Thursday, Jan 29, 2009

Midweek Morsels: SuperBowl FoodFest

SuperBowl Sunday = FOOD!  Beer!  Shouting!

Superbowl is just around the corner and Kristina’s Favorites wants to know what your favorite SuperBowl recipe is.  The problem with me is that I don’t write down my cooking recipes.  I just keep adding until my creative juices are satisfied.  But, what I can share are my overall game-day cooking tips if you’re hosting a shin-dig:

*  Never, never, never use anything you have to wash other than serving dishes… go PAPER baby.  Can we say plastic utensils and cups?  I mean… no work equals happy lady!

*  Cook things that keep warm/chilled all afternoon.  Keep things simple for yourself.

* Prepare everything that you can ahead of time so that you can PARTY!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND:

* Crock-Pot-O-Chili.  If you’re not the “from scratch” kind of chili cooker, grab some large cans of your favorite chili.  But… shimmy it up a bit.  Throw in some added spices that are YOUR personal favorite.  Toss in some juice from a fresh squeezed tangerine or lime.  Add some chili powder or flakes.  A little Worcestershire sauce.  Dried cilantro is an awesome mystery seasoning.  Garlic.  Mystify your chili.  If you want to go nuts… brown up your own meet (chunks of beef are great…. or you can do the turkey route).  When you brown your chosen meat, grill it with red, green, yellow, or orange bell peppers and some onion.  Throw everything (meat plus cans of bean chili) in the crock pot on low in the morning and stir when you go into the kitchen to refresh your drink.  If friends want to bring things… tell them it’s a chili-cookoff.   Give a bottle of red wine to the winner!  What I love to make with this is a large pot of turkey dogs (keep in water on a fairly low heat) and hot dog buns.  When the guys get hungry, they get a hot meal with a chili-cheese dog.  Make sure you have to accompany:  grated cheese, SOUR CREAM, chopped purple onions, tabasco sauce, and FRITOS!  You can also toss some chili over a plate of Fritos, add cheddar cheese, NUKE for 45 seconds… add sour cream and onions.  YUM!  You can also heat up a tray of frozen french fries in the oven and make chili-cheese fries.  CHILI: It’s super filling, goes a long way, and stays warm easily in the crock pot!  And, if you’re a vegetarian.. this is a great option… go sans the meat!

* Crock-Pot-O-Sloppy Joes.  If you’re not in for the gas bomb that is chili/chili dogs… go Sloppy Joes.  You can make the sloppy joes with either ground turkey (I prefer) or beef.  Like the chili, brown up the meat with some peppers and onions… I like fresh garlic, too.  Then, toss that into the crock pot with tomato sauce and seasonings.  You can also do the Manwich route… but, if you do… I recommend only one can of Manwich (get the bold flavor one) and a small can of tomato paste.  Add only one small can of water and I toss in 1/2 small can of beer in there.  Stir it up.. put it on low in the morning… and stir when you happen to cross on by!  Hamburger buns, onion buns, or fancy ones can stay fresh in a large ziploc on a platter ( I hate stale bread).  Make sure you have sliced cheddar and muenster cheese for the buns.  I think that either tater tots or regular Lays chips are the best with the Joes.  Again, this is stick-to-the-ribs, all day long with no fuss meal. 

* Le Swedish Meatballs d’Crock Pot.  Trader Joes has some AWESOME pre-made frozen ones. You can also make them yourself (mix ground meat -your choice- with breadcrumbs, egg, ch0pped yummies, Lee & Perrins, and soy sauce) by browning them in a pan.  But, who needs the work?  They’ll never know the difference!  Be creative with a sauce that will last you all day.  Experiment with what you’ve got in the fridge.  Avoid white sauces.. stick with brown or red sauces.  Have an assortment of toothpicks nearby.  You can make up a big pot o’ egg noodles and serve the remaining meatballs over the pasta.  Serve with a large tossed salad.

* THE GUAC!  I know it browns, but there are great anti-browning agents on the market that don’t affect the flavor.  Check the canning fruit aisle of your store.  Weird things I ALWAYS ADD:  fresh cilantro (chopped), lime juice, green onions (chopped), crushed garlic (fresh), chopped chili peppers (the little atomic green ones), 3 tablespoons of sour cream, paprika, onion powder and chili powder.  For a great meal to accompany… grill up some Carne Asada Steak or Chicken from Trader Joes.  It’s pre-marinated/spiced and AWESOME.  You can grill it, broil it, or even cook it up on the George Foreman Grill.  Slice up when done.  Serve with small corn tortillas, chopped cilantro, chopped onion, and white cheddar cheese (grated).   You can make some tomatillo salsa to accompany or buy green salsa verde (jarred).  Accompany with Trader Joe’s Cuban Style Black Beans and Spanish Rice with some chipoltle spices added to the rice.  Both the beans and rice go a long way.    Have friends bring tortilla chips, salsa, stuff to make quesadillas with.

So… none of my suggestions are lo-cal.  No, SuperBowl Sunday is not about LO-CAL.  Make sure your beer selection includes a light beer, decent blonde, a PALE IPA, a nutty amber, and a chocolatly dark.  If you have a BevMo in town, you can hand-pick your own six packs.  If not, specify which type of beer you ask your friends to bring.  That way the assortment is good.  Otherwise, you may have only Coors Light (not that I hate Coors Lite… but, it’s fun to have a nifty selection to accompany the food).  Of course, throw out on the table a platter of veggies, chips, and munchies with an awesome white dip (onion, spinach, ranch, dill, etc.).  Buy a jar of dry roasted peanuts and toss them in a small bowl.  You’re set.

This year, I’m going CHILI!  Yes, it’s cold in Cali right now… even in the 40′s at night (that’s cold for here!)

Thanks, Kristina for the MEME suggestion and letting me participate!

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