Best Super Bowl Recipes and Our Favorite Cocktail Pairings

Best Super Bowl Recipes and Our Favorite Cocktail Pairings

Game Day Dishes

Who better to bring you football fan approved dishes than six of America’s top chefs? Some of these recipes are geared up for a full house, so you can serve them up to the entire crowd; trim quantities to fit the size of your Super Bowl party. As a bonus, we’ve paired each with a cocktail to complete your game-watching menu.

Play Maker Buffalo Chicken Dip
Joshua Johnston, sous chef, 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel (Clayton, N.Y.)
2 lb. chicken breast
8 oz. cream cheese
1 lb. shredded cheddar blend
8 oz. hot sauce/buffalo sauce
10 oz. extra chunky blue cheese dressing
Garnish: diced tomato and scallion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a medium to large sauce pot and cover with water just enough to fully submerge the chicken. Bring to a simmer for about 8-10 minutes. When the chicken is done, it should pull apart very easily. While chicken is simmering, prepare the cheese. In a microwave-safe bowl, cube the cream cheese and toss with half of the shredded cheese. Cover the bowl and microwave for about a minute. Assemble the dip: in a large mixing bowl, shred the chicken, preferably with a set of forks. Fold in the melted cheese blend, hot sauce, and blue cheese until fully blended. (Note: Dip can be prepared a day in advance up until this point and refrigerated.) Place dip in oven-safe dish and top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake towards the top of the oven to allow for better browning. Bake for 10 minutes, garnish, and serve hot.

Serve this with an Effen Beast cocktail.

Effen BeastEffen Beast
1 part Effen Black Cherry Vodka
1 part cranberry juice (white or red)
½ part vanilla simple syrup
½ part fresh lemon juice

Build over fresh ice in a rocks glass and garnish with brandied cherries and a lemon twist.

Rock Shrimp & Manchego Fondue
Eric Kaszubinski, executive chef at McCoy’s Oceanfront, Fort Lauderdale Marriott Pompano Beach Resort & Spa (Pompano Beach, Fla.)
2 shallots (minced)
1 lb. rock shrimp
4 oz. butter
4 oz. flour
1 bunch cilantro (chopped)
4 oz. white wine
1 qt. heavy cream
½ lb. Manchego cheese (grated)
½ tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
½ tsp. Tabasco
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. white pepper

Place butter in a non-stick pot and melt over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté for two minutes. Add shrimp and cook for three minutes. Place flour in pot and stir to allow it to absorb the butter and cook for two minutes. Whisk in heavy cream and add cilantro and the spices. Once liquid has thickened, add the Manchego cheese and finish with white wine. Serve in individual portions along with pita and plantain chips.

Serve this with a Blue Cowboy Margarita.

Blue Cowboy MargaritaBlue Cowboy Margarita
3 parts Jose Cuervo Gold tequila
3 parts frozen limeade concentrate
1 part orange juice
1 part blue curacao
2 parts beer (use a lager or Mexican beer)
colored salt for rim (see below)

Put all ingredients, except salt, into a blender. Blend on high until smooth and slushy. Rub lime along glass edge and then dip in blue colored salt. Add the liquid, garnish with a lime wedge and serve. The beer adds a frothiness to this cocktail.

To make the colored salt:
Put one cup of salt in a plastic baggie. Add four to five drops of food coloring and seal. Shake vigorously. If the color is not dark enough, add more food coloring one drop at a time. It’s best to then pour the salt onto a plate and spread it out to dry for a half hour before using.

Bacon-Infused Popcorn
Darren Sylvin, executive chef, Aloft Boston Seaport (Boston, Mass.)
1 lb. bacon
1 cup popcorn kernels
½ cup coconut oil
pinch of salt

Rough cut bacon into 1-inch cubes. In a deep and wide soup pot, render bacon under low flame until completely crispy (about 20 minutes). Once fully rendered, separate bacon and fat through a fine strainer. Reserve bacon pieces on the side for later. Clean out pot and return to medium flame with all of the reserved bacon fat and coconut oil. Add kernels and a pinch of salt and stir until kernels are fully coated with fat and oil. Put lid on pot and begin to vigorously shake pot back and forth over flame until kernels begin to pop. Continue to shake until the popping fades. (Not shaking will result in burnt popcorn.) Once popping has stopped or reduced significantly, remove from flame and stir in remaining bacon pieces. Place in bowl and serve.

Here’s another margarita using colored salt.Red Cuervo Margarita

The Red Cuervo Margarita
2 parts Jose Cuervo Silver tequila
1 part fresh lime juice
1 part triple sec
1 part grenadine
agave syrup to taste
lime for garnish
colored salt for rim (see recipe above)

In a cocktail shaker, add ice and all liquids. Shake well! Run a lime wedge around the glass edge and then dip the glass into red colored salt. Add ice and strain in liquids from the shaker. Garnish with a lime wedge and served.

Baby Back Ribs
The Newes from America Pub at Kelley House (Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.)
8 racks baby back ribs (about 10 lbs.)
2 Tbsp. paprika
½ Tbsp. brown sugar
½ Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. celery salt
½ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne
½ tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. onion powder
1 ½ qt. beer (a lager or red ale works great)
1 cup of bourbon (this is our recommended addition)

Pre-heat oven to 225 degrees F. Place ribs on an unlined sheet pan and coat each slab liberally with rub made from all dry elements. Cover with aluminum foil, leaving an opening that you will close later. Place pan on bottom oven rack. Fill each pan with beer and bourbon through opening in foil; close opening. Cook for 5 ½ hrs. Ribs should have a good crust on top and be very tender. Let cool. Serves 15-20 people.

These ribs need a good whiskey cocktail to go with them. Try out The Upbeat.

The Upbeat
2 parts Hudson Maple Cask Rye
¾ part sweet vermouth
1 barspoon Amaro Montenegro
2 dashes Fee Bros. Black Walnut bitters
cocktail cherry

Add liquid ingredients to a mixing glass, then ice. Stir until well-chilled and strain into a pre-chilled cocktail coupe. Add the cherry for garnish and serve.

Super Bowl Beef Chili
Richard Doucette, executive chef, Lighthouse Grill at Harbor View Hotel (Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.)
28 oz. ground beef
4 Spanish onions (diced)
1 head of celery (diced)
8 red bell peppers (diced)
2 bunches cilantro (chopped)
2 jalapenos (seeded and diced)
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup red wine vinegar
½ bottle Cholula Hot Sauce
11 oz. can diced tomatoes
11 oz. ketchup
11 oz. canned red kidney beans (drained)
11 oz. canned black beans (drained)
12 oz. canned chipotle peppers in adobo
2 cups ground ancho peppers
1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes
8 Tbsp. whole cumin
2 Tbsp. black pepper
4 Tbsp. dried Mexican oregano
4 Tbsp. smoked paprika
kosher salt to taste
1 cup red wine (our addition)

Combine all liquids, set aside. In a large pot on medium-high heat, brown ground beef. Strain off excess fat. Add all vegetables and cook until tender. Add all spices and toast until fragrant. Add be
ans and all liquids. Reduce heat to low. Cook slowly for two hours. When serving, provide shredded cheese to garnish the top of each bowl.

The perfect cocktail for chili is a Smoky Paloma. The smoky flavor comes from the mezcal.

Smoky PalomaSmoky Paloma
1.5 oz. Sombra Mezcal
1 oz. fresh grapefruit (an orange can be substituted if necessary)
½ oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. sugar (or simple syrup)
1 pinch of salt
1 lemon

Muddle fruit with the remaining ingredients. Strain into a glass with ice (it can be salt rimmed if you like) and garnish with a grapefruit or lemon slice.

New England Lobster Roll
Gustavo Calderon, executive chef, 3800 Ocean at Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa (Riviera Beach, Fla.)
1 ½ lb. lobster meat (if lobster meat isn’t available in your area, substitute crab meat)
½ cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 inner stalks of celery and leaves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. tarragon, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. capers, finely chopped
2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
salt and black pepper to taste
4 rolls split, brushed with butter and lightly toasted
1 tsp. Old Bay (for garnish)

Chop lobster meat into bite size pieces and add to a bowl. Mix mayo, lemon juice, celery, herbs, capers, and seasonings; add to lobster and mix well. Chill the lobster salad in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to marinate. While lobster salad is resting, brush the four rolls with butter and toast slit side down in a pan until light golden brown. Fill toasted rolls with roughly one cup of the salad mixture and garnish with a light sprinkle of Old Bay. Best with some fresh kettle chips.

Gridrion HoneyPair the lobster roll with a Gridiron Honey.

Gridiron Honey
1 ½ parts Reyka Vodka
¾ part fresh lemon juice
¾ part honey
½ part Becherovka
club soda

Combine all ingredients, except the soda, into a shaker. Shake and then pour into a rocks glass. Top with the soda and serve.

5 Comments

  1. Dan on February 3, 2017 at 7:57 am

    For the chili recipe, do you really mean TWO cups?

    >2 cups Worcestershire sauce

    • Christopher Null on February 3, 2017 at 10:16 am

      We’re double checking this…



  2. Cange on February 5, 2017 at 3:49 pm

    I made this chili tonight, well… it was 80% this recipe, and it was good but sweet. That sweetness I think comes from the ketchup. Maybe the ingredients I didn’t have would’ve balanced it perfectly but I think I’ll just skip the catsup next time.

  3. Kim Richards on February 6, 2017 at 2:29 pm

    Hi Cange. Thank you for cooking up the chili. The ability to tailor recipes your own tastes is what cooking is all about! I’m glad you liked it.

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