Here at For the Win, we care about more than if the Falcons can topple the Patriots. We also want you to win at hosting your Super Bowl party. We’ve pulled together the very best recipes for making a crowd happy.
Guacamole
Guacamole recipes can vary greatly, but one thing is practically always true: like with hummus, fresh, homemade guac is better than anything you can get at the supermarket. What follows here is only a suggestion. Some people might prefer more onions, more cilantro or more jalapeno, some might like to add tomatoes for some sweetness. —TB
Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1/2 lime
1/4 cup diced onion
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno
Salt and pepper
Tortilla chips for dipping
1. Peel and pit avocados, then mash them in a medium bowl or mortar.
2. Add onion, cilantro and juice from the lime.
2. Wear rubber gloves to handle the jalapeno, especially — trust me — if you wear contact lenses and will need to remove them later. Otherwise you’re in for a world of pain.
4. Dice jalapeno and add to desired spice level. Depending on preference for spiciness, you may only want 1/2 the pepper and no seeds. Some may want the whole thing, and all the seeds. Go slow.
5. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
6. Serve with tortilla chips. Baby carrots work, too, if you’re feeling guilty about frying the wings.
Serves 4-6.
Cannoli dip
If there is a downside to cannoli, it’s that even the mini sized ones can be rich and filling. The beauty of the dip is you can have a touch of cannoli and still enjoy the other rich and filling items on the table.
You can — and I have — make your own cannoli shells but it is a ton of work and very messy, and not really needed for the dip. You can stop by an Italian bakery to buy the shells, or check with your supermarket bakery. Break them down carefully to you have plenty of chips of varying sizes. This is a good task to give to your kids. You can also include things like strawberries and sugar cookies for dipping purposes. — MH
Ingredients
1 15-oz container of ricotta drained through a fine-mesh sieve
1/2 cup of mini-chocolate chips
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tablespoon of vanilla
Zest of one lemon
1/4 tablespoon of cinnamon
8-10 cannoli shells
1. Using either a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a bowl and electric hand mixer, combine the ricotta, sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and vanilla.
2. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Before serving, refrigerate for at least a half an hour.
Serves 3-5, but is very easily doubled
Classic Buffalo wings
(Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Staff)
Pre-made wing sauces are available everywhere now, but you’re better off without ’em. And Buffalo wings are best when they’re freshest; resorting to delivery will cost you some crispiness. One important key is to use Frank’s Red Hot sauce. This is not a paid endorsement or anything, it’s just by far the best hot sauce to use for making Buffalo wings.
We heartily recommend frying the wings: It’s the Super Bowl, not the Still Pretty Tasty But Definitely Not As Good Bowl. Baked or broiled wings will still be pretty tasty with the same sauce, but definitely not as good. —TB
Ingredients
12 whole chicken wings, cleaned and cut into flats and drums
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
Celery salt (optional)
Oil for frying
(peanut, vegetable or canola work best)
Blue cheese or ranch dressing
1. In a deep-fryer, dutch oven or large pot, heat the oil to about 375 degrees or medium-high heat.
2. Fry wings in oil until golden brown and cooked through, about 12-15 minutes depending on size.
3. While the wings are frying, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add hot sauce and stir. Add celery salt or lemon pepper to taste, if desired. For spicier wings, up the ratio of hot sauce to butter. For milder wings, do the opposite.
4. When the wings are done, transfer them to a plate covered with paper towels to drain off excess oil. Then toss them in the wing sauce and serve with blue cheese or ranch.
Serves 4-6. If you have more people coming, do math.
Italian-style kolaches
(USA TODAY Sports)
It’s downright baffling that kolaches — a Czech pastry made in both savory and sweet varieties — haven’t spread much past Texas here in the United States. There, a popular kolache includes sausage, cheese and jalapenos. This is our Italian twist on that treat.
A warning: Fresh pizza dough can be surprisingly difficult to work with. Make sure you let it get to room temperature before you start, and if you grow frustrated, remember that you’re stuffing pizza dough with sausage and cheese and everything’s going to be all right. Tip: Many good pizzerias will sell you a ball of dough better than those available at the supermarket. – TB
Ingredients
1 ball of fresh pizza dough
5-6 Italian sausages, hot or mild
1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Hot peppers, chopped (optional)
Marinara sauce for dipping
1. Pre-heat the oven to about 425 degrees.
2. Heat a medium-sized pot of water to a low boil. Carefully add the sausages and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.
3. Remove the sausages from water and let cool, or prepare to handle piping hot sausages.
4. Rip off fistfuls of dough and stretch them into ovals slightly longer than the sausages.
5. Place the sausages on the dough ovals (doughvals?), and pile on some cheese and, for extra kick, hot peppers.
6. Wrap the dough around the sausages and cheese, crimping it together so the cheese won’t leak out once it melts. Place kolaches on a greased baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, then brush with melted butter.
8. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the kolaches are golden brown.
9. Let kolaches cool for a few minutes before eating, or deal with a burned tongue because you’re unwilling to wait.
Serve with marinara sauce.
Roasted red pepper hummus
Once you find out how easy and cheap hummus is to make, you will never buy it from the store again. While this one has red pepper as the focus, you can easily change it to roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes or anything you think would taste good in a dip.
Ingredients
2 whole red bell peppers
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas o
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) tahini
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of chili powder
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt to taste
1. Remove core of peppers then cut into large flat pieces. Arrange pepper pieces, skin-side up, on a baking sheet and place under your oven’s broiler. Broil 5 to 10 minutes until the peppers skin has charred.
2. Add peppers to a resealable plastic bag, seal then wait 10 to 15 minutes until cool enough to handle. Gently peel away the charred pepper skin and discard, then roughly chop.
3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process for 30 seconds more.
4. Add the minced garlic, cumin, red pepper, chili powder and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, drizzle olive oil over mixture and then process another 30 seconds or until well blended.
5. Open, drain, and rinse the chickpeas. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then add remaining chickpeas and process until thick and quite smooth. Stop the processor and scrape the sides of the bowl after a minute.
6. Add the roasted peppers and continue to process for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated in an air proof container.
Grandma Hendricks’ pierogis
Much like Ted with kolaches, I don’t understand how pierogis haven’t become a huge food trend. They can be cooked several different ways, filled with anything you can dream of, and can work as an appetizer or an entree. My grandmother’s recipe features the classic filling of cheese, but you can go with sauerkraut, mushrooms or just about anything. Be as creative as you want. This can be made ahead of time. Just lay the pierogis out on a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and stick them in the refrigerator. Boil them when you’re ready to serve. — MH
Ingredients
For dough:
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/4 lb softened butter
2 heaping tablespoons of sour cream
For cheese filling
1 container ricotta cheese, drained over a fine sieve
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1. Mix all the dough ingredients until comes together with the consistency of bread dough. It should have some elasticity and smoothness to it.
2. Roll the dough in batches. Cut the dough into about 3 inch squares.
3. Next, create the cheese filling, combining the cheese, egg and sugar.
4. Place about a tablespoon of the filling into each square. Fold the square, and to seal use a fork and press the dough around the edges together. Use your finger, moistened with water the go over the sealed sides
5. Place each pierogi in boiling water. Let boil 7 minutes — we are cooking the entire pierogi in water.
6. Remove from water, and drain well. You can stop here and eat or go one more step, and let’s face it. It’s Super Bowl Sunday. You want to go the next step.
7. Fry the boiled pierogi in butter until it has a nice, golden brown crust on the plumpest part of the pierogi. Serve hot with salt, pepper and sour cream.
Skillet cornbread taco pizza
(USA TODAY Sports)
Basically what it sounds like: A pizza made of taco stuff atop cornbread baked in a cast-iron skillet. This one is open to lots of interpretation based on what you feel belongs in tacos. I used ground beef seasoned with chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cumin, cayenne, black pepper and a little salt, and I topped the “pizza” with fresh cilantro and sliced jalapenos. -TB
Ingredients
1 package cornbread mix (enough for an 8″ or 9″ square baking pan)
Everything else the mix calls for
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 lb. your favorite taco meat
Your favorite taco-meat seasonings
S
alsa
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Your favorite taco toppings
1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cook and season taco meat
3. Warm a cast-iron skillet on a stove over medium-low heat.
4. Prepare cornbread mix per manufacturer’s instructions.
5. Melt butter in skillet
6. Pour cornbread mix into skillet and spread into a thin, even layer.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the center of the cornbread is firm.
8. Using oven mitts, remove skillet from oven.
9. Carefully spread an even layer of sour cream over the cornbread.
10. Spread meat on top of the sour cream, and salsa on top of the meat.
11. Cover the whole thing with cheese and return skillet to oven.
12. When the cheese melts, remove skillet from oven.
13. Add any fresh toppings you favor, slice and serve.
Serves 6-8.
Crab dip
Our managing editor Nina Mandell shared this as one of her go-to party recipes. Crab dip is easier and less messy to make than crab cakes. Plus, I remember hearing something about football and crab?
Ahh, yes, but feel free to make this even if you don’t live in Maryland. — MH
Ingredients
Adapted from McCormick’s
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1 pound lump crabmeat
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, Old Bay Seasoning and ground mustard in medium bowl until well blended. Add crabmeat; toss gently.
3. Spread in shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese and additional Old Bay Seasoning, if desired.
4. Bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with assorted crackers or sliced French bread.
Chocolate chip, white chocolate and pretzel cookies
I love baking cookies, and these are my favorites to bake. The mixture of savory and sweet make for a delicious bite. If you don’t like white chocolate, you can use butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, whatever your heart desires. If you do use a nut butter chip, be sure to alert your guests because you don’t want your party interrupted by an allergic reaction. (Trust me.)
My favorite way to break up the pretzels is to put them in a ziploc bag and step on them. This is another good task to give to kids. Just make sure the pieces aren’t so small they get lost.
Ingredients
Adapted from Sarah Sprague
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, soften to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups pretzels sticks, broken into pieces
1 cup chocolate chips of your preference
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpats.
2. In a small bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking soda together and set aside.
3. Cream together the softened butter and sugars either by hand or with a mixer, then mix in the eggs and the vanilla.
4. Once the eggs have been fully incorporated, slowly stir in the flour mixture until the dough is completely formed.
5. Fill a small bowl with pretzels and the different kinds of chips. Mix the ingredients well. If you steal a bite or two of the chocolate/pretzel mixture, we won’t judge.
6. Fold in the chips and pretzel mixture by hand. Using a mixer for this step breaks down the pretzels too much.
7. Form dough balls and lay them out, about an inch apart, on your cookie sheet.
8. Bake until the edges are golden and the middle of the cookie has risen, about 10-15 minutes depending your oven.
Skillet bacon monkey bread
(USA TODAY Sports)
I’m back at it with cast-iron skillet stuff, but it’s for your own benefit. As for monkey bread, true story: There was a family of kids I grew up with that had a pet monkey, and that same family often provided something called “monkey bread” at school events and birthday parties and such. I always assumed it was a concoction unique to that household and named for the monkey, but monkey bread is, in fact, a thing.
Because it’s the Super Bowl, I incorporated bacon into this monkey bread. In effect, it tastes something like a delicious stuffed French toast, and some sort of breakfast-dessert hybrid. Parts of the recipe come from Pillsbury’s website and I made mine with the standard Pillsbury cinnamon rolls available at my supermarket, the ones where you rip off the paper wrapper and the dough explodes out. It’s great; your breakfast comes with a free show.
Ingredients
2 8-count (12.4 oz.) packages of ready-to-bake cinnamon buns with frosting
Roughly 1/2 an 8 oz. package of cream cheese
5 strips bacon
1 tablespoon butter
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook bacon by whatever means you usually cook bacon, until crispy. Drain any excess grease and crumble.
3. Divide the dough into about 32 pieces — i.e. ripping each pre-formed cinnamon bun in half — and flatten into circles, about 2-3 inches in diameter.
4. Spoon an almond-sized dollop of cream cheese into the middle of each circle of dough, then top with some bacon crumbles.
5. Pinch the outside of the dough up around the cream cheese and bacon to form little pouches about the size of a golf ball.
6. Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet over low heat. Make sure to spread the butter around the cooking surface.
7. Carefully place each dough-ball into the skillet, close enough so they touch but not smushed together.
8. Transfer skillet to oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown across the top. Remove and let cool for a few minutes.
9. Transfer both cups of icing into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir.
10. Drizzle the icing over the monkey bread, let cool a few more minutes, and serve. Warn your friends that the cream cheese may be very hot. You can slice it up if you want, but it works best as a finger food as long as you don’t mind getting icing on your fingers, as each dough ball rips easily from the rest.
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