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There is really only one great thing about Valentine’s day, the fact that anyone can indulge in cleaning off an entire box of chocolates in one night with no guilt attached. There is nothing that irritates me more than eating out and dealing with the obnoxious pre-fix dinners that let us down most of the time, so I usually opt for dining in since it’s so much easier to be gluttonous in your PJ’s (ya sure, the silky ones with the hearts). On the day that we are suppose to declare and celebrate our love I find it fitting to divulge my obsession with crepes. After all they are the single most sexiest items to serve today or better yet tomorrow morning. They are the slimmer and sleeker version of the pancakes, that can be eaten anytime of the day, on a plate or rolled up to go in your hand, and made with minimal effort. They can be succulently savory like Bar Suzette’s Saigon Chicken or painfully sweet like the white chocolate coconut strawberry version at Vive La Crepe. At home crepes are a great way to transform yesterdays leftovers into a seductive feast. Best yet each one can be customized with your potpourri of filling options. Roasted vegetables, goat cheese, pickles, ham, chicken curry, caramelized white chocolate, fresh fruit, honey…the inspirations are endless. The only down fall when serving them to order is that the cook is forced to eat last and most of the time alone since these suckers disappear quickly…

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We may not get the credit for cheeseburgers or hotdogs, but there can be nothing more American than a superbowl feast. As the finger food version of Thanksgiving, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that America consumes the second highest amount of calories during the Superbowl, second to Turkey Day. Menus can range from traditional to creative to ambitiously healthy as well. But before you swap your 7 layer dips with a bowl of hummus check out some of these mouthwatering alternatives to dunk your crudités into. There is nothing like stacks of chips and cheese to satisfy a cheering crowd, but if you follow Melissa Clark or Bon Appetit’s advice your nachos might be the real winners of the day. Speaking of winners, there is really only one thing worth competing for during the game: who gets the last wing, especially with the rumor of a shortage . And let’s be honest, not having wings at superbowl party is as lame and embarrassing as a butt fumble.

OK that kind of pressure might be overwhelming for you, which is why good ol’ Jimmy’s 43 offered some classes to help. To busy painting your face or decorating your pad in scarlet and gold? Fine, dust off the responsibility of cooking for the herd and pick up some chili at Sullivan Street Bakery, a “Sh*tload of Delicious Tacos” from Tacombi, or how even a lobster dinner for you and your party. If three’s a crowd in your New York apartment, Lorely offered up a private room with unlimited drinks and food for you to enjoy the game in.

What are my plans? Well, I’ll be in class. But to score a little extra luck for my team I present the following two recipes as offerings to the Football Gods…

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Before the yawn chain begins, give me a chance to defend this sorely misrepresented item. Once only seen as the sad little alternative for our herbivore friends, the veggie burger is now enjoying a renaissance. Gone are the days where I had to watch my poor mother force down mushy bean patties, or worse BLT’s without the B’s. Then comes the great Shroom Burger, proving that even die hard traditionalists can waiver at the register when introduced to a worthy contender. What finally changed? Maybe chefs and restauranteurs finally realized that the point of a veggie burger is to actually taste like a veggie burger. Out are the desperate and failed attempts of faking meat and in are the creations that glorify… well, vegetables. From Green Label Burger at the Dutch, to the Earth Burger at soon to be east coast Umami chain, the options for dining out are growing everyday. But there is one kind of veggie burger I have always been biased to, the Masala Burger. Packed with textured veggies, lacking any sort of bean paste, and pungent with spice, I would easily pick this over the rest. Sure Trader Joe’s make a mean version, but it is so easy to make it from scratch why waste your time in that absurdly long line. The following recipe is loosely based on my mom’s recipe for Kofta, the Indian version of a vegetarian meatball, which uses cauliflower as the base. Shredding the cauliflower and carrots is key to the texture of the patty, so I would use the attachment on your food processor over just pulsing it. I use egg as a binder but you can replace this with either 2 tablespoons of yogurt (for vegetarians) or 2 tablespoons of canola oil (for vegans), just be careful flipping the burgers in the skillet as they will be more delicate. Garnish with tomato, your favorite cheese, spinach leaves or just the cilantro chutney aioli. So dump those freezer burn laden Boca patties and stock up on these guys before your next barbecue…