Courtesy photo by TINA RUPP Layered Mexican Bean Dip.
LAYERED MEXICAN BEAN DIP
Dragon's Breath Chili
Homemade Chili with fresh vegetables herbs and spices
Courtesy photo by TINA RUPP Layered Mexican Bean Dip.
By MICHELLE COLLINS Correspondent
Without food, the Super Bowl is just another football game.
More than $55 million is spent on Super Bowl food in the United States, and 10 million hours are spent in food preparation for the game, according to www. associatedcontent.com. Super Bowl Sunday is also the No. 2 food consumption day of the year.
The New England Patriots aren’t playing in the game this year, but many New Hampshire and New England sports fans are still honoring the “holiday” with their own culinary traditions.
“Each year, my family and friends like to pick a theme for the food we bring to the big game,” said James Gibson, of Nashua. “One year, I made gumbo in honor of the Super Bowl in New Orleans. Other years, we make Tex-Mex. We haven’t picked a theme yet this year.”
Whether he makes it for the Super Bowl or not, Gibson also has a great recipe for “Dragon’s Breath Chili.” Large, crock-pot-style dishes are great for the big game, especially if you’re feeding a large group of friends and family. Dishes such as lasagna, chili or a hearty stew are popular options that can be simple to make and will feed a lot of people.
Gibson’s chili is a Texas Red Chili with no beans. Instead, it consists of a variety of meats that are smoked and braised. Gibson’s chili also gets a smoky flavor from a unique ingredient: a Chinese tea leaf.
“It’s the same technique one would use to smoke ribs or for pulled pork with wood chips,” Gibson said. “One difference is that it involves a lot less time because I don’t want the meat to get cooked on the grill – I only want to kiss it with the flavor of smoke.
“I’ve used wood chips to smoke the meat, too, but I like the flavor of the tea leaves.”
When it comes to serving his chili, Gibson keeps the garnishes simple and traditional.
“I like putting a ton of grated Monterey Jack (cheese) on top and having cornbread on the side,” Gibson said.
In addition to one-pot large meals, finger foods are also an easy option for serving at Super Bowl parties. Items such as mozzarella sticks, potato skins, vegetables with dip and chicken wings are great staple sports snacks that should make football fans and food lovers happy.
“What we’ve found to be both easy and yummy is to buy frozen appetizers like the ones sold by TGI Friday’s and then kick them up a notch,” said E.J. Kritz, of Merrimack. “For example, we buy the Friday’s frozen spinach dip and add cheese and chopped tomatoes. … Fast, easy, cheap and delicious.”
Kritz and his wife are having a few family friends over this year, and they plan to serve mostly finger foods, with one or two new plates coming out each quarter. What the Kritzes serve during the halftime show, however, is a fun and unique twist on the regular Super Bowl fare.
“During the pre-game, we have everyone help make pizzas,” Kritz said. “Sometimes, we just buy a Boboli crust, but we’ll put out all the fixings. During the second quarter, we put everyone’s pizzas in the oven so they’re ready to enjoy during the halftime show.
“My personal favorite is barbecue chicken pizza.”
Finger foods and large bowls of chili are great to serve on game day, but most food served at Super Bowl parties isn’t the healthiest. To make sure your weight-conscious guests are pleased, simply serving fresh vegetables with a low-fat dip or a Mexican layer dip with lots of vegetables and low-fat ingredients are uncomplicated substitutions.
No matter what you end up serving or eating this Super Bowl Sunday, it’s clear that this year will be no different from other years: The day is still going to be centered around food – and, apparently, football.
DRAGON’S BREATH CHILI
Serves: 6.
2 pounds boneless short ribs (cubed)
1 pound pork boneless country ribs or ground pork
1 pound of sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tablespoons ancho chile powder
2-3 tablespoons Mexican chile powder
2-3 tablespoons cumin
2-3 tablespoons cayenne
2 teaspoon garlic salt
4 tablespoons vegetable oil.
2 tablespoon Tabasco
1-2 tablespoons Chipotle puree
Salt and pepper to taste
2 jalapeno chile peppers (other varieties are acceptable), cut lengthwise
2 cans (28 oz.) of crushed tomatoes
2 cans (15 oz.) of tomato sauce
1 bottle of dark beer (optional)
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
¼ to ½ cup of lapsang souchong tea leaves (optional)
Cube beef and pork and put into separate bowls. Squeeze sausage from casing into a third bowl. Put garlic, onion and pepper into fourth bowl. Put each of the dry spices into small bowl and blend. Distribute evenly among the four bowls. Put chipotle puree into both bowls of meat. Put 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil into each bowl. Mix ingredients of each bowl with your hands or large spoon.
Optional step: Smoke meat if desired on gas grill. Spread out ¼ to ½ cup of lapsang souchong tea leaves into a large disposable (aluminum) roasting pan. Place the roasting pan under the grates of your grill, just above the burners. Turn the grill to high. After you notice the tea leaves begin to smoke, place the short ribs on the grates over the pan. Be sure to not have any of the meat over a flame. Cook the meat briefly so that it is slightly colored on all sides (not browned). Remove meat and let cool.
Brown beef in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat so that it is browned completely. Avoid over-cooking so that interior of beef is still pink. Brown sausage and pork in the dutch oven over medium-high heat. Break up sausage into small bits. After meat is browned lightly, remove from the pot. Pan can be deglazed with a dark beer. Any spots on the bottom of the pot that begin to get too dark can be deglazed with a ½ teaspoon of water and scraped up. This can be repeated. Be sure to let the liquid evaporate quickly by moving the meat away from the dark spot and scraping with a wooden spoon. Cook pepper and onion and garlic in the dutch oven over medium-high heat so that the onion and pepper are tender and begin to caramelize. After pepper and onion are tender and begin to caramelize, add the meat (with juices) back to the pot. Cover pot and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add each spice (including Tabasco) to the pot while simmering. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chile peppers and optional beer to pot. Simmer for 30-45 minutes uncovered or until the chili reaches a desired consistency. Remove chile peppers before serving. Serve with cheese.
– Courtesy of James Gibson, Nashua
LAYERED MEXICAN BEAN DIP
Serves: 16.
16 ounces fat-free canned refried beans
3 medium Hass avocado, finely mashed
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoon Old El Paso Fajita Seasoning Mix, or other brand
1/2 cup Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Shredded Mexican-Style Cheese
1 small tomato, chopped
2 medium scallion, sliced
10 medium olive, black, sliced or chopped
2 tablespoon cilantro, fresh, chopped
Spread beans evenly over bottom of a 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish or a medium-size glass bowl. In a small bowl, combine avocado, salt and lemon juice. Spread avocado mixture over beans; top with sour cream. Sprinkle fajita seasoning over sour cream layer. Next, layer remaining ingredients on top in order listed. Serve immediately with jicama slices and other fresh vegetables for dipping, or chill until ready to use.
– Courtesy of weightwatchers.com
