You know, I wait all football season for this weekend. Not because I love football, but because I can finally have my husband back on Sundays! Kidding aside, Superbowl Sunday does allow me to create some of my favorite party foods. Since this year's event is taking place in Dallas, all my Superbowl dishes will focus around all things Texas.
First, I am going to lasso my guests in by serving these delish appetizers:
Black Bean Tex-Mex Pizzas
1 loaf of french bread (day old is fine)
1 can of black beans (drained)
drizzle of olive oil
1 jalapeno (sliced, seeded and diced)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of red pepper
1 jar of salsa
2 cups of Mexican cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take the loaf of french bread, and slice through the middle of the bread (lengthwise), resulting in two long pieces. Take a fork and rake out the bread in both pieces, which will help your fillings stay on the bread. Lay both long pieces of french bread on a cookie sheet.
Heat a medium saucepan on medium heat and drizzle pan with olive oil. Saute the diced jalapeno for about 3 minutes. Add diced onion and saute until onions are fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the can of drained black beans and saute for about 5-7 minutes (until warm and bubbly). Add chili powder, cumin and red pepper and mix well. Turn off heat and take pan off the stove top.
To assemble your pizzas, spoon out black bean mixture on top of the bread, then spread salsa and lastly, sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and slice into bite size pieces for your guests.
P.S. My recipe was featured in the February edition of Real Simple magazine in the "Ask the Reader" section and makes a great and easy dinner for two or three on a busy night.
P.S. My recipe was featured in the February edition of Real Simple magazine in the "Ask the Reader" section and makes a great and easy dinner for two or three on a busy night.
Seven Layer Tex-Mex Dip
1 can of Mexican beans
1 jar of salsa
2 cups of shredded lettuce
2 cups of shredded Mexican cheese
1 medium tomato, diced
1 can of sliced black olives
1/2 cup of diced chives
Layer all ingredients in order, starting with the Mexican beans and ending with chives. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, which helps keep the layers in tack. Serve with your favorite chips.
Tex-Mex Pigs-n-Blankets
4 hot dogs
1 can of refrigerated crescent rolls
1/4 cup of shredded cheese
1/4 cup of BBQ sauce
Preheat oven to 375. Separate the crescent dough into 8 triangles. Brush each triangle with BBQ sauce. Slice each hot dog in half crosswise. Take each hot dog half and place on the triangle. Sprinkle each hot dog triangle with cheese and then roll it up. Place each hot dog roll on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes or until the rolls are brown on the top. Serve with additional BBQ for dipping!
Now for the main course, Texas Chili. This recipe originates from Williams-Sonoma's Bride and Groom cookbook. Let me preface by saying this is my FAVORITE cookbook. Southern chiefs and sisters, Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford take you on a journey of their favorite dishes. I love their recipes so much, I bought 10 copies at once and gave them for not only wedding gifts, but house-warming, birthdays and "just because" gifts. If you purchase this cookbook, you will not be disappointed. Promise.
Texas Chili
1 tablespoon of bacon grease or vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 pound ground beef chuck
1 pound Italian sausage links, removed from casing and crumbled
2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cans (28 ounce each) crushed tomatoes with puree
1 can (15 ounce) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounce) BBQ baked beans, rinsed and drained
Heat bacon grease in a 8 quart heavy bottomed stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, and oregano and stir until spices are well combined. Add the ground chuck, sausage and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the meat, stirring until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to low, cover and shimmer for an hour, stirring often. Serve with all of your favorite fixin's!
Now for the dessert. Since there will be lots of heavy food, I am going to stick to one simple and amazing dessert: Symphony Brownies. These could not be any easier, and your guests will be in love at first bite :)
Symphony Brownies
Your favorite brownie mix plus the ingredients needed to make the brownies (each mix differs)
3 Hershey Symphony Bars (large size)
Prepare the brownie mix per the directions on the box. Preheat oven and grease a large brownie pan. Pour half of the brownie mix in the pan. Lay the three Symphony bars on top of the mix. Layer the other half of the brownie mix on top. Bake per directions on the box.
Make sure you let the brownies cool after baking, preferably on a wired rack for at least 15-20 minutes. This helps when you cut the brownies into bite size pieces for serving. You might forgot about the game and focus all of your attention on the brownies, just FYI :).
Now for the speciality drink. My favorite, Sangrina! This recipe also comes from the Bride and Groom cookbook.
Sangria
1 bottle of pinot noir
1/4 cup thawed frozen orange juice concentrate
12 ounces of unsweetened, strong brewed tea
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 large oranges, unpeeled, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
3/4 cup seedless red grapes
3/4 cup chopped red apple
Combine wine, orange juice concentrate, tea and sugar in a medium pitcher. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add the orange grapes and apple. Refrigerate until read to serve. FYI, this tastes even better if you can make it ahead of time and let chill in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours.
Here is to a great game, awesome commercials and a Steeler's win :)
