Ideas for your Super Bowl party

News stories about a chicken wing shortage just before Super Bowl Sunday have some party hosts nervous. The supply is only 1% short of what was consumed last year, so there will be wings, although they will cost more. But chicken wings aren't the only staple of Super Bowl parties -there's always chili, hot dogs, pizza, nachos, and, of course, the other parts of those chickens. The only critical things to remember about Super Bowl party food are to make sure its delicious, and make sure there is plenty of it. On the other hand, this weekend is an opportunity to have fun and show off your artistic side -which is why there are so many recipes for snacks shaped like footballs that you can add to the menu. 

1. FOOTBALL ZUCCHINI FRITTERS


A Turkish recipe called Mücver contains zucchini, potatoes, carrot, and onion, so it will fill any requirements for vegetables on Super Bowl Sunday. Beth at Hungry Happenings turned the fried fritters into footballs! They can be made ahead of time and warmed before serving, then the football laces are added by piping Greek yogurt on top. 

 
2. FOOTBALL PEPPERONI PIZZA

This pepperoni pizza made by Angie McGowan at The Family Kitchen is appropriately decorated with a football of pepperoni slices and laces of Swiss cheese. You can make your own homemade pizza with her recipe, or recreate the look with a frozen pizza by rearranging the toppings -before you bake it, of course. 

 
3. FOOTBALL SALAMI

A football-shaped salami is beyond the capabilities of most kitchens. This salami is sold by Norm Thompson. It's too late to get one for this year (they're sold out), but you can save the idea and order yours early for next year. 

 
4. FOOTBALL DEVILED EGGS



These spicy sweet deviled eggs look like footballs when you add laces made of chives. Better make a lot of them!

5. FOOTBALL BITES



Ali Ebright at Gimme Some Oven has a simple clever method for cutting salami slices and cheese into perfect football shapes for these hors d'oeuvres. You can layer them on any crackers, but my favorite (Town House) is already somewhat football-shaped. The laces that add the finishing touch are made with ranch dressing piped from a ziplock bag. 

 
6. PEANUT BUTTER FOOTBALL DIP


I never thought of peanut butter and chocolate as a dip -but with pretzels, it works! Dorothy at Crazy for Crust made a football shape with peanut butter and chocolate chips, then covered the whole thing in chocolate sprinkles. "Just cover it in something that makes it look like a football." I would guess the laces are bit of icing. Serve with plenty of pretzels.

7. NUTELLA BROWNIE FOOTBALLS



Also from Dorothy Kern, these brownies are stacked from a layer of peanut butter cookie crust with Nutella brownies on top! A cookie cutter makes them into footballs, with a touch of icing for the laces. Attached to the recipe at Crazy for Crust is a link to a recipe for iced football cookies.

8. FOOTBALL CAKE POPS



Made by Jamie at Love + Butter, the cake pops are made of chocolate cake crumbs and frosting shaped into footballs, then glued onto sticks with melted chocolate -which also coats them! The instructions appear to make a lot of them, which you will need. No one will stop at just one! 

 
9. CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY FOOTBALLS



Jackie at Domestic Fits lives in California, where strawberries are always in season. She shows us how to dip strawberries in chocolate and decorate with white chocolate to make tasty little fruit footballs.

10. FOOTBALL CUPCAKE EGGS



It looks like a football, but it's an egg. But it's not an egg, it's just an eggshell (although one that resembles a football) that has chocolate cake inside. Got it? Pull off this project, and the response at your Super Bowl party will surely be, "Oh, you went to a lot of trouble for these, didn't you?" Yes, indeed. Get complete directions to make your own at The Cupcake Project.

11. FOOTBALL WHOOPIE PIES



Whoopie pies go by different names and slightly different recipes depending on where you are. Basically, it's two soft cookies sandwiched with cream in the middle -like Little Debbie Oatmeal Pies. Laura at Make Merry used a pumpkin cake recipe, slightly altered, to make her footballs. The creme in the middle is made of sugar, butter, marshmallow creme, and maple extract. The laces are piped icing. So are these cookies, cakes, or pies? Does it really matter?

12. FOOTBALL BARBECUE CUPCAKES

The cupcake is a work of art. Susan S at Diamonds for Dessert created it as an entry in a "Manly Cupcakes" contest in 2010. How manly is it? Beside the decorations of a football and barbecue grill (aflame!), one of the ingredients is beer. Once you put the flame out, all the decorations are edible. The entire recipe and directions are posted in case you want to try it yourself. Good luck!

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