Craving American-style fatty, cheesy and salty Super Bowl party foods, we decided to host a mini (4 people) non-Super Bowl Super Bowl party this past Sunday. We played Wii and ate lots of terrible (but terribly delicious) food, including:
Heart-attack-on-a-plate: cream cheese + chili + cheddar, all melted together and served with chips. An oldie, but a goodie. In the past, canned chili has sufficed, but I couldn't find it here, so I made my own chili based on this "adult" sloppy joe recipe I've made in the past.
Hot spinach dip: in an attempt to incorporate some veggies into the meal, I made a hot spinach dip- cream cheese, mozzerella, spinach, garlic, onion... you'd think you couldn't go wrong. Except it did go a little wrong: somewhat bland. Not sure what the solution is... more salt? Some red pepper flakes sauteed in with the garlic and onions? It was good, however, a few days later spread on bread, topped with sauteed chicken breast and mozzarella, and grilled like a panini.
(sorry forgot to take a photo of the spinach dip!)
Ribs: Tim decided that his contribution (well, besides lots of beer) would be to try making grilled ribs. He bought some baby back ribs from our local butcher shop, put together a dry run, marinated for 24 hours, then "smoked" them on charcoal grill using indirect heat and water for steam for about 2 hours. Pretty good! He thinks perhaps the grill ran a little bit hot and he could have taken them off sooner, but I thought they were pretty good for a first try at ribs!
Hummus: the old In Garten stand-by hummus made an appearance, with the addition of some cumin, paprika and additional lemon juice and zest.
Buffalo bites with homemade blue cheese dip: I sorta made this recipe up a bit... I cut some boneless chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, coated them in egg and flour, lightly pan-fried them, and then tossed them with a mixture of butter and Louisiana Wing Sauce (we are the proud owners of about a million gallons of this stuff... I wanted Frank's or Crystal, but this was the only option. A good buy, though.) I was hoping that the way I cooked the chicken would give the sauce something to stick to, but not get soggy. Served 'em with a homemade blue cheese sauce, similar to this recipe, but without the dill and with the addition of a splash of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. I think these were the winner for the evening... so addictive! Definitely tasted like good old American bar food.
Rice Krispie treats: I had big plans to make S'mores with my homemade marshmallows, but a number of factors dashed those dreams on the rocks... 1) I couldn't find graham crackers at the store (I saw them around Christmastime and am now kicking myself for not buying a box or two.) and 2) in a trial run, the marshmallows didn't toast correctly- too wet and melty. Sigh. Fail. I blame it on the humidity. Rainy season is a bitch. Rice Krisipie treats were a good back-up, though.