In case you haven't been paying attention, the Super Bowl is this weekend, pitting the San Francisco 49ers against the Baltimore Ravens. I know
who I want to win the game, but truthfully, this year, I don’t much care (no
New York Giants!). But the real reason I don’t much care is the Super Bowl
party I give—that’s my focus!
We’ve had a Super Bowl party every year for the last 29 years. Hard to believe. But it’s become such a tradition for us and our friends that it’s hard to give it up. Of course, my preparation for the party has changed over the years. It used to be, when I was younger, that I would start cooking and shopping two weeks in advance, filling my freezer with homemade appetizers like mini quiches. Everything I served was homemade, and I made a LOT of stuff. The parties could bloom into gigantic bashes (40 or 50 people on a Sunday night—and they stayed all night!), so I always had a lot of food.
Then, you know, we all got older, and while the party has continued, the prep work has gotten less ambitious. Now I order a lot of it from local delis and supermarkets, and limit the stuff I make to a few great dips and fresh veggies. Gone are the mini quiches that would take a day to make. And the party has gotten smaller, and everyone pretty much leaves after the game is over. Which is fine, because it’s way past my bedtime these days!
But we are not alone is this party mode: Nearly 60 million people say they go to Super Bowl parties, according to this story on MediaPost. More than 39 percent will host a party, and about 10 million will go to a bar or restaurant to watch the big game.
And, of course, the big story in the last few days was the
number of chicken wings game-watchers will eat this year: Almost 1.23 BILLION
wings! That’s a lot of wings! (My friends hate us because we don’t allow wings at ours—a nosy dog
and three cats plus chicken bones don’t mix!)
What about you—are you hosting a party? What do you cook? What's the most popular thing to eat at your party or the one you go to? Or don’t you care at all?
Of course, there’s probably no party in the world like ours because of our unique and spectacular halftime show: We set off a papier-mache volcano! Truly something to see! Happy party!
