Superbowl: Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip

I was pretty much sold when I heard the words "Crab" and "Dip" together - those are two of my favorite things. Piquillo? Yeah I had to look that up. I also looked up substitutions for it when the puzzled Whole Foods worker couldn't tell me where to find it. Per the suggestion of the web browser on my iPhone, I bought jarred red peppers.

This was also probably my least favorite dish - it wasn't blah but I think we took some shortcuts in order to simplify the recipe and also to cup back on some costs (lump crab costs like 15 bucks for a tiny little container... fail). I think this would have been amazing had I used the Piquillo and actual crab. I served this with the pita chips I posted below.

Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip

Ingredients:

1 lb of lump crab meat, picked over
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup creme fraiche
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons snipped chives
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup shredded Manchego Cheese (about 1 cup)
One 9-oz jar piquillo peppers, drained and cut into strips

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler. In a bowl, combine the crab, mayonnaise, crème fraîche, parsley, chives, mustard, lemon juice and 3/4 cup of the Manchego. Spread in an 8-by-11-inch baking dish. Top with the piquillos and sprinkle with the remaining Manchego. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the dip is heated through. Serve hot.

Superbowl : Spinach and Pepper-Jack Pizza

So this pizza could not be a quicker snack/meal - this recipe makes 2 huge pizzas... it says it serves four but it really could serve like 8 (depending on how fat everyone is).

The only small complaint I have is that it was slightly salty - I'm not sure if it's cause I had a heavy hand with the salt or because the pepper-jack was super salty. Either way, you can substitute the cheese however you want. The bacon gives it a lot of flavor. I would also probably use fresh spinach but if you dont have time, frozen spinach (which is what I used) still tastes delish.

Spinach and Pepper-Jack Pizza
Ingredients:

8 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch strips
2 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, drained, and squeezed dry
3/4 lb pepper-jack cheese, grated (about 3 cups)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 12-inch store bought Pizza Shells (I bought Trader Joe's brand and it was soooo good)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 425°. In a large nonstick frying pan, cook the bacon over moderate heat until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
2. 2.In a large bowl, combine the bacon, drained spinach, pepper jack, salt, and pepper and mix well. Brush the pizza shells with the oil. Divide the spinach mixture evenly between the two pizza shells and sprinkle the Parmesan over the top.
3. Bake the pizzas directly on the oven rack (for a crisper crust) or on two baking sheets until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Superbowl: Crispy Pita Chips!

So I wasn't expecting to make these but I had some pita on me (like in my fridge, not in my purse) and realized we need something to dip with the crab dip and guac.

These actually were just an after thought and we used leftover ingredients to make a yummy addition to our menu.

No specific recipe, just take pita, cut 'em, drizzle some olive oil on them and then top them with whatever you want your chips to be flavored with. I used garlic and Parmesan. They were so good - perfectly crisp but not dry. I heated the oven to 350 degrees and stuck 'em in there for maybe 7 minutes?

I would also like to try them with herbs like basil or maybe even with some crushed peppers for a spicy version. Possibilities = endless.

On that note, I'm going to go to bed and finish this tomorrow - I'll leave you with pictures of my beloved Pita Chips:

Superbowl: 3 Cheese Mini-Macs

The mini-macs are a big crowd pleaser - it makes people go, aw, now THAT's clever! even though it's quick and easy. I got a lot of "That's smart for a superbowl party!" so I guess I did something right...

These macs were super-cheesed up: Parmesan, Cheddar, and American Cheese. Yup, that makes 3. If you're like me, you're like "The more cheese the better... CHEESE! I Love Cheese! Cheese + Me = Love Foreva!"

I didn't use mini-cupcake tins - I actually just used regular ones since, well to be honest - that's all I had. It's supposed to make 48 mini-macs but actually made about 24 regular sized ones.


INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb elbow mac
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk (I used skim)
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 packed cup)
4 ounces deli American cheese, chopped
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (Spanish? Yeah, I just used the one I found at D'ags)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, shaking off the excess water.
2. Brush four 12-cup, nonstick mini muffin tins with butter. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the Parmigiano; tap out the excess.
3. In a large saucepan, melt the 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking, until boiling, about 5 minutes. Add the cheddar and American cheeses and whisk until melted. Off the heat, whisk in the egg yolk and paprika. Fold in the macaroni.
4. Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of the macaroni into the prepared muffin cups, packing them gently. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmigiano on top.
5. Bake the mini macs in the upper and middle thirds of the oven for about 10 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Let cool for 5 min­utes. Using a small spoon, carefully loosen the mini macs, transfer to a platter and serve

Sidenote: You can prepare all the stuff ahead time up to Step 4

Superbowl : Bloody Mary Cocktail Meatballs

These meatballs were a real superstar ... they were like the Tony Romo of football. Wait. Did I do that right?

Anyway, this was a surprisingly simple dish - plus who doesn't like to mix a brunch cocktail with a meatball? I tried a little bit of JUST the bloody mary... man does that sucker have a kick. But glazed on these half pork, half beef meatballs, they were so good.

I made the meatballs ahead of time - I should have refrigerated them so that when I fried them they wouldn't lose their shape but instead I left them on the counter and they ended up being some weird 3-D triangle instead. Here they are in their spherical form:














After cooking the meatballs through, I poured in some Bloody Mary and let it simmer and reduce down into the meatballs:

















This recipe makes about 32 meatballs which got devoured in like 15 minutes so I would probably make a double dose:


INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb lean ground pork
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 small celery rib with leaves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons horseradish
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 slice white sandwich bread, soaked in warm water, squeezed dry and crumbled into pieces
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I used habanero)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon veggie oil
1/2 cup Three-Pepper Bloody Mary*

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl, combine the beef and pork with the celery, horseradish, egg, bread, hot sauce, salt and pepper and knead well. Roll the meat into 1-inch balls.
2. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet until shimmering. Add the meatballs and cook over moderately high heat until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Add the Three-Pepper Bloody Mary and simmer over moderate heat until the liquid is reduced by half and the meatballs are glazed, about 2 minutes. Serve hot.

3 Pepper Bloody Mary INGREDIENTS

1 cup Vodka
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, smashed
1 small jalapeno, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon hot sauce, preferably habanero
2 1/2 cups tomato juice
4 teaspoons horseradish
1 teaspoon celery salt (this confused me so I used regular salt)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, combine the vodka with the onion, garlic, jalapeño, lemon juice and hot sauce and puree until smooth. Add the tomato juice, horseradish, celery salt and pepper and blend. Strain into tall glasses over ice and serve with lime wedges and celery ribs.

Superfat Superbowl

As you guys may remember, I was asked to "cater" (air quotes indicate I didn't know what I was doing) my friend Eric's Superbowl Party. I was told about 20 people would be there. While I was super excited about the opportunity and slightly flattered that they asked me, inside I was quietly crapping my pants.

I spent about a week scouring Food and Wine, Epicurious, and Bon Appetit. Thankfully, all the websites had a list of delicious sounding finger foods I could pick from. I narrowed down my many many options to 5 dishes: Bloody Mary Cocktail Meatballs, Warm Piquillo and Crab Dip, Alsatian Potato and Bacon Tarts, Three-Cheese Mini Macs, and Spinach and Pepper Jack Pizza.

Word to the wise, when planning your menu, go for minimal ingredients and check to make sure you can prep in advance and heat up easily. I actually checked the "Make Ahead" filter in my Food and Wine search because I knew I would have to do a lot of prep work and transporting the food to another apartment. Also, this may be obvi, but DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE GO TO WHOLE FOODS AND TRADER JOES RIGHT AFTER WORK. WORST IDEA EVER. The store was so crowded and I got so overwhelmed, I just pushed my cart into people around the meat section waiting for my friend Eric to help me.

Much of the shopping included me going "What IS that?!" For example, piquillo peppers? What the eff makes a pepper Piquillo? I don't know and I never will. I just bought roasted red peppers in a jar. Yeah, that's how I roll.

In any case, my friend Jessie (from the Chinese Hot Pot situation a couple posts below) generously offered her cooking savvy to me for the day on Sunday. We had a couple of hiccups, (broken pizza crusts, where the hell are my serrano peppers?!, and oops, too much bacon!) but I think our food came out great in the end.

I'm going to follow up these post with my superbowl foods and recipes lest this post be too long. Enjoy and definitely try these for your future parties!