Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

We do not decide till we know the teams playing - then our menu is based on local foods for those teams.

Last year we went to the game here in AZ, but the year before we had Chicago style pizza and REAL Chicago hot dawgs and Italian beef samiches, and shafted Indy because we are all from Chicago originally, but you get my drift...

All that salt - your good...

I do not do this at Thanksgiving but I have made White Castle Hamburger dressing (when I lived in Chicago). It was actually really freaking good. Of course now I have to buy them in the freezer section of the local Albertson's... so it is way pricier. If you are lucky enough to live in an area where they have a White Castle - order the hamburgers with no pickles and extra onions.

10 White Castle Hamburgers
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/4 teaspoons ground thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth

Tear the hamburgers into small pieces, and place in a bowl. Toss with celery, thyme, sage, and pepper. Pour in the chicken broth while stirring to moisten the stuffing. This makes enough to stuff a 10 to 12 pound bird.

Hummus.

Can of chick peas, drained
1/2 cup roasted tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped pine nuts

1/4 cup tahini sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 T olive oil
1 T lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor:

process tomatoes and garlic about 30 seconds. Then add chick peas and process about 2 minutes, until everything is well combined. Add lemon juice, olive oil and tahini and process until creamy. If mixture is too thick add water until desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Top with chopped pine nuts, serve with pita.

Yum!

Yea you can everything at University of Phoenix Stadium too. Brick oven cooked pizza, prime rib nachos, panini's, sushi, bar-b-que pork sandwiches, chili dogs, fresh Italian sausage, dessert fondue and eight dollar beers.

Wait: try these:

Almond Crescent Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

* 1 cup of butter, room temperature
* 2/3 cup of sugar
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon of almond extract
* 2 1/2 cups of flour
* 1 cup of almond flour (can substitute ground almonds*)
* 1/4 cup of powdered sugar for sprinkling

*You can use slivered, blanched almonds and grind them up, but you will have a very crumbly, hard to work with dough. It’ll still taste good though.

1 Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the extracts and mix.

2 Add the flour and almond flour. Mix thoroughly.

3 Take generous tablespoons of the dough (it will be slightly crumbly) and roll it into a small ball, about an inch in diameter, and then shape into a crescent shape. Place onto parchment paper and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until a light golden brown.

4 Dust with powdered sugar.

For added decadence let the cookies cool and dip one end of them into some melted chocolate, then let the chocolate harden.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

A Chicago Hot Dog dragged through the garden or a big ole' italian sub sandwich on fresh Gonella bread here in sunny Arizona...

GO CARDS!

@love2cook: took the words right out of my mouth. I got my tins every year at this time from craft stores and find the coolest ones.

I bake and cook all the time, especially during the holidays. I find the best thing to do is

1) When I am cooking/baking for just the two of us, I make little tarts instead of pies, cupcakes instead of whole cakes. I halve recipes or even quarter them. If I get carried away and make to much - my neighbors are always willing to snack on my overages.

2) When baking / cooking for party's, I make something that is not my favorite edible to bring - but I know is a hit for everyone else, and when at the party, I try as much of the stuff that others have brought that I can, but only one bite. It helps to also split with your SO ;-).

and 3) Drink Water. LOTS. Hard to even imagine snacking when your belly is full of H2O.

@LPC and kfarrel3: I was laughing out loud at your references to melting pot - a place I have gone to for oooh about 15 years now... LOVE fondue. As much as it is disregarded - I think that is a fad that will always be around.

As far as a passing fancy - how about stacked food. Am I the only one annoyed by stacked food?

Apple butter. On a crisp English muffin. Mmm.

If she has something "specific" in mind for you to BUY, she can pick it up herself on the way home one day. Asking for help with desserts leaves the door open for YOUR CHOICE, not the hostesses choice. Why doesn't she just tell you where to shop and how to pay. Different story if she said "ooh hon can you bring that wonderful ambrosia salad you make?"