Time to start planning Superbowl menu

The rules are that everything has to represent one of the teams or the location of the game.  This year is pretty easy.  There are tons of choices for New Orleans and a pork tenderloin for Indy.  Also the game is in Miami so a good Cuban sandwich might be in order.  But I would like to hear what everyone is thinking would be the perfect menu.

 Whew! That was close.... Can you imagine a Vikings Lutefisk halftime buffet!?  

I already have the jar of Boscoli's Italian Olive Salad ready to use in the New Orleans muffaletta!

It's interesting to note that Drew Brees and Peyton Manning both have strong ties to both Indiana and Louisiana.

I'm going with a fusion theme: blackened pork tenderloin prepared by Paul Prudhomme and thrown across the floor by Bobby Knight.

Brad

From the last Colts Superbowl...

http://web.mac.com/davydd...l_Party_Appetizer.html

How about ... oh, wait. I forgot, I don't eat during football games. I watch the games.

AHI MPLS


 Whew! That was close.... Can you imagine a Vikings Lutefisk halftime buffet!?  

 I actually was really struggling with what I would have done with Minnesota.  I basically decided I would make a tater tot hot dish.

Keerist people tater tot hotdish only shows up at church suppers and funeral wakes served by old ladies. If the Minnesota Vikings had won it would have been wild rice soup and the deep-fried walleye sandwich would have been the one to one foil for Indiana's deep-fried breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. Both are the signature sandwiches of the respective states served in the grills, diners and restaurants. Louisiana though has much more to offer in food.

Red beans and rice with andoulli sausage, a big old green salad and cornbread. Dessert is bread pudding with rum sauce.
Who Dat?

ABT's...Russ

Search Atomic Buffallo Turds if you don't know what they are!

Here are a few styles and pictures.
http://www.bbqaddicts.com/blog/recipes/atomic-buffalo-turds/

http://blackirondude.blogspot.com/2009/02/atomic-buffalo-turds.html

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/atomic_buffalo_turds_or_abts_bacon_wrapped_stuffed_jalapenos/

Foods that can be made ahead and feed a crowd.  Also, dishes that can be kept warm in a crockpot, or on a simmer, that guests can help themselves to, and not be waited on.  Mbrooke has it right, red beans and rice.  Some other suggestions might be gumbo, jambalaya, bake a ham and serve it sliced with the fixings and condiments to serve on pistolettes(small french bread rolls), chunks or slices of hogshead cheese, or boudin.  Some guest will probably bring a king cake since it's the start of carnival.  I'm sure there's plenty  more..  
 
It's not a regional thing, but would guess most folks will have party wings, fried chicken, assorted finger sandwiches, mini muffaletas, hot dogs and chili, potato salad.

 

Crawfish ettoufee, rice and Davydd's pork tenderloin sliders. Lots of beer!

We started with Paul Prudhomme's Barbecued Shrimp.  It has been a long time since we've made this, and I forgot how good it is.



Chicken & Shrimp Etouffee for game time.  Hey X1, guess which team I'm pulling for?

Sushi Boat, Beff and Pork Satay....Russ

JRPfeff


We started with Paul Prudhomme's Barbecued Shrimp.  It has been a long time since we've made this, and I forgot how good it is.



Chicken & Shrimp Etouffee for game time.  Hey X1, guess which team I'm pulling for?

That looks a little offside!

Our inspiration didn't come until a few hours before game time today.  I'm not even sure what triggered it but, about mid afternoon, visions of shrimp and grits came dancing into my head.  We pulled out the one Paul Prudhomme cookbook we own to see what the possibilities were.  Shrimp Creole, Shrimp Orleans, and Shrimp Plaquemines all looked good, but maybe a little too "saucy" for shrimp and grits.  In spite of the fact that it is normally served as an appetizer, Shrimp Remoulade seemed the perfect topper to a plate of grits.

So, off to Costco and the local grocery store for whatever ingredients we didn't already have on hand.  Prudhomme's seasoning mix is pretty complicated and it seemed silly to purchase large quantities of any one spice when all that was needed was a half a teaspoon.  I was ready to settle on buying a jar of Prudhomme's premixed spices when I remembered we had a jar of Doe's Eat Place Poultry and Seafood Seasoning (presented to me, along with a jar of their steak seasoning, two T-shirts, and a beer bottle cozy, by Charles Doe himself as a trade for a mixed case of Roadhouse Bar-B-Que Sauces.  Hell of a deal) sitting in a cupboard back home.

We also had a bag of Jim Dandy Grits, purchased at a New Orleans grocery store when we were down there last October.  All I needed was the shrimp, a fresh bottle of Balsamic vinegar, some celery and a cucumber (the last three items for the Remoulade sauce) and we were in business.  As it turned out, the Costco demo ladies (dang they're persuasive) were handing out samples of various high end, flavored cheeses.  The smoked Gouda offered distinct possibilities for turning ordinary grits into Magnificent Cheese Grits, so naturally I bought a small block for shredding.

Cooking took place during the first three quarters of the game.  Consumption of the finished dish began just seconds before the Saints fourth quarter interception that put them up 31 to 17; locking in the victory.  Now, I'm not sayin' that our starting to eat our humble plates of Shrimp and Grits right at that crucial moment in the game had anything to do with the Saints winning, but at a certain upcoming Mardi Gras party I'll be looking for the first round of drinks (at least mine) to be covered by a certain New Orleans ex-pat who knows who she is...

You're welcome.

Geaux Saints!

Buddy

It's too soon to start planning a Superbowl menu.

My final menu was 2 recipes from Emeril's Louisiana Real and Rustic cookbook - Beef Boulettes with Garlic and Crab Pie.  The Boulettes were a little tough but the gravy was very good.  The crab pie was a huge hit.  I also just made some jambalya from a mix that I added quite a bit of things to.  I also made a muffaleta with salami, capicolla, mortadella, provolone and the olive salad which I think was the favorite and also the easiest to make.

And now it is way too long until the next football game.

Ours was a budget-geared non-geographic oriented menu.

Carnitas Burritos with the usual cheese and bean pasting the Seasoned Pork Shreds to the Tortillas (Pork Butt was on sale for $.79/lb this week)

Costco Crab and Corn Chowder. ($10/2 large containers)

Smoked Salmon with whipped Chive Cream Cheese on a variety of flavored Triscuits...Roasted Garlic being my personal favorite. Salmon $18/1.6 lb pre-sliced...Triscuits coupon special at 99 cents a box.

Vernors was my beverage of choice this year.

I just watched the game.

So you said earlier.  Be careful Michael, you're starting to repeat yourself.  Old age finally catching up with you, eh?

Buddy

Since New Orleans is going to repeat, it should get easier next year!