And then there were four. After a heart-pumping, hand-wringing weekend of gridiron clashes, the four NFL contenders left standing — Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots; Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals — will battle Sunday for a chance to advance to Super Bowl 50, to be played Feb. 7.
In other words, are you ready for some football?
Whether for Sunday’s two banner games or a Super Bowl party two weeks after, a bit of creative forethought can produce winning moves. Scouting out inventive theme recipes folks come up with always produces at least one “now why didn’t I think of that” moment.
Take football pizza pockets, for instance. Cut out football shapes from homemade or packaged pastry dough and add a filling of some favorite ingredients, like mozzarella, pepperoni and pizza sauce. Press the edges together before crimping them with a fork. Score a few shallow “laces” on top with a knife before baking and serve with a side of marinara for dipping. A pizza pocket recipe from tastebook.com is included in today’s food pages. You could adapt this pigskin pocket to individual apple pies, too.
Looking for a themed appetizer? It’s a simple matter to turn a homemade cheeseball into a cheesy football. Even if you’ve never made a cheeseball before, don’t be daunted. This one is a pretty easy pass. Combine equal parts cream cheese and Velveeta in a mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer until smooth. (Kick it up if you like by adding green onion, taco seasoning or a bit of Worcestershire sauce.) Refrigerate the mixture for several hours and turn it out on plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap, mold the mixture into a football shape. Coat it with nuts and create a stitching pattern with sliced pimento or thin strips of cheese. Keep it refrigerated until 30 minutes before serving with crackers and veggies.
The Internet offers any number of food combinations assembled to look like stadiums or football fields. Some are quite elaborate and time-consuming. Not this one. Make an edible football field using guacamole as the turf, and salsa and nacho cheese for the end zones, says partycity.com. Pipe sour cream to mark the yard lines and add some cherry tomato “players.”
For a sweet pick-me-up, go the extra step with chocolate-covered strawberries. With a couple of coffee mugs, chocolate chips and a piping bag, a host can make a statement by turning these finger favorites into miniature footballs. See the recipe below.
Whether you’re celebrating with football fans under your own roof, or taking something to a Super Bowl party, hopefully these ideas will come in handy. Help make the finale a fun one — it’s a long, long time until September.
FOOTBALL PIZZA POCKETS
1 pack pie crust or pizza crust
Pizza sauce
Pepperoni
Mozzarella Cheese
1 egg (beaten with a tablespoon of cold water)
(Source: tastebook.com)
CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY FOOTBALLS
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
12-14 large strawberries
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
You will also need:
2 microwavable coffee mugs
Piping bag, with No. 2 tip
Parchment paper
(Source: domesticfits.com)
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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