A football spread that’s easy to prep before kickoff

Stacey Feltman Uncategorized

You don’t have to like the teams playing in the Super Bowl, but you can always enjoy a great party and great food!

So here are some great recipes that will be sure to please the crowd!  Pulled-pork sliders, little barbecue-ish sandwiches with sweet jalapeño-spiked pickles, and a bacon-potato salad. Food that’s as filling as you want it to be, because those games can go on (and on). Plus, a dessert that’s fun and not fussy: ice cream sandwiches — easy to make and even easier to eat.

With a spread like this, I could surely become a football fan.

Is it time for kickoff yet?

 

PULLED-PORK SLIDERS

Makes 15 to 20 sliders

For the sliders:

1 heaping teaspoon ground mustard

1 heaping teaspoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 ½ pounds pork shoulder

15 to 20 small buns or rolls

For the sauce:

1 cup ketchup

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 large clove garlic, minced

A few dashes Worcestershire sauce

A big pinch cayenne

 

  1. Mix ground mustard, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and brown sugar in a bowl, then press all over the pork shoulder and place in a glass baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two, or overnight.

 

  1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Cook pork for 4 to 5 hours, or until the pork is tender and pulls apart easily. While the pork is still warm, shred it with a fork.

 

  1. Make the barbecue sauce: Put all ingredients in a saucepan and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring until all of the sugar has dissolved. Pour some of the sauce over the shredded pork and toss until well covered.

 

To serve, fill the slider buns with pork and top with sweet jalapeño-spiked pickles. Serve the rest of the sauce on the side.

 

Note: If you’ve made this in advance, to reheat the meat, simply place in a glass dish, cover with foil and warm through in a 200-degree oven for 30 minutes or so.

 

SWEET JALAPEÑO-SPIKED PICKLES

Makes about 18 ounces

1 (16-ounce) jar dill pickle slices, drained

2 heaping tablespoons pickled and chopped jalapeños, with about 1 cup of the juice from the jar

1 cup sugar

 

Mix together pickles, jalapeños and sugar. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with pulled-pork sliders.

 

BACON-POTATO SALAD

Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 ½ pounds potatoes, such as Yukon Gold, cut into 3-inch chunks

2 eggs

3 pieces bacon, cooked till crispy and crumbled

2 green onions, chopped

1/3 cup Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons good mayonnaise, such as Hellmann’s

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Sea salt and pepper

 

  1. Heat potatoes in a large pot with salted water. When it reaches a boil, turn down heat and let simmer 15 to 20 minutes or just until tender. Roughly smash them, with a hand masher or fork, making sure to leave large pieces.

 

  1. While the potatoes are cooking, make hard-boiled eggs. Place in saucepan, cover with water and heat. When water reaches a boil, set timer for 10 minutes. When done, rinse eggs in cold water, then peel and chop.

 

  1. Add chopped egg, bacon and green onions to potatoes.

 

  1. Whisk together Greek yogurt, mayo and mustard, and fold into the potatoes. Taste for seasonings. Serve warm or cold.

 

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Makes about 25 sandwiches

2 2/3 cups flour

2 cups unsweetened cocoa

4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 pound (4 sticks) butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

2 pints of your favorite ice cream

  1. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, and set aside.

 

  1. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating a minute or so between each addition.

 

  1. Add flour-cocoa mixture, mixing just until it comes together. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours, or until firm.

 

  1. Place racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and scoop out 2-inch balls of dough, leaving 3 inches between them. Flatten the dough with your hand so each ball is a ½-inch-thick disc.

 

  1. Bake both sheets (on top and bottom racks) for 5 minutes, then switch them, making sure to rotate the pans, too. Bake for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly cracked on the surface and feel dry and slightly firm in the middle — you’re going for a flat cookie. Cool for a minute on the baking sheet, then transfer to a rack. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.

 

  1. To make the sandwiches, let ice cream soften so it will spread easily. Then spread about a scoopful on each cookie and top with another cookie. As you assemble these, put them in a large plastic zip-top bag and place them in the freezer. The ice cream sandwiches need to freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

 

Note: You may freeze the cookie dough to make sandwiches later. Simply scoop dough balls and place in a zip-top bag. When you’re ready to bake, let them warm up a bit so you can press down the dough (per instructions).

 

On another note, if your home is just too small for those Super Bowl parties, call us at the Stacey Feltman Group, we make Realty Dreams a Reality!