Make your Super Bowl party a winner

With Super Bowl XLIV just a few days away, now's the time to start planning your Super Bowl party in earnest. A good television is important, but so's the food and fun. We've scoured the web, searching for the best sources for Super Bowl party recipes and tips, and compiled them for easy reference. Whether you're a New Orleans Saints fan or you're cheering for the Indianapolis Colts (full disclosure: ConsumerSearch was pulling for the New York Jets), you'll find something to make your Super Bowl party memorable.

Start with ConsumerSearch

No gathering would be complete without one of America's favorite snack-food combos -- chips and salsa -- and ConsumerSearch recommends picks for both. We also review and recommend a number of other party-friendly foodstuffs, including potato chips, BBQ sauce, microwave popcorn and ice cream, as well as useful kitchen appliances like slow cookers, electric grills and sandwich presses, blenders and wine openers.  

Then, check with About.com

Regular readers know that About.com is a great resource for product reviews and information, and several of their guides offer great tips for hosting a Super Bowl party. If you're planning to serve alcohol, About's cocktail guide has put together a clever list of team-themed cocktails for Colts fans and Saints fans (Colt 45 or hurricane, anyone?), while About's beer guide picks winning brews to pair with wings, steaks, sandwiches, and chips and salsa. Linda Larsen, the guide for busy cooks, offers several recipes for dips and finger foods you can serve at your party. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Hit the foodie websites, too

Serious foodies probably will want to serve something more creative than cocktail weenies, and several food-focused websites have posted Super Bowl party recipes and menus. Bacon lovers will go hog wild for the Miami New Times' list of 10 Super Bowl appetizers that use bacon -- though we have to admit that bacon "nachos" (strips slathered in cheese, salsa, sour cream and jalapenos) and deep-fried bacon seem a bit much. 

Football fans looking for healthier fare would do well to consult New Orleans Times-Picayune blogger Judy Walker's suggestions for healthy Super Bowl snacks. Food is a big deal in the Crescent City, and Walker's suggestions are far from bland. She serves up recipes for shrimp and corn stew with brown rice and slow cooker turkey chili, as well as hints for folks on a diet.

If you're planning to lay out a serious spread, you'll find comprehensive Super Bowl party guides at the Food Network's website, including recipes from celebrity chef Guy Fieri, as well as at Epicurious.com, AllRecipes.com, Chow.com and SeriousEats.com, which offer scores of recipes for everything from cookies to chilis.

Last, but not least, no Super Bowl party would be complete without dessert, and few desserts are easier to stuff in your mouth than a cupcake. Even if you're not a cupcake fan, it's worth checking out the blog Hostess with the Mostess to see some of the elaborate football-themed cupcakes that blogger shows off.