Fan food

Local vendors serve up Bears chow

Hey, Bears fans, why just wear your team spirit when you can sink your teeth into it?

In honor of the Chicago Bears clawing their way to Super Bowl XLI against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, local restaurants and specialty shops are revising their own starting lineups.

Creative Cakes in Tinley Park will sell cookies and cupcakes decorated with Bears jersey numbers, as well as blue-and-orange cakes.

At Murphy's Pub in Mokena, you'll find bowls of Bears jambalaya.

Pick up a loaf of Bear-shaped rye bread from Dinkel's Bakery in Chicago. Dinkel's also will stock football-shaped cakes, orange-and-blue cupcakes, helmet-decorated cupcakes and cookies in team colors.

Jimmy Bannos, chef at Chicago's Heaven on Seven, will serve bowls of Bear Down Chili, a fiery dish with plenty of "reddish-orange"-hued ingredients, including Hungarian paprika, Spanish paprika, chile powder and ground cumin.

And through today, you can take advantage of special pricing at Jenny's Steak House in Chicago Ridge. About a dozen menu items will feature 1985 rollback prices. That was the year the Bears last won the Super Bowl -- in case you've been living in a cave.

Get creative at your own party with football-themed fixin's from Clancy's New York Delicatessen in Tinley Park, which will serve up the Chicagoan Meat Platter, decorated with the Bears logo in the middle. The platter features roast beef, ham, turkey, Swiss and cheddar cheese. Also on Clancy's game-day menu will be deviled eggs in bright Bears colors.

Don't forget table decor, which always is best if it can double as dessert. Gayety's Chocolates in Lansing is featuring a hollow blue-and-orange decorated chocolate football. Inside are pieces of turtles, butter toffee and almond clusters.

But if it's a Bears buffet you crave, juke your way over to FitzGerald's in Berwyn. The cajun-themed buffet, catered by Wishbone Restaurant in Chicago, will feature Da Fans Beef Brisket sandwich; Saints' Rest, which is a pork Andouille sausage Po' Boy; and Pure Gould, a kickin' crawfish etouffee with rice.

Also on FitzGerald's game table will be The Papa Bear, a Vienna hot dog with chili and slaw; The Bear Cub plain hot dog; Super Bowl, which is a hearty helping of mac and cheese; and Colt slaw.

Get your game on with the following recipe from Jimmy Bannos:

Heaven On Seven's
Bear Down Chili

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

1-- pounds pork stew meat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

2 pounds lean ground beef

2 cups diced yellow onion

-- cup seeded, diced jalapeno

2 tablespoons roasted-garlic puree

3 cups water

12 ounces beer

1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, plus 1 tablespoon of the adobo sauce

1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika

1 tablespoon Spanish paprika

1 tablespoon chile powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground Mexican oregano

2½ teaspoons kosher salt

-- teaspoon ground ancho chile powder

-- teaspoon ground guajillo chile powder

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Pico de Gallo salsa

Heat a large (7-quart) Dutch oven, preferably enameled cast iron, over high heat until very hot, at least 5 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil.

When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the beef stew meat and brown on all sides for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a large bowl and drain fat from the pan.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and brown the pork for 3 to 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to the bowl holding the beef; drain pan of oil and brown the ground beef; this takes approximately 5 minutes.

Transfer to the bowl holding the other meat. Add the onion, jalapeno, the garlic puree to the pan; saute for 5 minutes. Add all of the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1-- to 1½ hours. Serve bowls of chili topped with a small portion of the salsa.

Note: Bear Down Chili usually contains lots of meat but no beans. If you like them, add drained and rinsed canned kidney, black or pinto beans near the end of cooking. To reheat refrigerated chili, thin with a little stock or water.

Eloise Marie Valadez may be reached at
evaladez@dailysouthtown.com
or (708) 633-5974.