Appetizer Tree
Refreshing Tzatziki helps offset the heat of spicy dishes.
Asiago Artichoke Dip
Super Bowl time for super game and super eats!
Super Bowl time is here again: a time to get together to eat, root for your favorite team, eat, drink, eat, party. Oh, and did I remember to say eat? With Super Bowl Sunday second only to Thanksiving as the largest food consumption day in the United States, I musn’t leave that part out.
Since food seems to be a main focus, it’s time once again to share recipes for something other than the ordinary fare of chips and dips, plain old hot wings etc. for those who can’t make it to Miami. First though, some tips to make the day a little easier.
Ø Do as much prep work as possible, i.e., chopping, slicing, dicing etc., ahead of time.
Ø Store chopped veggies in plastic bags so they will be ready when you need them.
Ø Crockpots are great for keeping foods like cheese dip, meatballs or sausage links warm. If you’re throwing a really big party, you might need to borrow extra pots from your friends.
Ø Have a quick and easy homemade or store-bought sauce and a small can of tomato sauce on hand. Combine the two for a quick sauce with for meatballs or sausages.
Ø Choose foods that require little, if any, silverware. Be prepared with plenty of toothpicks and napkins for finger foods.
Ø Have lots of coffee and sodas ready during the last hours of the party.
Ø Don't let your friends drive away if they are tipsy or worse.
Ø Mix cuisines rather than serving just one style. That way there will be something for every palate.
An attractive Appetizer Tree can serve double duty as a colorful table decoration as well as an edible treat and if you are talented enough, you can carve the fresh pineapple into a shape that suits your party. Modifying the food color scheme to include Colts and Saints team colors will help create a true Super Bowl XLIV theme.
You may use other fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and or/cooked meats in lieu of those suggested below if you wish. A few toasted pecan halves will also perk up the flavor nicely but since these are not easily skewered, wait until just before serving and scatter them around the base of the tree.
Appetizer Tree
1 fresh pineapple
Edam cheese, cut into 1/2-inch squares
Cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch squares
Summer sausage or pepperoni, cut into 1/2-inch squares
Cooked ham, cut into 1/2-inch squares
Assorted fruit, cut into 1/2-inch squares
Romaine leaves
Toothpicks
Choose a pineapple that will stand upright on its own. Slice off the green top, cut away the outer skin and carve into desired shape. Line serving platter with romaine leaves and place carved pineapple on top.
Beginning at the bottom, use toothpicks to attach cheese, sausage and ham in a decorative pattern. You may alternate colors or put similar colors in separate rings.
Serve with dipping sauce if desired.
This tree can be used at almost any kind of party just by changing ingredients and/or colors.
If you like a sweet, savory chipolte sauce that packs some real heat, you should enjoy this easy to make, kicky Raspberry Chipolte Chile Sauce.
Raspberry Chipolte Chile Sauce
1 T. olive oil
1/2 c. finely diced onion
2 t. minced garlic
2 t. chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
2 pts. fresh raspberries, rinsed
1/2 c. raspberry vinegar
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add onions, cooking and stirring until they are soft and slightly caramelized, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the chipotle chiles, cook, and stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Add raspberries, continuing to cook 2-3 minutes or until berries are soft. Add vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan. Add sugar and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let sauce simmer until thickened and reduced by half. This should take 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
Use as is or for a clear glaze, strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing on the solids with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
This can be used as a barbecue sauce, glaze or basting sauce for chicken, shrimp and other meats. Alternately, pour it over a block of cream cheese and serve as a dip with club crackers or use as a sauce for meatballs or cocktail sausages. It’s also adds great flavor to wraps.
Baked Brie with Amaretto
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
1 oz. smooth amaretto
1 Brie round
1/4 c. sliced almonds
Baguette slices, toast rounds, crackers, or sliced apples
Preheat oven to 350° F. Heat brown sugar and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat, add spices and amaretto, mix well and set aside.
Place Brie in an oven-safe casserole dish, top with sauce and sprinkle with almonds. If you don’t have almonds, you may substitute chopped walnuts but almonds go better with amaretto. Bake Brie for10 to 15 minutes or until soft or microwave on high at 30-second intervals until soft and warm. (Even though it takes just a little longer, I prefer oven baking to microwaving due to power variations on different models.)
Serve with baguette slices, toast rounds, crackers or sliced apples. Number of servings will depend on the size of the Brie round.
A Greek favorite, refreshing Tzatziki can be served to offset some of the heat from Tex-Mex fare found at most Super Bowl parties. It’s simple, easy and delicious.
Asiago Artichoke Dip is another delicious dip you may like to work into your menu. There are many variations of Asiago Dip and most are quite uncomplicated. Select the one you think you and your guests would enjoy most.
Asiago Artichoke Dip
2 oz. Alfredo cream sauce
2 oz. grated Asiago
4 oz. mozzarella Cheese
2 oz. cream cheese
6 oz. grated Parmesan Cheese
6 oz. chopped artichokes
Spinach
Heat Alfredo cream sauce in a heavy bottom skillet. Add cream cheese and let melt. Add Asiago. Mozzarella, Parmesan, artichokes and spinach and cook 2 – 3 minutes. Serve hot with grilled flat bread.Tzatziki
Salt
2 T. chopped dill
3 garlic cloves, crushed, or more to taste
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 medium cucumber, peeled and coarsely grated Put grated cucumber in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse cucumber well to remove the excess salt. Using small quantities at the time, squeeze out excess liquid and put cucumber in a bowl. Add yogurt and stir. Add garlic, dill, olive oil and vinegar. Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and chill until needed.NOTE: You can use mint instead of dill if you prefer.For the ladies present who would like something different from ordinary beer, try this easy, interesting variation, Mexicali Beer Margaritas. (The guys will probably like it too!)
Mexicali Beer Margaritas
12 oz. limeade concentrate
1 1/2 cups gold tequila
3 12-oz. cans Mexican beer
1 whole lime, cut into 6 wedges
Pour limeade, tequila and beer into a pitcher and stir. Fill tall glasses with ice and pour mixture over the ice. Squeeze a lime wedge into each drink and serve.If you prefer a less potent version, try just plain Beer Margaritas. The water makes them a little less lethal than their Mexicali counterparts.
Beer Margaritas
12 fluid ounces frozen limeade concentrate
12 fluid ounces tequila
12 fluid ounces water
12 fluid ounces beer
Ice
1 lime, cut into wedges
Pour limeade, tequila, water and beer into a large pitcher and stir until limeade has melted and mixture is well blended. Add lots of ice, pour into glasses and garnish with lime wedges to serve. Add extra water if needed.For the more adventurous ones, try Shandy, a popular British drink. It’s light and has an interesting flavor as well. Their version calls for mixing equal parts of stout and lemonade and serving. Some mix it together or pour the stout in first, followed by lemonade on top. There are several versions of this drink but it originally began with stout and lemonade.Some Americanized versions call for equal parts beer and ginger ale or similar drinks. There’s less waste in this beverage as you mix it as you drink it instead of making large quantities that might not be completely consumed.
f Shandy doesn’t suit your taste, perhaps a Poor Man's Mimosa. This is another drink that can be easily made by the glass.
Poor Man's Mimosa Recipe
4 oz beer
4 oz Orange Juice
Pour beer into a highball glass, add orange juice, to taste and serve immediately.**********
You can test your personal knowledge or use some of these bits of trivia to create a half time game for your football party guests.For fun: perfectly useless but interesting Super Bowl trivia
Ø As of 2009, Super Bowl ads cost about $100,000 per second. That's $3,000,000 for a 30 second commercial up from $2.5 million in 206. The first famous Super Bowl commercial was a 1974 ad for Noxzema featuring Super Bowl legend Joe Namath.
Ø Joe Montana holds the record for most consecutive completions (13) in a Super Bowl.
Ø The player with the most rushing yards in a Super Bowl is Timmy Smith of the Washington Redskins.
Ø Cowboy QB Roger Staubach has the most career fumbles in Super Bowl history.
Ø California leads with five MVPs, followed by Ohio and Florida with four.
Ø Dan Reeves, Mike Ditka and Tony Dungy have appeared in the Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
Ø The first Super Bowl in which the winning points were scored on the final play of the game was Super Bowl XXXVIII by the New England Patriots.
Ø During halftime show of the Super Bowl in 2004, Justin Timberlake removed a piece of Janet Jackson's top, exposing her right breast with a star-shaped ring around the nipple. Timberlake and Jackson have maintained that the incident was accidental, adding a new phrase "wardrobe malfunction" to American lexicon.
Ø Jerry Rice has scored the most touchdowns (7) in three Super Bowls.
Ø Mike Lodish has played the most Super Bowls (6), four with Buffalo and two with Denver.
Ø No network footage exists of Super Bowl I. It was taped over, supposedly for a soap opera.
Ø No NFL team has ever played the Super Bowl on its own home field.Ø No Super Bowl game has ever gone into overtime play.
Ø No Super Bowl has ever ended in a shutout. Super Bowl VII with Miami Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian's failed field goal attempt is perhaps the most dramatic example of a near shutout. The lowest amount of points scored in a Super Bowl is 3, put up by those same Dolphins in the previous year's Super Bowl, Super Bowl VI.
Ø The first Super Bowl MVP was Green Bay Packers’ Bart Starr.
Ø First time ever 3-time Super Bowl MVP was Joe Montana.
Ø The first wide receiver to be named MVP was Lynn Swann of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ø One MVP, Dallas' Chuck Howley, came from a losing team in Super Bowl V.
Ø One MVP, Washington's Mark Rypien, was born in Canada.
Ø Six non-Division I players have been named MVP or co-MVP.
Ø The Pac-10 and SEC have a player named MVP the most times (6).
Ø The 33 MVPs have been born in 19 states.
Ø Twelve MVPs are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ø Six teams have lost the final game of the regular season and still won the Super Bowl.
Ø Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following Thanksgiving.
Ø Super Bowls are held in an American city that is chosen years in advance.
Ø The Dallas Cowboys have scored the most points (221); the Denver Broncos have allowed the most (206).
Ø The Dolphins are the only team that failed to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl game. Miami scored just three points in a 21-point loss to Dallas in Super Bowl VI in New Orleans.
Ø The first Super Bowl was played in 1967. The Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League, 35-to-10.
Ø The longest field goal in Super Bowl history was by Steve Christie. Christie hit a 54-yarder in the first quarter of Super Bowl XXVIII vs. Dallas. Jason Elam has the second-longest field goal of 51 yards.
Ø The Los Angeles Rams had the most losses (7) of any team to play in the Super Bowl.
Ø The NFL pays for up to 150 rings for the winning Super Bowl team at $5,000 apiece (plus adjustments for extra gold or diamonds) and 150 pieces of jewelry for the losing Super Bowl team, each to cost up to half the price of the Super Bowl ring
Ø The only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls under different head coaches is the San Francisco 49ers. They won Super Bowl XXIII under legendary coach Bill Walsh and the next year returned to victory under George Seifert.
Ø The team leading at the end of the third quarter has won the past 13.
Ø The team to score first has won 25 of 36 Super Bowls The team leading at the end of the third quarter has won 31 of 36 Super Bowls.
Ø The winner of the AFC Championship Game faces the winner of the NFC Championship Game, in the culmination of the NFL playoffs.
Ø The winning Super Bowl team gets the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games. Following his death in September 1970, the trophy was named the Vince Lombardi Trophy, first awarded at Super Bowl V in Miami. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is made by Tiffany, takes 72 man hours to produce, and it costs $12,500.
Ø In Super Bowl XLI (2007) Tony Dungy of the Colts and Lovie Smith of the Bears made history as the first African-Americans to coach in a Super Bowl.
Ø Tony Dungy is the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment