Super Bowl Nachos

My favorites foods for the Super Bowl (and really any football viewing party) are all classic game-day recipes, and today's recipe is no exception.

Here's a little secret though: I don't care about the Super Bowl. Yes, it's in San Francisco Santa Clara, and yes, I did go to watch fireworks at Super Bowl City, but don't count me in for watching the game. I'm actually going to be on a plane flying from Dallas to San Francisco (we're celebrating Z's mom's birthday this weekend). Given I have no attachment to either team, or really any pro football team for that matter, I am just going to finish reading the Nightingale on the plane.

That being said, there is something delicious about traditional football party food. Onion dip, wings, BBQ--all of it is so so delicious (and dangerous for the waistline). Nachos in particular are my weakness.

I like this recipe because a) it's vegetarian. Any vegetarian meal I can get Z to enjoy is a win in my book; b) it requires no specialty ingredients. You can buy everything at the normal grocery store and c) it looks great when you serve it directly from the cookie sheet, so no extra dishes!

Hope you have a great Super Bowl Sunday, whether you watch the game or not! Just make sure to eat a plate of nachos for me.

Super Bowl Nachos

Inspired by Bon Appetit

Serves 4-6

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 red onion

1 clove garlic

1 jalapeño

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

6 ounces tortilla chips

2 cups shredded cheese, Mexican blend

Sour cream

Salsa

Guacamole

Lime wedges

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, jalapeño to skillet and stir until softened. Transfer to a food processor, add black beans, lime juice, 1/4 cup of water, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange half of chips on a baking sheet. Top with half of beans, then half of the cheese. Repeat with the remaining chips, beans, and cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Add the sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and lime wedges to the sheet (one in each corner), then serve.

Brie and Honey Butter Sandwiches with Homemade No-Knead Bread

There’s no other way to say it: you got to make this sandwich, and you better do it with homemade bread. The sandwich is so simple that every ingredient counts, and this is no place to skimp on quality or calories! 

The sandwich is just bread, brie, honey, and butter, but it’s a heavenly combination that you can use on repeat. At tea parties, picnics, or just as a Sunday afternoon snack, there’s no place this sandwich doesn’t fit it (unless you are maybe going to a picnic with a friend who is both dairy AND gluten-free, which in this case, why are you eating a meal with this person?!?!). 

Z and I had this sandwich at Shed, and it was so delicious that we wanted to recreate it at home. I’m glad we did! It forced me to try the speedy no-knead bread recipe from The Times. I like the speedy recipe compared to the original because it allows for more flexibility; no waiting a full 24 hours here. It’s one of the simplest recipes around, and one of the greatest dinner party tricks. “Hi friends, you made a salad, that’s cool, well I made BREAD”. No need for your friends to know that the salad was probably harder to make than this loaf of bread. 

Is it the most perfect bread loaf around? No. But it’s pretty delicious and goes great with cheese, so make sure to stock your fridge with Brie!

Brie and Honey Butter Sandwiches with Speedy No-Knead Bread

From The New York Times

For Bread:

3 cups bread flour

1 packet instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Oil as needed

For Sandwiches:

Serves 2, adjust as necessary

2 tablespoons softened butter

1 1/2 teaspoons honey, plus more for drizzling

6 thin slices of brie (3 for each sandwich)

2 slices of bread (use 4 if you want it to be a closed sandwich, but I prefer open-face here)

Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water, stir until blended. The dough will be shaggy. Cover dough with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. 

Lightly oil a work surface, and place dough on it. Fold the dough onto itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. 

Immediately start heating up the oven, setting it to 450 degrees. Put a heavy 6-8 quart heavy pot in the oven. When the dough is done resting, carefully remove the pot from the oven. Put the dough into the oven, seam side up. Shake the pan once or twice. 

Cover the pan with a lid, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid, and back for another 15-30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool pot on a rack, then take out bread and slice.

Combine honey and softened butter together in a small bowl. Spread the butter equally over the two slices of bread. Top with 3 slices of brie on each piece of bread, and drizzle more honey over if desired. Enjoy! 

Basil Green Goddess Salad with Avocado and Egg

The thoughts that go through my head each weekend: Fresh vegetables! Flowers! Farmer's markets! Herbs! Spring! 

Z was in India recently, so I spent the weekend on my own. I spent one Saturday morning at the Noe Valley Farmers' Market, and I walked home with a boatload of fresh product, even though it was just me at home. I picked up a huge bunch of fresh basil and mint, in addition to butter lettuce, kale, and strawberries. 

As soon as I saw the basil butter lettuce, I knew I needed to make green goddess dressing. Green goddess dressing is a creamy dressing filled with basil, and it's wonderful during the spring and summer. 

This salad was the perfect thing to make when Z was gone. Z has a weird dislike of salad dressing. He never wants salad dressing, even on kale salad! When he's gone, it's time to experiment.

This salad dressing is wonderful during the spring. It is chock full of basil, so it's a great way to use up those herbs from the farmers' market. It does have anchovies in it, but don't leave them out! The anchovies lend an amazing flavor to this dish.

Don't be surprised if this becomes your new go-to salad dressing. It also works great as a dip for bread and crudites.

Basil Green Goddess Dressing

From Ina Garten

3 heads lettuce (Bibb or Butter lettuce)

Vegetable of choice (tomatoes or radishes work well, I used purple asparagus)

3 avocadoes

1 cup good mayonnaise

1 cup chopped scallions

1 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

Hard-boiled eggs

Clean and dry the lettuce thoroughly, and then arrange the lettuce on a plate. Add your other vegetables and avocadoes. 

Combine the mayonnaise, scallions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, anchovy paste, kosher salt, and black pepper in a food processor until smooth. Add the Greek yogurt, and process just until blended. If not using immediately, then put the dressing in the refrigerator. Otherwise, drizzle the dressing onto your salad, and add the hard boiled eggs!

Thai-Inspired Salmon and Kale Salad

I love salad, particularly any salad with avocado.  Add a thai-inspired vinaigrette, kale and roasted salmon, and I might be in love. This salad is often my brown bag lunch of choice, though some nights it makes for a great dinner. I particularly enjoy it after my gym workout, when I have just spent 45 minutes lifting weights, and I feel like continuing my health kick.

The vinaigrette is inspired by David Chang's recipe. I know, fish sauce sounds weird. It is weird. It's basically a sauce made out of anchovies and salt. But, I do promise it will add flavor to this salmon, and bring in a taste of Southeast Asia. I keep it stocked in my fridge for faux pho and green curry. I promise it sounds weird, but give the poor fish sauce a chance! It'll be a match made in heaven.

Go get your workout on, then come back and revel in this healthy Thai-inspired salad.

Thai-Inspired Salmon and Kale Salad

The vinaigrette will make more than enough salad dressing; store it in the fridge to use for the rest of the week!

Fish sauce vinaigrette:

1/2 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Juice of one lime

1/4 cup sugar (I used brown sugar, but any type is fine)

1/2 inch cube whole ginger

1 garlic clove

A few drops of Sriracha

Salad:

3/4 cup of chopped kale

1/4 cup shredded carrots

1 shallot, chopped into small pieces

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 avocado, sliced

1 3oz fillet of roasted salmon

• Combine all the ingredients in a small food processor.

• Blend until the vinaigrette ingredients are well combined.

• Combine the kale, carrots, shallot, pepper, and avocado in a bowl.  Toss with two tablespoons of fish sauce vinaigrette. 
• Place the salad onto your serving plate. Add the roasted salmon.  Add additional vinaigrette according to your tastes.