Brian and Shanna O’Hea’s rendition of the University of Phoenix Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, looks good enough to eat.

And you could, in fact, eat almost all of it.

This is the time of year when creative “snackadiums” – edible football stadiums – start appearing all over the Internet. If you are throwing a big Super Bowl party, is there any more fun or imaginative way to feed your guests than to turn your guacamole dip into a football field and your pretzel rods into goal posts?

We decided to ask the chefs O’Hea, owners of the Kennebunk Inn and its restaurant, Academe, to get into a huddle and create their own version. After a few hours and a couple of fumbles, what they came up with was a culinary touchdown (for snack foods, anyway). From their pigs-in-a-blanket cars with gherkin wheels to a (fully-inflated!) football made out of chocolate pate and buttercream, their NFL-worthy stadium is bound to spark ideas for those of you trying it yourself at home.

The chefs call their general concept “At Home and Away.” They used the bowl from Brian’s cotton candy machine as their basic infrastructure, then filled snack boxes with treats to create the stadium seats. One one side, there are store-bought snack foods such as potato chips, Cheez-Its and Oreos. That’s “away.” The home side has homemade versions of those snacks.

The O’Heas even built a stadium parking lot. And, hey, what would the Super Bowl be without a blimp flying overhead? In fact, the more you look at the O’Heas’ final creation, the more you see. “There are little hidden surprises all over,” Shanna O’Hea said.

Between figuring out the infrastructure and actually building their snackadium, the couple said they worked on it about eight hours. They estimate its cost at at least $200.

We recruited the O’Heas for this assignment because in October Shanna O’Hea won an episode of the Food Network show “Rewrapped,” in which chefs have to re-create iconic commercial foods, with her version of Chef Boyardee ravioli. Brian O’Hea loves football, but the New York born-and-bred chef is a Jets fan.

So who will they be cheering for on Sunday?

“I probably like the Seahawks less than I like the Patriots,” Brian O’Hea said, “so I’m probably pulling for the home team. I just want to see a good game.”

The couple won’t be building another snackadium on Sunday, which is their day off. But Shanna O’Hea is hoping this one might improve their odds of finding a good party.

“I think we might get a nice invite to somebody’s house,” she said, laughing.

SABLES “CHEEZ-ITS”

Sables are a classic French cookie. Shanna O’Hea turned the recipe savory by substituting cheese for the usual sugar. You’ll need Cheddar cheese in 2 forms – grated cheddar and powdered cheddar (available at the grocery store). Or you can substitute Parmesan cheese. The crackers will keep for 2 weeks in closed container. If you are a Cheez-Its fan, these are so good they’ll make your head explode.

Yields 18-20 crackers

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 egg yolk

¼ cup grated cheddar cheese

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for dusting

¼ cup powdered cheddar cheese

Pepper

Mix the butter in a standing mixer with paddle until smooth. Add the yolk and cheese. Sift in the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix until just combined.

Place the dough on parchment paper with another sheet on top and roll out to a 7-inch square, ¼-inch thick. Let the dough rest at least 1 hour in refrigerator or overnight.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the dough into mini squares, or use a fluted pasta cutter to achieve ruffle edges. Place the crackers on a greased or parchment-lined sheet tray and dust with half of the powdered cheddar cheese.

Bake for 6 to 9 minutes or until golden around the edges.

While the crackers are still hot, dust with the remaining 2 tablespoons powdered cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Let the crackers cool. Use an off-set spatula to gently remove them from the tray. Heads up: they are very crumbly.

Related Stories