Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Superbowl Party

As promised, a post about the Superbowl Party we threw on Sunday. I love cooking for the Super Bowl because there is nothing fancy about it. I also tend to make things that I don't make any other time of the year.

Like Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip.



Recipe:
Poach 2lbs of chicken breast and shred. Place on the bottom of a large lasagna pan or casserole dish. Pour an entire bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce (it is important that it is Frank's). Mix well.

On stove, mix 2 8oz boxes of cream cheese with a bottle of ranch or blue cheese dressing (I used blue cheese ranch)over medium heat until smooth and bubbly.

Pour this on top of chicken. Top with about 1 cup of chopped celery. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 375 and then top with Cheddar or monterey jack (or both) and bake covered for another 20 minutes.

Use celery or carrot sticks for dipping. The joy of chicken wings without the wings!
Is there another time of year when this would be appropriate?

I also made Spicy Nuts.

This is one that I actually make often.



So easy. Buy raw nuts (any combo is fine). Toast the nuts on a pan at 350 degrees until slightly browned. Meanwhile melt 2 tbsp of butter, add about 2tbsp rosemary, 1tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp brown sugar (I really eyeball these and you can pretty much up the quantities or reduce as you like). Pour nuts into a bowl and mix with butter mixture.

Also on the menu was 7 Layer Dip (I only did 6) - refried beans, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, cheese, jalapeno slices.

Potato chips and onion dip and cheese and crackers of course.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke dip from Food Network.

White Chili Surprise also from Food Network. This is a new favorite recipe by the way. I think it was because of the lime and tequila marinated chicken. I will probably add this to the repertoire for during the year as well. If you don't add the cheese at the end, it is pretty low fat and still tasted great. I also used canned beans which were fine. And I chopped the chicken into pieces and mixed it with the marinade and then sauteed it before adding to the chili. The recipe calls for grilling the chicken whole - I don't have a grill, also I think the chopped chicken absorbed more of the marinade.

Cocktail Meatballs. Made the meatballs first and cooked them in the oven to brown. Meanwhile had brown sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire cooking on high in the crock pot. Added the meatballs and cooked for about two hours. Have been enjoying these for lunch the past few days.

There were Roasted Artichokes that a friend brought over (loving them for lunch this week also). Tomato and mozzarella salad - the only semi healthy thing on the menu. And it was all topped off Cinnamon Brownies with caramel and pecan topping (a little undercooked in the middle).

Here is a picture of the appetizer table.



I might have gone overboard considering what is still left in the fridge. Here is the fridge after the party. Ummm, I hope I don't actually finish all those beers...



Here is me, putting my feet up after the party, drinking the left over champagne from the champagne and bourbon cocktails that the husband expertly made.



Here is what happens the next night when you forget to run the dishwasher. That's right, you eat brownies with chop sticks.



Good food. Good friends. Good enough game. Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

All the makings of a successful Super Bowl Party.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip is awesome. I can't believe I've never had it before. Definitely not as messy as actual wings. Two enthusiastic thumbs up on this one.