Mainely Martha

With the holidays over and the winter temperatures plummeting lower and lower, there are many sporting events tune into from the warmth and comfort of home. The NFL play-off have begun, basketball and hockey are in full swing and, in our house, the Premiere League is a weekend staple. So, regardless of what you are staying in for, you are going to need the game-time snacks.

Being a New Englander, the beginning of the play-offs is the kick-off to the road to the championship. Thus, it is time to start planning and practicing the game-day snacks for the BIG GAME! And today, we started with game day basics, buffalo chicken dip and wings. And while the dip recipe is pretty basic, there can be some huge variations for the marinade for the wings. We start of with some mild flavors and then will escalate to find the right balance of heat and flavor.

But, these snacks, while always well received comfort food, are just the beginning. In the coming weeks, as the play-offs continue, there will be a big push to raise the bar. And honestly, if the temps stay as frigid as they have been this past week, spending time in the kitchen with the oven on will easily become my winter happy place.

In the security of my kitchen, I plan to leave my comfort zone to experiment on some new recipes that I have historically deferred to others to bring to the table. And with my growing boys as taste testers, there is really no excuse not to try. Worse case, they’ll be too engrossed in the game to care or notice if there is a miss. So, since we cannot tell Alexa to skip winter, we might as well use the time inside to master some recipes!

“What you are afraid of doing is a clear indication of what you must do next.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson