From the Chef: The Supper Bowl

By Mark Marques

The end of the Football season is here! Time to gather your friends and family and enjoy the final game of the year for America’s Favorite Sport! I was asked to come up with items for a Supper Bowl Party, yes, Supper! I immediately thought of homemade Bread Bowls! But what to fill them with? Well, my mind started thinking about what makes good food for this type of party! Why not something everyone can dig into, but present it in a fun way! I came up with some great fillings for these delicious homemade bread bowls, which can have seasoning and herbs added to them as well. They can be made a day or two in advance, and will be ready to go when you need them. You can also make personal sized bread bowls to make your party stand out even more. I have added an array of delicious dips and easy meals to fill these tasty items with! Depending on who your team is or who you are rooting for, pick your favorites recipes, mix and match! Be sure to serve your favorite beverages with them. Almost any drink would be great, from beers and wines, mixed drinks to flavored lemonades, these recipes are sure to please the crowd. In the pictures I have prepared Sloppy Joe’s and Sin City Dip. But by all means, make any or all of the dips! Save these recipes for future get togethers as well!

If you have any questions or need help with any style of cooking, please contact me at www.TheLasVegasInformer.com or TheChefMark@gmail.com.

Bread Bowls

(As will all recipes, read thoroughly and have all ingredients ready.)

Ingredients:

• 2 packages of active dry yeast
• 2 1/4 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter, shortening or lard at room temperature
• 4 teaspoons salt (fine grind kosher, sea or table is fine)
• 7 1/2 to 8 cups flour, whole wheat or unbleached white

Directions:

In a Kitchen Aid mixing bowl dissolve yeast in the warm water with ½ cup of sugar. Let stand for two minutes. Yeast should be active and bubbly and expanded. If not, you have bad yeast and you will need new yeast.

Once yeast is expanded, add two cups flour, mix for until flour is mixed in. You may see lumps of flour, which is normal. Let stand uncovered for 30 minutes. Using the dough hook attachment, stir in the two eggs, salt, butter along with two more cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 8 -10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Adding only as much flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking to counter or board.  Place dough into a greased or butter bowl and turn once to coat outside of dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 1.5 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.

After dough rises, punch it down and turn out onto another well-floured surface and cut in to two equal portions*. Knead the two portions into dough balls until they are smooth on the outside. Place the smooth side up on a parchment paper covered baking sheet or an oiled baking sheet. Cover the dough with a clean dish cloth and let rise for 45 minutes in a warm place.

Take the remaining egg and the one tablespoon of sugar and beat together. Brush the top of the braids well with the egg mixture. Place dough in a cold oven.  (If the dough balls are too close together, you can bake then one at a time. Place the other dough ball in the refrigerator covered in plastic until you are ready to bake it.)

Turn the oven on and set to 350 degrees. Bake for 40-45 minutes until it is browned and when tapped, it should sound hollow. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rake. Let cool and slice.

*You can also add seasonings into the dough prior to shaping. I like adding one tablespoon finely minced rosemary, one tablespoon minced garlic, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper to one of the dough halves. Place one of the dough halves back in the mixer with the dough hook, add the seasonings to the dough and mix at a medium speed until all the herbs and seasonings are evenly distributed, about a minute.

This dough can also be shaped into smaller dough balls for personal bread bowls. If you have a scale, weight out the dough and divide into six or eight dough balls. Always leave some space between dough balls after you have shaped them to leave room for expansion. You have to bake them in two batches.

New England Dip

(As with all recipes, read thoroughly and have all ingredients ready.)

• 2 pounds cooked lobster meat, tail and claws, diced into small pieces
• 2 cans Rotel tomatoes (hot or mild)
• 4 packages cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
• 4 scallions/green onions sliced thinly on the bias (diagonally)

In a sauce pan over medium heat bring the Rotel tomatoes and Old Bay seasoning to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and stir in the cream cheese blocks one at a time. Stir in ¾ of the sliced scallions and the lobster chunks. Heat thoroughly until cream cheese is fully incorporated and lobster is hot.

Remove from heat and serve is large bowl. You can garnish to the top with the remaining scallion tops.

Serve with a white corn tortilla chips, scoops or serve it in a bread bowl.

Options: This can also be made with diced shrimp or lump crab meat, or mix all three together. Also, Neufchatel cheese can be substituted for the cream cheese, which has less calories and fat.

New York Dip

(As with all recipes, read thoroughly and have all ingredients ready.)

• 2 pounds grilled New York strip steak diced into small chunks
• 2 can Rotel tomatoes (hot or mild)
• 4 packages cream cheese at room temperature
• 4 scallions/green onions sliced thinly on the bias (diagonally)