Your Super Bowl party will be showstopping with these recipes. Adobe Stock / arinahabich
Turn your stay-home celebration into a culinary touchdown with these top-tier dips and foodie bites worthy of the big game.
When the big game rolls around, your team may or may not go home victorious. Even so, serving up just the right mix of food and drink can ensure that everyone at your Super Bowl party feels like a winner.
“There are some basic rules that apply when it comes to pairings,” says former Culinary Institute of America professor Doug Miller. “One is that you don’t want the beer to outshine the food, or the food to outshine the beer.” He offers a few tips: “Beers that are crisp and refreshing — such as pilsners, light ales, and wheat beers — pair well with pizza, pasta, grilled chicken, and grilled fish. A hoppier beer, such as an IPA, is delicious with spicy cuisines such as Cajun, Mexican, and Thai food.” And while subs and sandwiches, pizza, and nachos can certainly do the trick, sometimes it’s fun to shake things up a little bit. The following recipes from the CIA should really score a touchdown with your family and friends.
The following recipes can be found in the Culinary Institute of America’s Gourmet Meals in Minutes (Lebhar-Friedman, 2004).
Guacamole
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
10 avocados, halved, pitted, and peeled
6 Tbsp lime juice
1 tomato, diced (optional)
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
1 bunch scallions, sliced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1 tsp Tabasco sauce, or to taste
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
Mash avocados with a fork.
Add remaining ingredients and adjust seasoning with lime juice, salt, and spices.
Refrigerate guacamole in a tightly covered storage container. It is best to make guacamole the same day it is to be served.
Nutrition analysis (with tomato) per ounce: 35 calories, 1 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 31 g fat, 20 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber
Tapenade
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
2 cups pitted kalamata or other cured black olives
3 anchovy fillets, drained
2 Tbsp capers, rinsed
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped parsley, rosemary, or basil
Method
Place olives, anchovy fillets, capers, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse the machine on and off in short blasts until a coarse paste forms. There should still be distinct pieces of olive in the mixture.
With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil until the paste is smooth enough to spread, though it should be slightly chunky.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and fresh herbs.
Serve at room temperature. Note: Tapenade keeps for up to one week in the refrigerator.
Nutrition analysis per ounce: 90 calories, 1 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber
Aïoli
Makes approximately 1 cup
Ingredients
1 cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, minced
Method
Combine the mayonnaise and garlic.
Nutrition analysis per ounce: 110 calories, 0 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat, 200 mg sodium, 5 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber
Crostini
Makes approximately 24
Ingredients
1 baguette
Method
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Slice the baguette in ¼ inch-thick rounds or cut on a bias. Place the slices on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5-7 minutes, or until the outside edges are golden brown.
Nutrition analysis per ounce: 5 calories, 0 g protein, 1 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 10 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber
Duck, Shrimp, and Andouille Gumbo
This dish pairs well with an Indian Pale Ale. Makes 8 servings. The recipe is explained and illustrated in the Culinary Institute of America’s Gourmet Meals in Minutes (Lebhar-Friedman, 2004).
Ingredients
2 Tbsp butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1½ onions, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
¼ cup white wine
1 quart chicken broth
1 cup tomato puree
1 ham hock
¾ cup okra, trimmed, cut into ¼-inch slices
½ pound andouille sausage, sliced into ¼-inch pieces
2 duck breasts (preferably smoked), skinless
2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
½ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
½ tsp hot sauce
Method
In a small saucepan, combine the butter and flour to form a roux, and cook over medium heat until dark brown, stirring frequently, about eight to 10 minutes.
While the roux is cooking, sauté the onions, celery, and bell pepper in the vegetable oil over medium to medium-high heat until golden brown, about 12–15 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for two more minutes, or until the aroma of the garlic is noticeable. Add the tomato paste and cook to a rich red-brown color, stirring constantly, about three to four minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and allow the wine to reduce by half.
Bring the chicken broth to a simmer. Whisk the roux into the hot broth, making sure there are no lumps. Add the vegetable mixture and stir well. Add the tomato purée, ham hock, and okra, and simmer for 15–20 minutes.
While the gumbo is simmering, cook the andouille in a sauté pan over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through, about four to five minutes. Remove the andouille from the pan and reserve the fat. Season the duck breasts with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, and sauté in the andouille fat over medium-high heat until cooked thoroughly. Once cool enough to handle, cut into medium dice.
Season the shrimp with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Dry-sear the shrimp in a separate pan over high heat until cooked through, about two to three minutes. Add the shrimp, andouille, and duck to the gumbo along with the tomatoes. Continue to simmer until all the ingredients are heated through. Season with the remaining salt and pepper, and add hot sauce to taste.
Nutrition analysis per serving: 290 calories, 22 g protein, 16 g carbohydrate, 15 g fat, 1280 mg sodium, 120 mg cholesterol, 2 g dietary fiber