Thank God it’s Monday, again. I personally look forward to all Mondays, as they’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with everyone! Therefore, happy Monday to one and all.
In honor of my dad’s memory, I want to write about Super Bowl Sunday. It’s less than a week away. Time is already flying fast this year. The big “Super Sunday” event, is happening in Las Vegas this year. The NFC’s champions are the San Fransisco 49ers (so sad it wasn’t the Detroit Lions), facing off against the AFC’s champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Watch parties have already been planned for weeks, if not months – before anyone even knew what teams would be in it because it’s usually more about the party than the game. Squares have been bought, bets have been placed and all the hype about the half-time show and the expensive ads have already begun.
It doesn’t matter what teams are in the game because the snacks are the real winners of the event. It seems like there’s something to celebrate, every day of the year, though; even if it’s not an “official” holiday – and “Super Sunday” is no exception, given all the hype surrounding it. However, Mom and Dad didn’t host or go to any Super Bowl parties.
Football parties weren’t really a “thing” with Mom and Dad’s generation [aka: the Post War (WWII) Generation – born 1928 to 1945]. It was the Baby Boomers Generation [born 1946 through 1964], who started the Super Bowl party sensation, which has evolved over the decades – to the point that it’s now a nationally celebrated, un-official holiday.
Most people look forward to the “Super” parties because of the food, mostly, but followed closely by the social aspect. By the way, more than half of the party attendees/hosts aren’t even interested in the game itself – most likely because their favorite team didn’t make it. However, Americans love any excuse for a party and Super Bowl Sunday is no exception.
Similarly, Mom loved to entertain – always with some kind of food (and also drinks). She would’ve hosted a party for something like football, only because she would’ve been among the majority of celebrators, who look forward to the food and socialization features.
Since the mid-1960s, the Super Bowl has been progressing from a simple championship football game into a cultural phenomenon. It used to be celebrated on the last Sunday in January. For various reasons, it’s now celebrated on the second Sunday in February.
I think it’s perfect that February also happens to be National Snack Food Month because the most popular Super Bowl party eats are from the snack food’s category, which are typically considered “finger-foods” that are intended to be convenient, easy, quick, and only temporarily satisfying. It’s odd, though, that National Snack Day isn’t until March 4th.
Snacks are also considered to be small portions of food that are traditionally eaten between meals and/or before bedtime. Most homemade snacks are usually created from common pantry ingredients and don’t require a lot of preparation. Snacks are an important part of our American culture, in general.
In this category, alone, there’s something for everyone – salty, spicy, sweet, or savory – you name it. From football games to movie night, munching on snacks is, in essence, most Americans’ favorite pastime; as, on average, we eat more than 17 pounds of it a year, according to NationalToday.com.
However, the category of snack foods (like the Super Bowl event, itself) has likewise evolved from simple things like cookies, popcorn, pretzels, chips, dips, and the like; now including many “hot-served” appetizers such as pizza, sliders, chicken wings, nachos, tacos, fondues and deep-fried morsels of just about anything.
One could say that even the Super Bowl parties, themselves, have progressed and evolved, too – becoming more of a “food-fest” competition. The usual top three contenders, for decades, have been chicken wings, pizza, and nachos.
Meanwhile, beer has consistently remained the top contender of the favorite drinks category for Super Bowl Sunday. No surprise that beer and snack food companies are usually among the biggest sponsors of the game.
Based on 2011 data, Wikipedia.org claims that about “28 million pounds… of chips, 1.25 billion chicken wings, and 8 million pounds… of guacamole are consumed during Super [Bowl] Sunday”. Since more people are having parties now than in 2011, I’m sure those numbers have increased quite a bit (but I couldn’t find any updated information).
Interestingly, Americans consume more chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other day of the year. And, according to a story by Janet Loehrke (Updated: Feb 9, 2023), at USAToday.com, “in 2022, an estimated 12.5 million pizzas were sold in the U.S. on Super Bowl game day, according to the American Pizza Community organization.”
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 264). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition)].
…DRINKS AND SNACKS
DRINKS AND SNACKS HAVE given an unlikely edge to a suffering food industry that was never anticipated as being possibly successful. Potato chips, pretzels, dips and appetizers have been more than well-received by a public that the industry was once certain had tried everything they could have been offered and will probably not buy another new idea! How wrong!
Whenever a new snack item or beverage has been introduced to the public, it has been received with enthusiasm, until proven unworthy of patronage, because we have become an on-the-run generation of picky eaters. Some just don’t want to get involved any longer with a big meal experience.
Some don’t want to take the time to make the foods and then serve them and, finally, clean up afterward. We look for snacks and beverages to serve our guests and to enjoy individually in our most private and leisurely moments.
From the offerings of the food industry have come some relatively good ideas, such as the baked potato chip product. Pretzels have gone from the 200-year-old tradition of hard and dry-baked to a soft, bread-like product, liberally sprinkled in salt and topped with prepared mustard and, as a fast food enterprise, has been one of the leading money-makers in the industry.
Also, according to Wikipedia, the top 10 official Public Holidays in the United States that are celebrated with food, include Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Independence Day, Halloween, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and New Year’s Day.
Five additionally, noteworthy “unofficial holidays” that are largely celebrated with food (and/or drinks) in some way, include Super Bowl Sunday, Major League Baseball’s opening day, Memorial Day Weekend, Labor Day Weekend, and New Year’s Eve.
The online consensus, to my search for the “biggest celebrations that involve food”, seems to be that Super Bowl Sunday is America’s second biggest day of food consumption, next to Thanksgiving. Maybe that’s why at least half of the Super Bowl ads are usually about some kind of food (specifically snacks) or drink product.
I like what Jenna Helwig noted in her timeless article, You’ll Never Believe How Much Food We Eat On Super Bowl Sunday, (Feb. 5, 2016); as seen on Parents.com, regarding the “second biggest day of food consumption”. Jenna reasoned that the “Super Bowl actually better reflects what most of us really WANT to eat: classic junk food.”
Jenna added, “From chips and wings to nachos and beer, the Super Bowl is our excuse to just chow down and enjoy all the foods that we rarely eat or feel like we should eat the rest of the year. It should go without saying, ‘There is no place for food guilt during the Super Bowl’.” Personally, I especially like that last sentence.
‘There is no place for food guilt during the Super Bowl’. – Jenna Helwig, You’ll Never Believe How Much Food We Eat… (Parents.com; Feb. 5, 2016)
Mom, being the Secret Recipes© DetectiveTM, investigated the many secrets of the food industry and was able to develop thousands of imitations of famous foods from famous places. There weren’t many things that stumped her more than understanding my dad’s love of football. As a kid, I sided with my mom – I didn’t like football either.
I didn’t understand the game and didn’t care to learn about it. I was never a competitive person – I wanted everyone to win. I more enjoyed being in the kitchen with Mom or playing outside with my friends, while Dad yelled intensely at the referees, players, and coaches who were on TV and couldn’t hear him – but our neighbors could.
Eventually, I learned about the game. Now I enjoy watching football with my husband and some of our friends. I’m still not competitive – which is probably why I’ve been able to remain a Lions fan for 27 years. However, they’re finally the team Dad had been waiting several decades to see again. They came so close to being 2024 Super Bowl contenders.
Eventually, Mom started watching football with Dad – just so that, when he fell asleep in his recliner, she could grab the TV’s remote control device and change the channel to an episode of “Murder She Wrote” or a Hallmark movie. Most times, though, Dad woke up as soon as she grabbed it.
LAST THOUGHTS…
Somewhat recently, a distant relative of my husband, Rita MacDonald, contacted me about Mom, wanting to write a story about her. Years ago, when she was in the military and stationed overseas, Rita’s mom would send her my mom’s cookbooks so she could at least imitate her favorite American snacks and other foods, while away.
You can see Rita’s article about Mom, in The Keel, entitled Late St. Clair Resident, Gloria Pitzer, Leaves Flavorful Legacy With Copycat Cookbook Series, at SecondWaveMedia.com. She also writes a Christian food blog, called Kitchen Table Devotions, which Mom would’ve really enjoyed, herself. I recommend checking it out, as well as her article.
IN CLOSING…
In honor of February, being National Great American Pies Month and National Bake for Family Fun Month, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Lemon Chiffon Pie, like Schuler’s”; as seen in her self-published cookbook, The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes© Book (Secret RecipesTM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 57).
P.S. Food-for-thought until we meet again, next Monday…
February observes, among other things… National Fasting February, An Affair to Remember Month, Black History Month, National Canned Food Month, National Creative Romance Month, National Bird Feeding Month, National Cherry Month, National Grapefruit Month, National Hot Breakfast Month, National Library Lover’s Month, and National Weddings Month.
This month is also the anniversary of Mom’s first appearance on ABC’s “Home” show (1988)…
The first full week of February (4th-10th for 2024) is… Burn Awareness Week. Plus, the first full WORK WEEK of February (5th-9th for 2024) observes… Pride in Food Service Week. Additionally, the national Boy Scout Anniversary Week is always February 5th-11th.
Today is also… National Weatherperson’s Day and World Nutella Day.
February 6th is… National Frozen Yogurt Day and National Chopsticks Day.
February 7th is… National Fettuccine Alfredo Day and National Send a Card to a Friend Day. Plus, National Marriage Week is always February 7th-14th.
February 8th is… National Boy Scouts Day, National Kite Flying Day, and National Iowa Day. Plus, as the second Thursday in February (2024), it’s also National Giving Hearts Day.
February 9th is… National Cut the Cord Day, National Bagel and Lox Day, and National Pizza Day.
February 10th is… National Cream Cheese Brownie Day and National Umbrella Day. Plus, as the second Saturday in February (2024), it’s also… Global Movie Day.
February 11th is… National Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day, National Inventors’ Day, National Make a Friend Day, and National Peppermint Patty Day. Plus, for 2024, it’s also… National Pork Rind Day, which is always the same day as Super Bowl Sunday (now the second Sunday in February).
…6 down, 46 more to go!
