There's no crying in football

Last week for Super Bowl Sunday, I wanted to plan a meal that would celebrate man food. Mom was out of town, so I knew I could put myself in charge of feeding at least Dad and Brother. I needed a menu with lots of bacon and beef and potatoes. This was not the time for anything wimpy. I needed to channel some Paula Deen craziness. I'll admit that I'm afraid of her. I feel like she would be happy to eat my soul with a Krispy Kreme donut and a chaser of bacon grease.

I was excited about the menu. I started cooking. Katie and Porter came over. Dad still hadn't arrived. He told me he'd be there, so I asked Katie to call and make sure he was on the way. Some conversation, and then I heard Katie say, "You're going to back out?" so I made her give me the phone.

"Daddy, where are you?" I asked.

"Oh, I decided I'm going to stay where I'm at."

"What? But Dad I just talked to you, and you said you were going to come over."

"Well, I think I'd better stay where I'm at."

Then I started to cry because I was sincerely upset. "Dad, I've been cooking and I bought you a steak and..." I sounded like one of those 1950s domestic goddess types that made a four course candlelight dinner and got mad when her man didn't call to say he'd be late.

Dad laughed a little. "I guess I'll wiggle my ears and be there in three seconds. I'm in front of your house right now. That's why I said I would stay where I'm at." He explained that he told Katie he was going to back out when he was backing out of the driveway.

It's confirmed. I'm a maniac in the kitchen. I have a domestic goddess delusion. But it's hard to beat this menu:

Roasted Acorn Squash Salad with Maple Syrup Dressing
Grilled Filet of Beef with Bacon and Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
Candied Bacon Ice Cream

The salad was my favorite part of the meal. It was amazing! Mesclun lettuces, rye bread croutons cooked in goat cheese and olive oil, seasoned squash, maple syrup dressing, bacon on top. How could that be bad?


I used my standard salt, pepper, cumin rub for the steaks. I intended to do a blue cheese glacage, but I ran short on time, so I decided to eliminate some stress by just topping the hot steaks with blue cheese crumbles and scallions. Sorry, the picture makes the steak look grey and overcooked, but they were actually very good.


I was hoping the pièce de résistance would be the bacon ice cream. I know what you're thinking, "Kimberly, you are out of your crazy mind." I thought it would be fun to try it, even if we never wanted it again. The first thing you do is candy the bacon by coating strips of bacon in brown sugar and baking them. The ice cream base has salted butter, brown sugar, milk/cream, egg yolks, flavorings, and the option of adding cinnamon. Different from any ice cream base I've made before. It tasted like BlueBell's Cinnamon ice cream - dark, not too sweet. I don't think I'll soon make it again. There are still leftovers, and that's not a good sign for any recipe, especially ice cream!

All in all, Man Food Day was fun. I'm sure it was bad karma for me to cry on Super Bowl Sunday. That privilege is only reserved for the victors of the game, which we missed because I made everyone eat at the table with the television off. Priorities, people!