Good morning! Today we have for you:
Happy dip day
Hello, friends. Happy Super Bowl Sunday, arguably the best cooking holiday of the year. It’s all fun snacks and cold drinks, spectacular halftime shows and commercials worth watching. Oh, and football. I don’t really care about the sport, but I love an excuse to make soft pretzels, flatbread and tortillas to swipe through all the dips. Of course, you can buy your favorite chips, crackers and breads for scooping, but you definitely want homemade dip, especially this spicy, cheesy skillet from Ali Slagle. She captures the tangy essence of Buffalo, now as much a shorthand for the spicy, buttery seasoning that coats the city’s famed wings as the name of the city itself. Making this hot dip starts with caramelizing cauliflower and simmering it in hot sauce; once the florets are tender, they’re swirled with cream cheese and sour cream and showered with Cheddar. You can pause there and bake the blend after your guests arrive, because the key to enjoying your own Super Bowl party is to prep dishes ahead. Featured Recipe Buffalo Cauliflower DipAli can Buffalo anything, so if you want wings, she’s got an easy baked version. If her cauliflower dip sounds good, but you want it with chicken, here’s her take. And if you want vegetable options, Ali has Buffalo cauliflower, Buffalo grilled mushrooms and Buffalo crudités. But Buffalo may not be your thing at all. If that’s the case, try these crispy three-ingredient potato nachos or check out these other dips and options for game day: Cheesy green-chile bean bake: Ali’s dips don’t end at Buffalo. This cross between enchiladas verdes and chile con queso is hearty enough to be a full meal, but it also works well as a hot dip for a crowd. You can stuff it into soft flour tortillas or scoop it with crunchy chips. If you want to bulk it up, you can stir in shredded chicken or browned Mexican chorizo or top it with fried eggs. Bacon-Cheddar dip: What makes this stretchy blend of sharp Cheddar and smoky bacon great isn’t only the creamy lava they set into, but also the surprising topping. The ever-brilliant Melissa Clark marinates diced cherry tomatoes in hot sauce to give each cheesy bite a fresh zing. Spinach, artichoke and yogurt dip: I feel bad saying this to anyone who lives east of me, but it’s a soft 70 degrees here in Southern California. It’s just too warm for cast irons bubbling with four or more cheeses. This chilled dip from Ashley Lonsdale is as light as it is flavorful, with sautéed shallots and garlic infusing the yogurt-creamy blend of chopped vegetables. Nutritional yeast, a seasoning not to be confused with the yeast used for baking bread, gives this dip a deep cheesy flavor. It’s worth getting a jar of these ocher flakes to add their distinct savory punch to everything from popcorn to pasta. Chicken teriyaki: The Seattle Seahawks are playing today, so in honor of that team, here’s a fantastic dish you can find throughout the city. Unlike the teriyaki sauce of more traditional Japanese cooking, which mixes soy sauce with sake and mirin, the Seattle-style blend often adds pineapple juice, garlic and ginger. The writer John T. Edge adapted this version from Sujan Shrestha, who owned Tokyo Garden in Seattle. Cornstarch gives this version of the city’s signature teriyaki its glossy thickness. Boston cream pie: For fans of the New England Patriots, this dessert has been a Boston favorite since the 1850s, when the Parker House hotel began serving it. Although its form has evolved over the years, the basic trio of fluffy yellow cake, thick vanilla custard and dark chocolate glaze remain the same. Samantha Seneviratne offers the popular double stack here, sandwiching the filling between two cake layers and leaving the sides unadorned so that the chocolate top can drip down. Cioppino: To feel as if you’re in San Francisco, the Super Bowl’s host city, you’ll want this seafood stew from Roseann Grimm, the chef and owner of the city’s iconic Anchor Oyster Bar. Dungeness crab, along with clams, mussels, cod and shrimp, soak up the garlicky marinara base, which would taste great with any seafood. (Use whatever looks and smells freshest in your store.) Be sure to make the Parmesan-topped garlic bread, too, for soaking up all the sauce. It may just be the very best “dip” there is. See you next week! |
