Taking Super Bowl Food SERIOUSLY

A lot of people are coming to my house for the Super Bowl. I don't really know which teams are playing, I just cook. And you know, try to strike a balance between really yummy heart attack food and really yummy, but let's face it, less exciting healthy alternatives. But even I was shocked and amused to read about The Bacon Explosion in today's New York Times.

" . . . $20 worth of bacon and Italian sausage from a local meat market. As it lay on the counter, he thought of weaving strips of raw bacon into a mat. The two spackled the bacon mat with a layer of sausage, covered that with a crunchy layer of cooked bacon, and rolled it up tight. They then stuck the roll — containing at least 5,000 calories and 500 grams of fat — in the Good-One Open Range backyard smoker that they use for practice."

By comparison, the Texas chili, salads and dips I'm serving are looking very health-conscious.

I'm stocking up on beer today, and my new favorite, inexpensive wine -- Ten Mile, The Broken Road, a California concoction of wonder.

A hedonistic blend of Petite Syrah, Zinfandel, Barbera, Malbec and Carignane. This wine has a nice earthy nose of leather, black cherry, and blackberry aromas, with light notes of vanilla and oak. On the palate it is rich and full-bodied with complex, dark fruit flavors. Really delicious. $13.99

Really really delicious. Save room for the wine.