Superbowl Sunday

Warm Broccoli Cheese Dip

1 tablespoon butter, plus more for the baking dish
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound white/button mushrooms, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup mild beer, such as ale
1 (16-ounce) package frozen broccoli florets, thawed, chopped and squeezed dry of any excess moisture
2 cups shredded mild cheddar & Monterey jack, divided
1/2 cup sour cream
4 ounces neufchâtel cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish with butter; set aside. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully add beer and cook, scraping up any browned bits, for 2 minutes more. Remove skillet from heat, stir in broccoli, 1 3/4 cups shredded cheese, sour cream and Neufchâtel until well combined and transfer to prepared dish. Scatter remaining 1/4 cup shredded cheese over the top and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 35 minutes. Serve immediately.

Hot Crab and Artichoke Dip

1 (8-ounce) container lump crabmeat
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts in water, drained and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 (8-ounce) package Neufchâtel cheese
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
4 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, break up crabmeat into slightly smaller pieces, feeling through mixture to make sure no shell pieces remain. Stir in artichokes and bell pepper and set aside.

Place Neufchâtel, mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons chives, lemon juice, Worcestershire and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until just combined. Transfer to bowl with crab mixture and gently stir to combine. Spread into a 1-quart shallow baking dish. Bake until mixture is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon chives and serve.

Note: The dip can be assembled up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake. If doing this, let sit at room temperature 15 minutes before putting in the oven, and increase baking time by about 5 minutes.

Quick and Easy Shrimp Dip

1/2 pound cooked, peeled shrimp
4 green onions, roughly chopped
8 ounces Neufchâtel cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 lemon, zest and juice of
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Put shrimp and green onions in a food processor and pulse until just chopped. Add Neufchâtel, yogurt, hot sauce, lemon zest, juice and salt and pulse until combined. Spoon into a serving bowl, cover and chill until ready to serve.

STUFFED ITALIAN BREAD

1 Italian loaf, about 12 inches long
1 stick butter, melted
1/8 cup olive oil
3 tsp minced onion
2-3 cloves garlic, grated
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp poppy seeds
3 tsp chopped parsley (add more if you wish)
12 oz grated cheese (I used a mix of white cheddar and monterey jack.)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Mix the melted butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, dijon mustard, poppy seeds and parsley in a bowl.

Cut the bread into cubes with X slices without cutting all the way through the bottom crust.

Pour the butter-onion garlic mixture carefully into those X cracks using a small spoon and over the top of the bread. Fill those delicious cracks with the grated cheese. (It seems like a lot of work and trouble but it's all worth it. Yes.)

Wrap the entire loaf with foil, sealing the sides properly and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and unwrap. Bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey.

OlIVE SALAD CLUB SANDWICH

4 Kaiser rolls
24 thin slices salami
8 medium thick slices ham
Italian olive salad
8 medium thick slices provolone 1-2 pinches red pepper flakes (optional)

Slice the rolls almost in half, place 6 slices of salami on each, 2 slices of ham, then heap on the olive salad. Top with 2 slices of cheese and then run under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted. If you want to take that extra step to make this sandwich even better, sauté the ham in a little olive oil first, just until it starts to take on a little color. Cut into bite-size servings and serve on a platter. This is also good with mortadella.

Make this about half the size of a regular burger, only about three inches across; that qualifies it as a slider.

STUFFED BREAD

1 large round loaf of bread
1 chopped onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
6 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
2-3 tablespoons hot sauce
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 pinches black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Slice off the top of the bread, then remove the soft white bread inside. Combine all of the other ingredients and stuff the bread completely full with the mixture. Place on an oven proof pan and bake for about 20 or 25 minutes. Make sure to serve hot so that the cheese is melted and the bread well toasted.



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