Super Bowl Blowout

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Football isn't the only entertainment of the day, the food is. Even if you don't care who wins or loses, you, and your guests, will care if you don't have a great spread to augment the day.

— Chef Kyle Rourke, Red Star Tavern & Roast House

Just Win, Baby

Relying on the simple repast that got you through the regular season is like playing prevent defense in the fourth quarter of a close game. You're essentially playing not to lose.

An inspired menu is all that separates you from Super Bowl Party dynasty and Super Bowl debacle. Takeout and nachos may have served you well enough in your younger, headier days when your palate was as refined as your penchant for body and face painting, but this is no longer a game for children.

Of the 32 teams that started the season, two will make it to the championship game, meaning, most likely, you and your guests are rooting for the lesser of the two evils to take the Lombardi trophy. Of your guests, some are there to see the game, more are there to see the commercials, some want to see another halftime wardrobe malfunction, but they all want to eat.

"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing" applies as much to you in your kitchen as it does to the players that will take the field.

"Football isn't the only entertainment of the day, the food is," said Chef Kyle Rourke of Portland's Red Star Tavern & Roast House. "Even if you don't care who wins or loses, you, and your guests will care if you don't have a great spread to augment the day."

This is a day that fully embraces grazing and snacking, but the right main course may put you in the rarefied air of Don Shula after SB VII, not only triumphant, but undefeated and hoisted on the shoulders of those around you. This is once a year, a time to ignore the lazy siren song of hot dogs and hamburgers, chips and dip, and embrace your inner host and glutton to the point where you make Gordon Ramsay look like just another foul-mouthed, short-tempered, short-order cook.

Offense: The Drink

Football and beer go hand and can, but that doesn't mean that there has to be a moratorium on creativity as far as libations are concerned, especially on a day where you're being assaulted by commercials touting cans that tell you when to drink.

When did aluminum get so bossy?

For some, having a beer while watching football is a North American ritual as ingrained as high-fives and using the word "literally" when we really mean "figuratively," but why get bogged down in the hops and barley?

Beer is a staple for the regular season, and a bar so limited will leave you as embarrassed as Atlanta safety Eugene Robinson on the eve of Super Bowl XXXIII.

Red Star Tavern's head bartender, Brandon Lockman, has devised drink recipes that are not only delicious, but also celebrate the distinct, diverging personalities of the opposing quarterbacks who are facing one another again on the world's biggest sporting stage.

THE MANNING FACE

"An ode to Eli Manning’s New Orleans roots," said Lockman. "As well as his famous sour puss."

• 2 oz. Sazerac Rye Whiskey

• 1 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

• ¾ oz. Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

• ½ oz. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

• ¾ oz. Gum Syrup

• Combine all ingredients and serve over rocks. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

THE METROSEXUAL

"A well-coiffed nod to Tom Brady’s well known sense of fashion," Lockman said with a chuckle. "As well as his smoking hot supermodel Brazilian wife."

• 1 ½ oz. Leblon Cachaca

• 1 oz. Cointreau

• ¾ oz. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

• 1 oz. White Cranberry Juice

• Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake (not stir) vigorously for 12 seconds (he’s #12 - get it?). Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with an extra long lemon twist.

Defense: The Food

Lest everyone get sloppy and is toast by halftime, you need to have something substantial to offer. And certainly to keep the DDs happy.

Here is a go-to performer for your party ...

Chef Kyle Rourke's Grilled Pork Belly with Ancho-Coffee Glaze

Pork belly

Ingredients:

• 1 medium pork belly, trimmed

• 4 quarts pork stock

• 1 quart rough chopped mirepoix

• 6 clove garlic, smashed

• 10 peppercorns

• 5 sprigs of thyme

• 3 cups sake

• 5 New Mexican dried chiles

• 4 tablespoons rendered bacon fat or grapeseed oil

Procedure:

• Heat a large braising pan over high heat then add fat. It should shimmer and have the viscosity of water.

• Add mirepoix and begin to carmelize. Reduce heat and stir often.

• Once vegetables are carmelized, add garlic, peppercorn, and thyme. Toast, then deglaze with sake. Reduce until almost dry.

• Add pork stock and chiles and bring to a simmer.

• Add pork belly, cover with lid and place in oven at 250 degrees for about 4 hours. Should be able to pierce the belly easily with knife. Remove belly carefully and place on sheet tray. Place a piece of parchment paper over the belly, then another sheet tray on top. Place something heavy on top and cool down completely in the refrigerator.

Glaze

Ingredients:

• 4 quarts pork belly braising liquid

• 1 quart Steen's cane syrup

• 8 ancho chiles, dry roasted and seeded

• 4 shallots, sliced

• 2 tablespoons whole coriander, toasted

• 1/2 cup coffee beans, medium ground

• 1 quart rice wine vinegar

Procedure:

• Strain pork braise liquid into 6 quart stock pot and reduce by half. Add Steen's, vinegar, shallot, coriander and reduce In separate cast iron pan. Dry roast ancho chiles, then puree in spice grinder. Set aside.

• Reduce liquid down to about a quart and strain. Fold in ancho chile powder and coffee grounds.

• Adjust glaze with a little lime juice or vinegar if too sweet.

Finish

• Get a grill nice and hot, then place pork belly on cutting board and slice in half lengthwise.

• Cut into 2" strip. Trim fat to desired amount.

• Season belly with salt and pepper and place on hot grill.

• Flip once and brush with glaze, then flip back to get a little charred. Repeat with other side.

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