5 Days Until Super Bowl XLII: Indoor Tailgate

 Over at Epicurious they have several suggestions for your Super Bowl party and Grilling Guru Stephen Raichlen has weighed in with some helpful tips and recipes for some indoor grilling:

“The game action takes place indoors, in front of your TV,” says Raichlen, grill master and bestselling cookbook author. “So why shouldn’t your tailgate picnic? Indoor grilling brings the thrill of barbecue to the center of the pregame and halftime action: your living room.”

Raichlen’s book Raichlen’s Indoor! Grilling will show you how to bring smoke and fire into your home in the most modern ways. For Epicurious, he has chosen five of his recipes to start off your Super Bowl celebrations. And his expert tips guarantee that it will be a winning day. After all, Raichlen writes, “if something tastes good baked, fried, or sautéed, it probably tastes better grilled.”

His menu sounds incredible…I love everything grilled.  How about Filipino-Style London Broil or even grill dessert,  Grilled Pound Cake with Pineapple “Salsa” and Tequila Whipped Cream.

Now for Raichlen’s Tips:

• Keep It Simple

The menu I’ve suggested won’t drive you crazy with the preparations. Remember, your main job as host is to spend time with your guests and enjoy the game.

• Include Some Do-Ahead Items

Choose some dishes that can be grilled ahead and served cold or at room temperature. Good candidates on my menu include the chile-rubbed shrimp and the grilled pound cake.

• Make a Plan of Attack

Write out what you need to buy, when you’ll shop, when you’ll prep the dishes, and what the order of grilling will be. Ninety percent of winning the cooking-and-entertaining battle is having a clear plan.

• Be Organized

Buy all the supplies you need for the party no later than the day before. If possible, sort the ingredients by recipe and have them in paper bags in your refrigerator.

• Avoid Smoke Alarm Issues

To keep from smoking up your house, set up indoor grills on the stove under the exhaust hood and run the exhaust fan on high, or work next to a window you can open.

• Prep in Advance

Foods that must be grilled at the last minute—such as the Calgary hot wings—should be prepped in advance. That way, all you need to do close to game time is cook them, and the cooking time is quite brief.

• Avoid Traffic Jams

If you have more than one dish to cook at the last minute, time them to keep the food flowing. Grill the ot wings first, followed by the Filipino-style London broil; the spicy beer-marinated wings are a Super Bowl must and a perfect lead-in to the beef.

• Multitask

If you have more than one type of indoor grill, take advantage of all of them. For example, cook the wings in a stove-top smoker or grill pan and the pound cake on a contact grill (Foreman or panini machine). This, too, avoids traffic jams.

• Deputize

Enlist your guests to help you cook. Most indoor grills are supereasy to use. And it’s fun for all involved.

• Have Fun

Grilling isn’t brain surgery. Most of the dishes in my book are extremely simple, and a minor deviation from the recipe or an ingredient more or less won’t result in a disaster.

Remember, there’s no such thing as a mistake in the kitchen, just a new dish waiting to be discovered.