If you want something to be delicious, it’s going to take at least some work, but I think you’re up to the challenge dear readers. Besides…if you want your buds to say you host the absolute best Super Bowl parties, then these are the recipes for you. Trust old Dom on that one.
The biggest mistakes most people make at these parties is to serve things that need you to keep looking down at your dish. To that I say, No way…! You’ll miss all the plays that way.
Finger food is what you want and a smorgasbord of finger food at that…so much that even your buddy who you’re wary of inviting to popcorn shrimp night can top his plate to look like a pyramid full of all your delicious canapés; and trust me, you can get full on canapés and be satisfied.
I’ve worked in banquet halls and you’re on your feet for 16 hours or so…and time to eat?? Don’t make me laugh…protein shakes and bars and the occasional canapé is what you’ve got time for, but if they’re full of tasty ingredients you won’t be missing the main course, believe me.
So, here are 5 tasty recipes to serve at this year’s Super Bowl Party…
The Kansas City Chiefs are facing the Philadelphia Eagles, but I’m sure many fans of other teams are going to watch the historic game…. So if you’re planning on hosting, then you need to study these recipes here.
And if you want to shake things up, this list of recipes will definitely be different and differentiate you from the next guy. Let the other guys serve chips, salsa and hot dogs. At your place, guests will get the culinary delights and recipes reserved for a banquet hall and enjoy the historic game all at the same time.
I’ve worked many banquets in my years in the pro kitchen and three of these are tried, tested and true recipes from my very own arsenal and I’m giving them to you on a silver platter, dear readers, and all because I want you guys to have an awesome time on Sunday, and I want your guests to walk away happy and well fed no matter who wins.
In the end you win, though, and all because they’ll know for darn sure that you are one epic host, which is probably why you’re reading this…because you care about the people you’ve invited to your home for the big game…which being in hospitality myself, I understand wholeheartedly, so let’s get started.
*Recipes may vary, depending on the size of your party, so adjust accordingly.
Crudités / Charcuterie / Fruit Platters
We’ll start easy…. Boards like these are necessary. You need to think of those that want something healthy and fresh and these types of platters are absolutely necessary. There are many ways to go, so I’ve shared this video to help get you started.
Deep Fried Cannelloni / Cabbage Roll Bites
Okay so these will go quick, I have no doubt, so you’ll need a whole pound of rigatoni pasta. Essentially you’ll be stuffing rigatoni pasta with a mixture of cabbage, ricotta, and minced pork, et voila! Mini Cannelloni.
First you’ll need to prep your cabbage. You’ll choose green cabbage and you’ll need to boil this slightly. (You’ll need a whole cabbage.) Not so much that it’s falling apart but enough to get the leaves to soften and be malleable for the next step.
*To boil the cabbage to make it malleable for use: Get a large pot of water to a boil. Take outer leaves of cabbage off, remove the core with a paring knife (BE CAREFUL!!), and submerge the cabbage whole into the boiling water and let boil for anywhere between 25 and 40 minutes or so. The leaves need to be malleable.
For your filling, you’ll need a pound and a half of minced pork meat. Sautee in olive oil with the center of the cabbage (finely chopped—save as many of the outer leaves and/or larger leaves and set aside) once the meat has started to cook; season with salt, black pepper, onion and garlic powder. Set aside to cool and once it has, spoon in three 280 gram containers of Ricotta cheese.
Next, boil your pasta and be sure to cook it enough but leave it al dente (pasta needs a nice crunch). Set aside to cool so you can manipulate the pasta. Then you simply pipe the filling into each of the noodles. Make them nice and full, but don’t let any of the mixture stick out.
Next, you’ll be wrapping each noodle in your malleable cabbage leaves. You can cut them to get the perfect size…until each rigatoni is covered—especially the ends of the noodles. This is done so you don’t lose any of the delicious filling as you fry them.
Next, a simple battering. Dip each cabbage-wrapped rigatoni in flour, then in a seasoned egg wash (only salt), then in a breading seasoned with paprika, parsley and a wee bit more salt.
Then deep fry until golden brown.
No Bake Cheese Cake
I’ve done thousands of these and really they’re easy. Think trifles and parfaits…simple assembly essentially. Decided to share this recipe here from Emma’s Goodies on YouTube…
Philly Cheese Steak Pin Wheels
And in honor of the Philadelphia Eagles (very sorry but I cannot be unbiased…I love the city of Philadelphia—my home away from home—the city and its people really welcomed me with open arms when I first visited and ever since, and I’m rooting for them in Sunday’s big game.)
And so in honor of the Eagles and their city, I’ve got a Philly Cheese Steak extravaganza that won’t be too hard to make and will impress your guests and perhaps particularly the Philly fans in your circle.
For this you’ll need 2 dozen tortilla wraps. These are really easy considering you’re going into a wee bit of trouble for at least two of the items on this list if you plan to make them all.
A great trick here is to trust good old Kraft and use Cheez Whiz as your cheese. Lay out all 24 of the wraps on your counter and/or table, spread the cheese all around each tortilla. Now for the meat mixture…a great easy way to do this is to use sliced roast beef from your local deli counter. It’s already cooked and will take almost nothing to prepare.
You’ll need a pound and a half of the roast beef. Dice an onion, a bell pepper and a small box of fresh mushrooms…sauté in some olive oil; once they’ve caramelized, add the roast beef, which hopefully you’ve cut into strips. Deglaze with a little white wine and once all of the moisture has evaporated, set aside to cool; then place into the tortillas evenly.
*You don’t need salt because the Cheez Whiz and the roast beef are seasoned perfectly.
Wrap them and then cut them into thin pinwheels and place them on a platter.
Cheeseburger ‘Top o’ The Bab’ Kebabs
Now remember…the point here is for easy finger food. Burgers require a wee bit of observation as you eat…. But what if you could get the wonderful taste of a burger—a cheeseburger that is—and not necessarily need to look away from a play to enjoy it? I’m in. How about you?
The idea here is a kofta kebab which is of course lamb. Now lamb is not everyone’s bag and I more than get that, trust me. But I always liked the idea of meat on the end of a stick; maybe it’s the caveman in me, but whatever…. Here it’s the same idea as the aforementioned koftas.
To make 28 kebabs, you’ll need a pound and a half of minced pork meat.
The pork meat is seasoned with salt, black pepper and throw in 2 whole eggs, about half a cup of bread crumbs and some parsley and mix well, then form into cylindrical shapes, but at the center stuff with cheddar cheese, diced sun dried tomatoes and diced, dried pickles. Then form the meat around the stuffing and further form that cylindrical shape.
Once that is done, you go for a classic battering as above for the Cannelloni bites…flour, egg wash and bread crumbs….deep fry and finish in the oven. Place a skewer into the works and place it on your serving platter so your guests can just grab and enjoy.
Try these recipes out and let us know how they go, dear readers!