I am a fan of football. I don't get to watch a lot of games, but I keep track of what's going on during the season, and I am always guaranteed to watch the Super Bowl. Since I'm going to be watching anyway, it's as good a reason as any to have people over to watch with me.
Super Bowl parties were sort of an annual tradition growing up, but mostly because it was an excuse to get people together. Whenever my family was hosting, my siblings and I would plan for all the American food that seemed to go with the big game (pizza, wings, sandwiches), but my mom would always insist that we couldn't have a party without the necessary Haitian staples (which included rice and beans at the very least). So the "kids" would pile up to watch the game and eat American food, and the "adults" would come over for the Haitian food, but never actually watched the game.
New York never struck me as a place with football fever, but I remember clearly the 1991 game (Giants vs. Bills) game where everyone was talking about it in school and I was asked who I was routing for and I picked the Giants mostly because I had a friend who said I knew nothing about the game and she was routing for the Bills (I wanted to prove that I, too, liked football). I attended my first Super Bowl party that year, became a lifetime Giants fan, and watching the Super Bowl became an annual tradition. For me, though, a Super Bowl just isn't a Super Bowl without a party, and a party isn't a party without food.
When I first moved to Seattle, I kind of expected the love of football to be greater than it was. Maybe it was because I was new, or maybe it was because no one realized that I could possibly like football, but I ended up watching the game alone that year. The next year, however, the Giants were playing and since I couldn't be in NY, I decided to revive my position as hostess and get a bunch of people together to help me cheer them on.
Now that the Seahawks have had an amazing season, I am finally seeing love for football shine in Seattle. There's so much excitement in the air, and this year's party should be loads of fun. I'm busy menu planning, and at least some of these recipes will end up on this blog. Maybe I'll include Haitian food to honor my mom's tradition, but whatever I include, I'm hoping it will tingle the taste buds. Go Hawks!
Komen