Faker fan recipes for Super Bowl Sunday

I was raised in Wisconsin, but really don’t give two hoots about the Green Bay Packers (which is a blasphemous statement to many of my Wisconsinite friends and family). Still, I can’t help but hope that the Packers will emerge victorious this weekend, even if my annoyance for redundancy is behind it. Really, hasn’t Pittsburgh won it enough?

I have an appreciation for football, but not a passion for it. I have been married to a football coach for just over 18 years, and watched him play it for three years before that. My great-grandfather, I learned, played on Iowa State’s defensive line in 1911. My dad played football. My brother played football. My son plays. When I was growing up and the Packers were on, usually it was my grandma Marilynn who was yelling louder than my grandpa Fred. Despite my family history, football remains my favorite sport to watch, but you won’t catch me dissecting plays during Monday morning quarterbacking or picking a Fantasy League team. I just don’t know enough about the philosophy behind the game.

My lack of knowledge does not, however, limit my love of a good tailgate. And a Super Bowl party is one of my favorite celebrations, even though I’m usually paying more attention to the ads than the game. The usual drill is our friends Randy and Cindy Schissel host one, and this year will be a doozie, what with Randy and Cindy bleeding green and gold and all.

As with most parties, we’re all supposed to “bring something,” and it’s always a challenge for me to find something good that the picky among our group of friends will like (Cindy is their leader). I learned the hard way that hummus is not broadly appreciated by our tribe.

Here are two perennial hits, both of which were shared with my by friends, which are my favorite recipes. Have fun, and go Packers!

BJ’s Guacamole
Our friend BJ Nichols makes the best guacamole. There’s just no substitute. No matter how I try, I can’t get mine to taste as good as his, but I have paid attention while he’s making it enough to make a stab at it, and people tell me it’s good. BJ doesn’t follow a recipe, but here’s how I do it. I'm attributing it to him out of reverence.

3 medium ripe avocados
2 jalepeno peppers, diced (save part of the seeds and membrane)
1 small onion, chopped (I use red)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
Lime juice
Sea salt

Mash the avocados and sprinkle with lime juice to taste. Add the chopped peppers, mixing in a few of the seeds and membrane to give it a kick (start with small quantities, because this is where the heat of the pepper lives). Add onion and garlic. Salt to taste. Serve with good chips.

If you’re making the guacamole an hour or so before game time (I don’t recommend earlier), cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to limit browning. If it does brown a bit, don’t worry, just stir it and no one will know.

Caren’s Baked Brie
A favorite of my childhood friend, Caren Grossman Cherveny. Cindy actually liked this one, although she dubbed it “different,” which in Iowa is the passive-aggressive kiss of death for a recipe.

1 wedge or round of brie
Half a can of cranberry relish (the real cranberries - not the gelled stuff that still looks like the can it came in when you remove it)
½ cup chopped pecans

Put brie in a pie plate; spread with cranberry relish and sprinkle with pecans. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until warm. Spread on hunks of baguette or crackers.