What are you doing Sunday?

If you’re like me — and 100 million or so other Americans — you’ll be firmly parked in front of a television watching the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks go at it in Super Bowl XLVIII.

And while the game (and commercials) usually take center stage, no Super Bowl party would be complete without food — and lots of it.

Your typical Super Bowl fare is pretty basic: hot dogs, burgers, pizza, chips and dip (and around here, there’s some poke, too). But for a fun change of pace, I like to add dishes that take some inspiration from the big game itself.

A few years ago my friend and I thought it’d be fun to make Super Bowl offerings that showcase the tastes of the two cities battling it out for the Lombardi Trophy.

Pierogi at a Super Bowl party in Hawaii? Weird, maybe, but that first year it was the most talked-about dish at the party, mostly because so many people had never tried pierogi — potato-stuffed dumplings popular in Pittsburgh.

And that’s part of the fun — learning about different parts of the country and sharing regional dishes.

Have you ever eaten your hot dog with cream cheese? If you’re a Seattleite, you may have.

While I’ve been to Seattle and have many friends who live in or are from the area, I’d never heard of this interesting food craze until recently. The trend is believed to have started in the mid-’90s and has become a favorite late-night street food in the city.

I gave this seemingly odd combination a try and absolutely loved it — the cream cheese compliments the saltiness of the hot dog. The dish is also versatile. You can use your favorite type of sausage and experiment with toppings like sauerkraut or grilled peppers. I like using spicy sausages and grilled onions.

And while you can simply smear some cream cheese on the bun, you can also apply it by using a squeeze bottle or pastry bag for a prettier presentation.

For a Denver-inspired dish, bison burgers are a good choice.

Why? Because if there’s one thing Colorado has an abundance of, it’s livestock. Bovine meat, which includes beef and bison, is the state’s top export.

Plus, bison (or American buffalo) meat is a great alternative to beef. While it’s pricier, bison meat is much leaner and similar in flavor to beef.

I found packaged ground bison meat at Whole Foods and Safeway, going for $9.99 a pound. And for a modern twist, I used pretzel buns instead of regular buns for my test batch.

To keep the burgers relatively healthy, I kept the toppings simple: ketchup, lettuce, tomato and red onion. But you could add any topping you’d add to a hamburger: cheese, bacon, egg — the sky’s the limit.

There are so many ingredients and dishes you can play with when it comes to Denver (Denver omelet, anyone?) and Seattle (salmon, coffee, apples). But whatever you decide to do, one thing is absolutely necessary: Keep it simple!

That is, unless you want to be stuck in the kitchen come kickoff.

Mile-High Bison Burgers
1 pound ground bison meat
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 slider buns
1 tablespoon butter
Toppings: ketchup, lettuce, tomato, red onion
In a large bowl, combine bison meat, onion, Worcestershire, salt and pepper.
Form into four patties and grill.
Butter buns, then toast.
Assemble burgers, topping with ketchup, lettuce, tomato and red onion. Makes 4 burgers.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving (using grass-fed bison and including 1 slice each of lettuce, tomato and red onion and 1 tablespoon ketchup): 360 calories, 14 g fat, 5 g saturated fat,
70 mg cholesterol, 500 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber,
6 g sugar, 29 g protein

Seattle Sea-Dogs
4 hot dogs, or your favorite sausage
3 tablespoons butter, divided
4 hot dog buns
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced (preferably Kula onion)
8 ounces cream cheese
Grill or boil hot dogs
Butter buns with 1 tablespoon butter, then toast.
In small pan, melt remaining butter and add sliced onions. Cook until translucent.
Put hot dogs in buns and add onions.
Top with cream cheese. Makes 4 hot dogs.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on 8 beef dogs per pound): 460 calories,
32 g fat, 15 g saturated fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 1,000 mg sodium,
34 g carbohydrate,  2 g fiber,
10 g sugar, 12 g protein