Super Bowl XXXVIII - Panthers vs. Patriots

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Hearty dishes make Tex-Mex ideal choice for Super Bowl parties

By Michael Hastings | JOURNAL FOOD EDITOR

Texas, here we come. Over the past few weeks, I've heard a lot of people who normally don't follow football talk about the Carolina Panthers. My mother-in-law, my wife's best friend, and others were checking scores, reading up on players and watching the games.

"I hadn't watched a football game in years," my mother-in-law said after an early playoff game. "It was actually pretty exciting."

So when the Panthers square off against the New England Patriots on Sunday in Super Bowl XXXVIII, hordes of new fans from North Carolina and beyond will be tuning in.

And, as with any party, the crowds will need to be fed.

It's tempting to load up on pork and slaw from the nearest favorite barbecue joint to celebrate the Super Bowl in true Carolina style. But because the game will be played in Houston, I'm looking farther south to Texas for some satisfying Super Bowl chow.

The hearty aspect of Texas cooking makes it perfect for a cold winter's day. The fact that it's casual fare that appeals to most tastes makes it great for a Super Bowl party.

And, last but not least, it offers the potential for plenty of fiery heat that for some unknown reason seems to appeal to tailgaters and other sports fans.

Texas cooking consists of border food, best known as Tex-Mex - chili con carne; barbecue; and rural cooking. All in all, it's simple, down-to-earth home cooking, and that's what I love about it.

Texans are as proud of their cooking as they are of their state. As James Villas, a food writer raised in North Carolina, once said, "Only real Southerners can equal Texans when it comes to the pride and emotion evoked by their food."

Texas' barbecue tradition consists most notably of beef brisket, but most people probably don't want to spend a cold day outdoors messing around with their grill or smoker. The next logical choice is chili.

Texas has its own distinct way of making chili, often called "a bowl of red."

First, it has no beans. Tomatoes are often left out. When they are included, the amount is small, and they are used mostly for color. The red color generally comes from ground chiles, which in combination with cumin is preferred to commercial chili powders.

If the beef is ground, it is typically coarsely ground. Often, it is cut into pieces, and thickened with a bit of masa harina, or Mexican corn flour.

The result is basically meat coated in ground chiles, with little or no filler and not even much liquid. You might call it the purest expression of chili, not adulterated or distracted by extra ingredients.

Texans are fond of beans, as long as they aren't in the chili. In addition to pintos and other red beans, black-eyed peas are extremely popular. The state is a major grower of black-eyed peas, so it's only natural that Texans should eat a lot of them.

A favorite black-eyed-pea dish is Texas caviar, a rustic, frontiersy alternative to the fancy gourmet stuff made from fish eggs. Texas caviar can be served either as a dip or as a salad. It's essentially black-eyed peas that picked up some added punch through a marinade of oil and vinegar, with a few chiles thrown in for good measure.

Another dip is Prairie Fire Dip, which takes a kitchen-sink approach to appetizers. Here beans, chili, cheese and other ingredients are stirred together and served warm for an appetizer that's as substantial as many full meals.

Texas' border food includes tortilla soup, a take on homey Mexican chicken soup. Made with chicken and green chiles, it's a lighter alternative entree for people who want something other than chili.

For dessert, chocolate always scores well at Super Bowl parties. "Heavenly" is how cookbook author Jean Anderson describes the recipe for the chocolatey Texas Sheet Cake she reprints in The American Century Cookbook (Clarkson N. Potter, 1997). And this couldn't be easier to put it together. It doesn't even require a mixer.

Those who favor cookies over cake might want to try Texas Governor's Mansion Cowboy Cookies. This recipe from First Lady Laura Bush, made popular when President George Bush was governor of Texas, is popular with Republicans and Democrats alike.

These dishes will give football fans plenty to like, and plenty of fuel to keep them cheering the Panthers - and their party host - until the end of the game.

Texas Caviar

Recipe adapted from A Gracious Plenty by John T. Edge (Putnam, 1999). The recipe was first printed in More Calf Fries to Caviar by Janel Franklin and Sue Vaughn of Tahoka, Texas. Though fresh or frozen black-eyed peas take only about a half-hour to cook, it 's perfectly acceptable for this recipe to take the shortcut of using canned black-eyed peas. This recipe will use 2 to 21/2 15-ounce cans. Just rinse and drain them thoroughly before mixing with the other ingredients.

1 quart (4 cups or 32 fluid ounces) cooked, rinsed and drained black-eyed peas
1 small onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh green chile pepper
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup red-wine vinegar
1/3 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pimentos, for garnish

Mix all ingredients except pimentos in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Ideally, let peas marinate in refrigerator 2 days or more. Before serving, garnish with pimentos. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Makes 4 to 5 cups.

Prairie Fire Dip

Recipe adapted from American Home Cooking by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison (Broadway Books, 1999). The Jamisons attribute the recipe to Helen Corbitt, whom they describe as "the maestro of modern Texas cooking."

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cooked pinto beans (or about 1 1/4 15-ounce cans, drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup bean cooking liquid, chicken broth or water
1 cup Bowl of Red (from recipe below) or other chili
8 ounces mild Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Mexican asadero cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
2 to 3 pickled jalapenos, chopped fine, plus pickling liquid to taste
Salt, optional
Thinly sliced scallion greens
1/4 cup chunky tomato salsa or pitted and sliced green or black olives, optional
Tortilla or other corn chips

1. Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and saute briefly until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour in the beans and liquid, and mash beans with a potato masher or large fork. Stir in chili. When beans and chili are hot, mix in cheese. When cheese has melted, remove pan from heat. Add jalapenos and pickling liquid to taste. Add salt, if needed.

2. Pour mixture into a bowl, sprinkle with scallion greens, and, if desired, garnish with salsa or olives mounded in the center of the dip. Serve immediately with tortilla or other corn chips. If practical, keep dip warm on a warming tray or over another heat source.

Makes about 4 cups.

Tex-Mex Tortilla Soup

Recipe adapted from Constance Snow's Gulf Coast Kitchens (Clarkson N. Potter, 2003).

Soup:

1 3-pound fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (2 medium)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
3 mild green chiles, roasted, seeded and chopped (or 3 to 4 tablespoons canned, chopped green chiles)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1 bay leaf
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Tortilla Strips:

Peanut oil or canola oil for frying

12 tortillas, cut in half, then into 1/4-inch strips

Toppings:

3 plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 avocados, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
Minced fresh cilantro leaves

1. For the Soup: Wash and dry chicken. Season liberally with salt, pepper and cumin. Heat olive oil in Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add half of chicken, without crowding, and brown on all sides. Remove to a platter. Repeat with remaining chicken.

2. Strain off all but 2 tablespoons of fat in pot. Add onions and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown and soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, chiles, oregano and bay leaf. Cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes, or until excess moisture from tomatoes has evaporated.

3. Return chicken to pan. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.

4. Remove chicken from pot. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin and bones. Roughly shred meat by pulling it by hand. Return meat to pot. Remove bay leaf and stir in lime juice. (Soup can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 2 days at this point.)

5. For the Tortilla Strips, heat at least 1/2 inch oil in a deep heavy skillet or deep-fat fryer. Working in batches, without crowding, add some tortilla strips to the oil and fry until lightly brown and crisp, less than 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon to a wire rack, brown paper bag, or several layers of paper towels. Repeat until all strips have been fried. (Once cooled, tortilla strips may be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.)

6. To serve, reheat soup if needed. Place several tortilla strips in bottom of each bowl. Ladle soup over the strips. Top each serving with a little of the tomato, avocado and cilantro, and a few more tortilla strips. Serve immediately, before the strips turn completely soft.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

A Bowl of Red

This recipe is adapted from one by the late Frank Tolbert, as told to James Villas and recorded in Villas' book, American Taste (Lyons & Burford, 1982). Tolbert is a legendary chili master in Texas, organizer of chili cookoffs and founder of a chain of chili parlors in Dallas.

If desired, the beef pieces can be marinated overnight in the beer. If doing so, drain and dry the beef before browning, and save the beer to use as part of the cooking liquid.

Though many chili recipes call for hours of simmering, long cooking tends to diminish the flavor of the chiles, which are the star of the show, so it's best to stop the cooking as soon as the meat is tender. The best way to develop more flavor is to refrigerate the chili overnight. It's always better the next day.

4 to 6 dried chiles, such as ancho, guajillo, pasilla or New Mexican (or 4 to 6 tablespoons chili powder or ground chile) (See Note)
6 ounces beef suet or 1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup minced onion (medium)
12 ounces (1 bottle) beer, beef or chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon toasted, ground cumin seeds or pre-ground cumin (See Note)
1/2 teaspoon oregano, optional
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste (less if using salted broth)
2 tablespoons masa harina or cornmeal, optional (See Note)
Sour cream, optional garnish
Chopped cilantro leaves, optional garnish

1. Place chiles in small skillet or pan and barely cover with water (about 2 cups). Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes. Remove and discard stems and seeds (wearing gloves to prevent the chiles from "burning" the skin). Transfer stemmed and seeded chiles and the chile cooking liquid to a blender or food processor and process to a smooth, thick puree.

2. Meanwhile, heat suet (or oil) in large heavy pot over medium heat until suet renders some of its fat. Add about half the beef, making sure not to overcrowd the pieces, and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove first batch, and add more beef in batches as needed until all of it is browned.

3. Sprinkle onions over beef and stir. Cook about 2 minutes. Stir chili puree and beer and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

4. Add cumin, oregano, garlic and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender. If mixture looks too dry or sticks to bottom of pan, add a bit more water and lower the heat. Skim any excess fat from the surface. (Or refrigerate overnight and remove fat that has solidified on the surface.) If desired, stir in the masa harina to thicken the mixture.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Note: Whole cumin seeds give a bigger, brighter flavor to this chili, especially when toasted. To toast, place in a dry skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Grind in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Masa harina is corn flour used to make tortillas and other Mexican foods. It's available in most supermarkets and all Hispanic markets. Whole dried chiles make this dish authentic. But if using ground chile or commercial chili powder, skip Step 1 and add the powder plus a cup of water instead of the puree in Step 3.

Makes 6 servings.

Texas Sheet Cake

From Jean Anderson's The American Century Cookbook (Clarkson N. Potter, 1997). Anderson reprinted this recipe from 1984's Food Editors' Hometown Favorites, published by the Newspaper Food Editors and Writers Association. The book credits the recipe to Dotty Griffith of The Dallas Morning News but Anderson says that similar recipes were submitted from all over the country. "Some attribute the cake to Lady Bird Johnson," Anderson wrote. "Others say it got its name because it's a big as Texas - well, not quite."

Cake:

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk
1 1-pound box confectioners' (10X) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

1. For the Cake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 151/2-by 101/2-by-1-inch jelly-roll pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

2. Sift granulated sugar and flour together into large mixing bowl; set aside.

3. Bring butter, shortening, cocoa and water to a rapid boil in medium heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally. Pour over flour mixture and stir well to blend.

4. Mix buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and baking soda in large measuring cup. Add to bowl and beat by hand until smooth.

5. Pour into pan, smoothing to corners, and bake 20 minutes, until springy to touch and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

6. For Icing: Five minutes before cake is done, bring butter, cocoa and milk to boil in medium heavy saucepan. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat with hand electric mixer at high speed until smooth. Stir in pecans.

7. As soon as cake tests done, set on wire rack and immediately spread frosting on top. Cool cake before cutting into bars.

Makes 24 servings.

Texas Governor's Mansion Cowboy Cookies

Recipe copyright Laura Bush.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon. baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened flake coconut
2 cups chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.

3. In 8-quart bowl, beat butter on medium speed of electric mixer until smooth and creamy, 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugars; beat to combine, 2 minutes.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla.

5. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.

6. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. (See Note).

7. Bake 17 to 19 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through. Remove cookies from rack to cool.

Note: For 6 dozen small cookies, use 2 tablespoons dough for each. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

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