How to Choose Your Super Bowl Menu

For any Super Bowl gathering, the most important consideration is the food. With kick-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (ET), a game-time menu sufficient to serve as dinner but easy enough to eat while sitting in front of a t.v. is essential. Of course, you need to consider who your guests will be and may also want to take into account the teams playing and the game’s location.

Consider The Teams

In case you missed it, the Baltimore Ravens are taking on the San Francisco 49ers in this year’s edition. Immediately I think crab cakes and sourdough bread. Maybe I’ll try my much-loved (by my family) Maryland-style crab cakes on sourdough rolls.

This recipe is based on “Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes” from Southern Living Annual Recipes Cookbook 20th Anniversary Edition, pared down consistent with my belief that the fewer the ingredients in crab cakes the better.

Chesapeake Crab Cakes

1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat, cleaned

1 large egg

4 saltine crackers, crushed

1½ t dried parsley flakes

¾ t Old Bay seasoning

½ t Worcestershire sauce

3 or 4 drops Tabasco or other hot sauce

1/8 t freshly ground pepper

3 T mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine egg and next 7 ingredients, then fold in crabmeat. Shape into 9 (2½”) patties and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly brown. Do not over bake.

Consider the Game Location

The Super Bowl is once again being played in New Orleans’ Superdome. The last time the game was held in the Big Easy, I went with a Mardi Gras theme, and a King Cake served as the table’s centerpiece.

The Southernique website, Bourbon & Boots, has put together a tasty cajun Super Bowl menu, including recipes, that foodies will love.

While that Naw’lins staple, crawfish, may be hard to find where you live, a jumbo shrimp platter is an obvious substitute. Just add a spicy cocktail sauce and my homage to the dearly departed Ukrops, “Sauce ala Joe”.

Sauce alá Joe

3 tablespoons mayonnaise (preferably Duke’s)

1 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

Blend together and refrigerate.

Consider Your Guests

As you will read more of later this week, our Super Bowl gatherings are all about family. A small group of moms, dads and children (now almost grown-up) has been gathering at our home (even when I have been out of town) for what has become a pseudo-holiday filled with annual traditions. Our kids expect to have certain foods and certain games and certain prizes. The menu contributed by all comers has evolved toward a southwest taste. This must have something to do with those Dallas Cowboy fans who keep showing up at our Steelers house, but whatever the reason, guacamole and Rotel dip just say football around here.

Last year I added these Santa Fe Sliders.

They were a big hit and will definitely be making a return appearance this year.

Santa Fe Sliders

1 lb. lean ground beef, turkey, chicken, pork or combination

1 cup Mexican cheese blend, divided

½ cup salsa, divided

¼ cup crushed tortilla chips (crush with a rolling pin in a ziploc bag)

¼ cup thinly sliced green onions (optional)

1 t ground cumin or chili powder

½ t garlic salt

12 slider buns or dinner rolls, split

Lettuce, tomato slices & guacamole (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine the ground meat, ¾ cup cheese, ¼ cup salsa, tortilla chips, green onions, cumin and garlic salt. Mix lightly but thoroughly and shape into 12 slider patties. Grill or broil patties on an oiled rack 5-6 inches from heat 5 minutes per side or until done to your liking. Place burgers on buns and top with remaining salsa and cheese. Serve with lettuce, tomato & guacamole.

So far the menu seems a bit schizophrenic but definitely game specific. To the Rotel dip, crab cakes, shrimp and Santa Fe burgers, we’ll add some healthy veggies and our traditional football cake.