You’ve invited everyone over. You’ve cleaned your house through and through. You’ve purchased a TV that rivals the screens at an AMC theater. You’re hosting an EPIC Super Bowl party, but you have NO idea what to serve.  No one wants to go to all that trouble just to come over your house and eat cold Popeyes (not that cold Popeyes isn’t great once or twice in a while. You’ve gone to great lengths to make sure your guests are comfortable and impressed by your humble abode, but you have to make sure their bellies are sated as well! Consider making some of my delightful sliders, a delectable dip, a delicious veggie dish and a divine dessert that could easily double as a cocktail.

Everything on this menu is the size of  tapas/appetizers/hors d’oeuvres so your guests can move around your crib easily without having to lug around a dinner plate and flatware. Each one of the recipes on the Cute Cook’s Tailgate Menu is fast, easy and fun to make. Best of all, most of these goodies can be made in advance, which will allow you to kick back with the homies and enjoy that monster truck of a television you copped just for the game. The Super Bowl is a lot better if you can actually enjoy the festivities instead of slaving away in the kitchen and missing all the highlights and commercials they’re sure to be gabbing about Monday morning at the water cooler.

International (Player’s Anthem) Sliders

These burgers don’t have anything to do with UGK. I just like the name and LOVE the song. Plus, it’s a football party, right? Players, “Players Anthem”…get it? OK, I’m lame.

  • 2 large onions, finely chopped
  • Kosher or sea salt to taste
  •  2½ pounds ground beef or ground turkey
  • 2 medium onions, peeled and grated (reserve the juice)
  • Freshly ground black pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste
  • 24 slider-sized buns (about 2 1/2- to 3 inches across)
  • 24 slices cheese (American, cheddar and mozzarella are easy crowd pleasers)
  • Condiments (such as pickle slices, ketchup and mustard) as desired

Toss half of diced onions with salt, then set aside for about 10 minutes. Next, season meat to taste and mix in grated onions. Divide meat into 24 evenly sized balls, then flatten them into evenly sized patties. Place patties on a large plastic plate, then put them in the fridge until ready to cook.

Coat a heavy 12-inch skillet with nonstick spray or use a small dollop of butter; sauté remaining diced onions on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add 6 patties to the skillet at a time, and cook on low heat to your desired doneness. Spray a heavy 12-inch skillet with nonstick spray or use a small dollop of butter, and sauté remaining diced onions on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add 6 patties to the skillet at a time, and cook on low heat to your desired doneness.

Momma Cutie’s Spinach Artichoke Dip

  • 1 container prewashed baby spinach
  • 1 jar artichoke hearts
  • 1 jar premade Alfredo sauce
  • 1-2 cups shredded Parmesean cheese to taste (the more you add, the sharper the taste)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse and strain artichoke hearts, then chop artichoke hearts and spinach into tiny pieces. Mix the ingredients together in a mixing bowl well so the spinach and artichokes are coated by the sauce. Pour mix into small oven-safe bowl or dish, and bake until golden and bubbly. Serve warm with tortilla chips or sliced bread.

Popeye Tarts

Folks who’ve been drinking may not abide by the no-double-dipping rules of the manor.  But what is a game day party without a few cocktails or beers? To avoid Super Bowl soiree casualties, serve your dip as Popeye Tarts instead. These can be used for any dip, but they are especially tasty with creamy ones.

  • 2-3 containers of puff pastry shells (found in the freezer section of your grocery store. Note: For a less-expensive version of this recipe, you can substitute the pastry shells for Tostito’s Scoop chips).

Lay your pastry shells on a cookie sheet in one layer. If using the chips, make sure to use ONLY complete chips; broken ones will not work in this recipe. Take roughly 1 teaspoon of the spinach mixture, and fill each shell/chip on the cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in the oven, and bake until filling bubbles and browns.  Serve warm.

Caprese Kabobs

  • Bamboo skewers
  • 1 pound container Buffalo mozzarella balls
  • 4 pounds grape tomatoes
  • Fresh basil, washed

Slice each piece of mozzarella into three discs. Slice each tomato in half. Sandwich each disc of mozzarella between the tomato halves. Slide each combination onto a skewer. Slice the fresh basil into ribbons. Arrange the kabobs on a platter, and garnish with the basil ribbons.

Jack & Coke Cake Pops

I always like at least one of my party desserts to be 80 proof or better. This cake is a great improvement on the Southern classic rum balls dessert.  If you don’t have a cake pop pan and/or don’t want to buy one, you can use the batter for cupcakes instead.

CAKE

  • 1 cup butter
  • 4 1-oz. unsweetened chocolate squares
  • 4 1-oz. semisweet chocolate squares
  • 1 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3/4 cup bourbon (I use Jack Daniels Honey. If you prefer Cuba Libres to Jack & Coke, you can use rum instead.)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup semisweet mini morsels
  • Powdered sugar for garnish
  • Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter and the 8 ounces of chocolate squares in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat, and allow it to completely cool. Once it is cool, stir in the sugar, whipping cream and a tablespoon of the bourbon until ingredients are well blended. Add the eggs, one by one. Make sure you stir the batter well after each ingredient is added. Slowly fold the flour into your wet ingredients. Last, stir in the minimorsels. Heavily spray your cake pop pan (or muffin pan) with nonstick spray. Pour the batter into the cake pop pan, taking care not to overfill it. Bake for 12-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Dip each cake in the remaining bourbon then place on the rack to dry. When completely dry, frost with Cola Ganache.

COLA GANACHE

  • 12-oz. package semisweet chocolate morsels
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream
  • 3 tablespoons cola
  • 3 tablespoons softened butter
  • 1 teaspoon bourbon

Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 50-percent power, stirring at intervals until completely melted. (This should take no longer than 2.5 minutes.) Slowly whisk in cola, butter and bourbon. If using on the cake pops, place each pop on a stick, then dip each in the frosting. Chill in the refrigerator before serving to allow the frosting to set. If using on cupcakes, dip each in the warm frosting to cover the tops, then chill in the refrigerator before serving to allow the frosting to set. Sprinkle each cake with powdered sugar, and serve.

Delightful, delectable, deliciously divine … KEEP IT CUTE!