Projo Football Food & Spirits

January 27, 2008 - February 2, 2008 Archives

The family wants to be traditional. The requests were wings and super nachos.

So I'm buying wings and drummettes today to marinate overnight two ways. The first is essentially a homemade barbecue sauce, the second is Teriyaki-style. (Most of us don't like hot wings, and I find Buffalo bitter.) Both recipes come from readers at RecipeZaar's Super Bowl Chicken Wings category:

Wing Dings
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 1/2 lbs chicken drummettes

Combine all ingredients except chicken in saucepan. Bring to boil, and simmer 5 minute Cool.

Place drummettes in bowl, or zippered plastic bag. Add cooled Sauce. Coat chicken evenly and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Place drummettes, skin side up, on FOIL-LINED rimmed baking sheet. Spoon leftover Sauce over them.

Bake 45-50 minutes at 400º, until done, basting with sauce occasionally.

Serves 4-6

Baked Teriyaki Style Chicken Wings
25-30 chicken wings
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup sherry wine

Combine all ingredients except the wings in a large pitcher. Mix well.

Place chicken wings in single layer in a 9" x 13" pan.

Pour the liquid mixture over the wings.

Marinate at least 2 hours, flipping wings once. Keep wings refrigerated while marinating.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Flip once during baking.

Note: I won't have space in my fridge tomorrow for a flat pan of wings -- these will go in a plastic bag with their marinade, like the first recipe.

One recipe calls for a 400 degree oven, the other is at 350. I may split the difference and bake them on different racks at 375 degrees. Since I don't know how the double quantity will affect cooking time, I'll start checking them after an hour and every 10 minutes after that, if more time is needed.

I'll let you know Monday how it went.

---

Here are some recipes provided by the Crock-Pot brand for the Super Bowl. It doesn't start until 6:30 so there's plenty of time to slow cook.

Crock-Pot Six Pepper Chili

3 pounds hamburger
1 12-ounce can beef broth
1 teaspoon oregano
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
5 cloves garlic
2 12-ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 12-ounce cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
5 dashes hot sauce
2 28-ounce cans crushed Italian tomatoes
1 12-ounce can of tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 green pepper, seeded and diced
2 Serrano chili peppers, minced
1 long red pepper, diced

In a large skillet, brown meat.
Add meat and other ingredients to slow cooker stoneware.
Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours or on High for 5-7 hours, stirring occasionally.
Mix well before serving.
Serves 6-8

Crock-Pot Baby Back Ribs
For a large Crock-Pot slow cooker, double the recipe.

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2-3 pounds beef or pork short ribs
1/3 cup bourbon
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup chili sauce

In a small bowl, combine the cumin, chili powder, sugar, coriander, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Stir to thoroughly combine and rub all over the ribs.
Place the ribs into the slow cooker stoneware. In a small bowl, stir together the bourbon, sugar, and chili sauce and pour all over the ribs.
Cover and cook on High for 3 hours or on Low for 6-7 hours. Occasionally brush sauce in crock onto the ribs.
Serves 6-8

---

The funniest recipe in the run-up to the Super Bowl is New England Chili at New York Daily News, adapted from the "Anheuser-Busch Cookbook: Great Food Great Beer" (Sunset Books. $24.95 paperback.)

The last two ingredients:

1 pound cooked pheasant, cut into ½-inch dice
1 pound cooked quail, cut into ½-inch dice

They set up a confrontation between this and New York Vegetarian Chili. You think there's bias there?

Well, it beats clam chili.

The Louisville Courier Journal does meaty chilis -- one with ground beef and ground pork, and a chunky Texas truck stop/diner chili made with big cubes of brisket, pictured at right -- and yet another called Smoking chipotle pork stew. Carnivores will be pleased.

Spinach dip in a bread bowl from "The Sour Dough Bread Bowl Cookbook," by John Vrattos and Lisa Messinger appears at the San Jose Mercury News. Spinach and portobello mix with dairy in a large round loaf of sourdough.

I like Susan Barnes' attitude -- she's food editor of the Ann Arbor (Mich.) News: It is, after all, football. The recipes she offers, all on one page, include her own Chicken or Vegetarian Minestrone, and a
crockpot Beef Stifado with red wine, cinnamon sticks and allspice, meant to be served over rice.

Turkey-Black Bean Chili is a crockpot recipe from Detroit News that uses ground turkey and chicken broth. Make it with black soybeans -- canned, indistinguishable from the other black beans, available for sure from Whole Foods -- and they're low-carb.

Caramelized Opossum Onaplank -- where else would you expect to find gourmet roadkill but ESPN's Fans' Super Bowl party recipes

At the Rocky Mountain News, Chicken Enchiladas With Yogurt Sauce looks easy and tasty. By the time the stuffed tortillas bake together, topped with salsa and cheese, you probably have a casserole.

On that same page, an uncooked, layered Southwestern Taco Dip made with yogurt.

Cheddar Beer Dip with Smoked Sausage -- from from Diane Phillips' "You've Got it Made" via AP -- may satisfy wannabe linebackers without the ick factor of the opossum.

Honolulu TV station KHON2 had a contest, and the winner is Superbowl Recipe Winner: Healthy Hoagies made with crispy chicken apple sausage, garlic, onion and bell pepper.

---

The Hass Avocado Board has created two guacamole recipes that represent the Patriots and the Giants.

New England's recipe features lobster.

The New York recipe is traditional. Serve the dip with blue corn tortilla chips and the dish will represent the team’s colors.

New England Halftime Guacamole
4 ripe, fresh avocados, peeled and pitted
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 lb. cooked lobster meat, chopped
1 medium shallot, minced

In a medium bowl, coarsely mash avocados and combine with salt, lemon juice and garlic.
Fold in lobster meat and shallot.
Serve with tortilla chips or toasted crostinis.
Serves: 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes

New York Kickoff Guacamole
4 ripe, fresh avocados, peeled and pitted
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 cup minced white onion
1 medium tomato, chopped
Blue corn tortilla chips

In a medium bowl, coarsely mash avocados and combine with salt and lime juice.
Mix in garlic, white onion and tomato.
Serve with blue corn tortilla chips.
Serves: 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Note: Large avocados are recommended for these recipes. A large avocado averages about 8 ounces. If using smaller or larger size avocados adjust the quantity accordingly.

---

Every Day with Rachael Ray suggests this cocktail for Mardi Gras but let's think about it for Super Bowl Sunday.

HURRICANE COCKTAILS
½ cup sugar

Ice cubes

2 cups rum

2 cups passion fruit juice

2 cups orange juice

2 cups pineapple juice

½ cup orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier

Juice of 4 limes (about ½ cup)

Bitters, such as Angostura

8 fresh pineapple wedges

In a small saucepan, heat ½ cup water and sugar over medium heat and stir until dissolved. Let the simple syrup cool.
Fill a pitcher with ice cubes. Add the rum, passion fruit juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, orange liqueur, lime juice and simple syrup and stir until chilled. Strain the cocktail into glasses, top each with a dash of bitters and garnish with a pineapple wedge.

Makes 8 drinks.

---

Chef Howard Snitzer of Christie's restaurant in Newport just sent along this recipe for chowder with a twist. It has maple pepper bacon.

Christie's Clam Chowder
4 ounces butter
4 ounces flour
8 ounces celery, 1/4 inch dice
8 ounces fennel, 1/4 inch dice
8 ounces white onion, 1/4 inch dice
8 ounces maple pepper bacon, diced
1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced
1 pound chopped clams
1 1/2 quarts clam juice
1 1/2 quarts 2 percent milk

Sweat vegetables and bacon in butter until onions are tender, but not browned. Add flour and mix well. Cook for five minutes.
Add milk slowly while stirring. Add clams and potatoes last. Bring back to almost a simmer. Adjust salt and black pepper.
(makes 1 gallon of soup)

Serve with Soup Nuts:
1 pound water
1 pound butter
1 pound bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 eggs

Bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour and salt all at once.
Turn off heat and mix until the dough comes away from the side of the pan.
Transfer to mixer. Add eggs one at a time. Pipe out ¼” round on lined sheet pan.
Bake at 425 degrees until crisp, golden brown and delicious.

---

Thinking a casserole would do you for the Super Bowl?

Kevin Roberts, author of KISSING IN THE KITCHEN, has put together some recipes for
Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce and one sounds like the perfect blend of comfort and taste. It's a macaroni and cheese with lobster.

Macaroni with Lobster and Cheese Blend

1 pound elbow macaroni
6 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon mustard
2 cups milk
½ teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 - 2 tablespoons hot sauce, or more to taste
3 cups (total) of a cheese mix that includes Pepper Jack, Gouda, Mozzarella and sharp cheddar, all shredded, as well as grated Parmesan and Romano
1-2 pounds cooked lobster tail, coarsely chopped

Breadcrumb Topping:

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add the water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni al dente. Drain and set aside.
In another pot over medium heat melt the butter. Stir in flour and mustard. Keep stirring until there are no lumps.
Add milk, onion, hot sauce, paprika, salt, pepper and 2 ¼ cups of the cheese combination. Stir well. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add macaroni to cheese sauce and mix well.
Add lobster meat and mix well.
Transfer to an 8X10-inch baking dish or casserole dish.
Top with remaining cheese.

In a small saucepan over medium heat melt butter. Add breadcrumbs and mix.
Spread the breadcrumb topping evenly over the macaroni.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown.

Serves 6-8

---

If a house party isn't in your plans, here are some spots with special offers for Super Bowl Sunday.

American Family Billiards, 87 Gooding Ave., Bristol, is celebrating with will serve complimentary hearty appetizers, unlimited pool play and the game on two 50-inch TVs. The cost is $20. Beer, pitchers, wine and soda are available for purchase. Doors open at 4 p.m. Reserve space by calling (401) 569-2108.

Trendy’s Pizza & Pasta, 286 Maple Ave., Barrington, (401) 245-6371, has big-screen televisions and will have a complimentary half-time buffet plus food and drink specials.

Fitzpatrick’s Pub, 1145 Park Ave. Cranston, (401) 943-8368, hosts a Super Bowl party from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m., Sunday, with an all-you-can-eat buffet with stuffed pork loin, baked stuffed shrimp, barbecue ribs, chicken marsala, shrimp cocktail and more. The cost is $20 and tickets can be purchased at the pub after 4 p.m. daily.

Snookers, 145 Clifford St., Providence, (401) 351-POOL, www.snookerspoollounge.com, has a 36-foot hi-def wall of video and 30 plus television sets and 20 cent wings offered during the game.

Casey’s, 191 Old Tower Hill Rd., Wakefield, (401) 789-9714, serves a buffet from 5:30 to 9:30 and the cost is $12.50, plus tax and gratuity. It includes a chef-carved steamship round, lasagna, Buffalo wings, chili and a garden salad.

Doherty’s Irish Pub, 342 East Ave. Pawtucket, (401) 725-9520, has eight tvs TVs including a 100-inch projection screen. There is no special offer but they have 111 different beers (42 on tap and 69 in the bottle).

As for the early risers:
The Four Corners Grille, 601 Metacom Ave., Warren, and The Four Corners Grille, 3841 Main Road., Tiverton, both serve a Super Bowl Brunch on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The brunch will include several of their favorite breakfast and lunch offerings, as well as specials. The Warren restaurant has a full liquor license while Tiverton serves wine and beer.

---

AP

The South Bend (Ind.) Tribune casts the Super Bowl as the battle of the chowders -- Manhattan red vs. New England white. (It beats chowder vs. soft pretzels.)

Cook up a super bowl of chowder:

We asked Alan Perry, chef at Orchard Hills Country Club in Buchanan, to explain how. He says the process is similar for both varieties.

For New England chowder, Perry uses a combination of cream and milk and tightens it up with a slurry of cornstarch and water. The consistency Perry shoots for is bisque-like; not really thick, but not watery, either (Perry likens it to a thinned-down Elmer's glue).

This goes a long way towards explaining why many of us prefer Rhode Island clam chowder, without milk, without tomatoes -- the base is the juice the clams release into the broth in which they are steamed; steaming opens them, and releases clam broth. (Recipe at the end.)

Fortunately, the gluey chowder is not the published recipe, which comes from Yankee Magazine's current issue:

New England Clam Chowder

7 pounds cherrystone clams, scrubbed and rinsed
3 cups water
4 strips bacon, finely chopped
1 medium Spanish onion, diced small
2 tablespoons flour
3 large red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 cup heavy cream

In a large soup pot over high heat, add clams to 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook just until clams open, about 10 minutes. Remove clams from broth and set aside. (Discard any clams that don't open.) Strain broth through a sieve lined with a coffee filter and set aside.

Clean your soup pot; then over medium-high heat, sauté bacon until it's browned and fat is rendered. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to a paper towel. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat. Add diced onion to the pot and sauté until translucent.

Stir in flour and cook 1 minute, being careful not to brown. Whisk in reserved clam broth. Add potatoes and thyme, and simmer 10 minutes.

Remove clams from shells, reserving liquid, and chop roughly. Strain liquid; then add clams and liquid to the pot. Stir in parsley and cream and cook just long enough to heat clams through, about 3 minutes.

Red: Manhattan Clam Chowder

Recipe from epicurious.com, originally published in Gourmet, March 2004.

Treat yourself to fresh clams for this recipe -- they make all the difference. This dish originated in Rhode Island during the late 19th century, when, as story has it, Portuguese immigrants added tomatoes to their chowder. British New Englanders believed their creamy chowder to be superior and named the Portuguese version after Manhattan, presuming that New Yorkers were the only people crazy enough to add tomatoes.

Active time: 30 minutes

Start to finish: 45 minutes

2 bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch squares
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons diced (1/3 inch) green bell pepper
3 tablespoons diced (1/3 inch) celery
2/3 cup diced (1/3 inch) peeled boiling potato (1 small)
1 (8 ounces) bottle clam juice
1 cup canned diced tomatoes (8 ounces), including juice
1 1/2 dozen small hard-shelled clams (1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter; 2 pounds total), scrubbed well
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cook bacon in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately low, then add onion, bell pepper, and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in potato, bottled clam juice, and tomatoes (with juice) and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Stir in clams and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until clams open wide, 8 to 10 minutes. (Discard any clams that after 10 minutes have not opened.) Remove pan from heat.

Remove most of clamshells with tongs, then detach clams and return them to chowder. (Keep a few in their shells for garnish.) Stir in parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Note: Chowder, without clams or parsley, can be made 1 day ahead. Bring to a simmer before adding clams and proceeding.

Journal files / Bob Thayer
Clear broth clam chowder, with quahogs, red potatoes and select spices, was a Chef's Secret -- a requested recipe -- in 2002 from Roger's Family Restaurant in nearby Somerset, Mass. The unusual spices add the red color; it's not traditional in clear chowder.

Clear: Rhode Island clam chowder

From a "Good Neighbors" recipe exchange reader in 1999 comes a classic:

Each year, the South Kingstown Lions Club serves over 600 gallons at their South County Seafood Heritage Festival. This recipe was developed by Bob Smith; he reduced his five-gallon recipe to this one for six people.

The recipe is from Good Tastes of Rhode Island's South County. (Now out of print.)

A quahaug (or quahog or quohog) - from the Narragansett Indian word Poquauhock - is a salt-water clam with a round, hard shell. Smaller sizes are called cherrystones and littlenecks and can be eaten raw. North American Indians used the inner surface of the shells to make wampum, their form of currency. It was also used for beads and ornaments.

South County Quahaug Chowder
6 pounds quahaugs
6 cups water
1/4 cup salt pork, cut into tiny cubes
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups cubed potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Scrub quahaugs. Place in large kettle with water. Cover. Place over medium heat until shells open, about 5 minutes. Remove meat from shells and grind into small pieces. Discard shells. Save all liquid; set aside.

Fry salt pork to light brown in large pot. Add onions; fry lightly. Add reserved liquid plus enough water to make 8 cups.

Add potatoes, salt and pepper. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes. Add chopped quahaugs; bring to light boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Serves 6.

Note: Another reader suggests cooking the potatoes in the clam juice before adding the water, so they absorb the full clam flavor.

---

Weight Watchers offers a simple recipe made with low-fat cheese, and doesn't suggest you serve it with bread or crackers.

Beer and Cheese Fondue
1 12-oz. can or bottle light beer
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 pound low-fat cheddar or colby cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

In a medium saucepan over moderate heat, warm beer until it boils; stir in mustard and pepper.

In a bowl, toss cheese with flour. Slowly add cheese to beer mixture, stirring. Continue stirring until mixture is smooth and thick, about 6 minutes total.

Yields about 1/4 cup per serving.

(Tip: Serve this dip with cubes or rolled slices of lean ham and smoked turkey as well as carrots, celery sticks, baked tortilla chips or cubes of crusty bread.)

---