What to make for the Super Bowl
Here for the snacks
This is even surprising to me—but, I actually really like the Super Bowl. Surprising because I think that I know less about sports than anyone I’ve ever met. But, two things I do love wholeheartedly are snacks and watching tv. So, this is right up my alley. My friends host a Super Bowl party at their house every year and, because Sunday is the start of my work week, I always come straight from the kitchen. I love it because it’s the perfect low-key kind of hang where you can chat and be as social as you want, but you can also I pack sweats, and kind of zone off if that’s where you are at the moment (which I oftentimes am after the kitchen). It’s socializing that can be as active or passive as you want it to be. That’s a win in my book.
The best part is always the food. Below are some of my favorite recipes that would be welcome for any watch party or solo night in front of the tv.
What to make for the Super Bowl
Focaccia pizzas — Well, of course.
Focaccia pizza
Being able to make a really good pizza at home is a fabulous party trick, in my opinion, and isn’t as elaborate as it sounds. And since I’m sharing opinions here, I’ll add that a pan-pizza approach is 100% the way to go. For what most of us are working with at home (i.e., a standard oven), a focaccia pizza is the most obtainable version you can make. Even with all the strides that have been made with at-home pizza ovens like the Ooni or the Ninja, it’s just not going to render the same results as an actual brick pizza oven.
Crispy peach glazed wings — In the summer, I make these with fresh peaches. But, in the winter you can use frozen. You could also go classic by using the method for perfectly crispy oven baked wings and toss them in buffalo sauce, served with bleu cheese dressing, celery, and carrot sticks.
Crispy peach glazed wings
No matter how much I’m ready to embrace fall this year, in this house (newsletter) we do not wish summer away!! Summer gets all the credit, but actually THIS is the best time of year to be a cook. It’s a time when there’s a lot of overlap between summer and fall produce, giving us a lot to work with menu-wise.
Fennel crusted ribs with lots of lemon — These are hands down my favorite way to make ribs. Better yet, for the Super Bowl, they’re made in the oven.
Fennel crusted ribs with *lots* of lemon
For the last few summers my family has spent a week at Lake Michigan. We rent a house, bring lots of food and enjoy one glorious week at the lake. Collin and I serve as the unofficial private chefs for the week—something that always feels shockingly easy compared to our usual volume. Suddenly, dinner for 9 feels like a piece of cake.
Loaded sweet potato chili — I love this dish and I think that it would be perfect served as a loaded baked potato bar. You could bake off sweet and Idaho potatoes along with bowls of shredded cheese, sour cream, thinly sliced red onions, and whatever else sounds good like fresh cilantro, crushed corn chips, or even pickled red onions.
Chili loaded sweet potato
This was a new one for us recently and it’s sure to become one of our most popular menu items. The vegetarian dishes are funny because they’re often the hardest ones to come up with of when writing the menu. We tend to discuss them at the very end, toying between what would round out the menu and also feel like a full satisfying meal. They can be tricky because we only offer 2 fully vegetarian entrees every week (4 entrees with meat, 2 without, along with 1 soup, 2 sides, a focaccia, and now cookies, breakfast burritos, and a juice—the menu is growing!). That being said, although we have vegetarian offerings, I don’t think that many—if any—of our customers are fully vegetarian. I think that the people ordering the vegetarian entrees are doing so simply because they sound good. For me, they tend to be the hardest to come up with, but they often end up being my favorite items on the menu.
Loaded sheet tray nachos — The chili base from the loaded sweet potato recipe knows no bounds! It’s so good. For the game, line a sheet tray with parchment paper or foil (very important) and pile layers of tortilla chips, cheese, and the bean chili. Top with even more chili and sliced scallions. Get everything all nice and melty and serve with sour cream, diced avocado or guacamole, and pickled red onions. If you want to make these feel even more substantial, you could also add shredded rotisserie chicken to the mix.
Hot cheesy chili bean dip — Another riff off of that bean chili. I freaking love a bean dip and the bean chili base from the loaded sweet potato recipe is the perfect base. Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients:
Bean chili
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
cheddar cheese, shredded (measure with your heart)
Monterey Jack cheese (measure with your heart)
1 bunch green onions, washed and thinly sliced
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Stir the cream cheese and sour cream into the beans while they’re still hot. If the beans have cooled, add the cream cheese and sour cream by blending them in with a handheld mixer.
Step 2:
Transfer the beans into a large skillet or small casserole dish and top with the shredded cheese. Place in the oven on the center rack and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese on top is golden brown.
*Note: If the beans are already hot when you put them in the oven, you could probably just put this under the broiler to melt the cheese.
Pit beef sliders — For the Super Bowl, I think it would be extra cute to make mini ones on Hawaiian King’s Rolls. They’re SO good and actually very simple to make. I especially like these for bringing to someone’s house because they’re served room temp.
Finally doing birthdays right
Historically, I haven’t been great with birthdays. I want to be the sort of person who has them all marked in my calendar so that I can see them in time to send flowers or a card, to plan a party. But even when it comes to my own, I just don’t think much about them. Birthdays weren’t a big deal in my house growing up, and I’ve come to believe that you either grew up in a family that went all out for birthdays or you didn’t. And I did not.
Choripán — Thematically this one may seem odd, but I think that hot dog adjacent foods are always welcome at a Super Bowl party. This one is particularly tasty with seared or grilled chorizo topped with a tangy chimichurri sauce.
Choripán
Generally speaking, the humble sausage isn’t exactly a glamorous food. It’s simple. Rough around the edges. Yet, its appeal is undeniable. So much so that you can find some version of a sausage in a roll in most countries. In the states, a good old fashioned hot dog reigns supreme. In Argentina, it’s all about choripán — a smoky, juicy chorizo sausage, grilled over an open flame and tucked into a crusty roll draped with a slice of provolone cheese, topped with a spoonful of chimichurri or salsa criolla. Leave it to them to make sausage seem sort of elegant.
Weeknight sausage and peppers — If I was watching the Super Bowl at home, this is what I would make. Serve this with a crusty baguette or hoagie roll with the sausage and peppers loaded inside. Delicious!
Weeknight Sausage and Peppers
I find that it’s often the lazy last minute meals that end up being the best. Last Friday we were supposed to have friends over for dinner so I picked up fresh Italian sausages along with some peppers, onions, and baguette thinking we’d grill them and make sandwiches. But, it turned out that I’d forgotten one small detail—I never actually invited them. Perfect! So, we were on our own for dinner. It started to rain and we were too lazy to light the grill anyways. So, instead, I whipped this up and we ate it on the couch in comfy clothes and watched a show. Heaven.
Not a football fan, but I decided the other week that I'm making pizza for tomorrow, for the Bad Bunny concert and for the Italian Olympics before and after the concert; focaccia pizza has become my go-to in the past year or so because I get the most reliable results at home. About to start making the dough!