Happy Friday! I'm psyched for a weekend of birthday parties, Superbowl parties and hopefully a good movie somewhere in there. After thoroughly enjoying The Fighter last weekend, I have True Grit and The King's Speech in my sights. What are your weekend plans?
So with yesterday’s Snickerdoodle Dip, I promised you some more football recipes. And since time is running out, I’m bringing you 2 recipes today. First up are my scallion pancakes which I made for Shaun last week.
With a bunch of scallions in my fridge, I knew this would be the perfect way to use ‘em. Albeit not the healthiest. This is a natural party food since it can easily be cut into wedges and served on a nice platter with your not-so-fancy-but-people-will-think-it-is dipping sauce. Oh and though I haven’t tried it, I’m fairly sure that you could easily make these in advance and simply reheat them at your gathering.
Scallion Pancakes + Ginger Sauce
*Adapted from Ming Tsai
For the scallion pancake:
2 C all purpose flour + more for dusting
1 C boiling water
1/2 C scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup canola oil
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
For the ginger sauce:
⅓ C soy sauce
1 tbsp candied ginger, minced (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
1 tsp scallions, finely chopped
Place flour in food processor.* With the motor running, slowly stream in the boiling water and process until a ball of dough comes together. Remove the dough ball and place in a mixing bowl, covered with a damp paper towel. Let rest for 30 minutes. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Brush with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle the scallions, salt and pepper on top.
Roll it up (just like in my spinach pinwheels).
Slice the roll into 4 sections.
This is where it gets tricky and isn’t quite and exact science. Take each piece and carefully roll/stretch in your hands until it’s long enough to fold the ends into itself. At this point, simply form into a patty.
It’s not an exact science, but you’d like to get about a 6 inch pancake out of this without spilling scallions everywhere. Once all the pieces are rolled, pan sear in a heated and oiled skillet until each side is golden brown. I did 2 at a time. To keep them from getting soggy, I let them rest on a wire rack when finished.
Cut each pancake into 4 wedges and place on a platter. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, ginger and scallions.
Serve in a small dip bowl or cup alongside the scallion pancakes.
*If you don't have a food processor, you can do this in a giant mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. But be careful while handling the hot water!
And since I love you guys, I’m giving you yet another finger food recipe that’s perfect for a party. It’s not all that different than when I shared the buffalo tenders with blue cheese sauce, but this time, we’re going nuggets and an easier dredging process.
Crunchy Chicken Nuggets, 2 Ways
*Adapted from Rocco DiSpirito's Now Eat This!
1 lb chicken breast
2 C panko breadcrumbs (I could only find regular, not whole wheat)
2/3 C Greek yogurt, 0%
1 lb chicken tenders
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 C Rocco's blue cheese dressing
1/3 C Franks' Red Hot
2 tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the chicken breasts into strips and then into nuggets. Dredge in Greek yogurt (trust me, you will never look back) and coat with panko. On a wire rack (placed over a foil-lined baking sheet), sprinkle with kosher salt & pepper and spray with cooking spray. Bake until cooked through, about 14 minutes.
Serve on a small platter and make the buffalo sauce. In a saucepan, heat the Frank's Red Hot with the butter until melted. Serve in a small bowl along with the blue cheese dressing.
To change these up again, simply make the nuggets and serve with honey mustard or any other dipping sauces!
So there you have it. 2 simple recipes that will have your Superbowl-cheering friends loving you and your cooking prowess. What are your favorite party foods? Will you be celebrating the American tradition on Sunday?
Psst...looking for more Superbowl recipe ideas? Try these on for size:
Roasted Garlic & Goat Cheese Crostini
Sundried Tomato & Olive Tapenade
Carmelized Potato & Parsnip Tart
...and lots more that I'll share in a full roundup tomorrow!