A Super Spread

Once again the Foodies celebrated the Super Bowl

with a Super Spread.

Despite the fact that we were just an hour away

from the Spectacle this year,

we opted to watch from home.

I apologize for the wait for this post,
but we lost Internet for a day
thanks to our router
and then I had other things going on and then
I had other computer problems,
yada, yada, yada.

But finally, here it is.

Saturday morning I plopped a pork shoulder picnic roast

into the slow cooker.

Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and about

half a cup of homemade turkey stock went into the  mix.

This cooked at medium heat for about 8 hours.

Bonus!

It was on sale.

The meat was not quite tender after 8 hours

and we couldn't break it down into bite size pieces

using forks.

I decided to call it a day and popped the still-tough pork

back into the fridge and saved the juice in a separate

container and put that in the fridge as well.

The next morning the pork went back into the 

slow cooker along with a bit of the jellied sauce.

After a few hours, 

we were able to break down the meat into 

bite-size pieces.

Then I added my special BBQ sauce to the pulled pork.

Next up, the drunken mini sausages.

I threw in a dash of catsup,

a sprinkle of Tamari,

a soupcon of Worcestershire sauce,

a healthy splash of red wine,

a plop of compacted brown sugar,

a bit of grated onion and one garlic clove, grated.

I never follow a recipe for this.

Sauces are not science,

they are an art form.

And they drift in the winds and the whims

of desires.

What you like today is not what you will like tomorrow.

So taste, taste, taste.

Or you can follow the recipe.

Whatever floats your boat.

Next up is a hot cheese dip.

I started with a "pre-bought" cheese dip

and proceeded to Semi-Ho it, 

ala Sandra Lee, minus the seasoning packets.

I added a splash of sherry, 

a tablespoon of grated onion,

a tablespoon of grated sharp cheddar cheese,

and 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder to the cheese dip.

Stir and heat over low heat in a small slow cooker.

The sausages and the cheese dip are ready for 

the football fans.

I love this dual slow cooker that I got for Christmas.

And the rest of the food is set out.

Who cares who wins?

The food is good and the commercials are good.

Isn't that what is really important

about this day?

Oh, there are football teams playing?

Really?

Who knew?

Super Spread II

As is our usual tradition, we prepare a Spread of appetizers for this Super day. Having already made some seasoned tortilla chips and salsa yesterday, I am ready to finish preparing the food for our buffet.

First up we have Drunken Hot Dogs. Ingredients are red wine, catsup, barbecue sauce, hot dogs, onion, garlic, brown sugar and celery seed.

The ingredients for the sauce go into the slow cooker. I opted to grate both the garlic and the onion this time around.

I cut the hot dogs into 1/2-inch slices. These too went into the slow cooker.



Now it's time to move on to Beef Barbecue. This, like all the dishes on today's menu, was requested by my family. The Beef Barbecue can either be eaten in a sandwich or as part of nachos.

My mother-in-law, who used to work in the office at an elementary school, got this recipe from a cook there.

The ingredients are 1 pound ground beef, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup catsup, 2 tablespoons chopped onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper.

After the beef is cooked and drained, the rest of the ingredients are added and the meat is cooked for about 3-1/2 minutes in the microwave.





The Beef Barbecue is ready.

As are the Drunken Hot Dogs.

While I was working on the meat dishes, my daughter made the Cheese Ball and got out some of the other items for the spread. We sent my husband out to the grocery store to get a couple of items that I had forgotten: namely buns and crackers.

We also have a store-bought veggie tray and chips and dip. Some of these other items seen here will be moved to other Stations.

Here is the Meat Station. The Drunken Hot Dogs are kept warm in the slow cooker and the Beef Barbecue is in the chafing dish. The mini buns await their filling.

The Nacho Station contains plates for the nachos to be heated in the microwave, chopped onions, salsa, shredded mozzarella cheese (my daughter's favorite), shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, Romaine lettuce, and of course the store-bought tortilla chips. The meat is waiting on the Meat Station.


And of course we have to have the Drinks Station. A pitcher of Whisky Sours sits next to some whisky, margarita mix and tequila.

Looks like I'm ready to eat.

Just in case you were wondering, we'll be cheering for the Steelers to win, since Big Ben Roethlisberger is from my husband's and my alma mater, Miami University (in Ohio).

And just to annoy my football-loving family: I hope Big Ben gets a hole-in-one in the ninth inning.

A Super Spread: The Highlight Reel

We come back from the first commercial break and the announcer shyly admits that she missed two of the players on tonight’s lineup: the Sassy Turkey Bites and the Sassy Chicken Bites. She will be forced to endure the good-natured ribbing from her colleagues for the remainder of the game.

1st quarter, 3rd and 15: The coach is reducing the beef consommé and beef juices in a saucier on the stovetop when her assistant coach, Mr. P, asks her to peel an onion so he can make his cheese ball. While I am peeling, my husband points out that the liquid in the pan is bubbling over onto the stovetop. I instruct Mr. P to pick the pan up and get it off the heat. Seeing that he is hesitant to do so, I rush over to remove the pan from the heat. The referee calls: Illegal motion on the play; 5 yard penalty.

2nd quarter, 2nd and 5: The coach is preparing the Sassy bites and asks for her star player to go in to the game to take care of the chicken bites.
Kelley: why do I have to help?
Me: because this party is for you and Justien too, and she’s allergic to turkey.
Kelley: I didn’t ask you to make all these appetizers.
Me: well, I could do what other people do and make a pot of chili.
Kelley: Ugh, I hate chili.
Me: then get to work.
The call on the play is face mask; 10 yard penalty.

3rd quarter, 1 and 10: The food is ready and the players and assistant coach are ready to help themselves when. *Whistle* Mr. P is caught trying to use the tongs for the Sassy Chicken Bites for the Sassy Turkey Bites (remember, one person here is allergic to chicken, the other is allergic to turkey). He gets a chorus of "Don't cross-contaminate the food!" for his trouble. The call: Unsportsmanlike conduct; 15 yards.

The 2 minute warning: While the assistant coach and the players are engrossed in the game, the coach, after having ensured that the cold food stayed cold and the hot food stayed hot, begins to clean up and put things away. Dishes are cleaned by hand, the dishwasher is full and ready to be run at a later time, and the kitchen faucet has been cleaned of debris so the water once again flows nicely. And how else did the coach pass the time? She surfed the internet, watched Wedding Cake Challenges on Food Network. She turned the channel to HGTV when the challenge with the annoying bride came on, she read a chapter of Anthony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour. Then, after all was put away and cleaned up, she went to bed before the final play. After all, the coach had taught her assistant and her players well. She knew they would do their jobs and win the game.

A Super Spread

Even though I rarely watch the Big Game, I like to prepare several finger foods for my family. This year there will be four of us as my daughter's friend is coming over to watch the big game on the big screen.

I started working on the food on Friday: chopping vegetables for the veggie pizza.

Then, last evening after we got back home, I got the beef roast into the slow cooker so it could cook slowly all night long.

The beef roast is ready to be seared and then slow cooked.

The beef roast and a cup of beef consomme in the slow cooker.

Now it's time to shred the meat. I ended up picking it apart by hand.

The shredded beef in the homemade barbecue sauce.

Some of the potential players for the sauce. I opted to not use the balsamic vinegar. But I did add some pre-made barbecue sauce to the mix.

Really, you can add anything to your barbecue sauce. And before you ask, Rosie, yes. Even those smelly old gym socks. For the rest of you, that's a joke. Smelly gym socks do not make for a good sauce.

I reduced the beef consomme from the roast and used some of it in the barbecue sauce.

The finished sauce.

Now, this is looking good. And it tastes even better. I'm good. Oh yeah.

Today I baked the crust for the veggie pizza. I bet you can't tell what whack-a-dough product I used for this.

I spread a light ranch veggie dip on the reduced-fat crust. Healthy, isn't it?

And here we have the special teams members. Pre-shredded cheddar cheese, broccoli florets, cauliflower, sliced carrots, chopped sugar snap peas, diced red onion, and celery. I sometimes also add bacon, but as my husband points out, then it is no longer a veggie pizza.

Looks like we have a touchdown, folks!

And now for the adult libations. Cocktail time is the best time of the day!

One cup water and one cup granulated sugar. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. This should give you about 1 1/3 cups of simple syrup.

Meanwhile, measure out 2 cups of whisky and juice about 8 lemons.

Strain the lemon juice and add 2 cups of the juice to the mix. Add about 3 cups of ice and stir.

And we have whisky sours. Please notice the lack of choking hazards (besides the ice).

Cheeseball and crackers, cheese cubes and cut fruit with dip round out our dinner. Play ball! (Oops, wrong sport.)