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7 tips for your Super Bowl party

Sunday, January 27th, 2013

Next Sunday marks the annual tradition of gathering with friends to sit in front of a TV for eight-straight hours, watch two teams most people in the room don’t care about and eagerly anticipate commercials like teen girls camping out to see a “Twilight” movie.

To make the most of your Super Bowl experience, here are seven tips for a memorable and enjoyable party:

  1. Get a TV at least 60″ in size, 100″ to be safe. Doesn’t it always seem like the person with the smallest TV always hosts the party? It makes watching a game like sitting in the nose bleeds.
  2. CBS will promote its shows unmercifully. Why not turn the annoyance into a drinking game? For example, every time you see a commercial for “How I Met Your Mother” or “Elementary,” take a shot of tequila. By the end of the first quarter, you’ll have passed out, saving you from watching any more of those crappy promos.
  3. If there’s ever a lull in conversation, start a discussion on how the recently deceased Pauline Phillips (Dear Abby) would have advised Manti Te’o on his imaginary-girlfriend problems.
  4. Gambling is an excellent way to motivate people into caring about this game. I like Football Squares, in which you pay out every quarter based on the last digit of either team’s score. Or, if you want to steal your guests’ money, just run a Keno board (house edge is a whopping 25-29 percent).
  5. Don’t invite kids. Otherwise, you won’t be able to yell things like, “Holy sh*t! How can that f*cking ref be so goddamned blind? F***********ck!”
  6. What you serve depends on how many bathrooms your guests have access to. One bathroom = safe items like pizza, chicken wings and pulled pork. Two = riskier items like bean dip, spicy chili and chips made with Olestra. Three = I’m-getting-you-back-for-making-a-pass-at-my-wife items like laxatives in a drink or malaria.
  7. To make sure your guests have enough time to sober up for the drive home, stop serving drinks when the game is over. Because of course, everyone’s going to stay to watch an all-new episode of “Elementary” that immediately follows.

Terra Bean Coffee

Sunday, December 9th, 2012

Around these parts, you can support countless farms by buying their diverse products, whether it’s beef, honey, tomatoes or … coffee? That’s the goal of Madison-based Terra Bean Coffee, which partners with roasters who directly source their coffee and features a different artisan roaster and farmer each month.

“The reason that I am doing this is to build awareness of the origins of coffee amongst consumers to encourage them to place the same value on supporting small-scale coffee farms as they do on other agricultural products,” Founder Tamara Goldschmidt told me.

She invited me to learn more about her mission and sample this month’s coffee, La Colmena from Los Alpes, El Salvador. The coffee is excellent–good flavor, not at all bitter and something I could easily drink every morning.

But I don’t think that’s the point. This is a coffee I would probably never have heard about otherwise. Each coffee comes with a one-page flyer that includes background on the roaster and farmer (in this case, I learned how Mike Johnson of Johnson Brothers Coffee worked with farmer Luis Alonso Araujo to rebuild his farm).

Not all the coffee is fair trade certified, as Terra Bean Coffee’s objective is to “ensure that businesses that are truly creating sustainable relationships are being featured, regardless of whether they have the seal.”

You get a 12-oz. bag of coffee (ground or beans) each month with your subscription. Three months is $19.95/month and six months is $18.95/month.

Food & Wine Festival shopping list ’12

Sunday, October 21st, 2012

Whether you’re in search of some good food or need ideas for the holiday shopping season, here’s a list of items I purchased or will purchase from the Isthmus Food & Wine Festival held last weekend:

  • Mrs. Chippy’s Caramel Corn from Chippy’s Kettle Corn. I also enjoyed the Yumchata Oatmeal Cookie flavor and the Buffalo Wine & Bleu Cheese Dressing flavor.
  • Old Fashioned Malted Milk Powder Malt from CTL Foods. If you like Whoppers, you’ll love this. Try adding it to coffee.
  • Strawbanero jam from Blue Collar Cafe & Jams. Excellent combination of sweet and spicy. Loved the Bluebanero, too.
  • The garlic beefsticks and Teriyaki beefsticks from Otter Creek Organic Farm. These make a great snack!
  • The goat salami and Tuscan salami from Underground Meats. Makes me regret not signing up for its meat-CSA last year.
  • Plain 9-12 Gouda from Holland Family Farms. I had always ignored Gouda … until now.
  • Brick spread from Widmer Cheese Cellar. Why waste a cracker? I could eat this straight from the container.
  • Rob Abuelo 12-Year Rum. I doubt I’ve had a better rum. “Smooth” would be underselling it.
  • Dark Amber Organic Maple Syrup from Kickapoo Gold. You’ll never use Aunt Jemima again.
    North Italia Urban Air

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