The annual celebration of testosterone we call the Super Bowl is as much about spectacle as it is about sports. For all the football-related whoop-de-do before, during and after, many — perhaps most — of those watching will be more concerned with the commercials, the halftime show or the general party atmosphere of camaraderie, food and drink.
That last part’s what I’m here to help you with. Out of respect for the spectacle, construct an edible stadium for your game-day guests that loudly proclaims “football” and offers enough junk food to keep everyone munching at least until halftime, when you can break out some solid food.
And with just a little creative shopping, you can color-code your creation to match Sunday’s teams.
I don’t pretend to have come up with this concept on my own. If you ask the internet to show you pictures of football-themed food, many snack-food stadiums will appear. What I’ve done is theme this stadium to Sunday’s game (by color and hometown culinary traditions), scale the recipes to size and break down the building process.
Now, as construction takes some time, my recipes take advantage of prepared convenience food. But to up your game, so to speak, you can make all the dips from scratch or, for that matter, fry your own chips. I’ll leave that to you.
The edible-field concept also lends itself to other dining options:
>> Salad bar: Fill the field with salad greens, the end zones with dressings. Surround the stadium with cut vegetables. The wall could be slices of a baguette.
>> Dessert bar: Frost a cake green for the field; fill the end zones with fruit (blueberries and strawberries would get you the right colors). Around the field: cookies, brownies and/or miniature cupcakes.
The pans
The field is a 10-by-12-by-1-1/2-inch foil baking pan. The end zones are 10-by-6-inch pans, each created by cutting down a larger pan: Slide one side of the pan into the other, tape together and line with foil to prevent leaks. Pans are inexpensive, found in discount stores and supermarkets, usually sold in twos.
The wall
Rice Krispies Treats are connected with toothpicks. It takes 32 treats to make it all the way around, leaving space for “spectators.” Make your own if you’re ambitious, or buy a value pack of several flavors.
Yard lines
Place sour cream in a sealed plastic bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner of the bag. Squeeze out lines, using a straight edge as a guide. Make smaller perpendicular hash marks, as well, if you’re really particular.
Goal posts
These are Slim Jim meat sticks, the crossbars held in place with toothpicks. Cut off the rounded ends. A layer of refried beans under the guacamole will support the posts.
Players
Pieces of Slim Jims make up one team; cheese sticks make up the other. Cut off ends of the Slim Jims to make helmets, and stick two ends together make the ball. The other team wears cheese-cube helmets. To better match this year’s team colors, you could use grape tomatoes for the Atlanta Falcons and white cheese sticks for the New England Patriots (they’re wearing white on the field).
The dips
Atlanta Peach Salsa: Peel one fresh peach and dice meat; mix into prepared chunky tomato salsa (a 2-pound jar is about right).
Guac & Bean Dip: Spread 2 (16-ounce) cans refried beans in bottom of the pan. Top with 3/4 cup sour cream, then 2 cups guacamole.
New England Clam Chowder Dip: Blend 1 (18.5-ounce) can clam chowder (don’t dilute) with 8 ounces softened cream cheese. Season with salt, pepper and dill to taste.
The chips
Red choices are easy: These are Flamin’ Hot Funyuns, but Doritos, Cheetos and other chips come in red as well. For Patriots blue, however, the best you can do is blue corn chips. For white: shrimp chips, white corn chips or even popcorn.
Write By Request, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or email requests to bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.
