Super Bowl 50 Eats!!!

3 GREAT GAME DAY RECIPES THAT ARE SURE TO PLEASE!

We are one week away from Super Bowl 50, where Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos will take on Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers! If the AFC Champion Broncos defense shows up, we may indeed be in for a great game.

Regardless of what happens on the field, here are some KILLER game day recipes for your Super Bowl party! (You’ll be the MVP of your friends….your friends will love you forever…yada yada you know…these are serious crowd pleasers, that I can say for sure).

For the Carolina Panthers
Hungry Fan™ Barbecue Bacon Pimento Dip
Makes a medium serving bowl of dip

This is one of my many homages to the Carolinas, where I have spent a good chunk of my life. It’s pretty hard to travel through North or South Carolina without finding a good pimento cheese dip. This is my spin on the classic, kicked up a couple notches because that’s how you do for the Super Bowl!

1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimentos with juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon pimento pepper juice
10–12 good shakes Tabasco Sauce, or more to taste
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Hungry Fan® Barbecue Spice Blend
2 tablespoons bacon bits
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: ¼ cup cornbread crumbles*

*Cornbread can be homemade or as simple as using as Jiffy mix in a 9x9” baking dish. Once cooked, crumble parts of the top and sprinkle atop the pimento cheese dip.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all but the cornbread crumbles. Mix well.

Serve in a ramekin or serving bowl topped with the cornbread crumbles, if using them. Add a side of crackers, tortilla chips, vegetable crudité, or whatever you plan to dip into the cheese mix. Enjoy the big game!

YOU CAN FIND MY HUNGRY FAN® BARBECUE SPICE BLEND AT HUNGRYFAN.COM/SHOP OR AT WHOLE FOODS MARKET IN COLUMBUS CIRCLE, NEW YORK CITY.

For the Denver Broncos
Turkey Burger (“The Slopper”)
Makes 2 Sloppers

Sloppers actually originated in Pueblo, Colorado, a city not too far south of Denver. This kind of burger is a Denver favorite. It’s messy — or sloppy, thereby earning its name — but it’s delicious! It features green chili, which is a staple dish found in the Denver area. This is my homage to the Denver Broncos.

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup onions, sliced the long way
1 lb. white ground turkey
½ teaspoon celery salt
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 egg
1 teaspoon old-fashioned mustard
2 burger buns
4 slices Swiss cheese (2 per burger), plus 2 more slices for serving
2 slices tomato (1 per burger)
4 tablespoons green chili (or more depending on how sloppy you want it)*

*I prefer Schlereth’s Vegetarian Green Chili.

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In a skillet, sauté your onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat until your onions caramelize (5–7 minutes). Set aside and keep warm.

Warm your green chili in a small pot and keep hot, without reducing, as you prepare the rest of the burger.
In a large mixing bowl, season your turkey with celery salt, onion powder, and black pepper. Then mix in 1 egg and old-fashioned mustard. Mix well and then form two patties.

Add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet you cooked your onions in. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add your patties into skillet and let cook for 5 minutes on each side. (Only flip your patties once or you might lose the patties’ shape).

Check your burgers doneness by taking their temperature. You want the inside of the burger at 165 degrees F.

While your burgers are cooking, toast your buns with 2 slices of cheese on the bottom bun.

Top the cheese-covered bottom bun with the turkey burger, tomato, and onions. Place the top bun on top and cover with another slice of Swiss cheese. Repeat with the second burger.

To serve, place both Swiss cheese-topped burgers in bowls and pour generous helpings over green chili over them. This should melt the cheese on top and make for a messy, gooey and delicious burger! Enjoy!

For Dessert
Chocolate Chip Brownie (Foot)Balls

I came up with this recipe during hurricane Jonas in preparation for Super Bowl 50. I wanted sweet but not too sweet, because salty always seems to win the day on Super Bowl Sunday.

You can always form your dough into round balls or make them in a brownie pan for proper square or rectangular brownies. But for the big game it’s kind of fun to shape them like little footballs.

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cups unsweetened cocoa
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups sugar (or more to taste)*
2–3 teaspoons kosher salt, to taste
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1–2 cups semisweet mini chocolate chips

*I prefer using Dememara (light brown) cane sugar.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (preferably fitted with the paddle attachment) combine the butter with the sugar. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. Then reduce speed to low and add in the salt, vanilla and eggs. Beat on low until well mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips and flour mixture.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Shape the dough in your hands like little footballs. Place dough (foot)balls on the parchment paper a couple inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before moving the cookies to a wire rack. Let cool (or nearly cool). Serve at room temperature or slightly warm!

Optional: using fine-tipped white icing, you can pipe onto each brownie football little laces!

Enjoy and may the best team win!