Entertaining

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.

The only man who's ever told me to lose weight was a boyfriend I had who turned out to be gay.

I so feel you, Nigella.

My favorite [British] home cook and food writer is back on The Food Network, and this time she's cooking fast (what a concept!) on Nigella Express.

I, for one, am ecstatic. I fell in love with this woman the first time I saw her on Nigella Feasts. There's just something so damn sexy about the way she dips a blanched asparagus spear into a soft-boiled egg yolk and raves about it while chewing with her mouth open. Or the way she slips on her robe and climbs into bed with a big bowl of pasta. And then there's the accent, of course.

So why don't more people know about this woman? Maybe it's because her show airs at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. I must admit, I was too hungover yesterday to wake up in time and I'm probably one of the few people left in this country without the benefit of DVR. Luckily, the recipes from the show are posted on Food Network's Web site along with Nigella's intimate descriptions. Next time I'll have to catch her on the telly.

I've themed my Labor Day party and planned a Southern soul food menu. Next I need to schedule the shopping, cooking, and prep. Here's what I'm thinking:

Chocolate Caramel PopcornFriday (today): Confirm guest list and headcount. Write/gather recipes.

Saturday: Write grocery list. Get massage. Clean apartment a.k.a. Palace.

Sunday AM: Buy groceries.

Sunday PM: Make corn salsa, hummus, and caramel popcorn. Make DVD music video playlist.

Monday AM: Marinate chicken. Wash dishes so we're stocked for guests.

Monday PM: Roast chicken, make sweet potato chips, cut crudite, make grilled cheese bites (or mac 'n cheese bitelettes--still deciding).

Monday PM: PARTY ON!!

Stay tuned Tuesday to find out how it all went. Recipes will be posted on Pickled.

I'm hurriedly devising a menu for my "Fuck the Hamptons Guilty Pleasures Labor Day Soiree." I know it will be a cocktail/hors d'oeuvres set up since we're expecting around 10 people--too many to cook a full dinner for on a small budget. I also want the food to reflect the Guilty Pleasures/Justin Timerlake theme.

The Guilty Pleasures part is easy. However I've got waistline-conscience guests so I'll need less guilt-inducing noshing options. So I started thinking about what JT might eat. I couldn't imagine him eating anything. Then I remembered he Sweet potato chipshas a restaurant called Southern Hospitality. It's southern soul food and BBQ. Being from Texas, this kind of food should be a cinch for me. The menu has things like cornbread, corn fritters, pulled pork (SO not kosher or my thing), fried chicken, ribs, etc.

Soul food isn't really hors d'oeuvres food. So I'm going to have to be creative. I'm thinking:

1. Baked sweet potato chips with fresh corn salsa (corn is SO deliciously in season right now)

2. Grilled cheese bites OR mini mac 'n cheese bites (guilty pleasure and easy; plus I'm hording jalepeno cheese bread in my freezer)

3. Crudite (you should always have a healthy option) with dips, including homemade hummus (because everyone loves it and it's easy to make) and possibly a spinach dip

BBQ Chicken Legs4. Oven roasted BBQ chicken wings and/or legs (not terribly unhealthy finger food)

5. Pecan caramel popcorn drizzled with chocolate (dessert and good for noshing during concert)

6. Cocktails: BYOB (A great way to keep costs down is to ask guests to bring a wine, beer or spirit to share. You always wind up with way more than needed. So wonderfully Jewish.)

My plan to keep my budget down is to make very small one- to two-bite hors d'oeuvres and try to cook so that I don't have leftovers (I know--what kind of Jewish woman does that?). I also expect these ingredients won't cost much.

Next I'll plan my shopping/cooking schedule...