F. 0
Super XL
Great recipes for Sunday's big game in Detroit.
I Annabel Cohen
Special to the Jewish News
F
or Detroiters,
the Super Bowl
on Sunday with
be extra-large, with
our neck of the 1,voods
as the nucleus for all
the hoopla. It's a great
chance to gather the
troops for sonic good
game vittles.
Hot dogs and chili
are popular choices.
Then again, you could
go warehousing and
pick up everything
from hummus to
party-trays to any
number of finger-
licking fried items.
The following recipes are super friendly
and super easy. They're mostly eat-with-
your-fingers foods that go beyond the
Grilled Chicken Fajitas
You can make these with flank steak or
London broil as well. -
Salsa:
1 pound plum tomatoes
1 green or yellow bell pepper
1 small onion
I Tbsp. olive Oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves •
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice or red wine
vinegar
hot red pepper sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Chicken:
1 1/2-2 pounds boneless and skinless
chicken breast halves
Tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. dried thyme, crumbled
1 Tbsp. hot red pepper sauce, such as
Tabasco
juice of 1 lime
Vegetables:
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, or other mild
onion, sliced thin (about 2 cups)
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 green bell pepper, sliced thin
Other ingredients:
6-8 flour tortillas
sliced avocados or guacamole, garnish
22
February 2 m 2006
expected and will feed a bunch. If you're
having a crowd, double or triple the
recipes or serve more variety.
Fajitas are just
another version of the
great sandwich. Tacos
1vork well, too. Pulled
barbecue brisket is just
upmarket Sloppy Joes.
And Chinese cabbage
and apple slaw is
gussied-up cole slaw.
I also like to supple-
ment menu choices
with plenty of "snacks."
I fill individual bowls
full of grape tomatoes,
olives, cashews,.mini
pretzel nuggets and
other quickie foods.
Add some candy as
well. A vase or tall glass
stuffed with red and black licorice,
M & Ms and other favorites is
a sure winner.
Make salsa: Place tomatoes in the bowl of
a food processor and pulse several times
until finely chopped. Transfer the toma-
toes and juices into a medium bowl.
Repeat with the bell pepper and onion
(do not chop all the vegetables at once).
Add the remaining ingredients and sea-
son to taste. CoVer and chill until ready to
use, up to 2 days ahead.
Make chicken: Combine all chicken
ingredients in a large bowl and turn the
chicken to coat. Cover and chill 30 min-
utes to several hours. Alternately place all
ingredients in a zipper-style plastic bag
and turn several times to coat, then chill
as above.
Remove from marinade and grill on
both sides on a hot grill until just cooked
through, about 4-5 minutes on each side
(do not overcook). Slice into thin strips
and set aside.
Make vegetables: Heat oil in large non-
stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add
onion and b'ell pepper and sauté until
softened, about 8-10 minutes.
•
Combine the chicken and vegetables in
a baking dish and keep warm at 225F for
up to one hour before serving. Serve the
fajitas with the salsa, avocado slices or
guacamole, if using, and tortillas on the
side. Makes 6 servings.
Pulled Barbecue Brisket
Although this is made in the oven instead
of slow cooking on a barbecue, the flavor
is sweet and spicy. I make my own barbe-
cue sauce (recipe below) or use your
favorite. I serve these on small French
rolls, but buns work well, too.
5-6 pounds beef brisket, most visible
fat removed
2 Tbsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. ground pepper
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. chili powder
Sauce:
1-2 cups favorite barbecue sauce
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce, such as
Tabasco, optional
Preheat oven to 325F. Place brisket in a
roasting pan or disposable aluminum
pan and sprinkle with the garlic, pepper,
salt, sugar and chili powder. Cover the
pan with foil and cook for 5 hours.
Remove from the oven and cool com-
pletely (you may cook the beef up to a
day ahead):Use your fingers to pull apart
or shred the beef with the grain to very
thin, small pieces.
Place the pulled beef in a pot with
accumulated juices. Add all the sauce
ingredients and stir to combine. Cook
over medium heat until very hot and
saucy. Keep warm until ready to eat.
Serve the beef on small French rolls or
burger buns. Serve with mustard or other
condiments, if desired. Makes 8-12 sand-
wiches.
Chinese Cabbage. and Apple Slaw
Salad:
1 medium head Napa or Chinese cab-
bage, shredded thin
2 cups peeled chopped apple, any vari-
ety
2 cups seeded, diced cucumber
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup chopped scallions, white and
green parts
1 cup fresh chopped parsley
Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp, celery seeds
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Combine all salad ingredients in a large
bowl and toss well. Set aside.
Make dressing: Combine dressing ingre-
dients in a medium bowl and whisk well.
Pour over the salad and toss well. Adjust
salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill
until ready to serve. May be made up to a
day ahead and tossed up to 2 hours
before serving. Makes 8-12 servings.
Yogurt Cucumber Mint Dip
Greek or Armenian yogurt is very thick
— look for it in specialty stores. Or you
may use plain yogurt (add another cup to
the ingredients), and strain from several
hours in a colander lined with cheese-
cloth.
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
2 cups finely chopped, peeled, seeded
cucumber
2 tsp. minced fresh garlic
3 Tbsp. fresh chopped mint leaves
2 Tbsp. minced fresh dill
salt to taste
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Combine all ingredients, except olive oil,
in a medium bowl and stir well. Adjust
salt to taste. Transfer the mixture to a
.shallow bowl and smooth the top, but not
completely flat or smooth.
Drizzle the olive oil over the dip. Serve
with fresh vegetables or pita wedges.
Makes 12 servings.
Pecan Toffee Brownies
2 sticks (1 cap) butter or margarine
8 oz. good quality semi-sweet or bitter-
sweet chocolate chips or chopped
chocolate
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped toffee pieces
Preheat oven to 350E Line the bottom
only of an 8-inch-square baking pan with
parchment paper.
Whisk together flour, baking powder,
and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Combine butter and chocolate in a
large microwave-safe bowl and cook on
high, for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth (if
the chocolate is not completely melted;
cook for 30 seconds more and stir again).
Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla to the
chocolate mixture, stirring with a rubber
spatula until uniform. Whisk or stir in
flour mixture, then stir in nuts and toffee.
Transfer the batter to the prepared bak-
ing pan.
Bake for about 35 minutes. Allow to
cool completely before running a knife.
around the edge of the pan and turning
the pan over onto a cutting board.
Remove the paper from the brownies and
cut them into 16-25 squares. Li
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