HOLIDAYS
HOLIDAYS
Referee Party Blitz
For some football fans, the Super Bowl is all about the game. For others, the Super Bowl commercials are the big draw.
When planning your Super Bowl party, get both sides involved with fun games centered on the commercials and not just the big game itself.
Read on and learn how to prepare winning decor, perfect dips, drinks, snacks, delicious recipes, and a Super Bowl Halftime Show of your own. Score!
Looking for more super recipes for your party? Try:
This dresses up to be a first-down party popper!
Ingredients
- 10 oz. Extra-Sharp cheddar, (half white cheddar and half orange cheddar) coarsely grated approx. 4
- 1/8 Tsp cayenne
- 3/4 Cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 Cup finely diced bottled roasted red peppers (rinse and pat dry before using)
- 1 French baguette (sliced crosswise 1/3-inch thick)
Steps
- Preheat broiler
- Stir together all ingredients, except baguette, plus salt and fresh pepper to taste.
- Spread bread thickly with cheese mixture.
- Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat until cheese is bubbling and browned, approx. 2 minutes.
Guests will cheer for this filling main dish that satisfies even the biggest appetites.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound chuck steak, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 6- ounce cans tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 cups diced fresh tomatoes
- 3 cups diced onions
- 3 cups diced red bell peppers
- 3 cups canned black beans, drained, rinsed (from three 15-ounce cans)
- 1 Cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 3/4 cups (about) beef broth
- Grated cheddar cheese
Steps
- Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add ground pork and ground beef and sauté until brown, about 3 minutes.
- Add cubed beef and garlic and sauté 5 minutes. Add 2 cups water; bring to boil. Add cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add tomato paste and sugar and simmer 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, onions, and peppers and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
- Add black beans and cilantro to chili. Add beef broth 3/4 cup at a time, until thinned to desired consistency. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated.)
- Bring chili to simmer. Ladle hot chili into bowls; top with grated cheddar cheese and serve.
These treats are delicious and adorable decorated with football picks.
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup butter or margarine, softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 small bananas, mashed (about 1 Cup )
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/8 Teaspoon salt
- 1/3 Cup buttermilk
- 1 Cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels
- Vegetable cooking spray
- 1 (16- ounce ) container vanilla or chocolate frosting
Steps
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, banana, and vanilla, beating until blended.
- Stir together flour, soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to banana mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat at low speed until blended after each addition.
- Stir in morsels.
- Place paper baking cups in muffin pans, and coat with cooking spray; spoon batter into pans, filling cups two-thirds full.
- Bake for 17 minutes.
- Remove cupcakes from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.
- Spread with frosting,
Super Bowl Party Supplies
Show your colors! Pick streamers, balloons, paper plates and napkins in your team's colors.
Make sure to find out which team your guests are rooting for so you can have both sides represented.
If it's going to be a "mixed crowd," consider decorating opposite sides of your TV room for each team if you're feeling generous. Otherwise, it's your place, so your team rules.
Music Selection
In case the half-time entertainment leaves much to be desired, score with these high energy SuperBowl tunes:
1. We Will Rock You/We are the Champions - Queen
2. Pump It Up - Danzel
3. Hot in Here - Nelly
4. Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones
5. Celebration - Kool and the Gang
6. Who Let the Dogs Out - Baha Men
7. Jump Around - House of Pain
8. Whoomp! (There It Is) - Tag Team
9. Feelin' So Fly - Toby McKeehan
10. That's the Way I Like It - KC & The Sunshine Band
Get the Party Started
- Since the SuperBowl is second to none for sport's enthusiasts, leave baskets of mini-chocolate footballs throughout the house as a sweet treat to get everybody ready for action.
- Start your party with a bang by putting a large bowl of plastic mini-footballs and sports trivia questions by the front door. As guests arrive, they get a favor and a great conversation starter.
- Not only do they have to look for someone to pass the ball with, they're then armed with sports trivia and know-how.
- Snack bowls placed strategically around your home are handy for keeping guests munching without having to fight the crowds at a snack table.
- Protect your big screen by having some yellow flags and soft foam footballs guests can toss when upset at the refs.
- Don't forget pom-poms! Whether they serve as decorations or as party props, they can add to the fun.
- Set up a second TV in the kitchen or another room besides your living room. Some of your guests may be there for the social aspect, and this will give them a place to chat while others are focused on the game.
- Keep team-colored accessories handy for those who want to go the extra couple of yards: plastic bead necklaces, whistles, rattles and other noisemakers (look for cheap post-New Year's Eve stuff), glow sticks and foam fingers.
Start your party before game time so you can psych everyone up. Everyone loves to root for their favorite player, so up the stakes a bit:
Preparation
- Have a bowl with star players' numbers written down on pieces of paper.
Steps
- When guests arrive, they pick a player to cheer on (again, separate the teams into two bowls so fans aren't rooting for the wrong team).
Add fun to friendly rivalry.
Preparation
- Pieces of paper for people to write answers on.
Steps
- You can have small door prizes for the lucky guest who picked the game's MVP or the player with the most points scored. Combine this with a traditional football pool and give your guests plenty of reasons to cheer.
Have fun even when the game isn't on!
Preparation
- Pass out commercial and concert score cards.
Steps
- With the commercials and concerts getting crazier and crazier each year, pass out "commercial and concert score cards."
- Have your guests rate each of the big commercials on a 1-5 star scale.
- After the game, tally up the winners.
Super Bowl:
Backstage at The
Ellen Degen...
Backstage at The
Ellen Degen...
One-Pot Meal: Twice
Drunken Chili
Drunken Chili
Elegant Super Bowl
Bites
Bites
