At Home: Super Bowl Snacks

Did your pick win the Super Bowl?  As I mentioned before, I could care less about football but I don't mind all the food I ate last night as we watched the game on TV.  For this next installment of What Micky Eats...At Home, I want to highlight some twists on the classic Super Bowl Snacks that we made...

Keith had the creative idea to make a dish from the cities to honor the two teams competing in Super Bowl XLVII.  We did our research and came up with a few ideas.  Some recipes we stuck to and others we put our own twist on.  Everything came out great and I am so happy to share it all with you.  First, for Baltimore we decided to make Mini Crab Cakes since Maryland is famous for it's crab cakes.  And the mini version just made it more fun for game day.

Mini Crab Cakes (Makes 12)

• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley leaves
• 1 lb cooked lump crab meat or dungeness crab meat, drained of any liquid (with ½ shredded and ½ lump meat)
• ¼ to ½ cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 teasp Dijon mustard
• 1 egg
• ½ teasp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ teasp paprika
• 1 teasp Old Bay seasoning
• salt and pepper, to taste
• butter

- Heat skillet with some butter, sauté chopped onion under medium-low heat until tender.
- Remove and transfer into a bowl. Stir in the parsley leaves, crab meat, bread crumbs and flour.
- In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise, egg, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, Old Bay, salt and pepper.
- Stir wet ingredients into the crab mixture until combined well.
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Make crab cakes into 12 flattened rounds.
- Chill the crab cakes, covered with plastic wrap for at least 1 hour.
- In a heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat and cook the crab cakes until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
- Serve crab cakes warm.

For San Francisco, we decided to use sourdough bread as the accompaniment to a Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip.  I found a guilt-free recipe that is supposedly lighter that other versions.

Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip (Adapted from Bethenny)

• 1 can artichoke hearts (about 14 oz), well drained
• 1 box or bag frozen spinach (about 10 oz), defrosted and liquid drained (using paper towel)
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
• 8 oz skim ricotta cheese
• 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese
• 2 Tbsp lowfat mayonnaise
• ½ Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¾ teasp salt
• ½ teasp pepper
• 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce

- Defrost the spinach in the refrigerator overnight, then drain in a colander in the sink or over a bowl.
- After it is drained, press with paper towels to get rid of any extra moisture that would dilute the dip's flavor.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine all the ingredients except the spinach, artichokes, and Parmesan cheese into a large bowl.
- Fold the drained spinach and artichokes into the cheese mixture, leaving some artichoke chunks for texture.
- Pour the mixture into an oven-proof dish or casserole.
- Sprinkle the top with the remaining Parmesan.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until heated through and just starting to bubble.
- Switch oven to broil for another 3 minutes to toast the top.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Serve hot or warm with thin slices of sourdough bread.

For dessert, I wanted to make something fun and though not necessarily specific to either of the cities, I thought these Oreo Cheesecake Bars would be a crowd pleaser.  

Oreo Cheesecake Bars (Makes 16 bars. Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

For the crust:

• 23 Oreo cookies
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake:

• 12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 6 Tbsp sour cream
• 1½ teasp vanilla extract
• 12 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Line an 8x8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, allowing it to hang over two of the sides.
- Make the Crust: Process the Oreo cookies in a food processor until they are turned into fine crumbs.
- Drizzle the melted butter over top and pulse a handful of times until the butter is evenly distributed and all of the crumbs are moist.
- Dump the crumbs into the prepared baking dish and press into an even layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes (leave the oven on).
- Make the Cheesecake: Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually add the sugar and beat until incorporated.
- Slowly add the eggs, beating well after each addition, and mix until completely combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the sour cream and vanilla, beating until incorporated.
- Gently fold in the chopped Oreos, then pour the batter over the prepared crust, smoothing it into an even layer.
- Bake until the edges are set but the middle still jiggles slightly, about 40 to 50 minutes.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, then cover the pan with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours (or up to 24 hours) before serving.
- To serve, lift the cheesecake out of the pan using the parchment or foil handles. Slice into bars and serve.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Even with the #lightsout delay, I think I am still stuffed from all the good eats - ha!  How did your game day menu turn out? Please share in the comments section below.  Congrats to the Baltimore Ravens - Super Bowl XLVII Champions!