Well the pats weren't in the Super Bowl and if I wasn't going to be drooling over Brady, I was going to be drooling over something else (and no I'm not talking about Beyonce! Though maybe that's true too...) My attention was now on food instead. We had about fifteen kids packed in a tiny apartment, and each of us brought a snack. The place was full of good food and good company.
I love these kinds of parties because it's so fun seeing what everyone brings. We had spinach and artichoke dip, buffalo chicken dip, cheesecake brownies, nachos, pasta salad, strawberries/raspberries in chocolate, baked ziti, chips, etc etc. Everything was so delicious and it was great everyone contributed!
I love cooking with friends :)
Above is Sam working on some sauce for her family's baked ziti recipe with homemade meatballs! Absolutely amazing! And Lauren on the right dipping strawberries in chocolate (looks like she made a lot, but every single one of them was gone by the end of the game! They were a big hit)
I made my favorite pulled pork recipe- it never fails, always delicious and soooo simple, potato bites wrapped in bacon with two different dipping sauces and some cookies. We also planned on tossing some french fries and pickles in the deep fryer, but we couldn't take anymore food. We will save those for a later date!
Ooey Gooey Crock Pot Pulled Pork with Caramelized Onions
Ingredients:
4 lbs pork roast (shoulder or butt)**
2 medium onions
1 cup ginger ale
2 cups Sweet Baby Ray's - or your favorite BBQ sauce, we LOVE Sweet Baby Ray's
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
Mini slider buns or bulkie rolls
Directions:
Place meat in crock pot along with one sliced onion and pour ginger ale on top. Cook on high for about 5-6 hours or low for about 12. (I did high and it still comes out perfect) Once the meat is tender, remove it from pot, discard all the liquid but save the onions, and shred the meat on cutting board with two forks and add back to pot. Pour in BBQ sauce. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and slice the second onion. Add to hot oil then turn heat to medium and cook about 8-10 minutes. Add remaining onions (they are already soft so add a little later) and cook until all are caramelized, about another 8 minutes. Stir onions into the pork mixture.
Just look at it in all of it's tender goodness....So sloppy, but so delicious! I prefer my pulled pork smothered in BBQ sauce, but use less than 2 cups if you don't!
**At the grocery store here, they didn't have a pork butt or shoulder. Luckily, the nice butcher man taught me something new! Southern style ribs are the same cut as what is used in pulled pork, so for this particular instance, I used about seven big ones. So in case your store doesn't have any in stock, look for some ribs instead!
Potato Bites Wrapped in Bacon
(A cheaper take on scallops in bacon for the poor college kid! Pair with a dipping sauce and it's just as yummy!)
1 lb small red potatoes
1 lb thick cut bacon
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the larger of the potatoes in half, some of the real small ones can stay whole. Put in pot and cover with water. Add 2 tsp of salt and bring water to a boil and cook for 4 minutes until they are just tender but not too soft because they will be baked further. Drain the potatoes. In a bowl mix olive oil, pepper, rosemary and garlic powder and add in potatoes. Toss to coat.
Cut bacon in half or in thirds, depending on the size of the bacon, and wrap each piece of potato with the bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on wire wrack on top of baking sheet and cook until bacon is crispy, about 30 minutes and finish with a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste.
Don't be like me and forget toothpicks! With them it's much easier, and way less greasy!
Serve with a dipping sauce, such as the recipes below (I recommend the chipotle aioli)! Or if you don't have time, a store bought ranch or bbq sauce would suffice!
Recipe adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures
Honey Mustard
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonaise
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 1/2 Tbsp honey
Pinch of salt
Directions:
Mix it all together in small bowl and refrigerate before serving!
Way better than store bought, I promise!
Chipotle Aioli
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonaise
1 chopped chili in can adobo sauce
2 tsp of adobo sauce from can (more or less for heat!)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Directions:
Remove one chili from can and chop fine. Mix in small bowl with all ingredients and refrigerate before serving!
This aioli goes great with anything from chicken to french fries to crab cakes and as a spread for sandwiches. It is so delicious and good with so many foods!
And you can't have a super bowl party without some desserts to balance out all the fried and greasy food and chips. These cookies were a huge hit!!
Oatmeal Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened*
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cuts rolled oats
1 heaping cup chocolate chips
1 heaping cup peanut butter chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and peanut butter on medium-high with an electric mixer to eliminate lumps. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Mix in flour (as much as you can with the mixer, I could do about half) then add the rest in and stir by hand. Fold in the oats, then add the chocolate and peanut butter chips.
Drop by spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes, until edges are light brown. Let stand for 1 minute on cookie sheet then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.
**If you have no softened butter, heating it in the microwave for 8 seconds, (no more!) will do the trick. You DO NOT want to melt it
**I prefer a lot of brown sugar in my cookies. It has much deeper flavor than granulated, but if you prefer you can cut down on the brown sugar and add more granulated.
SUPER BOWL 48, GO PATRIOTS!
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