Cooking with Heat!

I love food almost as much as I love books! I thought this year I might start a new feature on my blog where I combine my two loves! I have a great friend, Susan Romito, who is an amazing cook and she's offered to help me!

This month, we're on the road to the Super Bowl! Even though the Super Bowl doesn't kick off until February 5, we wanted to leave you plenty of time to hit the grocery store and prepare the food. Anyone planning a party for the big game? I am and I can't wait to try the menu Susan has put together!

So without further ado…Susan…I hand the blog over to you. Susan, this is everyone. Everyone, this is Susan.

Thanks Mari! Boy, do I love football!!  For me there is nothing more relaxing than throwing on sweats, making some yummy food and spending the good part of the day in the den with the family.  And while the game can be fun to watch, there are other things about the whole football experience that I love.

First off – the commercials!  Especially during Super Bowl.  They are usually some of the funniest on the air.

Secondly – the uniforms.  Now I am not talking about colors, emblems, helmets or anything like that.  Being a gal who likes a good firm butt on a guy, football has the best uniforms to appreciate those "tight ends."  *wink*  It just makes watching the game all that more interesting.

And then there is my favorite part – the food!  Even if you are not a fan of football, you have to appreciate the food rituals that go with it–appetizers, chili, chips, wings, ribs, dips and many, many other things.  Super Bowl Sunday has become my favorite "food holiday."

So while Mari and I were discussing this post, we went a little overboard with the menu, which I tend to do anyway. Planning a party together with Mari was a dangerous combo!

Here is what we came up with.  I broke this down into categories, though if I had about 40 adults (or 10 adults and 10 teenage boys!) I would probably make all of this (I tend to overcook, but leftovers rock!!) . For any menu items that are starred, I have tried and true recipes that I will be sharing over the next week or so.

Dips (check back January 26 for these recipes):

*Hummus

*Feta Dip

Guacamole/Salsa/Chips

*Taco Dip

Appetizers (check back January 27 for this recipes):

*Uncle Charlie's Bean Salad

*Wings

*Bacon Wrapped Mini Dogs

Shrimp Cocktail

Breads (check back January 29 for these recipes):

*Sausage and Pepper Braid

*Sausage and Pepperoni Stromboli

*Anti-Pasta Bread

Corn Muffins

Main Dishes (check back January 30 for these recipes):

*Susan's Turkey Chili

*Pulled BBQ Sandwiches

Sausage, Peppers and Onions

Ribs

And…to get you into the spirit of the game, I thought I'd pull some random "football-like" lines from my books each day. Only rule of the game is each line must contain the WORD OF THE DAY. Today's word…Play!

From Because You Love Me:

"Yeah, well, just remember they're my cowboys, hot stuff. You can look, but no touching."

"Believe me, those two don't play for my team."

From Erotic Research:

"Oh." Julia giggled. "So I should let you play caveman while I pretend to be a chaste virgin and let you do all sorts of unspeakable things to me?"

"Now you're getting it."

From Inflamed:

"Hey, darlin'. I warned you before you joined that game, if you played with the big dogs, you were bound to get bit."

"Maybe so, but be warned, sometimes the puppy bites back."