Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Snackadium


What is a snackadium? Why, it’s a stadium built of snacks, of course. 
According to the ultimate source – snackadium.com – “Its exact origins are unclear, but historians believe this concept was invented as a way for hosts of Super Bowl parties to force guests to the toilets, achieving the objective of reclaiming prime seats in front of the television.” By many accounts, this novelty first appeared on the hunger/vomit inducing site thisiswhyyourefat.com in June 2010. It received some internet buzz and fan-fare and even made its way into a Bing commercial during football season 2010.
While the craze seemed to die down since its inception, my good friend Nicole and I never forgot the sweet dream of the snackadium. And what better opportunity to erect this memorial to football, yummies and the glutton gods then for our Fantasy Football Draft.
To prep for this feat, first we talked logistics and engineering – how would we support it? How would we separate the “fans” from the “field”? How would we make sure the walls were secure? And just how much food do we really need for this?  
Finally deciding we needed a boat (or stadium) load of supplies, Nicole went to work. She was the official procurer of the snacks, and procure she did! This creation calls for many ingredients and to name a few they include: guacamole, salsa and cheese dip (for the field), Slim Jims (goal posts), sour cream (yard markers), Rice Krispie treats (for the retaining walls between the “fans” and the “field”), chips of all kinds (fans), and many, many small sandwiches (for the arena wall).
Putting it together was relatively easy, but time consuming, and it was exciting to see our dream take shape. 
We started with a clean (large) space covered in aluminum foil with the “field” pan empty and waiting. 
 We then surrounded it with the retaining wall of Krispie treats, which I had made the night before in a jelly roll pan (3 boxes of Krispies and 4 bags of marshmallows). 
Next, we made the little sandwiches and surrounded the field with them. Careful to space them far enough apart to cover the area, but close enough that they could make a wall and be self supportive.
After that, we slowly and carefully placed the “fans,” aka: chips, in between the inside and outside walls and watched the stadium come to life!
 We filled in the field with the proper dippings (homemade guac, salsa and cheese dip) and secured the goal posts into place (thanks to Nicole’s idea of making a cheese-block base). 
 Then we placed the yard markers with sour cream from a piping bag.
With that, the snackadium was complete and there were many “oohs and ahhhs.” 
A real sight, this monster of munchies was just what we were hoping for and the paparazzi were quick to document this feat.
 As pictures really don’t to this justice, we tried to put it into perspective and put $20 bills along the length. 
 Pretty big indeed!
 From the sheer size, I never thought our small group of 12 would make a dent on this, but oh what a dent we made!
Phase I consumption:
 Phase II:
 As we were left with a full retainer wall of Rice Krispie treats, we decided to make some lobster pops for to-go treats (not football related, but fun)!
 While Nicole and I vowed that the snackadium was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I can’t stop thinking of bigger and better things to do to it!
Thankfully, the season is young and there will be plenty of more opportunities....
Super Bowl snackadium, anyone?

30 comments:

  1. Awesome...snackdium!! I am going to try for this season .
    May be I'll add little veggies to it... Thanks for the great idea!!

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  2. This is so creative!

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  3. this is soooo cool!!!

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  4. LOVE IT,I'M GOING TO MAKE IT

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  5. How did you keep the dip from.running together?

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    1. You could probably fold a piece of tin foil 2 or 3 times to make it thick and place between the dips. Place it far enough down into the dips that you can squeeze the sour cream over top of it..

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    2. or you could probably use smaller individual pans for each and place side by side

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    3. IT LOOKS LIKE THEY MAY HAVE USED PEPPERONI STICKS AND CUT DOWN SOME TOOTH PICKS FOR IT

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  6. Hi! I'd love to write a quick feature on this for HuffPost Taste. Please contact me if you're interested. Thanks!

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    1. Hi Julie! I'm definitely interested. You can reach me at Rachel.Manfredo@gmail.com.

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    2. Hi Julie! I'm definitely interested. You can reach me at Rachel.Manfredo@gmail.com.

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  7. GREAT IDEA! I'm going to try it! Thanks!

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  8. how did u get teh goal post to stay together?

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    1. IT LOOKS LIKE THEY USED PEPPERONI STICKS AND CUT DOWN SOME TOOTH PICKS TO JOIN THEM TOGETHER

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  9. Nice idea but the rice krispie treats do not belong with guacamole, salsa and cheese dip ..That combination turned my stomach immediately

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    1. I agree - I was thinking just crustless bread would look good and could be used for dipping

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  10. I would love to make one like that but with basketball instead of football. Any ideas on how to make the basket?

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    1. Would thin licorice strings work entwined into a basket? - just a thought...

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  11. Hi Rachel! This is absolutely amazing. I work at Every Day with Rachael Ray, the magazine. I'd love to change with you about this. What is your contact info?

    --Alyx Chapman

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    1. Hi Alyx,

      Thank you! I'd be happy to chat and can be reached at Rachel.Manfredo@gmail.com. Looking forward to hearing from you!

      Best,
      Rachel

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  12. This is really amazing! I am going to pin it to the Better Homes and Garden board.

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  13. anne/deryck, Erin,ONJanuary 5, 2014 at 10:29 AM

    So neat, wonder how I could make it into a 'golf' theme? Any good ideas out there?

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  14. Making it 2015 for Seahawks Superbowl

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    Replies
    1. Hehehe... heehehehe... heeeeeeeeeh

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  15. You said "little" sandwiches, what size or type of bread did you use?

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