We've been talking about Super Bowl food all week long, but we haven't said a peep about how to pull your viewing party together. But you weren't worried, because you know that here at Slashfood, we always come through for you! Our talented and intrepid Sarah J. Gim worked her fingernails down to nubs, creating an amazing and useful guide all about How to Throw a Super Bowl Party over on Mahalo.
She's got tips on who to invite, how to make invitations (although by this point, email is probably your best bet), how to create a festive feeling in your home (decorating with your team's colors is never a bad idea), ways to create clear viewing areas (she specifically suggests setting up multiple televisions) and lots of menu planning advice.
So go forth, read her helpful tips and plan a fantastic Super Bowl party!
If you are hosting a Super Bowl party at your house this weekend, the last thing you want is to be stuck in the kitchen while everyone else yells at the TV and eats all your food. I've made a quick list of items you can prepare ahead of time, which will leave you with more time to cheer for your favorite team.
Vegetables: Whether you are making a crudités platter or using them in other dishes, cut your vegetables the day before. Just make sure you wrap them separately and keep them refrigerated until you are ready to use them.
Dips: If you have been following along, we've been posting a Dip-a-Day here at Slashfood, and almost all of them can be prepared the day before.
"Mediterranean" is a broad enough term that you could include paella from Spain all the way to falafel
in Iran, with lots of Greek souvlaki in between. Since it's the Super Bowl and we want mess-free fingers foods, dips are
always a great idea, espcially since they can all be made the night before.
Nothing shrieks "Mediterranean" more than pita bread to me. To make the pita bread easier to dip, rather
than relying on a knife or spoon to spread, use pita chips instead of plain pita. You can either bake pita
wedges that have been brushed with olive oil in a 375 degree oven until crisp (Nicole adds spices to hers), or you can run over to
the market and buy the pita chips that are deep-fried. I think I know what you want. Here are some suggestions to serve
up Mediterrranean-style dips:
Hummus - nothing is easier than whizzing garbanzo beans with tahini, lemon juice, and
garlic in the food processor. Stefania has already given us her recipe, and I've got mine.
Baba ghanouj - hummus doesnt have to be the only dip. Baba ghanouj is a super easy roasted
eggplant dip. Simply cut 2 large regular eggplant in half lengthwise, generously brush the cut side with olive
oil, put them cut-side down on a baking sheet, and roast fo 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven until super soft. Scrape
the flesh into a food processor, add 1 Tbsp tahini, 2-3 cloves chopped garlic, 3-4 Tbsp lemon juice and salt to your
taste. Whiz until smooth. I also add a few dashes of cumin to give it a smoky flavor.
If you're planning your menu for the Super Bowl this coming weekend, we have been, and will be, putting up our
favorite snacks, desserts, drinks, and party ideas all week. Here they are so far, all in one lovely Super Bowl
buffet, including some links to other good stuff:
What are tapas? They're small portions of easy-to-eat
foods that accompany drinks. What is the Super Bowl? An opportunity for people to eat and drink (and watch some
football). Was this a match made in the locker room or what?
Start easy with a plate of Spanish meats, cheeses, olives, dried fruits, and nuts. Andrew has given us the best guide
to Serrano ham, a slightly drier version of Italian prosciutto, Manchego
cheese, and all of their siblings. As always, nuts and dried fruits are perfect accompaniments, like Marcona
almonds, dried figs and apricots, and quince paste.
Braising Spanish chorizo in a red
wine like rioja is easy, and sausage seems to match the event.
Everyone loves French fries, and while Spanish patatas bravas aren't
the same thing, they're fairly close - deep fried or oven-roasted with a lot of oil, then served with a spicy
tomato sauce, which is so much better than ketchup.
Croquetas are small fried balls or cakes. These can be made with just about anything, but I've made them with salmon. You can
use ground chicken or even chopped Serrano ham (both of which I've seen and tasted - excellent).
Spanish foods use a lot of garlic and a lot of lemon. Shrimp in a
simple garlic and lemon sauce is easy and fast to make (good for you) and tastes sooo good, especially if you make
it the night before (good for your guests).
While they're not necessarily Spanish, bacon-wrapped dates are all the rage
- something about the sticky sweetness of the dates beaten into submission by the smoky saltiness of bacon and cheese. I
tried some at LA's AOC, then re-created them at home. Simpy remove the pits from
the dates by making a lengthwise cut. Stuff a small rectangle of cheese inside,
then wrap the date with bacon. Using a half slice is a good idea if your dates are smaller. I used
Brie cheese, which was a bad idea because the cheese melted before the bacon cooked, so stick with something in the
same family as parmesan. To secure the bacon, use a toothpick, but I didn't and it worked out fine. Broil the
dates on one side for 4-5 minutes, then turn over and broil for another 4-5 minutes until the bacon is cooked.
Make a lot - a whole baking sheet of these at my party disappeared in 10 minutes,
So you're really going crazy, stocking up on food for the big game, but what
about the drinks? Sure, you could just get a case of beer and maybe a few six packs of soda, but since this only
happens once a year, why not go all out and make something special?
About.com has what looks like a tasty
concoction (though the Gatordade scares me a bit): Touchdown Tea. It's a punch, in a punch bowl, so it's a
little bit more exotic than cans of Budweiser (so women will like it too), and the guys will like it because,
well, it has a lot of booze in it:
one part vodka
one part tequila
one part rum
one part gin
one part triple sec
1 1/2 parts lemon-lime Gatorade
splash of cola
Fill a punch bowl with large chunks of ice. Pour the ingredients in. Stir a lot. Scream at the TV when a player
fumbles the ball on the two yard line. Enjoy.
If you are hosting a Super Bowl party at your house this weekend, the last thing you want is to be stuck in the kitchen while everyone else yells at the TV and eats all your food. I've made a quick list of items you can prepare ahead of time, which will leave you with more time to cheer for your favorite team. 
"Mediterranean" is a broad enough term that you could include paella from Spain all the way to falafel
in Iran, with lots of Greek souvlaki in between. Since it's the Super Bowl and we want mess-free fingers foods, dips are
always a great idea, espcially since they can all be made the night before.
What are 
So you're really going crazy, stocking up on food for the big game, but what
about the drinks? Sure, you could just get a case of beer and maybe a few six packs of soda, but since this only
happens once a year, why not go all out and make something special?
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