Super Bowl Snacks: Parmesan Crisps

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock since the weekend, by now you know that the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers are going to the Super Bowl.  While most football weekends are filled with libations and snacks, nothing compares to Super Bowl snacks.  It’s kind of an unwritten rule to pull out all the stops when putting together party snack ideas for the big game.

The snacks run the gamut from store bought, pre-packaged, homemade but complicated and homemade but simple.  My preference has always been homemade and simple.  I like making my own snacks for the big game because I know what’s in them.  I’m not saying that they’re low fat or healthy, I just know what I put in them.  It let’s me feel a bit better when I’m stuffing my pie hole with the stuff.

To help you with party snack ideas, here’s a short list of some the snacks I’ve made previously that would work great for Super Bowl snacks, starting with the easy party snacks:

Healthy and Easy Artichoke Dip Recipe

Mexican Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Garlic Knots

Baba Ganoush

Artichoke Phyllo Triangles

Beef Jerky

But out of all of these easy party snacks, I think I’ve got one that’s even easier than these: Parmesan crisps (aka frico).  Frico, or Parmesan crisps, is an Italian food from Friuli.  Typically, Parmesan crisps are used as a garnish for soups, or formed into a bowl to hold salads or other small appetizers.  But frico can also be eaten as a snack.  The crisps are made from shredded Parmesan (usually) and baked until they are browned and crisp.

If you’re trying to keep an eye on the health factor during the big game day noshing, Parmesan crisps are relatively healthy.  Okay, they aren’t quite plain carrot sticks but they’re better than potato chips.  Here’s a little comparison for you.  If you have 10 Parmesan crisps (which equals approximately 5 ounces), you’re looking at approximately 210 calories: 120 of those calories are from fat, 850 mg of salt and 19 grams of protein.  If you have 5 ounces of plain potato chips you’ll be consuming approximately 775 calories: 475 of those calories are from fat, 745 mg of sodium and 9.5 grams of protein.  Quite a bit of difference huh?

Ill advised drunken dialing can lead to embarrassingly awkward sober interactions.

Super Bowl parties generally lead to at least some amount of drunken debauchery.  And while all half time shows can’t all show full-on nipple, that doesn’t mean you should be so bored that you drunken dial your ex, hot co-worker or your closest friend of the opposite sex.

That damn technology thing (cell phones) has made it far too easy to make those drunk and slurred sexy time, albeit one way, conversations.  Consider yourself lucky if the person you called actually answers the phone.  Sure, you’ll be talking to them, more like pouring your booze soaked libido out to them, and they’ll remember the conversation word for word (which WILL come back to haunt you at some point), but at least they are the only one who is going to hear it.  You unlucky people are those of you who make the drunken dial (hey, we’ve all done it at some point in our lives) and pour out your ever horny heart (or bitter angry self or sorrowful mind) and it ends up on their voicemail.  Who you’ve called will determine the overall collateral damage that will be incurred by that one stupid drunken moment.

If you called your ex, rest assured all of their friends will hear it.  At some point you will probably find your voice attached to some poorly edited parody on YouTube.  Your parents will be so proud of your fame.  If you called that hot office mate, be prepared for an awkward conversation on Monday and then being blackmailed to keep the call from being played to management (those coffee runs can get quite expensive).  This is the verbal equivalent of photocopying your ass and giving it to this person.  And if you’ve called your best friend of the opposite sex, be prepared for that friendship to end.  It most likely won’t happen overnight, but the awkwardness that ensues over the next few days or weeks will put too much strain on the friendship that it will end.  Although it may give you one hell of a sex session before it ends.

So if you’re attending a Super Bowl party and are prone to the drunken dialing bug either leave your phone at home (unless you have an anxiety attack when you are separated from the device) or give it to a trusted friend to hold on to until the game is over.  Of course you’re on your own once you get the phone back, but hopefully the urge to make an ass out of yourself has passed.

Tags: artichoke dip recipe, easy party snacks, football weekends, frico, parmesan crisps, party snack ideas, pittsburgh steelers, Relationship Advice, super bowl snacks