Superbowl Party Foods

We host a Superbowl Party each year and this year was no exception.  Unfortunately this time of year the weather can be a bit unpredictable so while we were expecting about thirty we ended up with about half that.  It really was a rather nasty day and evening with a fair amount of snow and drifting.  The party usually starts about 11:30 AM and runs into the wee hours of the morning depending on weather conditions.  It is not uncommon to have a few overnight guests as well.  This means I have to plan for afternoon and evening snacking as well as dinner.  The offerings included: pigs in a blanket, sausage rolls, nachos with salsa and cheese, chili with toppings and dinner rolls, mac & cheese (my husband's insistence), vegetable tray with sesame garlic dip, potato chips, pretzels and peanuts.   I had decided on what I was serving earlier that week so it didn't take much to pull things together.   One of our guests brought meatballs and venison sausage.  There was a lot of food and I had back-ups to bring out if necessary.

I made the chili the day before the party.  Now this is my famous from scratch chili and I do mean from scratch.   I use home canned tomatoes, home canned tomato sauce and home canned kidney and black beans.  Sometimes I use the beans from dry after being soaked overnight.  It is a long, slow cook chili that takes several hours then is always left overnight to allow the flavours to develop. 

We were expecting about thirty.  I found that my largest stock pot was taking a bit too much attention while the chili slowly simmered.  We devised plan B by pouring the chili into two roasting pans and letting them reduced enough so that the chili would fit in the largest roasting pan.  This roaster will easily hold a 24 lb turkey.  As you can see it was quite full!  I put some of the chili into the slow cooker to warm the next day

During our recent trip to our vacation house we enjoyed a multitude of some of the best BBQ ever.  My husband loves anything with cheese!  One of his favourite sides during our BBQ adventures was a mac & cheese with a smokey flavour.  He set about duplicating the dish.  I will tell you his recipe is not for the faint of heart but it was ever so tasty!  He made a large batch that went in a flash with only about a cup left over that I scooped out for his lunch the next day.

Superbowl Smokey Mac & Cheese
source:  Mr. Garden Gnome aka my dear husband

1 - 900 g package elbow macaroni
1½ c mozzarella cheese
¾ large spanish onion, chopped
1 lb Velveeta cheese
1 lb Monterray jack/cheddar cheese mix
½ lb cheddar cheese
¼ lb butter
3 tbsp cottage cheese
4 tbsp sour cream
3-4 drops liquid smoke

Shred cheeses.  Finely chop onion.  Cook and drain elbow macaroni according to instructions on package.   Pour hot macaroni into roasting pan.  Stir in remaining cheeses and liquid smoke.  Stir well to mix.  Let cool and refrigerate until the next day.  Place the roasting pan in the oven at 250ºF about a 1½ hrs before serving.  Heat through until golden brown on top and cheese is melted.

Serves 20 - 25