With the Super Bowl just days away, we thought it only fitting to offer up some of the best and worst football food on Flickr. From pigs in a blanket and PBRs, to team themed cupcakes, here are some of our favorite pigskin provisions.

Posted by ChuckWolfe0, this photo is titled "more superbowl food, same shit." Sounds like the kind of guy who's going to tell it--and feed it--to you straight.

Flickr user ginatolentino captured these bad boys at a Giant Foods in 2006.

Titled "ooey gooey goodness," the sense of motion in this shot is hugely appetite inducing, not to mention proof positive that something can look both utterly disgusting and absolutely delicious at the same time.

Joe Shlabotnik made these from scratch for the 2007 Super Bowl.

Roast duck at a Super Bowl party? Classy joint.

Previously: National Pie Day Food Porn

She May Not Be Dressed Like a Diplomat: but she sure can negotiate some rocky terrain!First, they refuse to acknowledge Israel's existence. Then, they log on to a website that's doubly forbidden: Not only is it Israeli--it's Israeli porn. Who are these seekers of sexy skin? Oh, just a few hundred thousand (at least) Arabs in countries like Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq, and if you ask me, they're exhibiting some kind of newfangled Madonna and the Whore complex. "I hate Israel and will beat her down...or at least, beat off to her lovely ladies!" The fact that some of these countries even go so far as to block the Israeli ".il" domain isn't slowing these sneaky porn rats down, either. Nosireebob: They're logging on in droves to a site called Ratuv, especially now that the site has been translated into Arabic, with lots of detailed descriptions and a veritable assload of free pics.

It happened like this: After installing software that identifies where users are logging on, the managers of Ratuv discovered that a large number of their visitors were in Arab countries. They decided that a lack of diplomatic relations didn't have to equal a lack of sexual relations, so despite not being able to accept money for video downloads from these countries, manager Nir Shahar set to work making the site as hospitable as possible. With the Arabic translations and extra free pics, traffic from these countries rocketed to 100,000 hits per week. The Ratuv team is currently looking into creating and registering a similar site in Europe or America, so that they can legally accept credit card payments from countries prohibited by Israeli law. They're also eyeballing the possibility of making films in which Arab and Israeli stars come together. So to speak. Talk about a forbidden fetish.

Perhaps there is something to the old adage, "make love, not war," after all. Someday soon, the ambassadors and diplomats of the world might just have names like Dick Long and Wendy Whoppers.

Wassup, B: is that tempura in your pocket, or are you just happy sashimi?More than happy to ignori (forgive me) the recurring warnings about mercury-laden fish, Israel has blossomed into a veritable sushi Eden. The 100th sushi restaurant opened its doors in Tel Aviv this past week, which makes the seaside city the "world's 3rd largest sushi market in per capita terms," behind only Tokyo and New York. According to Israeli restaurant review site 2EAT, approximately 20% of Tel Aviv's sushi spots are kosher, and "one out of every 10 Tel Avivians eats sushi at least once a month." The tourist version of 2EAT, which is in English, lets you see that Israeli sushi roll.

When the Japanese cuisine first appeared in Israel, many people thought it was "disgusting." Adventurous Israelis struggled with chopsticks, and some befuddled customers even requested that bread be served alongside the fish and rice: Imagine stuffing your tuna sushi into a pita pocket. In the past fifteen or so years, though, sushi has become a favorite ethnic cuisine in Israel. Not only that, but Israelis have begun to make their own mark on the cuisine, adding ingredients like mango, roast chicken, and even liver.

Something is fishy, though: The popular provisions might be threatened by a government mandate that would "expel all Asian employees at ethnic restaurants in order to make room for Israeli workers" by next January--a move that could potentially mean doom for a number of restaurants.

Have you had sushi in Israel? If so, tell us about it: sake to me in comments. (Surely you knew that was coming. I mean, really--I'm not just here for the halibut).

The Bride of Wildenstein: a cautionary taleWhen it comes to the ever-growing beauty industry, there are three main categories: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Today's news touches on all three, and includes some delightful--and some downright frightful--forecasts, trends and products.

• London's Daily Telegraph serves up a report on the future of face lifts, which aren't actually face lifts at all: Having discovered that the bones of our face lose volume as we age, researchers at Duke University are looking into the possibilities of "arresting" the natural loss of bone through an injection. Also on the horizon: High-speed cooling technology that promises to do away with wrinkles, "natural" breast implants that will harvest fat from other parts of the patient's body, and stem-cell injections.

• Wired reports on a new skin gel that seems to legitimately help reduce scarring, unlike a lot of the under-performers currently on the market. The only problem is that it might also reduce the "number of infection-fighting macrophages, which could make the gel-treated wounds susceptible to bacteria."
  

• The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery says that nearly 9,000 lip augmentation procedures were performed in the U.S. in 2007.

• British news rag The Guardian has a couple of tasty tidbits on emerging surgery crazes. Apparently "New York surgeons and dermatologists are reporting an increase in the number of women having earlobe procedures." That's right: Ear lobe jobs. Meanwhile, "undo-plasty" is growing in popularity. It's what we're calling any procedure that seeks to "correct the unnecessary operations they had in the first place."

• Which brings us to the cautionary tale of Jocelyn Wildenstein, who teaches that chasing the dragon of youth can get you burned.

Here at Jewcy, we like to think we have a finger in every pie. Today, in honor of National Pie Day, have a face-full on us. The following videos feature a few classic pieing moments, from the Three Stooges to Bill Gates. Whether comedic or political, a pie in the face is always a classic act.

Though its roots are in silent film, the art of pieing hit the big time in a 1927 Laurel and Hardy film called The Battle of the Century. The Three Stooges followed suit, and pieing became one of their oft-used devices, as seen here.

In this rarely performed sketch, Monty Python demonstrates the technique involved in pieing, as well as its comic implications, or as they say, "The ribald connotations associated with the dispatch of an edible missile."

Gay rights activist Aron Kay (AKA The Pieman), who pied Anita Bryant in 1977, is generally credited with the evolution of pieing from an act of comedy to an expression of activism. Here's Bill Gates getting pied by Noel Godin in Brussels, in 1998.

Previous: Post-Soviet Cake Art

Breaking news on American and Scottish bilateral relations: The country famous for kilts, Scotch whiskey, and Annie Lennox may ask the U.S. to lift a longstanding ban on haggis imports. Why the longstanding ban, you ask? Oh, you know: Just because the Scottish dish traditionally contains offal (pronounced "awful," thank you very much) ingredients which have been linked to BSE (also known as Mad Cow Disease). But lo! Mr. Eugenides generously provided us all with a kosher recipe (minus the sheep's lung) for haggis in today's Tuesday Taste Test. Bon Appetit!

Unleavened and Unlawful: when good matzo goes badIn other strange food news, an illegal matzo factory, which had been operating in the basement of a Brooklyn apartment building, was swiftly shut down when authorities discovered two apparently explosive grain silos used for baking the unleavened and unlawful bread. All of the building's residents were evacuated indefinitely.

London has become the official home of the world's largest fish finger. Need we say more? Meanwhile, the U.K. is introducing mandatory cooking classes for 13 and 14-year-olds in an effort to empower them against the temptations of said fish fingers, and thereby avoid obesity. Brilliant, as they say across the pond.

Finally, the Land of the Rising Sun is entering Kit Kat season, as Japanese high school students take the university entrance exams that will all but decide their futures. They gorge themselves on Kit Kat bars because of a totally random, phonetic coincidence: in Japanese, the phrase "kitto katsu" means "you will surely win." Give me a break!

Why is that Americans come over all queasy when discussing the glory that is haggis? After all, despite the most famous living Scotsman, Groundskeeper Willie, exhorting America’s youth to sample its delights ("Get yer haggis, right here! Chopped heart and lungs boiled in a wee sheep's stomach! Tastes as good as it sounds. Good for what ails ya!") it seems that popular prejudice against thGroundskeeper Willie: big fan of haggis, not so much Leviticus 11e “great Chieftain o’the puddin-race” is alive and well Stateside. Did I say prejudice? Call it discrimination: Scottish haggis is, outrageously, banned from the US on account of those delicious wee bits of lung and some nonsense about mad cows. So no haggis lasagne or haggis nachos for you guys, unfortunately, unless you make it yourself.

Of course, there’s another problem with haggis: It’s not terribly kosher. Leviticus 11 specifically names the haggis as – okay, that’s not quite true. Actually, even if you do keep strict kosher, most of the ingredients in the traditional haggis recipe are not inherently trayf – after all, I’m told it’s very similar to kishka - and if you journey to Scotland it’s not that difficult to find kosher haggis. Unsurprisingly, though, there’s not a big market in the US for properly kashered sheep’s stomach, let alone the regular variety, so you'd be forgiven for thinking that you may never sample the delights of this majestic dish.

But as we approach January 25^th, the annual night dedicated to Scotland’s national poet Rabbie Burns (who penned a famous ode to the national dish), I figure: Why should Rabbi Burns miss out? Here, then, is a recipe for kosher haggis - or haggisim, if you will. Go on, try it!

Ingredients:
1 clootie (means a little cloth). A clean linen dish towel will do.
2 lb. dry oatmeal
1 lb. chopped mutton fat, rendered, or suet, which is the cleanest fat on the animal's body.
1 to 1 1/2 lb. lamb or venison liver, boiled and minced
Small quantity stock (lamb by preference)
1 large chopped onion
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsps soy sauce or suitable substitute

Instructions:
Toast oatmeal slowly until golden brown.
Mix all ingredients (except clootie) together; add stock until soft.
Fill clootie to just over half full, press out air, sew up securely with needle and thread.
Have ready a large pot of boiling water.
Boil slowly for 4 to 5 hours, ensuring haggis remains covered with water.
Serve with “bashed neeps” (swede) and “tatties” (potato).

And, of course, a good Scotch Whiskey.

[Recipe from the Capital Scot]

(Cross posted from The Jew & The Carrot)

Food Torah?Many people complain that it’s difficult to find a synagogue to join in New York City. There are just so many options, that none of them feel exactly right - you might call it The Shul-Goers Dilemma. These days, however, I’m feeling pretty good at Temple Bet Pollan.

Michael Pollan gets his fair share of love from fans (Pollan for President?), and his new book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto has already joined its predecessor, The Omnivore’s Dilemma as a New York Times bestseller. Pollan is in the middle of his second whirlwind book tour in two years (I guess he sleeps on the plane) – and I hear the same account every where he goes. Huge venue, sold out show, knockout performance.

Like any effective leader - Martin Luther King included - he’s charismatic and big on the big ideas that change the way we think - or in this case how we eat. But as I devoured (pun intented) Pollan’s new book on my subway commute, I wondered what, if anything, does his worldview offer to the Jewish community? And, perhaps more interestingly, what wisdom does the tribe have to offer back to him?

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The Infamous Founder of Kimkins: clearly not a Russian mail order brideReplacing fiber with laxatives. Severely limiting caloric intake. Tricking your body into not feeling hungry. These are some of the controversial techniques touted by an online dieting program called Kimkins, which is currently facing a possible class action lawsuit due to what former users are calling "false advertising" and "alarming side effects."

ABC News accused Kimkins of being a "dangerous anorexic nutritional scheme" run by a "morbidly obese" woman. Users have complained of chest pains, hair loss, and the cessation of menstrual cycles. Christin Sherburne, a former Kimkins employee and member, is now at the forefront of the investigation and suit. She lost 100 lbs in 5 months on Kimkins, but was fired from her job with the company after raising concerns about the diet's safety. Sherburne claims (and it seems obvious enough) that the diet can "cause severe damage beginning with slow, unrecognized starvation and malnutrition." Doctors are inclined to agree (shocker).

Other skeptical members hired a private investigator and discovered that not only were some of the site's testimonials fake, but that the image of Kimkins' founder had actually been pulled from a Russian mail order bride site. Genius!

So what are the lessons learned here, other than 'for fuck's sake, don't replace fiber with laxatives' and 'Crystal Light is not a food group'? If it sounds nutso and unhealthy, it is, most likely, nutso and unhealthy.

Chinese exporters are turning to rabbis to quell consumers' uneasiness about the country's food products. After last year's uproar over contaminated seafood, toothpaste, and pet food, the Chinese food industry is trying to clean up its act--or at least have rabbis convince people that they are.

According to the Orthodox Union, a New York-based organization that does kosher inspections, kosher certifications by rabbis have doubled to more than 300 in China in the past two years, and the number is expected to go up dramatically.

And China's not just doing this to ease the minds of consumers who still may not be over Fluffy's untimely death. Kosher is the new black, and China wants a piece.  

But while rabbis make sure that pork products aren't used in food production and that meat and milk stay far, far away from one another, they don't perform scientific food-safety tests. Still, at a time of intense international scrutiny, an extra seal of approval may boost consumers' confidence in products from China. If contaminated food does get through, blame the rabbis!