Score big with homemade Super Bowl snacks

Salsa, chili, chips, cheese log, spinach dip in a bread bowl, three-layer taco salad. Sound familiar?

If you’re looking for something different and perhaps more memorable this Super Bowl Sunday, read on. It’s time to break the party-snack habit and tackle new fields of glory.

OK, this will take more effort than cracking a box of crackers and a jar of Cheese Whiz, but hey, the Super Bowl comes only once a year.

Our homemade tour begins with Simple Crackers. These are easy and highly customizable. Feel free to change the flavorings. Garlic or onion powder is nice. So are herbs.

Simple Crackers

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup olive oil

Combine dry ingredients, then oil and water. Mix to a smooth dough. Grease two cookie sheets. Cut dough in half and flatten to a quarter-inch thick on each sheet. Use a pizza cutter to cut dough into shapes. Brush with egg white or olive oil and add topping of your choice including basil and sea salt, sesame or poppy seeds and onion salt or Parmesan cheese. Diced sun-dried tomatoes are nice in the dough.

Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees or until crackers are crispy. Separate and allow to cool. Then store in a plastic bag.

BEYOND SALTINES

Weary of Ritz and saltines? The Swedes have a solution. Their flatbreads are famed platforms for cheese and dips:

Knackebrod

3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/3 cups rye or whole wheat flour
1/3 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine dry ingredients and cut in butter pieces. Slowly add milk and mix to a stiff dough. Turn out on a floured board and roll as thinly as possible.

Cut into 2-inch triangles and punch holes. Bake at 300 degrees on lightly greased sheet or parchment paper about 15 minutes or until browned. Cool and store in a plastic food bag.

OUTSTANDING DIP

We need not just a good dip, but the World’s Greatest Dip for our crackers. And here it is, fresh from a convention of dippers, somewhere, and let’s serve it warm for a change. How simple is this?

World's Greatest Dip

4 slices bacon, fried, drained and crumbled
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
8 ounces Gouda or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
3 green onions, finely chopped

Mix the cream cheese and mayo until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Microwave 2 to 4 minutes on high and stir. Serve warm.

MARINATED OLIVES

Now we need a change of pace, something unexpected. Marinated olives are expensive but worth it. Spend the four bucks for a half-pound, mix whole with feta or bleu cheese and serve with toothpicks.

HANDLE WITH CARE

Now that we’re on our way, we need a consummate finger food, made with an incredible pastry, Greek phyllo dough, available in sheets at your grocery.

Opektiko 

2 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup white cheese, diced
5 teaspoons basil or herbs de Provence, dried

Brush a phyllo sheet with melted butter to the edges, place a second sheet on top and do the same. Cut into 25 to 30 squares. Place a piece of cheese in the center of each square and lightly dust with herbs. Bring the corners together and twist to seal. Bake on a greased cookie sheet with rims for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden.

CAUTION: Do not use a cookie sheet without rims. The butter will melt onto the oven and cause a fire.

SIMPLY DELICIOUS

And finally, let’s try something simply, as in delicious. This cheese, buried in tomato sauce, is as surprising as it is good.

Provolone con Salsa di Pomodoro

1 small wheel provolone cheese, about 1 pound
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
Dash of oregano and basil
Fresh parsley, chopped

Coat cheese wheel with beaten egg, then dredge in bread crumbs. Sauté garlic in a tablespoon of oil, add herbs, tomato sauce and salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a skillet, fry the breaded cheese lightly until golden on both sides.

Place cheese on a serving dish. Cover with tomato sauce garnished with parsley. Serve with a knife.

The Repository