Score with a Super Menu

by Guest Columnist & KosherEye Friend, June Hersh 

You might not know (or care) who is playing in this year’s Super Bowl. You might think that a tight end is what you get as a result of a good workout or a vigorous run. You might not watch the high priced commercials or lip sync to the half time show − but I can bet you will want to impress the extra mouths you might be feeding this coming Super Bowl Sunday.  I can’t explain the rules of football to you in this column, but I can help you get through the menu planning, supermarket shopping and execution of some terrific half time dishes.

Here are a few simple rules to follow when hosting a Super Bowl party:
•  Avoid any food that needs utensils. Your guests will most likely eat their meal glued to the TV and, to save your carpet and their laps, pick-up food is best.

•  Make your menu “everyone friendly”;  kid food is a favorite at sporting events, so keep it simple and accessible.

•  Prepare in advance.  If it can be made a day or two before, you will simplify your day of prep and most foods taste even better when they have a good night’s sleep.

•  Have plenty of munchies on hand for those mindless eaters who prefer to reach blindly into a bowl and graze all day long. You can keep it healthful with cut up veggies and hummus or fruit garnished with yogurt dip, but a continuous stream of food will lessen your trips back and forth to the kitchen.

•  I like a menu that includes a creative and filling appetizer that can take the place of a meal if your guest only stays for part of the game; they won’t leave hungry.

•  Have a fun beer on hand; if you have a local brewery making their homemade libation, go for it. You can also make sweet Arnold Palmers with an equal mix of lemonade and ice tea spiked or not.  No need for fancy signature drinks −  this is the Super Bowl and you basically want to turn your living room into a tailgate.

Menu

Pretzel Wrapped Hotdogs
Homemade Hummus
Veal Meatball Wedges
Turkey Bean Chili

About the Author

June Hersh is a former teacher, passionate home cook and cookbook author. Her first book Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival, Ruder Finn Press, May 2011, was written in association with the Museum of Jewish Heritage. The museum benefits from ALL proceeds. Entering its fourth printing, the book features the remarkable stories and cherished recipes of Holocaust survivors. Her second book, The Kosher Carnivore, St. Martin’s press, September, 2011 is the ultimate meat and poultry cookbook for the “kosher clueless to the kosher committed”.  Proceeds from this book benefit MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. June earned a B.S. in Elementary Education from The University of Pennsylvania and holds a Master’s Degree in Gifted and Talented Education. She currently lives in New York City with her husband of over 35 years. To learn more visit her website her Facebook page,or follow her on Twitter for daily food bites and a slice of life

Let’s Get to the Meat of the Matter!

Announcing a new column coming soon to KosherEye. We welcome June Hersh, Ask The Kosher Carnivore.

We at KosherEye have received numerous questions from our readers about poultry and meat; how to buy it, prepare it, freeze it, serve it and more. Now KosherEye is delighted to have its own resident expert − none other than author, chef extraordinaire and cooking instructor, The Kosher Carnivore, June Hersh.

Bring those questions on! June will answer them in her new monthly column on Koshereye.com, Ask The Kosher Carnivore.  And each month, she has generously offered to give away one of her books, The Kosher Carnivore, to the reader who submits her favorite question. Submit your questions to: ContactUs.

Janury 30, 2012