Pass the beer nuts, it’s Super Bowl 50….actually, for me, it was more like pass the colour roll it’s time for a mani!!!

Up to the week of SB50, Mike had been working the pre-restaurant-open life.  He was recruiting, training, ordering, and doing whatever else one does before they are physically in their restaurant space.  Like a nomad, with a building under construction, he bounced from restaurant to restaurant to mall food court to our kitchen counter conducting his business.  Fortunately for me, I got to see much more of him than I usually do when he’s in his regular work flow.  With their Feb 18th grand opening date + the official hand-off of the restaurant keys, during the week of SB50 it all ramped up and just like that I was husbandless.

There were no plans set for Super Bowl Sunday as Mike was back in a restaurant and was finally able to train + set-up with his staff/colleagues in their actual operating space.   With a football free mindset, I PVR’d the game [for ease of fast forwarding to the Beyoncé + game related highlights] and booked a mani-pedi + brunch with some girlfriends.  It was set to be the most perfect un-FBS pre-game.

Of course, come Saturday evening, I received a text from Mike that detailed a plan to rush home and arrive 30mins after kickoff with a small group of colleagues to watch the game.  He articulated the text in the form of a question but I knew it was just a courtesy; there was no way Mike was missing a Super Bowl.  Arriving an hour earlier than expected, the door bursted open and before I knew it there was a 24 pack of beer, a bucket of chicken wings to be cooked, and a slab of ground beef to be turned into meatball sandwiches on our kitchen counter.  Super Bowl 50 was in full swing!

However, I will continue on with my intended, less testosterone filled SB50 post.  Though I did eventually partake in the wings + meatballs, I decided to share a simple baked brie recipe.

H O N E Y  +  P I S T A C H I O  B A K E D  B R I E

• 1/2C pistachios
• honey
• 8oz wheel of brie | or whichever size fits into your brie baker
• salt
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1 baguette | sliced
• tart fruit | I used berries however sliced apple would have likely been better

pre-heat oven to 350º
in a bowl, combine olive oil + pistachios and coat | season with salt
transfer to a baking sheet and bake until golden 

in a bowl, coat pistachios with honey
place brie in baker and top with the honey coated pistachios | cover + bake
bake until bubbly | about 15-20mins

remove from oven | drizzle with more honey if desired
serve with a slice baguette + fruit

…and you’re ready for halftime!

Beyoncé stole the show, the boys overtook my couch, and this pistachio + honey baked brie satiated my snack-time cravings!  Though my Super Bowl Sunday went completely opposite to plan, the end of football season wouldn’t be same without a filled couch and a kitchen pumping out food.

Cheers to the end of another football season; until next year!

**nail-polish wall + stool/bar photos from the Her Majesty’s Pleasure Instagram