Play-By-Plate: Super Bowl Party Recap

What's better than beer and football? Beer, football, and great food - ideally, lots of it.

Beer and Cheddar Fondue with Chicken Brats and Soft Pretzels, Photo: NK 

Today's post is a recap of the menu from our Super Bowl party last week. We were really happy with how all the food came out! Our menu included a very tasty Beer-Spiked Fondue, refreshing Crab Salad Bites, fall-off-the-bone tender Old Bay Buffalo Wings, and our zesty Turkey Meatloaf served with homemade sauce on brioche buns. Last but not least, we served a heavenly Bacon and Leek Mac 'n' Cheese that my Mom had made us from Rachael Ray's Recipe HERE. It was really good! We were 6 people in total but all the recipes below are easily adaptable to feed much larger crowds. Next time you're hosting some friends, be sure to kick off the good times with these crowd pleasing recipes.

Super Bowl for Six

Lump Crab Salad on Cucumber
 
Individual Beer and Cheddar Fondue With Bavarian Pretzels and Chicken Bratwurst

Old Bay Baked Buffalo Wings

Best Ever Turkey Meatloaf on Brioche Rolls


Here we go....

Making the Crab Salad, Photo: NK 

Crab Salad Bites on Cucumber 
Adapted from the Food Network Kitchens
Serves 6 - 8 

Ingredients:
1 Pound Lump Crabmeat, picked over for shells. 
1 stalk Celery, cut into an 1/8 inch dice
5 Tablespoons Fresh Chives, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Tarragon
1/4 Cup + 1 Tablespoon Low Fat Mayonnaise
2.5 Tablespoons Sour Cream
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper

3 Large Thick Cucumbers peeled and sliced into centimeter thick rounds. You can also create a few cucumber cups if you like - click HERE for the how to. 

Method: 
In a medium bowl, lightly toss Crab, Tarragon, Chives and Celery together.  

In a small bowl, mix Sour Cream, Mayonnaise, Lemon Juice, Dijon Mustard and Salt and Pepper to Taste. Carefully mix into the Crab bowl. 

Spoon the Crab Salad onto the Cucumber Chips or carefully into the Cucumber Cups. 
Sprinkle some extra Chives to Garnish. Use any leftovers to make a Crab Roll Sandwich or Serve over a salad. 

Lump Crab Salad Bites on Cucumber, Photo: NK  

Beer and Cheddar Fondue with Chicken Bratwurst and Soft Pretzels
Adapted from Rachael Ray
Serves 6 to 8 

Ingredients:
1 Pound Good Quality Sharp Cheddar, shredded
1/2 Pound Gruyere, shredded
1.5 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 Cup German Lager Beer
2 Tablespoons Spicy Brown Mustard 
7 Drops Tabasco Sauce
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
6 Soft Pretzels 
6 Chicken Bratwursts
Cornichon Pickles

Special Equipment - Wood or Metal Skewers - 1 per person

Method: 
Boil water in a large sauce pan and toss in the Brats. Lower to a simmer and cook for for 10 minutes until warmed through.

Meanwhile, toss Cheeses together with the flour.
Add beer to a medium pot and heat until it is bubbling over a medium flame.  
Reduce heat to simmer and stir in shredded Cheese, a handful at a time. 
Stir constantly so that you are melting the Cheese handful by handful. 
Stir in a figure 8 pattern using a wooden spoon or spatula. 

When the cheese is fully incorporated add the Mustard, Worcestershire and Hot Sauce. Stir and transfer to a warm fondue pot or serve in individual ramekins as pictured. Slice up the Brats, serve with Pretzels and Pickles. 

OLD BAY BAKED BUFFALO WINGS 
Click HERE for the recipe.

Baked Old Bay Buffalo Wings, Photo: NK 

And finally, last week's 

Best Ever Turkey Meatloaf served in a brioche bun with homemade barbecue glaze. For the recipe, click HERE.

Turkey Meatloaf Subs, Photo: NK

ENJOY!

Summer Gets Spicy - Old Bay Baked Chicken Wings

Anyone who knows me would agree that I'm a major spicy food hound. While my main obsession is hot sauce, I actually like all types of spices - anything that adds flavor complexity or an extra kick is welcomed by me. 

Old Bay Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings, Photo: NK

A Line Up of the Usual Suspects, Photo: NK

Today's recipe is an slightly different take on traditional buffalo wings. Old Bay Seasoning, an iconic spice blend most often used on seafood, gives these wings an extra zesty undertone of added flavor that enhances their inherent hot sauce goodness. Old Bay has a cult following and an interesting history too. Click here to learn more: The Old Bay Story   

Our recipe calls for baked wings making them slightly lighter, while letting the wings sit in spices overnight helps infuse flavor. These will be a hit with your friends and family, and as you might expect, they are sure way to any man's heart. My husband gobbled these up in no time oohing and ahhing all the way through. Men sure can be simple creatures, in a good way, and sometimes keeping food simple is the way to go.

Old Bay Buffalo Wings 
Adapted from Serious Eats

Old Bay Seasoning, Photo: NK

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
1.5 Tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning 
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Lbs Chicken Wings and Drums
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted 
2.5 Tablespoons Frank's Red Hot sauce
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Method:
The day before (if possible)
In a bowl, mix together Old Bay, Baking Powder, and Salt.

Pat the Chicken Wings dry and place Wings in a large bowl.

Sprinkle in the Old Bay mixture and toss to evenly coat.

Lay the wings on a wire rack leaving space in between them.

Place the rack on top of a foil lined baking sheet. 
Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Prepping the Wings, Photo: NK

The day of
Preheat the oven to 425.
Place the baking sheet and rack into the oven and cook until browned and crisp. 35 to 45 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine Butter, Hot Sauce and Worcestershire. Mix.
Add Wings to the bowl and toss thoroughly to coat with sauce.
Serve immediately with a beer and lots of napkins!
Enjoy! 

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