a better bottle of wine for us without letting the rest of the people know like Richard Nixon did at state dinners. One of the few things he did that I understood.

A maneuver I've never done--but am fully ready to should the situation arise that calls for desperate measures.

We're still trying to figure out where we'll be and what we'll eat.

The only for-sure so far are homemade tater tots, buffalo cauliflower and guac.

Are you a vegetarian? I don't think I picked up on that from your previous posts. The homemade tater tots sound interesting!

We're going to a Superbowl party at our club. They called it a BBQ, but I called ahead to make sure they were also having buffalo wings and guacamole before I RSVPed. That coulda been a deal breaker.