"Super" Party of Three-2/7/10

Becoming parents has changed the nature of many activities. The Super Bowl is not excluded from this. Before Eyrleigh, we went to friends...or hosted our own Super Bowl parties. These parties lasted lasted late and involved a lot of snacks and beer and sitting on the couch watching t.v. Tonight's Super Bowl festivities were a bit more low key. We'd turned down an invite to our friend's Super Bowl party because it conflicted with Eyrleigh's bedtime and they live over 1/2 an hour away. The three of us watched the first half snuggling on the couch and eating some yummy snacks. Then Eyrleigh went to bed, she's not a big fan of The Who anyway, and Richard and I put a trailer hitch on his car. Just another quiet night at home.




All the snacks I made tonight came from this month's issue of Bon Appetit magazine Super Snacks article. I made eight of ten recipes for just the three of us. Got a few leftovers if you want some. The highlight was the Boubon-Glazed Chicken Drumettes with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce. I've never heard of drumettes being sold by themselves so I just used regular wings. The marinade was great. I did cut the amount of hot sauce in half since Eyrleigh was eating with us. Baking the wings instead of frying them made them healthier and kept them moist. The Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce was pretty simple and was a good compliment to the wings.
Popcorn is a great snack food for watching t.v. I've got to say I wasn't that impressed by the Spicy Popcorn with Piment D'Espelette and Marcona Almonds. The popcorn was mixed with hot paprika and salt and tasted pretty much like any old popcorn. More paprika and more salt may have helped but the flavor was still not complex enough to be "wow". The almonds didn't mix in with popcorn particularly well and sank to the bottom of the bowl. I had sprung for the more expensive Marcona almonds but I didn't notice a big flavor difference with blanched traditional almonds.

Bon Appetit's version of the classic snack food chips and salsa was much more successful in my opinion. The Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa was a really flavorful version of the usually red salsa. The tomatillos were tangy and fresh and paired well with the creamy avocados. I used my food processor to simplify the chopping process and that worked well. I would definitely make this salsa again, for any occasion.

The next snack was a combination I'd heard of but never tried. The Pancetta-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Manchego Cheese and Mint had a promising combination of flavors. Sweet, salty, fresh, and meaty all came together on paper. Sadly, the actual taste was overwhelmingly salty and didn't work. I really didn't like this snack. There was just too much going on and the salt ended up being the only flavor left in your mouth.



I'm more of a spinach dip kind of girl but the Chipotle Onion Dip with Garlic Pita Chips was pretty good. I made the pita chips earlier this afternoon and I wish I'd waited. They were a bit soft by the time we ate them this evening. The onion dip was simple in flavor. I didn't really taste the chipotle and again felt the recipe could have called for a bit more without it being overpowering.

The final snack I made was one of my favorites and the leftovers will be enjoyed until they are finished. (The remaining dates have already been disposed of.) The Caramelized Cashews with Cayenne had the right mix of sweet and spicy. Even Eyrleigh had some trouble keeping her hands off them (see the photo).

Tonight I found a few recipes that are keepers for the future and a few that will removed from the repertoire pretty quickly. One of these years, I'll be able to host the perfect Super Bowl party for way more than three people!

Bourbon-Glazed Chicken Drumettes-A
Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce-B

Spicy Popcorn with Piment D'Espelette

and Macona Almonds-C

Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa-A

Pancetta-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with

Manchego Cheese and Mint-D

Chipotle Onion Dip with Garlic Pita Chips-B

Caramelized Cashews with Cayenne-A