Chicken wings are not just for football season! Now I am not one to let a party day pass me by, so I have been In the Curious Kitchen planning up the perfect lineup of Game Day Goodies and, you guessed it, a special cocktail just for the occasion.

Let’s start off with some In the Curious Kitchen Beer Cheese.  The possibilities are endless but for this special Sunday I am planning on serving bowls of our delicious Beer Cheese Soup.   You may remember I shared this recipe with you last fall when I spent almost an entire weekend tweaking the recipe to get all the flavors to balance with the savory goodness of my homemade beer cheese.  Check out the recipe here. I am sure it will be a big hit at your party, too.  If you are not in the soup mood then serve it as a dip with pretzels, celery sticks, carrots, or your favorite crispy cracker. And you seriously cannot have a Super Bowl Party without wings!  I am taking a little curious twist with my wings and making In the Curious Kitchen Hot Pepper Jelly Chicken Wings.  I have recently added Hot Pepper Jelly to my online shop and it has been a big seller—just as it is at market!  People tell me that they keep a jar or two in their pantry just because it is truly one of the most versatile ingredients and if you are in a pinch, you can always just spread it on top of a block of cream cheese and serve it with just about any cracker you have on hand!

But give these Hot Pepper Jelly Chicken Wings a try.  The recipe is super easy and super delish!  Your wings will be a little sweet, sticky with a slight kick and a whole lot of sass!

INGREDIENTS

4 pounds chicken wings or drumettes, dry with paper towel

2 tablespoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 jar In the Curious Kitchen Hot Pepper Jelly

DIRECTIONS

1. Place oven rack in the upper-middle position. Preheat the oven to 425° F.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Spray a wire rack (cooling rack) with non stick spray, place on top of paper or foil.

3. Use a paper towel to dry wings/drumettes and place in large bowl. Dry the wings really well, this is an important step.

4. Combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and baking powder in a small bowl, stir to combine thoroughly. Sprinkle mixture over wings, tossing to evenly coat.

5. Arrange wings in a single layer on prepared wire rack.

6. Bake on the upper middle rack for 20 minutes or until crispy and browned.

7. While wings are baking, take two heaping tablespoons of our Hot Pepper Jelly and heat in a small saucepan over medium heat until jelly has liquified.

8. Place cooked chicken wings on a platter and brush Hot Pepper Jelly glaze over wings, cover each wing with a generous amount of jelly. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve a side of Hot Pepper Jelly glaze for extra digging.

A party just would not be a party without In the Curious Kitchen Pimento Cheese.  What can’t you do with the versatile spread?  For my Super Bowl soirée, I am making a cheeseball out of my pimento cheese.  To stay with the theme, I am shaping my cheeseball into a football, adding some chopped pecans or finely chopped pretzels for a little color, and topping it off with White Cheddar slices to resemble the laces.  It just doesn’t get any easier? Right?

And it wouldn’t be a party without a cocktail…would it? Super Bowl Sunday calls for something special and for me it is always a bourbon-based concoction.  Why not  mix up a batch of Kentucky Bourbon Slush…always a winner!

Go Chiefs!  Go Eagles!  Whichever team you are cheering on just have a fun and safe Super Bowl Sunday!

Cheers! MK