Want to throw the mother of all Super Bowl parties? Go straight to the source: the women who raised some of the NFL’s toughest players. They fed their sons’ gridiron dreams not just with love, but big helpings of grub.
“My official title is ‘Refrigerator Content Manager,’” says Annie Apple, mother of Giants cornerback Eli Apple. “If you have athletes in the house, you have to have good food and lots of it — especially on Super Bowl Sunday. That’s what we do … It’s all about football, family and food.”
Here’s how Apple and other top NFL moms tackle the Super Bowl spread.
The hottest pre-Super Bowl parties in Houston aren’t corporate-sponsored affairs — they’re happening at the family home of the Patriots’ eccentric tight end, where his parents, Pennie and Michael Bennett Sr., have been hosting soirees all week that include Pennie’s go-to: batches of Cajun rice.
Their home has always been a gathering space, including for the Super Bowl, when they serve meatballs, hot wings and chocolate shakes. “Even with the boys out of the house, their friends will come over and ask what’s for dinner,” Pennie says.
Of course, this year, the Bennetts will be sitting in NRG Stadium cheering on the Patriots.
“Martellus hasn’t been on a good team for years, so it’s awesome to see him get this far with the Patriots,” says Pennie, whose other son, Michael Bennett, won a Super Bowl ring with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. “They both will have their Super Bowl experience and hopefully they both will have Super Bowl rings.”
Cook 6 cups rice and mix in 5 envelopes Knorr Dirty Rice mix.
Fry 1 pound smoked sausage in a separate pan and then add to rice.
Add 2 tablespoons liquid crab boil and 2 pounds crawfish tails and shrimp (each).
Cook for 25 minutes. Serves 10
“The arty people have the Oscars and we have the Super Bowl,” says Annie Apple of her South Jersey-based family. “We take it seriously. People would invite us to Super Bowl parties, but, ‘No thank you. Maybe I’ll see you in church.’ [They] all want to talk about the commercials. We want to watch the game.”
The Apple family’s spread includes dishes from Annie’s native West Africa, such as jollof rice, a popular one-pot rice dish (some compare it to paella) that has seemingly endless regional variations. “Eli eats rice every single day, so we always have to have a rice dish,” she says.
The cornerback’s father, Tim Apple, a former chef, contributes American fare such as wings and a heaping portion of nachos.
“[Nachos are] Tim’s speciality,” says Annie. “They’re good and filling. You have to put a spread out that will last five hours. Once the food is set, nobody’s going anywhere.”
Dice 1 large onion and 6 or 7 garlic cloves.
Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and heat until hot.
Add diced onion and garlic, and sautée until translucent.
Add 2 pounds ground beef and cook until brown. Drain off about 85 percent of any fat (leave some for flavor).
Add pre-blended chili seasoning (or search online for easy recipes to make your own).
Add 2 16-ounce cans refried beans to the beef mixture.
Using 2 large bags of tortilla chips, cover a large serving tray with a layer of chips and spoon the beef and beans over it. Add thin layer of pre-made cheese sauce. Repeat these steps two more times, finishing off with a layer of chips.
Spread 1 head shredded iceberg lettuce on the top layer and then 1 16-ounce jar of your favorite salsa. Add dollops of guacamole from a 16-ounce can or jar, and sour cream from a 16-ounce container. Finish off by sprinkling 2 sliced jalapeño peppers and a 7-ounce jar diced Spanish olives. Serves 10 to 12
When it comes to feeding large, hungry men, it’s possible no one knows more than Cheryl Bosa. Joey is 6-foot-5 and 276 pounds; her other son, Nick Bosa, is a 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end at Ohio State; and her brother, Eric Kumerow, played for the Dolphins, as did her ex-husband, John Bosa.
“The Bosa food bill is ridiculous,” says Cheryl, who regularly whips up Italian dishes such as osso buco, veal Milanese and paninis. “[But] I love cooking for the boys . . . You have these giant mammals, and you’d make a pot of gravy and four pounds of pasta.”
On Sunday, Mama Bosa will hit a friend’s party in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., while Joey will be in Houston and Nick will be on on his couch in Columbus, Ohio. But she recalls the Bosa family Super Bowl parties of past.
“My kids were brought up as Dolphins fans. Obviously, when Super Bowl would roll around, we’d be like, ‘Well, it’s not the Dolphins.’ [But] it was always an excuse to have friends and neighbors over, and to cook my grandparents’ pasta fagioli in a large pot with some crusty garlic bread. It’s the Italian chili.”
Soak 1 16-ounce bag navy beans overnight in water (or buy a can, rinse off beans and use).
Heat olive oil in a large pasta pot. Add 1 large chopped onion and cook until translucent. Add 8 cloves minced garlic and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 28-ounce can of San Marzano diced tomatoes and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes to let thicken and intensify in flavor. Fill pot halfway with about 2 quarts water. Add pinches of oregano and salt, and pepper generously. Heat with high flame.
Rinse soaked beans with cold water and add to pot. Cover and simmer until beans are tender (2 to 3 hours). Or, add rinsed canned beans and skip to next step.
Boil 1 pound of ditalini pasta in generously salted water for about 7 to 8 minutes (you want it al dente). Strain and add to pot with beans and simmer around 10 to 15 minutes to finish cooking and absorb flavor. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.
For the garlic bread, melt 1 8-ounce stick salted butter in a pan and add 3 minced garlic cloves. Stir and turn off flame. Slice 2 loaves Italian bread in half, generously smear with the garlic butter and put in broiler for a few minutes until brown and crusty. Serves 6
When her late husband, Derrick Shepard, played for teams including the Dallas Cowboys, Cheri Shepard admits that she’d sit in the stands completely disinterested. “I would read a book,” she says. “People would tease me. But nobody was going to put you on their Snapchat back then.”
But when her son, wide receiver Sterling Shepard, first began to play, she became a pigskin convert, even once storming the field after he was injured in a high-school game.
“I get really vocal,” says the Oklahoma City resident.
That zeal extends into entertaining on Super Bowl Sunday. Cheri makes spicy chili with fixings including crackers, cheese and Fritos, and invites family — Sterling invites his pals.
“It’s my mom’s recipe,” she adds. “If you don’t like spicy, [we have] a lot of drinks to kill that fire.”
Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a dutch oven and brown 2 pounds lean ground beef (or turkey) over medium flame. Drain off fat.
Add 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce, 2 cups water and ½ cup chili powder, 2 teaspoons paprika, 3 teaspoons cumin, 1 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes, ¼ teaspoon garlic salt, 1 ½ teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons ground red pepper (adjust to your taste).
Simmer for 30 minutes on low. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking.
Combine 2 tablespoons masa flour with ¼ cup hot water and add mixture to chili. Add 10-ounce can of spicy stewed tomatoes or chunky Rotel and 1 15-ounce can of ranch-style pinto beans.
Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes
Serve with sides of sour cream, sliced jalapeños, grated cheddar cheese, chopped onions and/or chives and Fritos. Serves 8
When your son has one of the most explosive rookie seasons in recent history on a team with 13 wins, you hold out hope that you’ll be at the Big Game.
“We planned on it,” says Dawn Elliott, Ezekiel’s mother.
Instead, the Elliotts, who live in St. Louis, will have a low-key Sunday. “We’re kind of a boring Super Bowl family,” she admits. “We used to watch it years ago, and obviously watched when the Rams won [in 2000]. But that hasn’t been in a long time.”
When they do watch football, Dawn whips up a Rotel-and-turkey sausage mix to serve with tortilla chips or Doritos.
“It’s something I’ve always done for the kids,” she says. “It’s like nacho cheese dip, and it’s simple and quick.”
Fry 2 pounds turkey sausage in a skillet.
Cut up 2 32-ounces of Velveeta and drop pieces into a slow cooker and heat.
Add the sausage and 4 10-ounce cans of Rotel. Stir together and cook about 20 minutes under low flame.
Serve with tortilla chips. Serves 6
When Jets linebacker Darron Lee was growing up in Tennessee, there was only one night of the year that his mother would let him stay up past his bedtime: Super Bowl Sunday.
“We’ve always watched football together, and it’s something we’ve bonded over,” says Candice of her only child.
In 2007 they moved to Columbus, Ohio, where Candice took a job as a weekend broadcaster on the local NBC affiliate, which cut down on their Big Game together-time. But it has made their earlier memories more precious, she says, recalling how she’d make his favorite grub, including fried wings and a batch of cheesecake brownies.
“They’re not even from scratch, but he loves them,” Candice says. “Whenever he comes home, I make them.”
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine 1 box of brownie mix, ½ cup applesauce, 2 egg whites and ¼ cup water until blended. Pour into 13-by-9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray.
Beat 1 8-ounce package of Philadelphia neufchâtel cheese, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup flour and 1 egg white with mixer until blended; spoon over brownie batter and swirl with a knife.
Bake 30 minutes and cool completely. Serves 12
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