ArcaMax

Super Bowl

One of my favorite Super Bowl parties was one I called the Chili Championship.

Here’s how it works.

You set up a chili buffet and all the fixins. The reason this works really well is people can get up from the TV viewing area and go do self-service on the chili. At most Super Bowl parties before that one, I served appetizers during the first half and then served an entrée during half-time. Dessert later. That set up a time crunch for me and I didn’t get to watch as much football or the famous Super Bowl commercials. With the chili buffet I had a lot less work. Everyone loves chili too.

Another good thing about chili is many times it tastes even better on day 2 or day 3, so you can make it ahead and just reheat it. When you set up the buffet, the chili can be kept warm in crock pots, on the stove on a low simmer or even in pans kept on warm in the oven. They all work.

Now, for the real bonus. You can get others to bring chili.

If it’s a small party I go with just two chili choices and I probably have made both of them. But if it’s a big party; let’s say 20 to 40 you can go with six chili options. (I never do more than six; even if the party is bigger. Just too much to coordinate).

So you can choose up to six friends to each make a batch of chili. A batch that serves 10 is enough because people choose to sample more than one kind during the game. You can assign chili types to them so you don’t get all the same kind of chili or you can let them choose but you take a little more risk.

Think about it. There are so many different kinds of chili. The chili base might be made from beef brisket, or ground beef. Pork chili is a good southern one. Or it might be a chicken chili. There are ‘white’ chilies that have chicken broth and even cream in them. There are veggie chilies and of course there are more levels of spice than you can count. Not all chili has to be spicy. Some of it is really mild comfort food. Some folks add beans to their chili. Some add macaroni and even others add corn. I don’t add any of those things anymore because they have higher carbohydrate counts but if one of the chilies had any of those things in it I might have a bite or two.

I have a collection of small bowls that only hold one cup. Those work great for chili sampling. If you don’t have pottery bowls you can go to the party store and pick up some paper bowls. They have small and large ones that work perfectly. You can then recycle them and have less clean up. Super Bowl parties don’t have to be fancy affairs.

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