Like our New Year’s Eve tradition, our annual Super Bowl parties have picked up so much steam over the years, they’re now barreling down the mountain without brakes and making me use bad metaphors. What started as an excuse to eat a whole casserole dish of seven-layer dip has now become a full-blown event for as many people as we can stuff around the TV. I know, I know—I do it to myself.

For this coming Sunday’s Colts-Saints matchup, it seemed way too easy to simply go with the richly varied Cajun and Creole delicacies of New Orleans. I had to give myself a challenge and represent the good people of Indianapolis as well.

So I did what any good 21st-century reporter does: got on the interwebs. It’s funny how, through my research, I saw patterns of overlapping ingredients and dishes throughout each region’s cuisine. Biscuits are omnipresent, corn used for Southern grits pops up throughout Indiana—popcorn or on the cob—and instead of roasted or bbq’ed pulled pork shoulder, Hoosiers have a thing for breaded and fried pork tenderloin sandwiches. Oh, and of course, there’s fried chicken.

And did you know that Indiana’s state pie was officially named the sugar cream pie a year ago? It bears a strikingly similar flavor and texture palate to the traditional Mardi Gras king cake, which is a sweet, bready dough wrapped around a cream cheese filling. I’ll be making my sugar cream pie with cherries to break up the texture and add some brightness, but I’ll be doing my king cake straight-up with cinnamon and cream cheese.

king cake, mardi gras, new orleans saints

all hail the King Cake in its sugar-glazed glory


>> So what is on the menu for this year’s Super Bowl party? >>