By Katie Hurley
For so many of us, the Super Bowl is just as much about the food and beverages as it is about football, especially when your favorite team was eliminated in the playoffs. Since we’re not going to be cheering for the Seahawks anymore this season, we can put some of that energy into creating some memorable Super Bowl food.
Bayview Thriftway and Ralph’s Thriftway have some great crowd-pleasing options for football fans. Whether you’re looking for simple or sublime, here are some ideas.
Quick and Easy
Beer Flats crackers, available in Porter or Pilsner flavors, are good sturdy crackers that are perfect with almost any cheese, dip or spread. Make an impressive colorful platter with a couple different cheeses, thinly sliced salami or ham and some marinated Peppadew peppers. Another option with the Beer Flats crackers is slices of a good, sharp cheddar cheese served alongside a bowl of Unbound Pickling’s Bacon Pickles. And while we’re on the subject of bacon (and quick and easy), JD’s Bacon Pop and Cheddar Bacon Pop microwave popcorn is about as easy as it gets.
The simplest appetizers and munchies are available in the bulk foods section. You’ll find wide variety of nuts, trail mix, candy and snack mixes. A serving tray covered with bowls of nuts and candy gives guests the opportunity to serve up their own favorite snack mix blend. The toffee peanuts and the smoked almonds are always game time favorites.
Make Ahead
Hollow out a loaf of San Francisco Street Bakery’s Pain au Levain and you’ve got a ready-made bowl for your favorite dip. Cube the portion of bread you removed and you’ve got dippers, too. Try it with spinach dip, ranch dip, artichoke dip, queso, crab dip, shrimp dip, or almost any other dip you can think of. Surround the bread bowl with the bread cubes and other dippers such as bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, celery and carrot sticks for some healthy and colorful options. You could make this platter hours ahead – just wrap the bread bowl and bread cubes in plastic wrap, then unwrap and add the dip just before serving.
A Blue Cheese Ball is an easy, make-ahead hit. This recipe, courtesy of The Junior League of Olympia’s Northwest Inspirations: Flavors of South Puget Sound cookbook, is versatile and simple. Combine 4 oz. crumbled blue cheese and 8 oz. room-temperature cream cheese until smooth. Add 5 minced green onions and ½ c. chopped pecans and combine well. Roll the ball in ¼ c. chopped pecans, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve this with crackers or baguette slices, mushroom caps or cucumber slices.
Hot Appetizers
There are many heat-and-serve options available in the deli including chicken wings, empanadas and Panini sandwiches. In the freezer aisle, both stores will feature Foster Farms Party and Honey BBQ Glazed Wings.
Baked Goat Cheese, featuring Olympia’s own Cucina Ciancietta Marinara, will impress the party and please your palate. Combine 8 oz. softened cream cheese and 8-10oz. seasoned goat cheese (any flavor: peppered, herb, garlic & chive, etc.) until well-blended. Roll into a ball. Pour 16 oz. of Cucina Ciancetta Marinara in a small oven-safe casserole dish and place the cheese in the middle. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly, about 20 minutes. Serve with baguette slices.
Dinner Time
If you’re planning the full meal deal for your Super Bowl Party, you can’t go wrong with baby back ribs. Both stores are featuring baby back ribs for the Super Bowl. Kudos to those of you who will brave the weather to grill or smoke them outdoors!
If you want to go the easy route, rub any kind of barbecue spice rub on the racks of ribs, coat the ribs with your favorite barbecue sauce (I recommend BluesMan BBQ), wrap each rack tightly in heavy-duty foil and refrigerate for 8 -12 hours. Place the wrapped ribs on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 2 ½ hours or until the meat is starting to fall off the bones. Remove the ribs from the foil and set them back on the rimmed baking sheet. Brush with additional sauce and place them under the broiler until they start to brown, about 3 minutes. Alternatively, you can finish them on the grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
For a taste of sunny Mexico, try this grilled fish tacos recipe with just about any kind of white fish you like. For a local touch, serve them with Olympia Salsa. To elevate your fish tacos to the next level, skip the lettuce and try a spoonful of cold, crunchy OlyKraut Cumin Jalapeno Gourmet Sauerkraut.
If you want to stick with stadium-style food, the must-have ingredients include Johnson’s Cheddar Cheese Franks and Hot Sausage Links. The wide variety of condiment options at Bayview and Ralph’s include just about every style and flavor of mustard you can imagine, as well as several varieties of OlyKraut.
You’ll find the perfect solution for all of your Super Bowl food and beverage needs and a large assortment of high quality local products at locally-owned Ralph’s and Bayview Thriftway stores.
Bayview Thriftway
516 4th Ave. West, Olympia
360.352.4897
Ralph’s Thriftway
1908 East 4th, Olympia
360.357.8011
