This week, Lenore is cooking up a Super Bowl oriented column for the New York Sun, this time looking at typical Super Bowl party foods--in this case, chili, dip, and buffalo wings. Why these items? And are there new foods on the horizon? So here's what I sez, I sez...

Football is a sport that's typically reaching its zenith about the time the thermometer is reaching its nadir, which means its cooollllllllllldddddddddd outside and even if we are in our nice, temperature controlled 72 degree homes, we feel the chill in our Super Bowl spirit, and thus partake in foods that are hearty, stick to your coronary arteries, like chili and assorted cheese dips. Plus, chili is rugged. There's nothing foo-foo (or is it frou-frou? who knew?) about clumps of cooked cow meat, tongue searing sauces and beans. Yes, that's right, BEANS. We've all seen that scene in BLAZING SADDLES, you can't get more testoteroni than that. Buffalo wings were conceived in dark recesses of a sports bar so people are used to eating them while watching Keith JACK-son talk about them "big hosses" of the CRIMSON TIDE, so football is part of buffalo wings BBQ-DNA. Is there another food or drink on the rise? Yes. The Chili-Cheese Casserole, served with tortilla chips. Yes, it's the incredible twoheaded transplant, where CHILI and DIP become ONE. Ohhh, Nelly, I tellya, it's a BARNBURNER!
P.S. Be sure to visit www.examiner.com and click on BALTIMORE edition this Super Bowl weekend to check out my Super Bowl "SINGLE IN THE CITY" column!