Super Bowl LI
This Sunday more than 18 million Canadians will be watching the New England Patriots confront the Atlanta Falcons in the 51st Super Bowl Sunday. It is billed as the second highest eating event after Thanksgiving and will see Canadians spend more than $1 billion on snack foods.
Dining etiquette for Super Bowl Sunday is relatively relaxed as is the menu. Traditional Super Bowl food includes chicken wings, pizza, chili, and potato chips. To put this into perspective consumption facts state that Canadians will consume over 100 000 kg of snack food in the form an estimated 6-7 million pizzas, nearly 1/2 billion chicken wings which we will wash down with some 1.3 million liters of beer. This one day feeding frenzy will see the average Canadian consume in excess of 2000 calories over the four hour game.
My gut hurts as I digest these numbers so to better manage your game day caloric intake you may want to consider making your own half-time show spread instead of ordering in take-out. Wings have become the most sport synonymous food, surpassing pizza and can be prepared without deep frying. Baking them in the oven and dusting them with herbs and seasonings will knock a couple hundred calories off of every serving.
Potato chips are the ultimate game day snack food, which will see us nosh down in excess of 3 million pounds of while dipping them into some 1 million pounds of dip like guacamole. A party’s just not a party without chips but if we reach for baked versions instead of fried chips we can still enjoy their crunchy texture without breaking the calorie bank.
The following recipes for our Reggae Rub Chicken Wings and our Kick Ass Cajun Southern Fried Chicken are both bone in comfort food s that are easy to prepare and enjoyed by many. It is best served with corn, mashed potatoes, slaw, gravy and of course some fresh baked rolls to ensure that your plate is clean when you’re done.
Reggae Rub Wings are best when grilled over charcoal!
Reggae Rub Chicken Wings
Ingredients:
3 lbs bone-in chicken wings and drums
½ package Reggae Rub
3 green onions, minced
1 tbsp. cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Method:
Take the chicken out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking. Combine all of the remaining ingredients together in an mixing bowl and mix until evenly incorporated. Add the wings to the Reggae Rub mixture and toss them about to make sure they are liberally coated.
For best the best possible flavour cook the wings on a pre-heated charcoal barbeque. If you don’t have charcoal you can use a gas grill, or if necessary you can roast them in the oven. Use a medium-high heat. On the barbecue they will take about 20-30 minutes in the oven at 425 °f you will need about f 45 minutes. More importantly you will need to ensure the chicken is cooked to a proper internal temperature of 74 °c / 165°f. This is best checked with a food thermometer. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6 people depending on what else you set out on the table.
Kick Ass Cajun Fried Chicken
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken 2 -3 pounds
3 eggs
½ cup butter milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1-2 tsp. Kick Ass Cajun spice blend
A pinch of both salt and pepper
Vegetable oil or peanut oil, for frying
Method:
Using a knife break the chicken down into smaller cuts and pat the pieces dry with paper towel to remove any moisture.
Preheat your deep fryer to 350 °f and your oven to 200 °f.
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk and set aside. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, garlic and ginger powders with salt and pepper.
Dip the chicken pieces one at a time into the egg mixture, then evenly coat them in the flour mixture and gently submerge them into your preheated fryer. Make sure each piece of chicken has plenty of space to cook in the fryer without touching anything. If necessary fry the chicken in small batches and transfer the cooked pieces using tongs or a slotted spoon onto a baking tray line with a roasting rack in your preheated oven.
Fry the chicken until brown and crisp, about 10-12 minutes depending on the size of the pieces. More importantly you will need to ensure the chicken is cooked to a proper internal temperature of 74 °c / 165°f. This is best checked with a food thermometer.
Numerous readers of last week’s column which discussed growing your own micro-greens responded wanting know where they could purchase micro-greens and forgo the tasks of indoor gardening so in the theme of keeping our food choices “Close to Home” I suggest that you visit the Peterborough Saturday Farmers’ Market where you will find Tiny Greens, a local sustainable microgreens grower who operates year round and pick up some pea shoot micro-greens to use in the following recipe for Pico de Gallo.
In Mexican cuisine Pico de Gallo is a freshly made style of salsa. The name Pico de Gallo translates to beak of rooster which symbolizes the way we eat by taking foods between our forefinger and thumb and them dipping it into a sauce. By sacking all of those creamy, fat-filled dips and making your own you can feel better and your waistline won’t run a foul on game day.
Pico de Gallo
Ingredients:
1 cup minced red onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 limes, juiced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups Ontario hothouse tomatoes, seeded and chopped
¼ cup loosely chopped pea shoot microgreens
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
1 tsp. Mexican Kitchen Cartel seasoning (optional)
Method:
In a medium sized bowl combine the minced red onion, jalapeno pepper, lime juice and garlic. Toss mixture and let it rest for 15 minutes. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and let it marinate for another 15-minutes before serving. Do not refrigerate as this will diminish the quality of the texture and flavours of the tomatoes, use immediately.
Mexican Kitchen Cartel from The Spice co. naturally
