6/21: Portugal v North Korea, Chile v Switzerland, Spain v Honduras

We spice up a traditional Portuguese grilled chicken today with gochujang, a thick hot sauce that forms the flavor basis for many Korean dishes. 
A deep, red paste, gochujang is made from chili powder, fermented soybeans and other seasonings such as rice, sweet potato or honey. You can find it at your local Korean market or order online. A common dinner in Portugal, this grilled chicken is basically a dish of foul glazed with a spicy sauce. You can use a roasting chicken or even chicken breasts, but we chose to use cornish hens for their rich flavors.

Asado is popular in Chile, where it is usually accompanied by pebre, a spicier equivalent of the Argentinean Chimichurri and represented in today's dish by the Korean gochujang. The dish would go phonomanally well with any number of Chilean Cabs in honor of today's Chile vs. Switzerland game. 
To represent Switzerland, chose a wine with the most neutral flavors you can find.

Korean Spiced Frango Piri Piri

1 T sea salt

4 cloves garlic, halved

1 T sweet paprika

2 T finely chopped cilantro or parsley

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 C red wine vinegar

~3/4 C olive oil as needed

1/4 C Korean gochujang

1 roasting chicken or 4 small cornish hens

Use a mortar and pestle to crush the garlic with the salt into a paste. Add paprika, parsley and pepper. Drizzle in the vinegar and then add oil to make a mushy, spreadable paste. Stir in the gochujang.

Butterfly the hens and coat generously with seasoning. You will have left over paste to use for basting. Place skin side up on a hot grill and grill, basting generously, for ~15 min. Turn over and repeat. The birds are done when they reach 165 F.  Photo: Flickr: kattebelletje

Ample Tres Leches left over from last Wednesday's Honduras vs. Chile match, we're representing Honduras once again today with their most widely known national dessert. To accompany our Tres Leches and honor Spain, we're also poaching a few spicy pears.

Peras al vino

3 pears, pealed and cored

1/2 C sugar

1 cinnamon stick (add more if your sticks are not fresh)

1 C dry Spanish red wine

1 C water

Whisk together the sugar, wine, water and cinnamon stick in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and add the pairs. Turn down to low and simmer until pears are soft and have absorbed most of the liquid.

Slice the pairs and arrange atop the Tres Leches for a beautiful plate, or serve a pair whole on the plate with a side of cake.

HEY! We've seen that cuisine before! 

Cook the foods of today's competing countries using other recipes: Feijoada from Portugal, Korean BBQ Ribs or Kimchi or Spanish Fondue! As we get deeper into the tournament, it's time to bring out the leftovers, mix and match, and let the fusion menus run wild like a frenzied North Korean defense.

Prefer to eat out instead? Our Dining Guide tells you where and why.

6/20: Slovakia v Paraguay, New Zealand v Italy, Brazil v Cote d'Ivoire

Chances are, you spent the morning in the kitchen filling cupcakes to look like Little Debbie snack cakes because they are your dad's favorite treat and then went fishing in the afternoon. No? Regardless, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY and a legit excuse to miss a day of World Cup Food Challenge cooking unless your father is from one of today's competing countries. Luckily, where I'm from in New Mexico, we make a dish very similar to today's Paraguayan recipe (with the addition of locally grown green chile) and tend to grill a la Brazil on special occasions like Father's Day. If that is not for you, we hope you can incorporate a few of today's select recipes or restaurants into your celebration.

Slovakia v Paraguay

One of only two landlocked countries in S. America, Paraguay is called the "Corazón de América." Bordered by Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia, Paraguay's cuisine reflects this deep cultural fusion and is unusual in South American for its lack of seafood. Milanesas and empanadas from Argentina are popular, as well as guarana sodas from Brazil. Dishes such as sopa paraguay and chipa set Paraguayan cuisine apart. As Paraguayans tend to skip breakfast, snack vendors line the streets selling versions of chipa for "merienda." Usually crescent shaped but nothing like a croissant, chipa is made from cornmeal, yucca and cheese or it can be served filled with shredded beef in the form of chipa so'o.

We plan to make chipa later on in the games but have included a recipe for Sopa Paraguay, the country's most well-known dish, for today. The Sopa is typically served with soups or stews and we felt it would make a hearty pairing with Slovak Goulash.

Sopa Paraguay

1 large onion, chopped

1 C queso fresco

1 C mild cheddar, grated

2 C cornmeal

2 C corn kernels

1 tsp salt

1 C milk

6 eggs, separated

Oven: 400F. 
Sauté the onions in oil until golden. Whisk together the cheeses, cornmeal, corn, salt, milk and yolks. Add the onions.

Whip the whites until soft peaks and fold them into the batter.

Pour the batter into a greased 10x13 in pan and bake ~40 min. until set.

Slovak Goulash

1 lb of beef or pork, diced

4 potatoes, diced

1 onion, diced

1 T Hungarian paprika

2 carrots, diced

In a large pot, sauté the onions until golden. Add the paprika and simmer a minute until fragrant. Add the meat and brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add the carrots, cover with water and simmer 15 min. Add the potatoes, salt and pepper to taste, cover with water and simmer ~35 min. until potatoes are soft.

Italy v New Zealand

Dessert represents Italy today with a simple yet decadent traditional Zabaglione, a custard that must be mastered as a basic of Italian cooking. We're tossing in New Zealand into the dessert with a kiwi sauce, as Zabaglione is typically accompanied by a coulis or fresh fruits.

If you were an undying fan of our Pavlova and would like to stick with New Zealand for dessert, try the recipe for traditional Anzac biscuits our friend posted over at EmuisEmo.

Kiwi Zabaglione

1 C cream, whipped to stiff peaks and chilled

1/4 C sugar

1/4 C vin santo or marsala

1 T aged balsamic

3 kiwis, peeled and sliced

1 T fresh lime juice

1 T honey

Sprig of fresh mint

Whisk the yolks with sugar, wine and balsamic over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk vigorously until thick and foamy. Remove from heat and whisk until completely cool (an ice bath helps if your arms tire). Gently fold the whipped cream into the custard and chill ~20 min.

While the Zabaglione chills, prepare the sauce by covering the kiwis with juice, honey and mint. To serve, place the kiwis at the bottom of a martini glass and spoon the Zabaglione over them. Photo: www.chefspencil.com

See our recipes from last week's Brazil and Cote d'Ivoire games.

Prefer to eat out instead? Our Dining Guide tells you where and why.

6/19: Ghana vs. Australia, Cameroon vs. Denmark, Netherlands v Japan

Ghana and Cameroon are represented today by leftovers of two national dishes: Jollof rice and Fufu. We're serving these alongside an exciting Australian recipe that took some serious researching to achieve. Yes, we found kangaroo meat. And we're throwing it on the barbie.

Since Kangaroo is an extremely low fat, high protein meat (you've seen how they jump!) it must be cooked carefully to retain some moisture. We soak our kangaroo fillets in oil for a few minutes before searing on a hot cast iron pan. Carefully salted and peppered, we also opted to slightly bread the 'roos so as to further retain moisture and add flavor.

To further develop the essence of Australia, above and beyond eating adorable marsupials, we've included this handy video.

A few recipes that caught my eye, courtesy of the Kangaroo Industry itself:
Carpaccio of Kangaroo with Chutney
500 gm Kangaroo Fillets
200ml Virgin Olive Oil
120ml Red Wine Vinegar
100g Melon Chutney
Chill Kangaroo fillets and slice as thin as possible – place on a chilled plate with the chutney. Drizzle the red wine vinegar and olive oil over the kangaroo slices and serve.
'Roo Mash
250g Kangaroo Back Loin
1 Sweet Potato
1 Potato (large)
3 Baby Onions (roasted in the oven)
200ml Beef Jus (fancy name for beef stock - Ed)
1 tablespoon Bush Tomato Chutney
1 Parsnip
50g Butter
Make a mashed potato with both the sweet potato and normal potato with butter and seasoning. Place beef jus, chutney and baby onions in a pan and reduce until thick. Peel parsnip and shave into thin slices and deep fry. Sear the kangaroo.
Place mashed potato in the middle of a large flat plate. Place the seared kangaroo on mashed potato facing inwards. Pour chutney jus over the kangaroo. Put roasted baby onions around the meat and place parsnip crisps on top to serve.
Wallaby Bolognese
Finely chop 1 onion and 1 apple and fry together until transparent. Add 500gm wallaby mince, salt pepper, pinch of nutmeg (to taste), 400gm tomato puree, 1/2 cup red wine. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve with 1 pkt cooked spaghetti. Serves 6-8.

The Netherlands vs. Japan
It's Saturday, we have a house full of food and we're taking the day off from this game. Do Heineken sake bombs if you dare.

Until tomorrow, happy kangaroo grilling.

Can't fry that sweet kangaroo face and prefer to eat out instead?

Our Houston dining guide tells you where and why.

Week One Review

A few upsets, a full kitchen and a collection of new global recipes later, we've survived the first week of the 2010 World Cup Food Challenge. We'd like to congratulate everyone taking the Challenge on a great first week and pat ourselves on the back for surviving. In just 7 days we've prepared menus that highlight the national cuisines of over 30 countries! We are only missing Australia and Italy, which, although we did not address them specifically, we touched on through the dishes of their culinary neighbors.

Missed out on all the action? We're recapping the week in World Cup AND World Cup right here with some of the highlights. Make sure to be in on the action next week by following @worldcupfood on Twitter and joining our Facebook page!

Day 1 opens with a bang as France and Uruguay come to a goalless draw after an intense game and South Africa puts up a fight against Mexico...

... and we create what we believe to be the world's first South African margarita and taco.

The opening day party at Paparrucho's is 100% Mexico - Cuervo runs rampant, not a word of English is spoken and free breakfast tacos abound!

Argentina's classic steak accompaniment, Chimichurri, lends such perfect flavor to the Nigerian barbeque Suya, that we think even the Nigerian team would agree to eat it despite their nasty loss to Argentina.

Balkan meatballs taste perfectly at home on a bed of Ghanian Jollof rice.

Left out of the food tournament until today, but never one's to be pushed aside, long-term World Cup runner-ups Germany take their seat as the great white hope of Europe as they give a proper thrashing to the team from down under. Australians responded with a keen, "let's see 'em play ruby, eh, mate?" To that, the Germans punished us all by making this horrible rap video in German about their 4 goals against Australia. Apparently this group is making a "motivational rap" for each of the German games.

Stamppot of Burning Love not only fuses Danish and Dutch cuisine into a single bowl of rich awesomeness, but may also be the best name for any dish EVER. It's also likely the best thing since sliced Gouda to come out of either of these countries (yes, I know the 'best restaurant in the world' is in Denmark but its hardly representative of popular home cooking).

Meanwhile, our side of Cameroonian Couscous took to a side of wasabi far better than the team took to the field with Japan.

Creating our World Cup Radio station on Pandora has introduced us to some cool new artists, a few songs that have eternally wounded our ears, and has mainly just served to produce the most bizarre assembly of music ever played within a single hour.

North Korea surprised the world with a solid fight against favorites, Brazil, but ultimately, North Korea's Pyongyang style kimchi fell to the side of robust Brazilian favorite, Feijoada. Still, their single goal against powerhouse Brazil is sure to be one of this year's most memorable Cup moments.

An uneventful game between the Kiwis and Slovakia didn't stop us from creating an eventful dessert in the whimsically named, Dances with Bublanina.

Nearly a week into the Tournament and mostly draws to show for it, Spain manages to make people across the world tear their eyes out with rusty spoons as they suffer through the most unexpected loss to Switzerland. Possibly no longer the favorites, they're still our team and we're counting on Spain to come back. We drown our sorrows in a pot of cheese as Spanish fondue and wash it down with a Chilean Carmenere. Disregarding the loss, we persisted in posting a guide to Spanish regional cuisine. How the Swiss managed to score against Casillas will continue to baffle us.

As expected, Honduras takes back stage to the strong Chilean team, though the 0:1 score is better than some may have hoped for. Their version of Tres Leches Cake, however, proves to be one of the real winners of the week. 

Through blogging efforts throughout the week, with some help from Twitter, we discovered a few friends taking the World Cup Food Challenge alongside us in places from Arizona to England. We also noted that the American FoodNetwork does not appear to have noticed the World Cup is actually going on right now.

Despite the 4:1 thrashing that played out on the field, Argentinean Malbec turned out to be the perfect pairing with the spicy Korean short rib recipe we discovered at cleverly named MyEpikorean.com, our new go-to source for all things Korean cooking.

A week into the Tournament, anyone not upset over Spain's loss got their kick in the pants when Serbia, winning their first game against this rival since 1962, took down Germany 1:0. After losing to Ghana, no one expected Serbia to come back against Germany. Over at World Cup Food Challenge, we were expecting Serbian cevap to come back strong as we determined what to do with the leftover meatballs. Those that gasped at Serbia's dominance on the field would still appreciate the Balkan flavors intertwined with German Spatzle.

Leaving the knock-out rounds for Group C up in the air as we round out week one, England and Algeria came to a draw. In that case, English fans may not appreciate our Algerian take on their classic Ploughman's lunch.

After leading the game by 2 goals throughout the first half, Slovenia tied it with USA but in our kitchens, exclusive of faulty refereeing, excluded Slovenia from the most American of all desserts: bacon brownie cupcakes. You won't have to wait until the 85th minute for the USA to score with this dessert!

6/18: Germany v Serbia, Slovenia v USA, England v Algeria

Only one week into the World Cup Food Challenge and the kitchens are filled to the brim! After today, each team in the tournament will have played at least once and we can officially begin to use leftovers. Today's menu uses leftover ćevapčići from the weekend's Serbia v Ghana game, incorporating the Balkan meatballs into a traditional Käsespätzle, the German take on mac 'n cheese. To accompany our Serbian/Slovenian German Mac 'n Cheese, we felt it'd be best to stick with something a bit light. Trying to find light and flavorful British fare, however, proved to be one of the toughest tasks of our endeavor; blending that British dish with Algerian flavor, even more so. We settled on an unlikely dish: An Algerian Ploughman's. Our take on the classic English Ploughman's spices up the working man's lunch box considerably.

To make life easier on us since it is Friday and all, ćevapčići also happen to be one of the national dishes of Slovenia.

Serbian-Slovenian Käsespätzle

2 C AP Flour
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
1/2 C milk
4 T Butter
2 C shredded Emmantaler
1 onion
Leftover Serbian ćevapčići

Prepare the Spaetzle: Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together eggs and milk. Pour the milk into the dry ingredients and knead until smooth. Preheat oven to 350 F. Boil a large pot of salted water. Next you will have to cut pieces of the dough into the water - either using a spaetzle press, potato masher or even a cheese grater with large wholes. The dough is quite sticky though, so make sure to flour your chosen tool. Once the dough floats to the top, it is done.
Assemble the dish: Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a casserole dish. Toss with butter, cheese, and cevapici. Bake 15 min. or until cheese is melted. While baking, fry the onions until dark gold. Top Spaetzle with onions to serve.

Algeria vs. England

The Ploughman's is a cold meal composed of a slab of cheese, a pickle (actually what Americans would call relish or chutney), crusty bread, a salad and a beer. Algerians, particularly fond of salads and possessing a passionate affinity for fennel, provided an easy recipe to add a burst of bright, crisp flavors to our Ploughman's. I got lost exploring Algerian cuisine through the site of Chef Zadi, a French born Algerian who is literally writing the book on Algerian cuisine, lending French technique to the cause. A complex interplay of European and Arab influences with unusually French styles, Algerian cooking is fascinating and we'll be sure to visit it again next week.
Harissa is a hot chili paste that is commonly found in North African cooking but can also be purchased in Middle Eastern stores. Typically made from piri piri and Tunisian hot red peppers, the flavors are not unlike those of New Mexican and Guajillo peppers that may be easier to find state-side, depending on your access to a Middle Eastern grocer. Houstonians can find a variety of harissas at Phoenicia.

For the salad:

1 fennel, the bulb sliced and remainder shredded

1 onion, sliced thinly

1 blood orange

Olive oil, preferably Algerian

Cut the orange in half and squeeze out the juice from one end. Whisk the juice with a splash of oil and salt and pepper to taste. Toss the fennel and endive with the orange dressing and let sit in the fridge for at least one hour. The juices will start to cook the onion. To serve, cut the remaining half of the orange into wedges and arrange atop the salad.

The "Pickle" (relish or chutney): Harissa 

10-12 dried red chili peppers (add a red bell pepper for less spice)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Soak the dried chilies in hot water for 30 minutes, drain and remove stems and seeds (keep a bit of seed if you like things really spicy). Combine in a food processor with remaining spices. Add olive oil until the sauce is a nice, smooth consistency and salt and pepper to taste. It will keep for at least a month in the refrigerator.

The Crusty Bread: Algerian Bouzgene Berber bread
1 lb semolina

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups water

2 tbsp. olive oil

olive oil for frying

Coarsely mix the semolina, salt and 2 T oil, then gradually add water - kneading until the dough is no longer sticky. Shape the dough into four balls and roll each ball into a flat round ~1/4 in. thick. Fry each round until dark spots appear, then flip and repeat. You can also bake the pita at 375F until it stops puffing.

The Beer: Never one to recommend an English beer, my plan is to honor Germany here with a rich, malty Dunkel like the Flensburger.

USA vs. Slovenia

Slovenia addressed earlier in the menu, we could have left out the USA on this one but were inspired by this trio of three beloved American dishes - bacon, brownies and cupcakes. Crossing over two quintessential American desserts, we bake our brownie dough in cupcake pans. This allows us to make a spectacularly fudge-like dough but still achieve the crisp of a more cake-like brownie.

Bacon Brownie Cupcakes
4 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 oz sweetened chocolate

8 T butter

1/2 C sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 C AP Flour

2 T cocoa (not Dutch-processed)

4 strips bacon

Oven: 350F. 
Grease a standard muffin pan (we like jumbo but not mini, they'll get to crispy).

Fry the bacon, remove and pat dry. The bacon should be crispy but without char- any chunks of fat that are still white should be discarded. Melt the unsweetened chocolate and butter in a double broiler. Cool slightly, then whisk in the sugar and salt. Add the eggs, one at a time. Sift the flour and cocoa together, then combine with the chocolate. Stir in the pieces of bacon and chocolate. Bake ~30 min., making sure to allow brownie cupcakes to cool before removing.
Note: I use El Rey chocolate whenever possible.Whatever you use, remember that the end result will greatly reflect the quality of the chocolate. The same applies to the bacon. Artisan dry-cured bacon takes these brownies to new levels. Houstonians can purchase Grateful Bread bacon at local farmer's markets. 

Prefer to eat out instead? Our Houston Dining Guide tells you where and why.

Thursday 6/17: Argentina v Korea, Greece v Nigeria and a break from dessert

Since I am, to say the least, unfamiliar with Korean cooking, we've taken today's dish from an awesome and cleverly named blog: MyEpikorean. Epikorean! How can you not love that? Even better, their recipe for Korean short ribs goes smashingly well with the deep, intense flavors of Argentina's national wine.

You may also notice today's menu is a bit short. You can thank Spain for that. Upset about the loss, we drank away our sorrows yesterday.

We've opted to skip out on the sweets today and finish our dinner with something healthy. Our kitchen is already filled beyond capacity with desserts, which I've begin to actually ship off to friends at this point (want some pie, pavlova, povitca, tres leches? come on over!)

Argentina vs. Korea: Korean Short Ribs and Argentinean Malbec 

Kalbi Jim (Korean Short Ribs)

3 lbs short beef ribs, thickly cut

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, chopped

6 T soy sauce

1 C Pineapple juice

1 C rice wine

1/4 C Maesli Ju, Green Plum Wine or Grand Marnier

1/2 C water

1 T fresh ginger, minced

1 T sesame seeds

2 Korean sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

10 ginko nuts, shelled

2 T sil kochu red pepper pieces

Score and butterfly the ribs. Toss all ingredients into a large pot, clay if you have one. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add the nuts and simmer for another 20 min. Remove the lid and turn the heat up to high, cooking for another 20 min. while stirring frequently, until meat is shiny and liquids reduced. If you prepare this overnight, you can scrape the congealed fat off the top once it cools.

Recipe adapted from original by MyEpikorean.com.

Greece v Nigeria: The Real Greek Salad and a Nigerian Zobo drink

Nigerian Zobo is a tea or soda made from roselle, an old world species of Hibiscus native to Africa. The dried flowers for Zobo can be found at every market as can the sugary tea, but those of us outside Africa will make do with the Western version of dried hibiscus, commonly found at Mexican markets and labeled as "para Jamaica" - the Mexican version of Zobo. Luckily, I have some authentic roselle tea flowers that my friend brought me back on a recent trip to Thailand.

Zobo

2 C dried hibiscus flowers

a few sprigs of fresh mint

1 C of sugar

1 C fresh squeezed orange juice

5 C water

Bring water to boil in a large pot. As soon as it reaches a boil, take the pot off of the heat, add the dried hibiscus and mint sprigs and cover. Let steep for at least one hour, then strain, pressing liquid out of the flowers. Stir in the sugar and juice.

Stir in 4 C cold water to drink as a tea or top with a splash of ginger ale to serve as a soda.

If you prefer salad in the more American style, before your meal, then go ahead and have this first. However, by no means are you allowed to put lettuce in it. It's not the "Greek-American" team that is playing today, it's the Greek national team, so do them the honor of making their amazing national dish the right way - not lettuce, no weird sweet creamy dressings.

The Real Greek Salad 

4 large, ripe tomatoes (in season now!)

1 red onion

1 cucumber

1/4 lb fresh Greek feta

1 clove garlic

1 lemon

Greek oregano

Greek olive oil

Greek olives

Simply chop the tomatoes, cucumber and onion. Whisk the a couple of tablespoons olive oil together with the garlic, a splash of lemon juice and oregano together. Then toss with the salad, adding more oil and lemon to taste. Top with feta and olives.

Prefer to eat out instead? Our Houston Dining Guide tells you where and why.

World Cup Food Around the World!

Around the world, as global citizens step up to take the World Cup Food Challenge, food magazines, websites, blogs and cooking channels alike are cooking up World Cup cuisine.

Taking the World Cup Food Challenge alongside us are the Emu Is Emo blog and the folks at Foodspotting. +1 to Foodspotting for offering prizes for participants but -10 for allowing them to cheat with foods like Shrimp Cocktail for Denmark and a New England Seafood Stew for Ghana. We expect a little more research could have revealed all authentic dishes in San Francisco as we did in Houston.

We'd like to congratulate Eilonwy at Emo for being the only other participant creating inspired fusion dishes daily (same as our concept), and even better, providing a diverse soundtrack and wit to go with it. Our favorite thus far is her recipe for Nigerian "Scam-Free" Empanadas.
Equally impressive and fun to follow are the folks over at Cooking vs. Sports, who, in addition to taking the World Cup Food Challenge, also regularly blog about pairing foods with various sporting events. Their Flikr photo stream provides serious eye candy that is sure to work up your appetite.

Several sites have specific dishes from each country pitted up against one another in cutthroat group matches.
The Good Food Channel
Japan is currently winning the largest percent of the vote, represented by Tempura. However, keep in mind, some of the dishes chosen make utterly no sense. Italian Tiramisu vs. Paraguayan Corn Bread? That's as about as fair a match as Saudi Arabia vs. Germany in a really futbol match. Still, the voting is all done by visitors to the site, so if your team isn't winning, you can at least vote for their food!

SecondHelping

Over at this Australian blog each national dish is paired with its respective beer and then pitted against one another. The only problem? The blogger, of apparent Fosters lineage, has horrible taste in beer.

World Cup Food & Drink The folks at this Wordpress blog are cooking up some tasty dishes daily inspired by the day's games.

All competition aside, some focus simply recipes from competing countries and educating the interwebs about varied global cuisines.

Food Network UK

In the World Cup Experience Section, you'll find several countries highlighted each week with informative articles on culture and cuisine and at least a dozen recipes. Picks for the week include South Africa, France and Mexico, with their guide to South African cuisine boasting a tantalizing recipe for Pumpkin Lamb Bobotie that makes me want to rush out and make bobotie tacos again, this time with pumpkin. You have to admit though, our Bobotie was far better looking.

Food Network US, on the other hand, does not appear to have noticed that the World Cup is even going on it all and has devoted their homepage to the likely subjects of reality shows and 50 burgers (because THAT has never been done before).
We even discovered a World Cup Food Challenge from the 2006 tournament, which included many delicious countries that didn't make this years cut such as Ecuador, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. World Cup & Plate is fun to peruse, although recipes are not provided. They also include fun beverage pairings.