By Bridget Lowel
Signal Contributing Writer
The Super Bowl is here, and if you’re anything like us, you haven’t done much of anything to prepare a menu. But food is every bit as important to the Super Bowl experience as the commercials and the halftime show, so we’ve got you covered with some simple, straightforward dishes that will please your guests
S’mores Dip
Serves a crowd of 8-10 people … if they’re willing to share.
Ingredients 1 10 oz. bag regular marshmallows 1 12 oz. package milk chocolate chips 1 box honey graham crackers
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Spread the entire bag of milk chocolate chips around evenly in the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate or cast-iron skillet.
3. Cut approximately 20-22 marshmallows in half widthwise and place them, cut side down, on top of the chocolate chips until the chips are fully covered. (I started with a circle of marshmallows around the outside edge, then worked inward.)
4. Bake the dip at 450 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Keep a close eye on the dip and remove it from the oven when the tops of the marshmallows are golden brown.
5. Serve at once with quartered graham crackers for dipping.
One Pan Salsa
Tomatoes, jalapeños, and garlic, broiled then blended together. That’s it. The salsa has such an incredible depth of flavor that you’d never guess how spartan it truly is.
Ingredients 1 pound plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise 2 jalapeño peppers (or just one, if you like a less kicky salsa), stems removed and cut in half lengthwise 3 cloves of garlic, peeled ½ small white onion Juice of a half a lime, freshly squeezed Handful cilantro, coarsely chopped Salt and pepper, to taste
1. Turn on your oven’s broiler and move one rack all the way to the top.
2. Line a baking pan with foil and spread the tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, garlic and onion out over the pan. Salt the vegetables.
3. Cook the vegetables under the broiler for approximately 5 minutes, until the jalapeños and garlic begin to brown. Remove the jalapeños and garlic and place them in a blender or food processor. If you like your salsa mild, remove the seeds from the jalapeños now.
4. Return the tomatoes and onion to the oven and broil for another 5 minutes, until the tomatoes are browned and the onions are charred on top. Add the tomatoes and onion to the blender or food processor, making sure to add any tomato juices that have collected in the pan.
5. Add a few tablespoons of water, a large pinch of cilantro and lime juice to the vegetables, then pulse salsa to your desired consistency.
6. Add salt, pepper, and more cilantro/lime juice to taste, if needed. Blend and cool to room temperature. Serve with your favorite chips.
Skillet Cornbread Taco Pizza
Basically, what it sounds like: A pizza made of taco stuff atop cornbread baked in a cast-iron skillet.
This one’s open to lots of interpretation based on what you feel belongs in tacos. We used ground beef seasoned with chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cumin, cayenne, black pepper and a little salt, and we topped the “pizza” with fresh cilantro and sliced jalapenos.
Serves 6-8.
Ingredients
1 package cornbread mix (enough for an 8″- or 9″-square baking pan) Everything else the mix calls for
3/4 lb. your favorite taco meat Your favorite taco-meat seasonings Salsa Shredded cheddar cheese Sour cream Your favorite taco toppings
1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.2. Cook and season taco meat
3. Warm a cast-iron skillet on a stove over medium-low heat.
4. Prepare cornbread mix per manufacturer’s instructions.
5. Melt butter in skillet6. Pour cornbread mix into skillet and spread into
a thin, even layer.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the center of the cornbread is firm.
8. Using oven mitts, remove skillet from oven.
9. Carefully spread an even layer of sour cream over the cornbread.
10. Spread meat on top of the sour cream, and salsa on top of the meat.
11. Cover the whole thing with cheese and return skillet to oven.
12. When the cheese melts, remove skillet from oven.
13. Add any fresh toppings you favor, slice and serve.
Football Chocolate Covered Strawberries
For the Super Bowl, turn them into cute little footballs by using white icing as laces.
Serves 4-6 but if you want more strawberries, make more. Ingredients 12 strawberries 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
Small tube of white decorative icing
1. Wash strawberries and pat dry.
2. Pour chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Place in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. If not melted, microwave for 30 seconds more. Stir again.
3. Dip strawberries into melted chocolate and lay neatly on wax paper to cool.
4. Use icing to decorate your strawberries like footballs.
5. Place in refrigerator to harden…or eat immediately.
Buffalo Wings
We heartily recommend frying the wings: It’s the Super Bowl, not the Still Pretty Tasty But Definitely Not As Good Bowl. Baked or broiled wings will still be pretty tasty with the same sauce, but definitely not as good.
Pre-made wing sauces are available everywhere.
Serves 4-6. If you have more people coming, do math.
Ingredients 12 whole chicken wings, cleaned and cut into flats and drums 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce Celery salt (optional) Oil for frying Blue cheese or ranch dressing
1. In a deep-fryer, dutch oven or large pot, heat the oil to about 375 degrees or medium-high heat.
2. Fry wings in oil until golden brown and cooked through, about 12-15 minutes depending on size.
3. While the wings are frying, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add hot sauce and stir. Add celery salt or lemon pepper to taste, if desired. For spicier wings, up the ratio of hot sauce to butter. For milder wings, do the opposite.
4. When the wings are done, transfer them to a plate covered with paper towels to drain off excess oil. Then toss them in the wing sauce and serve with blue cheese or ranch.
Guacamole
Guacamole recipes can vary greatly, but one thing is practically always true: Fresh, homemade guac is better than anything you can get at the store.
Serves 4-6. Ingredients
2 ripe avocados 1/2 lime 1/4 cup diced onion 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno Salt and pepper Tortilla chips for dipping
1. Peel and pit avocados, then mash them in a medium bowl or mortar.
2. Add onion, cilantro and juice from the lime.
3. Wear rubber gloves to handle the jalapeno, especially — trust me — if you wear contact lenses and will need to remove them later. Otherwise you’re in for a world of pain.
4. Dice jalapeno and add to desired spice level. Depending on preference, you may only want 1/2 the pepper and no seeds. Some may want the whole thing, and all the seeds. Go slow.
5. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
6. Serve with tortilla chips. Baby carrots work, too, if you’re feeling guilty about frying the wings.
Mashed Potato Pizza
If you want to take your pizza to the next level, a homemade pie won’t take any longer than any other traditional Super Bowl app.
Ingredients
1 Premade pizza dough (from your local grocery store, or – pro tip – your favorite local pizza joint) Generous portion mashed potatoes Mozzarella and/or cheddar cheeses
4 strips bacon, cooked until crispy and torn into bite-size chunks
2-3 eggs
Assembly
Well, it’s a pizza. Without getting overly scientific, you’ll want to toss the dough and then put down a bed of mozzarella (and some cheddar if you want). Then, add the potatoes and bacon. You can either dollop and gently spread or pipe the potatoes, as shown above.
Cook the pizza halfway, until the cheese is melting but the crust isn’t quite done yet. Then, remove from the oven and crack your eggs on top of the pizza. Return to oven and cook until pizza reaches desired doneness. (The cooking of the eggs is the trickiest part. If you like them runnier, add them closer to the end of cooking time).
Note You can make mashed potatoes however you like them (this could include instant), but add more butter/sour cream than you normally would so they don’t dry out in the oven.
