Super Bowl and Super Flavor!

For this year's Super Bowl, my team was not involved therefore the night was more about the commercials and the FOOD. While most of the commercials underwhelmed, I am happy to say that the food was far from disappointing!

The menu was mostly finger foods and I was responsible for making several dishes. I wanted to make wings, but something a bit different than traditional Buffalo wings (which I do love) so I decided to make Spicy Apricot Glazed Wings. The heat was not overwhelming, but the flavor was over the top! Not to mention how beautiful they looked!

I began by thoroughly drying the wings and tossing them with baking powder and salt before laying them on a rack. I refrigerated them uncovered for eight hours to dry them out even more because that is what helps make them even more crispy in the oven. You would think they were deep fried.

The glaze is made from apricot preserves, soy sauce, ponzu, ground Szechuan peppercorns, Sambal, sriracha, and sesame seeds.

While the wings baked at 450 degrees for twenty minutes, I melted butter in a small sauce pan and added chopped garlic, fresh grated ginger, and Chinese Five-Spice powder. Once the butter had melted, I added the apricot jam mixture and cooked for several minutes until thickened. The final step was to add a splash of sesame oil and the juice of a lime. The flavors were bursting!

I flipped the wings and cooked them for fifteen minutes more before removing them from the oven and coating them in the glaze. I served them with fresh cilantro leaves and lime wedges. You can make these with less Sambal and sriracha if you are not a fan of heat, but I would not recommend completely leaving them out because they do not just add heat, they add lots of flavor!

A very quick, easy, and delicious side dish is my Oven Roasted Potato Wedges. I cut russet potatoes into wedges (equal in size), and tossed them with olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper. I roasted them at 450 degrees for around forty minutes, flipping once, until golden, crispy, and tender when pierced with a fork. You can use any type of spice that you like - I have used garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, etc. with these in the past. Fresh garlic and Parmesan are also a delicious combination!

Homemade Pretzel Rolls are quite easy to make as well, but the step that cannot be forgotten is to cook them in boiling water with baking soda for thirty seconds per side before baking them. That is the secret to the dark pretzel color.

While the rolls were just as good on their own, I also made Panko Crusted Chicken Nuggets in case anyone wanted to make a sandwich. I cut chicken tenderloins into pieces, dredged them in flour, dipped them into beaten egg, and coated in seasoned Panko breadcrumbs. I let them sit for a bit on a rack to help the coating stick. When they came out of the oil, I simply seasoned them with salt.

For dessert, I made quick and easy Dirt Cups. I started with a layer of chocolate pudding to save time, I used instant pudding in a box. Once the first layer was set, I added a layer of chocolate sandwich cookies which I pulsed in the food processor. to resemble "dirt". The next layer was boxed vanilla pudding, followed by more "dirt", and then a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. Make this and you will impress anyone, guaranteed!

I would say our football viewing party was pretty SUPER! Super tasty!