We love February. It’s short, it’s special! How cool of it to have less days than every other month, and then to add 1 extra day, but only every 4 years. After 31 bleak, dark days of coming down from the high of the holidays, we’re welcoming February and its two very important holidays with open arms. The Super Bowl, just a week away, is an excuse to cook wildly decadent recipes in big batches, to fill my apartment with friends on a school night, to judge how marketing teams chose to spend their million-dollar budgets. And then two days later, once our hangovers are gone and we’re out of our creamy dip comas, comes Valentine’s Day. We’ll try to ignore that it falls on the least sexy day of the week this year, and instead focus on what you can cook for your valentine, your friends, or yourself on the sweetest day of the year if fighting for a reservation/paying for a pre-fixe/sitting in a room full of mushy couples doesn’t appeal to you. Our ideal recipes for a sick Super Bowl hang, a sexy Valentine’s Day dinner, and a few that somehow fit the criteria for both lie ahead.
A MENU FOR SWEATPANTS
Caramelized Onion Dip: If spinach artichoke dip is the quarterback, this onion dip is the offensive tackle. I don’t completely understand how the game of football works, but I do know quarterbacks are the stars and offensive tackles are the quarterback’s bodyguards. I like to think two bowls of the cool, creamy yogurt dip laced with intensely savory caramelized onions and tart lemon will protect my searing hot skillet of broiled spinach artichoke dip from being inhaled immediately by everyone who remembers how extraordinary it was last year. (Our go-to SAD recipe is this one, every time. No substitutions. Broiling is not optional.) P.S. This tip has forever changed how I caramelize onions, and it will likely do the same for you.
Miso Rice Krispy Treats: There are a few things I always want on my Super Bowl table: pigs in a blanket, crispy-edged pizza (which I’ve discussed ad nauseam on here), Tums, and something sweet. Since I do most of my cooking during game play — god forbid I miss this commercial — I want quick recipes (also easy, crowd-pleasing, and other SEO-friendly terms). Rice Krispies treats are just the ticket for the occasion. I usually just add a few tablespoons of black sesame paste or a tablespoon of miso to these guys, but pastry genius Natasha Pickowicz’s Peanut Butter-Brown Butter-Miso Treats are poised to unseat them as my new favorites.
A MENU FOR REAL PANTS
Spaghetti Bolognese: Spaghetti is sexy. Those dogs knew it, and we know it. Bolognese is sexy because it’s a slow simmer, just like the best romances. To me, there’s not much more romantic than digging into a giant pot full of pasta with two forks and wanton abandon. I like this recipe my dad has had clipped in his recipe scrapbook forever, but Marcella Hazan’s is a classic for a reason. And if you’re not a meat-eater, you can still make a saucy little stew with lentils as the base. TBH, no matter which recipe you go with, build your layers of fat and flavor in a Dutch oven, add the ‘good tomatoes’, maybe a parm rind, and let it go low and slow for as long as you can stand it; you can’t go wrong. While I’d usually opt for rotini or something ridged for a sauce this thick, you gotta go with the romantic pick for V-Day; fettuccine, spaghetti, something slurpable. Just keep a Tide pen nearby.
Molten Lava Cakes: Or as I like to call them, the lazy man’s soufflé. Despite the way they dominated “New American” restaurant menus and Instagram feeds in 2010, I actually love molten lava cakes. I’ve noticed some recipes for them lately that address a concern for raw eggs in the undercooked centers. I’ve seen chilled ganache that gets scooped and sandwiched between two layers of batter, and another recipe that requires whisking together a second, eggless batter for the center. I’m sorry, but you can eat a spoonful of undercooked cake batter. You can and you should. A finger-full of cake batter is the most special part of baking a cake. It’s the ultimate chef’s treat — you get to taste something that no one else except the person making the dessert does. Molten lava cakes take that concept and say, actually, everyone gets a little taste of this tonight, and that’s what makes them so special. So if you attempt your own, I implore you to use a recipe that’s ignorant to fear and unapologetic about what it is: a small, underbaked chocolate cake.
A MENU FOR ANY PANTS
Phyllo Pie: Decadent, sophisticated, secretly extremely easy to make. This isn’t so much a recipe as it is a suggestion to make a flavorful mix of beans, greens, roasted veggies, sautéed mushrooms, and/or cheese, then top it with buttered sheets of store-bought phyllo dough. If you crave structure like quantities, times, temperatures, turn to one of these tried-and-true recipes: a ruffled-edged veggie-goat cheese skillet, an herby caramelized zucchini pie, or this free-form feta-veg galette. The latest to captivate my attention is this loubia-inspired cozy white bean pie. I love the idea of making a low-key skillet for the Super Bowl, then pulling out all the stops on Valentine’s Day with a pretty design or ruffled pattern (and probably some extra butter).
Spanakopita Baked Pasta: This pasta has been on my to-cook list for a loooong time, and last week I finally made it. I used a little more spinach than the recipe called for and a little less cream cheese, then added the zest and juice of a small lemon juice along with the pasta. It was divine — just creamy enough, wilted greens in every bite, with surprising but welcome kicks of tastes and textures you don’t normally get in a pasta dish from the dill and feta. I’d make it again for a luxurious Valentine’s Day dinner at home, but it’s likeness to spinach dip would also kill on a Super Bowl party menu if you’re someone who isn’t going utensil-less this year (me).
question for you! when making the Andy Baraghani onion dip (which i also am obsessed with) - do you caramelize the onions using his oven technique, or on the stove top?