Super Bowl party recipes to help you win on game day

The big game on Sunday calls for big eats and big appetites.

Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest food consumption day of the year behind Thanksgiving. Americans are expected to eat 1.25 billion chicken wings during the game, according to the National Chicken Council. Dominoes expects to sell more than 11 million slices of pizza. And game-day fans will devour 3.8 million pounds of popcorn, 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips and 11.2 million pounds of potato chips, the Snack Food Association says.

Hosting a party or attending one? Here's a roundup of some tips and recipes that could help you score a touchdown.

Appetizers

Minnesota wild rice and butternut squash salad, by food writer Amanda Paa

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups peeled and finely chopped butternut squash

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

• Sea salt

• Black pepper

• 2 1/2 cups thinly sliced spinach

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced leeks, both white and green parts

• 1/2 cup dried cherries (or dried cranberries)

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

• 3 cups cooked wild rice, warmed

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, stirring once, until fork tender.

In a large bowl, combine spinach, leeks, cherries and basil. Stir in warm rice and squash so that spinach wilts slightly from the heat. Stir dressing (recipe in link above) into salad; taste and adjust salt level if needed. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 5-6.

Boozy potted shrimp on toast, by Sally Swift of The Splendid Table

Ingredients

• 1 fresh lemon, halved

• 1 pound medium shrimp (31 to 40 per pound), frozen and raw, with shells intact

• 1 stick unsalted butter

•1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 cup brandy

• 2 tablespoons grated orange zest

• 2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper, or other fruity hot pepper like ancho

• Pinch of sugar

Directions

1. Squeeze the juice of the lemon halves into a medium-size saucepan. Then add the squeezed rinds and fill the saucepan three-fourths full with generously salted water. (It should taste like the sea.) Bring to a boil and drop the frozen shrimp into the water, cover and remove from the heat. After a minute, begin to check for doneness by cutting into one of the larger pieces. The shrimp should be nicely pink and cooked all the way through. Drain. Cool and peel the shrimp, then roughly chop them into smallish bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Shrimp can be stored unpeeled and covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

2. In a 12-inch saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter begins to bubble, stir in the red bell pepper. Generously salt and pepper and continue to gently cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the brandy, return to a simmer and cook for 30 seconds to cook off some of the alcohol. Stir in the orange zest, Aleppo pepper, sugar and the reserved chopped shrimp and any of their juices. Continue to gently simmer until the majority of the liquid has been absorbed, but the shrimp mixture is still very moist. Remove from the heat and allow to cool 10 minutes.

3. Pack the shrimp into a medium-size glass jar with a lid and store covered in the refrigerator.

Serve at room temperature or warm slightly and serve on crispy toast, crackers or fresh bread. Keeps 1 week refrigerated.

Wine pairing: If you don't go for bourbon, look for a slightly off-dry Riesling. Most from New Zealand will fit the bill.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Makes 2 1/2 to 3 generous cups; serves 6-8 as a light appetizer

Apricot-glazed tabasco wings, by Lynne Rosetto Kasper of The Splendid Table

Excellent hot, at room temperature, or cold, these will keep 5 days in the refrigerator and reheat nicely.

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce (Kikkoman is one to try)

• 1 generous cup apricot jam

• 1/3 to 1/2 cup cider vinegar

• 1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)

• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

• 5 large cloves garlic, minced 3 to 4 pounds chicken wings, rinsed (organic preferred)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except the wings in a bowl. Taste for sweet/hot/sour/salt balance, and adjust to your preference. It should be strong. Place the wings in heavy plastic bags and divide the marinade between them.

2. Seal and refrigerate 2 days, turning bags occasionally for even marinating.

3. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread foil over 2 shallow pans and top with racks (cake racks work well here). Spread wings out on racks, saving their marinade. Roast 1 3/4 hours in the middle and at the bottom of the oven, switching pans occasionally. Every so often, turn wings, basting with marinade and piercing with a fork during the first hour of roasting.

4. Wings are done when they can be easily pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. If they are not crisp enough for you, flip on broiler or turn oven to 500 degrees for a few minutes. Watch carefully — they can easily burn. Serve hot, warm or cold. Tip: Squeeze fresh lemon over them at the table.

Serves 4-6.

Mahogany glazed wings, by Lynne Rosetto Kasper of The Splendid Table

Glazed to a burnished mahogany through slow roasting, these wings are superb finger food. If possible, marinate overnight for richest flavor. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Chinese hoisin sauce

• 1/2 cup Chinese soy sauce

• 1/4 cup each honey and Chinese duck or plum sauce

• 1/4 cup each dry sherry and cider vinegar

• 5 large cloves garlic

• 3 1/4 to 4 pounds chicken wings (if possible, organically raised), rinsed

Directions 1. In a blender or food processor puree together all ingredients except the chicken. Combine with chicken in large zip-close bags and refrigerate overnight if possible.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large shallow baking pan with foil. Set a large cake rack inside the pan. Arrange wings on the rack. Roast 1 to 1 1/4 hours, turning often and basting with marinade. Then turn oven up to 450 for about 10 minutes to crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Entrees

Lynne's Nearly New Mexican Chili, by Lynne Rosetto Kasper of The Splendid Table

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 dried Ancho chiles

• 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 4 pounds organic beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch pieces

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 medium to large onions, sliced

• 6 big cloves garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• 1 teaspoon dried cumin

• 1 teaspoon dried coriander

• 1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian or Spanish paprika

• 1 14-ounce can whole organic tomatoes

• Water

Directions 1. Make chile puree: Toast chiles on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes, or until they start to be fragrant. Cover with hot water and let stand 30 minutes. Drain.

2. Have a blender handy. Remove stems and cores from chiles. If you want a less-hot chili, discard all seeds. (Keep some on the side in case you need them later). Place chiles in blender with water to cover. Puree.

3. Heat oil in a big saute pan (not non-stick) over medium-high heat. Slowly brown beef in several batches, removing it to a 6- to 8-quart pot when browned. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper as it cooks. Take care not to burn the brown glaze on the bottom of the pan. Better to take your time than to rush this step.

4. Pour off most of the fat. Add the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring up the brown glaze, until onions are softened and starting to color. Stir in the garlic and all the spices and cook about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stirring and boiling for about 5 minutes. Turn everything into the pot. Add enough water to barely cover the meat.

5. Simmer gently, partially covered, about an hour (stir often), or until the meat is tender, but not falling apart. Skim off most of the fat. Taste for seasoning, adding more spice or salt as needed. Cool and refrigerate up to 4 days, or freeze up to 6 months.

6. Serve hot in bowls, with beans on the side (if at all), and corn or flour tortillas.

Serves 8.

Essential BBQ chicken, by Lynne Rosetto Kasper and Sally Swift

An ideal lazy-man's recipe, here's a technique that puts to rest once and for all the ornery side of grilling cutup chicken: one piece is raw at the center while another piece is turning to cinders. Instead, oven-roast the chicken ahead, so when it hits the grill all it needs is warming and anointing with a good BBQ sauce. While any will do, we recommend you give our Sweet-Tart BBQ Sauce a try. It is well worth the additional effort.

Cook to cook: You can marinate and roast the chicken a day ahead and store it loosely covered in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature before grilling.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dry white wine

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

• 6 large garlic cloves, minced

• 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 3-1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces

• 2-1/2 cups Sweet-Tart BBQ sauce

Instructions

1. Combine the wine, vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in a zip-close bag plastic bag large enough to hold all the chicken. Add the chicken to the marinade, turning the pieces to coat them. Refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain the marinade into a small bowl. Pat the chicken dry and spread out the pieces in a shallow roasting pan. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the center of the breast reads 165 degrees on an instant-reading thermometer. As the chicken cooks, baste it during the first half of the cooking time with a cup of the marinade, then baste with pan juices. Remove the chicken from the oven and either set it aside while you ready the grill, or refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. Have the chicken close to room temperature when you're ready to grill.

3. Prepare a charcoal grill for one-zone cooking, or preheat a gas grill to medium. Allow the charcoal fire to burn down to a white ash, moderate heat or lower, and oil the grate.

4. Place the chicken pieces on the grill and baste liberally with the barbecue sauce. Cover and cook, turning and basting occasionally with the sauce. The chicken should be sticky and crisp, with an internal temperature of 170 degrees. Depending on how cold the chicken is when it hits the grill, this can take 15 to 20 minutes. When fully heated through, pile the chicken on a platter and serve. Pass the remaining barbecue sauce for extra gilding.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 to 40 minutes oven time; 15 minutes grill time

Total time: 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes

Serves 4; doubles easily

Dessert

Five tips for the perfect pie crust, by Five and Spice blogger Emily Vikre

The secret to a great pie? The crust.

1. When it comes to your fat choices (shortening, lard, butter), use butter — it gives you the best flavor.

2. Keep everything cold! Emily even keeps her dry ingredients in the fridge.

3. You need bigger lumps of fat than you might think. You're looking for pea-sized pieces.

4. If your dough starts to get sticky, stop working with it and stick it back in the fridge. Wax paper can also help.

5. If you need to be gluten-free, you can use gluten-free all-purpose flour mix. Or you can go in a completely different direction and use a nut flour. Your crust won't be flaky — it will be more like a shortbread.

Sally's coconut macaroons, by Lynne Rosetto Kasper and Sally Swift of The Splendid Table

Swift describes the lineage behind these macaroons:

"My mother had one mean sweet tooth. She would be the one begging to drive the 10 miles to the nearest Dairy Queen where she would always order the biggest sundae. We kids simply couldn't keep up.

Not a surprise that she was a great baker. These cookies were something we would often do in my teen years at about 9 p.m. as a snack before bed. They were even better for breakfast."

Cook to cook: These macaroons have more personalities than Madonna — elegant with demitasse, plush dipped into Old-Time Hot Fudge Sauce, perfect as snack food and lovable as kid treats.

Keeps 3 to 5 days in an airtight container on the counter. These freeze well and are excellent eaten straight from the freezer.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, well beaten

• 1/2 cup sugar

• Generous pinch of salt

• 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

• 3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread a sheet of parchment paper over a large cookie sheet, or butter the sheet.

2. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, and extract. Blend in the coconut until it is completely moistened. This is not supposed to be a batter, but rather well-moistened clumps of coconut.

3. Drop generous teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet, and bake them 20 to 25 minutes, or until the macaroons are golden brown with crisp edges. Transfer them to a rack to cool.

Variations: Chocolate macaroons: Prepare the recipe as above, adding 3 to 4 tablespoons of cocoa into the egg mixture, or alternatively, blend in 1/2 cup chocolate chips with the coconut.

Rainbow macaroons: Nothing is better for a kid's party than tinted macaroons. Imagine Day-Glo pink, electric blue, kelly green, and taxicab yellow. Add 2 to 3 drops of food coloring of choice to the coconut. Toss to evenly color the strands before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.

Coconut nut macaroons: Prepare the recipe as above, adding 1/2 to 2/3 cup nuts, from coarse-chopped almonds, to pistachios, to hazelnuts, to the coconut mixture.

Ginger-spiked macaroons: Prepare the recipe as above, adding 1/4 cup fine-chopped candied ginger to the coconut mixture.

Prep time: 8 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 33 minutes

Makes 30 cookies

Rustic jam shortbread tart, by Lynne Rosetto Kasper and Sally Swift of The Splendid Table

Cut into buttery little pieces, this cross between a tart and a cookie crumbles and then melts away as you eat it. Best of all, this recipe belies the assumption that you need the angels on your shoulder to make tender pastry, and that it takes a lot of time.

This shortbread comes together in a blur. You sidestep a rolling pin by patting the crust into the pan with your fingers, and the filling is as easy as taking jam straight from the refrigerator.

Shortbread is a gift to all the pastry-shy of this world. Its generous amount of butter and lack of liquid protects the dough from toughening. Shortbread is also the first cousin of the dreaded pie crust.

Learn to make shortbread and any pie crust will fall at your feet. There is one key step in this recipe which will ensure success with any pie dough you ever attempt. Once all the ingredients are together in the processor, pulse them only until they begin to gather together in small clumps — better early than late.

Cook to cook: You can take this filling in many directions. For instance, mix together bits of jam from the bottoms of the jars in the refrigerator, use sweet chutneys and conserves, add citrus zest and spices or merely dust the pastry with cinnamon and sugar before baking.

When you bake with almonds, as in this shortbread, remember that the ones sold in the baking aisle are often tasteless. It's better to use nuts from the snack section. Don't worry if they are salted or not skinned, they will be fine in this recipe.

Serve the tart warm, but not hot because hot jam can burn.

Keeps 2 days tightly wrapped on the counter.

Ingredients

• Zest of 1/2 lemon

• 1/4 cup whole almonds

• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, organic preferred (measured by dipping and leveling)

• 1/4 cup sugar

• Generous pinch salt

• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut in 6 chunks

• 1 large egg yolk

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup jam (tart cherry and wild blueberry are especially good)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-inch dark-colored cake or tart pan. (If using a silver-colored pan, bake the tart an additional 5 minutes to brown the bottom of the crust.)

2. With the food processor running, drop in the lemon peel and almonds, and grind them fine. Stop the machine, scrape down the sides, and add the flour, sugar, salt, butter, egg yolk, and almond extract. Pulse until they are blended and start to come together in small clumps at the bottom of the processor. (They should look like clusters of peas.)

3. Turn the pastry into the pan. With your hands pat it out to evenly cover the bottom of the pan. Give the tart a standing rim by nudging the dough up the sides of the pan by 1/2 inch. Don't worry if it looks a little ragged.

4. Bake the crust in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, or until its edges are golden and the center is starting to color. The rim will sink down a little, which is fine.

5. Remove the pan from the oven, and turn the heat up to 500 degrees. Carefully spread the jam over the tart, and return it to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the jam is bubbly.

6. Cool the tart on a rack, slice it into squares or wedges, and serve.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

Serves 4 to 6

Little French fudge cakes, by Lynne Rosetto Kasper and Sally Swift of The Splendid Table

If you can melt chocolate and stir, you can make these cakes, and no commercial mix has chocolate as good as this. Quality chocolate is like breeding: it always shines through. Gooey chocolate pockets stud the cakes, while the cake itself is nearly as dense as fudge.

There is a real bittersweet edge here. For the kids add another 3 tablespoons of sugar. For yourself, keep the adult attitude; put the young ones to bed, light the candles, and pour two glasses of port.

You could turn this recipe into a cake by baking it in a 9-inch springform pan lined with parchment. Increase the cooking time to about 35 minutes.

Wrapped, the cakes keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Cook to cook: The pan you choose will change the baking time of this and other recipes. Here, the dark pan called for gives you fudge cakes in 16 to 18 minutes; shiny pans lengthen the baking time by a few minutes more. We use a dark (not black) nonstick metal pan for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 3.5- or 4-ounce bittersweet chocolate bar (Lindt Excellence 70 percent, Valrhona 71 percent, Scharffen Berger 70 percent, or Ghirardelli 70 percent extra bittersweet, in order of our preference), broken up

• 1-1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken up

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs plus 1 yolk (for a double recipe, use 5 eggs)

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour, organic preferred (measured by dipping and leveling)

• Half of a 3.5- to 4-ounce bittersweet chocolate bar, broken into bite-sized pieces

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a dark metal 6-cup cupcake tin.

2. Combine the broken-up bittersweet and unsweetened chocolates with the butter in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl. Melt them for 2 to 3 minutes at medium-low power. Check by stirring, as chocolate holds its shape when microwaved. Or melt it in a heatproof bowl over simmering water.

3. In a medium to large bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, vanilla, eggs and yolk, sugar, and salt until creamy. Stir in the flour to blend thoroughly. Then stir in the chocolate/butter mixture until smooth. Finally, blend in the bite-sized pieces of chocolate. Pour the batter into the cupcake pan, filling each three-quarters full.

4. Bake the cupcakes for 18 minutes. Insert a knife into the center of a cupcake. It should come out with some streaks of thick batter. If you have any doubt about doneness, press the top of a cupcake to see if it is nearly firm. Remove them from the oven. Cool the cupcakes in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes to serve warm, or for 20 minutes to serve at room temperature.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Makes 6 cupcakes, and doubles easily

Drinks

Five tips for the perfect at-home cocktail, by Erik Eastman of Easy & Oskey.

1. Ice is an ingredient in your cocktail — make sure it is clean and fresh.

2. Find a classic cocktail you like and make it over and over and over, tweaking ingredients and proportions as necessary, until it is to your liking.

3. Infuse your own simple syrups with herbs, spices, nuts and fruits of the moment to add a seasonal dimension to your cocktails.

4. Vermouth is cost effective, versatile and packed with flavor. Pay the extra few dollars for the good stuff.

5. Pay attention to the details.

The George Leigh Mallory, courtesy of Du Nord Craft Spirits

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces L'etoile du Nord Vodka

• 1 ounce honey syrup

• 1 ounce lemon juice

• Dash of peppermint

• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Directions

Add ingredients to an ice-filled shaker, shake vigorously and pour into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with mint leaves.

Iced cucumber mint water, by Lynne Rosetto Kasper and Sally Swift of The Splendid Table

This water, lightly scented with fresh mint and cucumber, is sneakily refreshing. For the full treatment, serve it in a glass icy cold from the freezer. The salt brings the flavors of the cucumber up, and the longer the water steeps, the more intense the flavors become.

Ingredients

• 1/8 loosely packed cup fresh mint leaves, washed, or to taste

• 3 generous slices of cucumber, or to taste

• A pinch of salt

Directions

1. Combine the mint leaves, cucumber, 1 quart cool water, and the pinch of salt in a large carafe or pitcher. Cool in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes. Serve in frosty glasses pulled from the freezer.

Prep time: 5 minutes plus 30 minutes chilling time

Total time: 35 minutes

Makes 1 quart, serves 4 to 6