Super Bowl Sunday means putting your feet up, relaxing with a cold beer (or wine in our case) while watching the game and nibbling on "game day" cuisine.  Recognizing that typical "game day" cuisine is far from wholesome, I decided to arrived at a comprise between the traditional fare and our desire to eat healthy.

My Super Bowl spread started off with salty organic pretzels served with 3 different mustard dips.  Wilson's favorite was the marrionberry mustard while I preferred the honey-truffle -Dijon.

The focal point of our Super Bowl spread was Welsh Rarebit served fondue style.  Welsh Rarebit is a cheese sauce made by forming a roux, and adding beer, cheddar and seasonings.  Typically it would be served on toast and broiled until all hot and melty.  I thought it would be fun to serve it in fondue fashion with all sorts of goodies for dipping. 

Hearty bread was a must!  I had some homemade bread leftover from Friday night which I grilled until nice and crisp, perfect for dipping in Welsh Rarebit.  Alongside my grilled bread I served a whole grain molasses seed bread, cut into chunks.  Baked "french fries" drizzled with vinegar were delicious dipped into savory Welsh Rarebit and a big hit with Wilson.  In an attempt to keep some semblance of healthy eating, I also served an assortment of organic veggies for dipping.  Rounding everything out was some bits of leftover cheese (not that we needed any more) and a nice hunk of Cahill Porter which is a cows milk cheese from Ireland made with porter - very unique!

Welsh Rarebit Fondue

2 T butter
2 T flour
3/4 cup dark beer (I used Guinness Porter)
2 cups (8 oz) aged English farmhouse cheddar, shredded
1 T English mustard
1 T worcestershire sauce
dash cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Add the flour, stirring for a couple of minutes until the roux is golden brown and the flour is throughly cooked.  Slowly add the porter, whisking well to combine. Add the cheese, mustard, worcestershire, cayenne and pepper.   Once all good and melted, cover and set aside to reheat a bit later or pour into a hot fondue vessel and serve.

Great with grilled bruschetta as well as fresh bread chunks, raw veggies and baked "french" fries.