Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

February 07, 2016

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

As promised, I want to share some snack ideas for the big game (and future tailgates!)

Here is the "tablescape" for my snack bar. I gave you a sneak peek last post, but here it is in use.

On this side you see some of the "Grown Up Pigs in a Blanket" that I showed you in my Football Fare post. I had some left over so I froze them and thawed them in the refrigerator this morning. A quick zap in the microwave and they are just as delicious as last week! I just love these football glasses that I got at the Dollar Store a few months ago. They are perfect for this occasion. The football napkins were in my stash. I probably bought them on clearance one year at the end of the regular season (You never know when you may need football napkins!) When I saw that the advertisers for the Super Bowl were tossing around a gold football (since it is the 50th game) I knew that I had to have one too.

So I took an old football and spray painted it gold. Of course!

These sugar cookies are made from a new recipe which contains almond extract. I will share it later if my taste testers like it. I made the fondant from my Marshmallow Fondant recipe. I will share that with you when I find the perfect sugar cookie recipe (It has been a long search!) I guess you can tell from the blue, black and white sprinkles and ribbons which team I am cheering for!

On this side of the table you see my new favorite dip recipe. You may remember from my Football Fare post that my daughter and I went to a cooking demonstration at William-Sonoma last week. One of the recipes that they shared was this excellent cheese dip.

Blue Cheese Dip

4 oz. cream cheese at room temperature

1 cup sour cream

4 oz. tangy blue cheese (such as Point Reyes)

2 Tbsn. chopped fresh chives

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1. In a bowl using a hand held mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until soft and creamy, about two minutes.

2. Add the sour cream and mix on low speed until combined, about two minutes. Add the blue cheese and beat until the cheese is crumbled and no large lumps remain, about 2 minutes. (Our instructor hand mixed everything, he liked the big chunks of blue cheese- it is a matter of personal preference really.) Stir in the chives and pepper.

3. Cover the bowl and refrigerate at least thirty minutes. (We did not do this in class and I did not do it at home either. It was still wonderful!)

Printable Version

I have to be honest here. I used Neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese), reduced fat blue cheese and non-fat sour cream. It was still excellent! Either way you make it, serve with chips (I used Stacy's Naked Chips) and crudites. In class the chef grilled the vegetables with a little salt, pepper and olive oil, but I am just serving them raw today.

These little sausage balls are the easiest and most delicious party fare I have ever made. A colleague of mine told me about them a long time ago and they have been my go-to appetizer recipe ever since.

Margaret's Sausage Balls

Sausage

Apple Butter

Roll the sausage into balls. Bake at 350 for 15- 20 minutes until the sausage is cooked. Place the sausage balls into a sauce pan with the apple butter until the apple butter is warm.

I usually make the sausage balls ahead of time and freeze them. Pull them out of the freezer a few hours ahead of time and place them in the refrigerator to thaw. Cook in the apple butter as before. I use a fondue pot to keep them warm while serving.