For those of you who did not buy a ticket in time for the 37th Super Bowl in San Diego this Sunday, it’s still possible to get that tailgate, party-like bowl feeling by having one in your backyard, living room or even in the back of your pickup truck parked in the driveway.
The Malibu Times staff compiled a Super Bowl tailgate party menu for you to pick and choose from or, if you don’t feel like going to all the trouble, you can head over to Granita to pick up a “Tailgater to Go” meal; the Malibu Inn Restaurant to get some barbecue ribs; the Reel Inn for fish and chips; or, going out of the realm for what one would think is normal, Super Bowl fare-China Den, Guido’s, and Allegria are other options.Laura Tate’s simple salami, cheese and crackers
My favorite snack, which goes perfectly with either a glass of red wine or beer, is sliced peppered salami served with crackers and chunks of cheese. Accompanied with a variety of olives, it is the perfect filler snack and easy to prepare. Sliced tomatoes can be added as well.
Box of crackers (can be bought super size from Costco, or smaller boxes are available at most markets)
Whole peppered salami (Trader Joe’s carries the Columbus brand at a couple dollars less than other markets)
Gouda, Jack and/or Cheddar cheese (Any cheese can be used. Fresh buffalo mozzarella goes great with tomatoes. Pick your favorite.)
Greek, green and/or black olives
Roma tomatoes
1. Arrange crackers on outer edge of circular serving platter.
2. Slice salami in 1/4-inch, or thicker, pieces. Arrange salami in circular pattern on platter, slightly overlapping crackers.
3. Cut cheese in rectangular or square pieces, any thickness desired, and arrange on platter, just inside of salami. If cut into chunks, the cheese can be piled in a mound in the middle of the platter.
4. Pile olives in middle of platter.
5. If you go for the tomatoes, cut in 1/4-inch slices and arrange overlapping salami.
Can be prepared hours ahead of party, just cover and refrigerate.
Cathy Neiman’s Frito Pie
My first experience with this recipe was during my twenties when a friend came back from visiting relatives in South Carolina. It’s easy to make and delicious.
1 bowl Fritos corn chips
1 16-ounce can chili (Staggs or another brand)
Shredded cheddar cheese
1. Place Fritos in a glass pie pan.
2. Pour heated chili over Fritos.
3. Sprinkle cheese on top, and microwave until cheese melts.
Pie can be baked in oven at 325 degrees until cheese melts.
Kathy O’Rourke’s Zucchini Sausage Squares
It’s a good recipe to prepare earlier in the day, and goes well with any type of drink. Always a big hit, it goes fast so you might want to make a couple batches.
1 lb. zucchini (about 3 large)
12 oz. bulk pork sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 large eggs
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Dash black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1. Heat oven to 325. Shred zucchini with cheese grater, set aside.
2. Saut sausage, onion and garlic, drain.
3. Whisk eggs until frothy, stir in all ingredients except cheddar cheese
4. Spoon mixture into a greased 7″ x 11″ shallow glass dish. Spread until top is smooth.
Bake 25 minutes. Remove to sprinkle cheddar cheese over top. Return to oven for 15 minutes. Let cool, then cut into squares
Serves to six to eight people.
David Wallace’s White
Turkey ChiliA lighter, certainly healthier version of the Southwestern favorite. Always a crowd pleaser, it’s best made the day before and refrigerated … a boon to the host as well as the tangy-ness of the final dish.
4 cups Great Northern beans
3 pounds of turkey or chicken thighs (or thereabouts, all measurements are flexible in chili)
2 to 3 Tbs. vegetable or olive oil
2 medium to large onions
3 to 4 cloves garlic
5 to 6 cups of chicken broth (or as needed)
1 cup of canned green chilies
1 to 4 jalapeno chilies, seeded and chopped finely (depending on how hot you’d like the dish … use more if you want)
1 Tbs. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbs. vinegar
Bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 cup or more grated cheddar cheese and chopped sweet onion (both optional).
1. Prepare beans according to package instructions but cook partially, only until crunchy (do not add any salt at this time).
2. Cut chicken or turkey into 1/2-inch pieces (or smaller, whatever pleases you. You could also use pre-ground turkey or chicken, but avoid ground chicken breast … it doesn’t have enough flavor to stand up to the chili).
3. Coarsely chop onions and garlic as well as green chili (if you didn’t buy canned chopped green chili).
4. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or casserole, and saut onions and garlic until tender over medium heat so as not to overly brown them. Add chicken or turkey and continue cooking until meat appears opaque (again, no need to brown overly, but a little brown around the edges is nice. If using ground meat, cook and stir only until it separates but not browns).
5. Sprinkle flour over mixture, stir and add enough chicken stock to reach top of mixture. Cover and cook over medium heat (stirring occasionally) until tender (but not falling apart-about 15 to 25 minutes depending on the size of the pieces of meat).
6. Add chopped chilies, the beans, oregano and cumin, and enough additional chicken stock to bring liquid back up to level of the top of the ingredients (again, no salt yet). Cook slowly, stirring occasionally (preferably with a wooden spoon), until beans are tender (another 15 minutes or so, tasting now and then to see if you need more jalapeno). If mixture is too thin, slowly add a little corn meal and cook, stirring a few moments more to thicken.
7. Add vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. If holding overnight stop here, cool chili, and store covered in refrigerator.
8. Before serving: remove from refrigerator an hour or so before your party and slowly bring to a serving temperature, stirring often (again, a wooden spoon is preferable) to avoid scorching.
Serve in casserole or Dutch oven after sprinkling top with chopped cilantro and, if desired, grated cheddar and sweet onion.
Serve with heated tortillas or crackers. Enough for 8-10 people
Optional: You can, as I do, blacken (to facilitate skinning), seed and chop fresh green chilies for use in this recipe. I prefer the deeper-flavored Poblano chilies to the long, mild Anaheims.
Directions for blackening and skinning chilies can be found in most southwestern cookbooks. I occasionally use a combination of beer and chicken stock as the cooking liquid, but that’s up to you.