super bowl snacks
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Hi friends!!!
Long time no chat! I’ve finally returned from my almost 3 week trip to Japan and I’m feeling as inspired as ever. I’m still working on putting together some travel guides for you, but in the meantime I wanted to share some of my favorite recipes ahead of the big game.
My family loves football, and growing up we were often the house to host the big watch party. Most notably, Super Bowl XLII (2008) where I won $200 dollars betting on the final score: Giants 17, Patriots 14 (I was 12).
My mom’s strategy, which I cosign, when hosting such affairs has typically been: an assortment of homemade apps, followed by pizza delivery* at half time. Hosting the super bowl is kind of like hosting Thanks Giving. This is not the time to experiment. People are going to want the hits, i.e. buffalo wings and various forms of hot cheese.
Now, I know you don’t need me to explain how to order a pizza, but as someone who has run in to 90 minute wait times myself I feel the need to warn you: call ahead to place your your order hours if not days in advance. Especially if its a sizable order! Bonus points if you can get a volunteer to DD the pizza pick up. Trust me, this is not the day to rely on delivery apps. The old fashion way is best, and often much appreciated by small businesses that normally have to forfeit 20-30% to said delivery apps.
Recipes
Buffalo Wing Style Chicken Thighs
For the thighs:
6-8 bone in skin on chicken thighs
kosher salt
olive oil
For the Calabrian chili garlic sauce:
2 tbsp butter melted
2 tbsp chopped Calabrian chilis
1 clove garlic finely grated
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
zest from 1 lemon
For the classic buffalo sauce:
2 tbsp butter melted
¼ cup hot sauce
optional: 1 tsp or more of cayenne for extra spicy
Prep the thighs: Remove them from the packaging and pat dry with paper towel. Loosen any extra chicken skin folded under the thigh. Generously salt all over the skin and flesh side. Place the thighs skin side up on a wire rack lined sheet pan skin side up (keep extra skin unfolded on the rack facing up as well). Transfer to the fridge uncovered for 1 hour or overnight if you can. Remove from the fridge and allow the chicken to sit at room temp for about 15 min before cooking.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet tray with foil and a wire rack. Pat the chicken dry with paper towel and dust off any excess salt. Place skin side down in a cold pan, preferably stainless steel or cast iron. Heat the pan over medium low. Add a tbsp of oil and let the chicken cook undisturbed for 7 minutes. Check for browning and rotate the pan if some pieces are browning faster than others. Cook on the skin side until all of the pieces are a deep golden brown.
Transfer the chicken to the foil and wire rack lined sheet pan. If you would like to season your chicken with dry seasonings, do so after this step.Transfer the chicken to the oven and cook for 45 min. While the chicken cooks, prepare your wing sauce of choice.
For the Calabrian Chili Garlic sauce: melt butter in a small sauce pan on low heat. Add your grated garlic and Calabrian chilis, stir and cook on low for a few minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the lemon zest, chopped parsley and a pinch of salt.
For the Buffalo: simply whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce. Taste and adjust to your preference.
Toss the cooked wings in your wing sauce and serve with a side of extra wing sauce.
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Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings: Buffalo and/or Calabrian Chili Garlic
For The Wings:
2-3 lbs chicken wings
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne optional for extra spicy
For the Classic Buffalo Sauce (see above)
For the Calabrian Chili Garlic Sauce (see above)
For the crispiest chicken wings, pat them dry with paper towel, season with salt, and arrange in a single layer skin side up on a wire rack tray in the fridge overnight (or a few hours). The fan in the refrigerator will dry out the skin yielding maximum crispness.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and a wire rack.
Toss chicken wings in garlic powder and cayenne if using. Arrange on the foil lined wire rack baking sheet, skin side up, and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
While the wings bake, prepare the sauces. Once the wings are out of the oven, toss them in the sauce immediately and serve.
Buffalo Beer Cheese Dip
Ingredients
4 tbsp unsalted buttter
4 tbsp flour
1 12oz can or bottle of your favorite beer, pilsner or lager
1 cup whole milk
1/2 pound sharp cheddar, freshly shredded*
1/2 pound American cheese, like Kraft singles*
1/4 pound whole milk mozzarella cheese, freshly shredded*
1/4 cup buffalo style hot sauce, I like Frank’s
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1-2 pinches of cayenne for extra spicy, optional
1/4 tsp salt
pretzels for serving (frozen soft pretzels will do!)
MAKE A ROUX: Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the flour. Cook out the flour for about 2 minutes, whisking occasionally.
ADD THE LIQUID: Slowly whisk in the beer and the milk. Continue whisking until smooth, being sure to break up any flour clumps. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let simmer for another 5 minutes until it’s thick and coats the back of a spoon.
ADD THE CHEESE: Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the cheese. Continue whisking until all the cheese has melted and no lumps remain. Add the buffalo sauce, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne if using, and salt and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust as needed.
TO SERVE: Take off the heat until you’re ready to serve. To keep the dip warm while serving, warm up your serving vessel before adding the dip. To do this, preheat your oven to 200 degrees and transfer an oven safe serving bowl into the warm oven for about 15 minutes or so. Alternatively, if you don’t have an oven safe bowl, you can warm it up using hot water. Run the tap on the hottest setting until the water is very hot. Turn off the water, place the bowl in the sink under the tap, then slowly turn the water back on careful not to splash yourself. Let the tap run for about 30-45 seconds. As the water fills the bowl and overflows out of the bowl it will heat it from the inside and out. If your tap doesn’t get very hot, use hot water from a kettle.
TO STORE: Let the dip cool to room temp, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Simply reheat on the stove until bubbling before serving.
Slightly Spicy Spinach & Artichoke Dip
Ingredients
2 garlic cloves, finely grated on a microplane
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
12 oz of fresh baby spinach
1 14oz can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped into 1 inch pieces
2-3 medium fresno peppers, thinly sliced, or jalapeños
6 oz fresh mozzarella torn into 1/2 inch pieces, about 1/3 cup
1/4 cup parmesan, freshly grated
1/4 cup fontina, freshly grated
8 oz cream cheese
zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
sourdough bread, sliced in 1 inch slices
pickled peppers, like piparra or pepperoncini, for serving
olive oil
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
Preheat your broiler on high and set the top rack 3 inches from the top of your broiler.
Heat a medium sauce pan over medium low heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes and cook while stirring for about 60 seconds, careful not to burn the garlic.
Add the spinach 1 handful at a time and stir as it wilts. Once the spinach is wilted, add the next handful and repeat. The spinach will release moisture as it cooks so once all of the spinach has wilted, continue cooking until the liquid in the pan has evaporated.
Next, add the artichokes and 3/4 of the fresno peppers, reserving the rest for garnish. Mix to combine.
Add the cream cheese and mix to combine. Then gradually incorporate the cheeses, folding in one at a time. Continue to cook until all of the cheese has melted. Fold in the lemon zest, parsley, a pinch of salt, and fresh black pepper and turn off the heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Transfer the dip into an oven-safe serving dish and place on to a baking sheet to catch any overflow.
To toast the bread, arrange in a single layer on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Broil for 2-3 minutes a side until golden brown. Set aside, and keep the broiler on.
Transfer the sheet pan with the dip into the oven and broil for 3 minutes or until golden brown on top and bubbly. Top with remaining fresno peppers. Serve hot with the toasted bread and pickled peppers on the side.
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Caesar Crudités
Page 44 in my cookbook!!!