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DCL
It's that time of year again. And while I'm certainly more of a college football fan than an NFL fan, the Super Bowl is always a blast to watch, even if the commercials are your favorite part. The game will be played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on February 7. If you're planning to have a get together for the event, it's time to get planning.
WATCH VIDEO: Emeril Vegetarian Recipes
Heavy appetizers are a great way to do a football game celebration or you can do chili and cornbread like I did for the BCS College Football National Championship. I decided this time to make all the traditional appetizer favorites, with as many local ingredients as possible and I won't be using any meat on the menu. This automatically reduces your impact dramatically. I'm making vegetarian baked potato skins, mini calzones, and upscale nachos. We'll wash it all down with some delicious local brews.
A Memorable Super Bowl Spread
1. Vegetarian Baked Potato Skins
10 smaller potatoes, cut in half long-ways and pre-baked (I like the Yukon Golds for this.)
1 cup local cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup organic sour cream
Sea salt
Freshly Cracked Pepper
3 tbsp melted butter
1 green onion, diced
Method
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Remove the filling from each potato, leaving about 2 inches of skin. Don't get too close or you'll break through the skin. Set the discarded fillings aside.
3. Combine potato filling with cheese, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Carefully add the filling back into the potato skins, about 3/4 of the way full.
4. Brush potato shells with melted butter and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until crisp.
5. Garnish with green onion.
2. Mini Calzones
I'm making my veggie hot pockets, or calzones stuffed with vegan sausage, spinach, and mozzarella. But you can vary the recipe to include whatever you're craving. Just make the dough and get creative with your ingredients by using this recipe as a means of putting leftover veggies to good use. If you want to make them even more bite-sized consider reducing the width of the discs to 4 inches. This way when they bake up they'll still resemble finger food.
3. Upscale Nachos
These upscale nachos are most certainly a step up from your average nacho. The chips are about as local as you can get. The tortillas are homemade to start, so each hand fried chip is bursting with flavor. The nachos are not stacked and piled high with cheese. Rather, they are methodically presented individually. I topped them with adzuki beans to add a nutritional punch to the recipe.
