The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10. Although who cares about the game when you have a feast in front of you?!
At this point, it is pretty much well known that my house is for grown ass men. My roomates and I are some of the oldest students on my college sports team, and we have made it clear that we are not a “party house” anymore. For this year’s super bowl, we ditched the light beer and chips with salsa and decided to step up our game.
For the longest time, Corona was just another random light beer to me. I was completely unaware of the stigma attached to it. I hate to admit it, but it is the lime that finally did it. I am a sucker for indulgent additions to alcohol. I sprinkle cinnamon sugar in the foam when drinking a winter seasonal ale. I wouldn’t be caught dead without salt on the rim of my margarita. I can’t even enjoy a gin and tonic unless I have mint leaves. Call it picky but a Corona without a lime is just another cerveza. Add a lime? You are immediately transported to a beach on the Caribbean with the sun beating on your face. I may have fallen victim to their marketing campaign, but it doesn’t change the fact that the beer was killer with this meal. 
We started out with a salad of spinach, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and goat cheese. I do not say this lightly: goat cheese is my favorite cheese. There are many cheeses in this life, but that is the best. If you disagree, you just don’t understand. Have you tasted it? It’s creamy as fuck. It turns a bland hunk of lettuce into a restaurant quality salad instantly.
If the dip, beer, and salad were the regular season, the ribs were the super bowl of the meal. Anyone can throw a rack of ribs on the grill or in an oven for a few hours, but it’s the BBQ sauce that can really catapult the dish into something exceptional. Don’t get me wrong, there is a special place in my heart for Sweet Baby Rays. However, this sticky coffee and pepper rub added a whole new depth of flavor.
Ground coffee, cocoa powder, peppercorns, red wine vinegar, tomato paste, dijon, honey, paprika, the list goes on. This rub and sauce are packed with what would sound like overwhelming tastes, but they blend together into something smokey and delicious. Crucify me if you want, but we also threw together a box of cornbread mix just so we would have something to sop up the remains.
There is something indescribably gratifying about meat and football. We destroyed the ribs like Broncos defense destroyed Cam Newton. It’s always fun to have people over for some over-hyped TV event. It turns it into a truly memorable night though when you can accompany it with some stellar food. As evidence by my friend Saul’s euphoric expression, the evening was a huge success. The ribs were on point, spirits were high, the kitchen was a mess, friends were drunk, and football was entertaining. I may just have to make Super Bowl and ribs an annual tradition…
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