Super Bowl Sunday

[Julie Brosterman]

julie@womenwine.com www.WomenWine.com

From a culinary perspective, Super Bowl Sunday is becoming bigger than Thanksgiving.

I have a couple of theories about this - there's no pressure to impress the in-laws, no worrying about the timing of food or the shortage of ovens, no "political correctness" of what to serve. You make what you want - they eat it or don't. No one is stuck in the kitchen. The food is prepared and displayed and it's every man (or woman) for themselves.

And it's understood that there's no set time to eat - it's the ultimate grazing day.

Here in LA there are record high temperatures which make it the perfect Sunday for an indoor/ outdoor feast. A new friend - our connection is food and wine and liking to talk at the same time - says that he will bring over two fabulous wines the Shafer 2001 Hillside Select and the Colgin 2003 Syrah if I'll whip up some goodies for a casual pre-Super Bowl luncheon at 2:30.

Now, even though my list of things to do today was longer than my arm - who could resist an offer like that?

I'm still in pajamas at noon when we come up with this idea and so I quickly dash into the kitchen to whip up some suitable accompaniments while dialing my husband to make a quick detour to the Whole Foods while heading home from the gym.

He arrives from the market a half hour later and the beginnings of a beautiful buffet lie in front of us. I've grilled eggplant with farmer's market fresh feta, blood oranges peeled and thinly sliced with chopped mint from the garden in a pool of blood orange vinegar, fresh tuna (grilled) sashimi nicoise salad, assorted cheeses, proscuitto and peaches, freshly marinated anchovies and, with their arrival, the addition of an incredible organic Italian salami that blows my mind for it's soft moist texture and well-rounded flavor.

Not too spicy, not too peppery, just a simple salami.

With two different baguettes - we are now set.

The guests have arrived and the hours disappear. The Colgin is drinking beautifully right out of the bottle - a perfect wine with this array of delights. Someone mentions that it's time for the game, so even though we're on the terrace of our bedroom taking in the last of the day, we turn it on for the occasional peak at the screen.

We're ready for the Shafer now and I recount to our guests the story of how Doug's dad came to the Stag's Leap District in Napa in the 60's. He was the founder of the company that created the Dick and Jane readers that we grew up with - those thin short books that we used to learn how to read.

Run Dick. Run. See Jane. See Spot. See Jane run after Spot.

Wow. Much simpler times. No color tv, no vcr or tivo - a 'treat' to be able to have a Swanson frozen TV dinner.

Anyway, it seems that in the 60's, Doug said that his Dad approached the publisher of the books with the insight that there should be some audio or visual medium that they should explore to enhance the distribution potential of the Dick and Jane series.

If I remember clearly (and this is definately aging me), this was in the era of "film strips", those celluloid rolls that went through a projector with the manual turn of each frame....

Anyway, the publisher couldn't see that far down the road so Doug's dad ditched everything to move the family out to the beautiful site where they are now. Prime land for making gorgeous wines.

So I've gotten a bit off of the story (it's still Super Bowl Sunday).

We open the 'Select' - it's clinging to the glass and the intensity of the color is makes us think of chocolate. So we raid the cupboards and find a hidden a new bar of Scharffen Berger dark chocolate and some biscotti and the menu is complete.

I'm writing this as the rest of the guests linger in the tv room now glued to the Super Bowl screen. The sun is setting and the sky will soon be aflame with one of those great LA winter sunsets.

I think - this is so simple. Why do we love a day like the Super Bowl for eating and getting together with friends so much? It is really all about the game or is is also tapping into a place where we can be informal and casually eat and drink with good friends without the pretense or pressures of a formal holiday.

Eat, Drink, Superbowl Sunday. It could be a new mantra in the culinary world.

Julie

Edited February 6, 2007 by Julie Brosterman (log)

[srhcb]

julie@womenwine.com www.WomenWine.com

From a culinary perspective, Super Bowl Sunday is becoming bigger than Thanksgiving.

I have a couple of theories about this - there's no pressure to impress the in-laws, no worrying about the timing of food or the shortage of ovens, no "political correctness" of what to serve.  You make what you want - they eat it or don't. No one is stuck in the kitchen. The food is prepared and displayed and it's every man (or woman) for themselves.

And it's understood that there's no set time to eat - it's the ultimate grazing day.

.....................

I think - this is so simple. Why do we love a day like the Super Bowl for eating and getting together with friends so much? It is really all about the game or is is also tapping into a place where we can be informal and casually eat and drink with good friends without the pretense or pressures of a formal holiday.

Julie

←

Maybe because it's a "holiday" invented by men to celebrate a predominately male pastime? As such, it's almost the antithesis of a formal holiday like Thanksgiving.

No doubt, as time goes by, Super Bowl Sunday will become civilized and structured as more and more emphasis is placed on the "family" aspect of the event.

SB (but then again, the powers that be do allow televised football on Thankgiving! )

[MarketStEl]

julie@womenwine.com www.WomenWine.com

From a culinary perspective, Super Bowl Sunday is becoming bigger than Thanksgiving.

I have a couple of theories about this - there's no pressure to impress the in-laws, no worrying about the timing of food or the shortage of ovens, no "political correctness" of what to serve.  You make what you want - they eat it or don't. No one is stuck in the kitchen. The food is prepared and displayed and it's every man (or woman) for themselves.[...]

I'm still in pajamas at noon when we come up with this idea and so I quickly dash into the kitchen to whip up some suitable accompaniments while dialing my husband to make a quick detour to the Whole Foods while heading home from the gym.

He arrives from the market a half hour later and the beginnings of a beautiful buffet lie in front of us. I've grilled eggplant with farmer's market fresh feta, blood oranges peeled and thinly sliced with chopped mint from the garden in a pool of blood orange vinegar, fresh tuna (grilled) sashimi nicoise salad, assorted cheeses, proscuitto and peaches, freshly marinated anchovies and, with their arrival, the addition of an incredible organic Italian salami that blows my mind for it's soft moist texture and well-rounded flavor.

Not too spicy, not too peppery, just a simple salami.

With two different baguettes - we are now set.

I think - this is so simple. Why do we love a day like the Super Bowl for eating and getting together with friends so much? It is really all about the game or is is also tapping into a place where we can be informal and casually eat and drink with good friends without the pretense or pressures of a formal holiday.

Eat, Drink, Superbowl Sunday. It could be a new mantra in the culinary world.

←

Somewhere on NFL.com, there are two photos: One of the coin toss at the very first "AFL-NFL Championship Game" in January, 1967, between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, and another of the coin toss at Super Bowl XL last year between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks.

There were about seven people on the field for the first one, and about 50, including the camera crew (absent from "Super Bowl I"), for the 40th.

I think we have a similar escalation going on at the buffet table. What you describe is indeed simple, but it's a far cry from chips, salsa and dip, and even several notches above Buffalo wings, blue cheese dressing and seven-layer dip.

Maybe because it's a "holiday" invented by men to celebrate a predominately male pastime?  As such, it's almost the antithesis of a formal holiday like Thanksgiving. 

No doubt, as time goes by, Super Bowl Sunday will become civilized and structured as more and more emphasis is placed on the "family" aspect of the event.

SB (but then again, the powers that be do allow televised football on Thankgiving! )

←

Julie provides evidence of the transformation in progress with her own family's Super Bowl party.

But then again, the Super Bowl has evolved into a something-for-everyone event. Not a big football fan? Then join the 50% of the Super Bowl audience that makes the game one of the few TV programs people watch for the commercials. (On the bus to Widener this morning, the people seated in front of me were all busy dissecting their favorite commercials from this year's Supe. I had to join in.)

As the audience has expanded, so has the menu. Frat-house party fare just won't cut it any more, and even pub fare has become somewhat limiting. OTOH, there are still plenty of ways to keep it simple: a cheese platter will work just as well, only maybe with something other than Cheddar and Monterrey Jack cubes on it.

As the football game is the point of the event, the food will never take over completely. Contrast this to Thanksgiving, where the roles of the food and the football are reversed. But I think both of you are right that it will become a more important--and more sophisticated--part of the overall celebration.