Update Your Super Bowl Spread
The Super Bowl offers an annual opportunity to invite over friends and enjoy one of America’s most highly honored and timeless traditions – eating. Unfortunately, the staple of the Super Bowl spread, the dip, has fallen through the culinary cracks and is in much need of an update. Here we have provided three haute cuisine alternatives to the traditional humdrum dips usually provided on Super Bowl Sunday. Wow your friends with your culinary prowess by substituting out one of these great dips adapted from foodandwine.com.
Instead of: Processed cheese and canned chilis
Try: Queso Fundido al Tequila
Instead of microwaving a large block of processed cheese product with some canned tomatoes and chilis, try this easy and authentic alternative from celebrity chef Rick Bayless.
In a large skillet cook two diced medium tomatoes, two diced medium jalapenos and a diced small onion with olive oil until soft. Then, add three tablespoons of tequila and cook until the pan looks dry. Reduce the heat to low and add a half-pound of shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, stirring constantly. Once the cheese is melted, transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy.
Instead of: Sour Cream and French Onion Soup mix
Try: Fried Scallion Dip with Lebneh
This creamy dip is a much-needed update on the traditional sour cream and onion dip. Instead of sour cream, this recipe relies on a Lebanese cheese called lebneh, which can be replaced with drained Greek Yogurt should you be unable to find it.
To make this dip, simply toss six thinly sliced large shallots in flour and then fry them in olive oil in a medium skillet until golden and crispy. After that’s done, use a bit of the scallion oil to cook one minced jalapeno with a minced garlic clove, one half teaspoon of chili powder, a quarter teaspoon of ground coriander and a quarter teaspoon of ground cumin. Once done, add these to a bowl of two cups of lebneh or alternative. Stir in the fried shallots and serve.
Instead of: Store-bought Hummus
Try: Homemade Hummus with Tahini
Michael Solomonov, head chef at Zahav in Philadelphia, makes his hummus with extra tahini for a nice texture. To do so, add a quarter cup of lemon juice and four garlic cloves to a food processor and pulse the garlic to a fine chop. Let that stand for ten minutes before adding two 14-ounce cans of drained chickpeas, one half cup of tahini, one tablespoon of ground cumin and a half cup of water. Puree and then season with salt.
