Well, it’s almost here.  The most American of holidays – the Super Bowl.  That’s right I said holiday.  It’s a hell of lot more sacred than braving a blizzard to see whether or not some glorified rat saw his shadow plus it is the second most food-centric day of the year behind Thanksgiving Day.  These days the competition isn’t just on the field as friends gather to out do one another with delicious party recipes.  Well, what better way to impress that obnoxious brother-in-law than by strutting in with a few 5 star caliber dishes from this culinary all-star team.

Rick Bayless’ restraurants Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Frontera Fresco and XOCO have made him one of Chicago’s most respected chefs.  His cooking show Mexico: One Plate at a Time was the 2011 Tasty Award winner for best single subject cooking show.  The winner of the first Top Chef: Masters winner suggests you take that six foot sub concept to another level with his Giant Milanesa Torta with Crispy Chicken Tenders.  A torta is the popular sandwich that dominates the Mexico City street vendor scene.  Click HERE to get the recipe.

Iron Chef Michael Symon is no stranger to competition.  He had to defeat noted chefs like Aarón Sanchez, Chris Cosentino and John Besh to win the first Next Iron Chef contest and has since competed in over 20 ICA battles winning more than 80% of the time, the best of any Iron Chef.  So leave it to Iron Mike to shake things up a bit with this exotic take on the bite-sized burger with his Duck Confit Sliders, Banh-Mi Style.  These tasty little sandwiches provide just enough sweet and an ample dose of heat.  Click HERE to get the recipe.  Be sure to check out my exclusive interview with Symon HERE.

It never fails.  Even though it is understood that Super Bowl Sunday is a no-veggie-zone someone always fails to get the memo.  And for some reason they are never satisfied with nibbling the carrot and celery sticks you serve with the hot wings.  Thankfully Chef Nathan Lyon is here to save the day.  Chef Nathan is a champion of the healthy, farm-to-fork movement on his shows  Lyon in the Kitchen and Growing a Greener World.  Take for instance Nathan’s Carrot-Sweet Potato Soup with Fresh Ginger, it’s perfect for intrusive herbivores.  Click HERE to get the recipe.

Every Super Bowl party needs some kind of dip and Food Network’s resident Southwestern guru, Bobby Flay comes through with just the ticket.  Flay’s Queso Fundido with Roasted Poblano Vinaigrette takes cheese dip to a whole new plateau.  The Iron Chef even provides some how-to on making your own tortilla chips which is surprisingly easy to do.  Flay has become one of America’s favorite chefs thanks to his plethora of TV appearances and empire of restaurants.  You can always count on his recipes to pack all the punch you need to get your grub on.  Click HERE to get the recipe.  Be sure to check out my exclusive interview with Flay HERE.

I guess I would be remiss if I didn’t include some sort of hot wing recipe.  I am fond of baking my wings so as to keep them healthy.  Hot wing sauce is the only time you will ever see me use margarine instead of butter and that’s because margarine makes for a smoother sauce.  Butter-based sauces can break when heated so since I am not using real butter I will use one of the heart healthy liquid margarines on the market or even a healthy fat like canola or coconut oil.  That’s what I did with these smokey-sweet Honey-Chipotle wings and these sizzling Bangkok wings.  Click HERE to get the recipe.