Here is another “Superbowl Weekend” food adventure: Hot Wings! Did you know that Americans eat 1.6 BILLION chicken wings on average, on Superbowl weekend? Crazy, right? These are with a homemade Berbere paste, which is an Ethiopian spice. Plus roasted peppers, onions, garlic and other spices. The wing sauce from that has a little bit of honey in it, so while they are spicy, they aren’t “blow your head off” spicy. The paste can also be used for meats (beef, pork, chicken or even fish) or a little bit could be put in a vinaigrette. Pleased with the result!
It’s Superbowl Sunday Weekend, so one of the very “traditional” things to make is Chili. This year, I am actually entering my chili in a Chili Cook off — first time that I have ever entered a “good contest” of any sort. I decided against a ground beef (hamburger style) Chili and instead minced 5 pounds a chuck beef myself (ok, I cheated by using the food processor). Lots of variations of peppers/chilis and my not-so-secret ingredient (espresso powder). It’s got a great, building heat and isn’t too overpowering. While I don’t think that it will win or even place, I am happy that I endeavored to make it. Yum.
I love figs. In fact, I have a Pinterest Board called “Getting Figgy with it” which is all sort of fig recipes. This is variation of a fig cake cookie (aka “Fig Newton”), in this case, a shortbread base with fig crumble and almonds. Easy to make, comes together in minutes and a sweet, buttery, nutty treat.