Superbowl Sunday

If you're like us, you'll find any excuse to entertain a group of friends - especially for Superbowl Sunday. There's nothing better than watching the game with a group of friends and, of course, lots of good food. While most Superbowl parties focus mainly on appetizers and small bites, we like to serve a "main course" as well. That said, sticking to something that is just as easy as it is delicious is key so that you can enjoy your party as much as your guests do. Here are a few ideas:

Jalapeno Poppers

 

Ingredients:

• 6 jalapeno peppers, cut in half and seeded
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• Stonewall Kitchen Red Pepper Jelly

Directions:

1. Place prepared jalapeno peppers on a foil lined baking pan, cut side down.
2. Place pan under broiler and cook peppers until charred and tender. .
3. Remove peppers from oven. Fill peppers with cream cheese. Return to oven and heat under broiler until cheese begins to melt. Top with Stonewall Kitchen Red Pepper Jelly. Serve warm.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, cored, 1/4-inch dice
• 1/4-1/2 cup Stonewall Kitchen Buffalo Wing Sauce
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 cup cooked chicken, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. scallions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add red bell pepper and saute until tender.
2. Add Buffalo Wing Sauce, cream cheese and sour cream. Stir until cream cheese is melted.
3. Add chicken, scallions, spinach and cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Serve hot with tortilla chips.

Fajitas 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. pork tenderloin
• Stonewall Kitchen Baby Back Rib Sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more to heat tortillas
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 green bell pepper, cored and cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 1/2 cup onion, sliced
• 6 8-inch flour tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degree F.
2. Cook for 1-2 hours, or until the pork pulls apart in strings with a fork.
3. Shred pork. Then add additional Baby Back Rib Sauce to taste.
4. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion. Saute until tender and slightly caramelized. Remove and set aside.
5. Wipe pan clean. Add olive oil to just coat the bottom of the pan. Add tortillas one at a time and cook on each side until golden brown. Wrap pork and vegetables in each tortilla and serve.

Classic Margaritas

 

 

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces White Tequila
• 2 ounces Margarita Mixer
• 1 ounces Triple Sec

Directions:

1. Use a lime wedge to wet the rim of a Margarita glass, then dip the rim in salt. Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Fill glass with ice and strain into prepared glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Tips From The Kitchen: Following a Recipe

"Cream butter, sift flour, alternate adding dry ingredients with wet ingredients…" 

 

Really? Do I have to? 

We're going to explain why baking recipes instruct you to do these steps and the science behind it. After you’ve purchased and gathered all of your ingredients and are ready to bake your cake or cookie recipe, here are a few steps a recipe may call for. By following these steps correctly, you will be assured and happy with the outcome your baked good.

Why cream butter with sugar when baking cookies or cakes?

 

An important step in baking is to make sure that ingredients are well combined and aerated. Creaming butter and sugar together with an electric mixer is important to have a baked good rise high and have uniform texture.

When you cream butter with sugar small air pockets are formed. When the baking soda or powder produces gas during baking it gets trapped in the air pockets and expands, causing the cake/cookie to lift or rise.

It is important your butter is room temperature and soft, but not too soft. Butter should be around 60 degrees F and indent when pressed with your thumb. The butter is firm enough to crack if pressed hard. Once the sugar is incorporated into the butter with a mixer for several minutes, the batter will be light, fluffy and off-white in color. If the butter is too warm the butter will be too soft and look shiny and wet, resulting in a flat dense cake.

Why sift flour and dry ingredients?

Sometimes a recipe will ask that you sift flour and other times not. There are two reasons to sift flour. One is to aerate the flour and get rid of lumps. Often times in transportation the flour gets packed down and lumps can form due to moisture. Sifting will fluff the flour. Other times a recipe will ask that you sift flour with other dry ingredients (for example: sift flour with salt, baking powder and cocoa powder). This is a good way to evenly disperse the ingredients before adding them to the wet ingredients.

Why do some recipes ask that you alternately add dry ingredients with wet ingredients instead of just dumping everything in all at once?

Some recipes ask that you add your dry ingredients alternately with wet ingredients starting and ending with the wet ingredient. A cake batter is basically an emulsion. By adding the dry ingredients alternately with wet ingredients a uniform batter is formed and the result is fewer and smaller holes and a fine tender texture. If everything is added at once and mixed together the texture will be coarser with large.

There really are reasons why a recipe calls for you to do certain steps. When followed, you will have the best outcome. Happy Baking!