Super Bowl
Broccoli-Cheddar Dip
This thick, cheesy dip is delicious with broccoli spears or bread sticks, or even as a spread on slices of bread. Serve any leftovers on baked potatoes or tossed with potato salad.
By Tracey Seaman
Chicken Wings with Black-Bean Sauce
Chinese fermented black beans are a bargain—the small amount here packs a pungent, salty flavor that complements the sweet, garlicky sauce for the wings.
By Lillian Chou
Buffalo Chicken Strips with Celery and Watercress Slaw
Look for panko in the Asian foods section of the supermarket.
Home-Style "Tater Tots" with Truffles
Truffle oil and minced black truffles make this appetizer anything but kid food.
Mac and Cheese with Buffalo Chicken
A comfort classic meets a bar-food favorite.
WHAT TO DRINK: Pabst Blue Ribbon, an old-school brew that's enjoying a cult revival, is a light and refreshing foil for this rich dish.
By David Burke
Beef and Dark Beer Chili
Stout makes the beef taste beefier in this chili. For best results, pick out a five-pound boneless chuck roast and have the butcher grind it for you.
WHAT TO DRINK: Sam Adams Cream Stout has a malty sweetness that's just right.
By David Burke
Balsamic Soy-Glazed Chicken Wings
Roasting the wings before tossing them with this tangy glaze is our secret to getting crisp skin.
Pimento Cheese Bites with Cream of Tomato Dip
Editor's note: The recipe below is excerpted from Hollywood Dish by Akasha Richmond.
When I catered Billy Bob Thornton's Christmas party one year, he whipped up some of his special soy — based pimento cheese sandwiches for all of us cooking in the kitchen. The following summer when I catered Billy's birthday, I made the sandwiches as an appetizer and served them with a cream of tomato dip — an idea that my friend Sergio Gomez gave me. When Emeril Lagasse made pimento cheese on his show, he told the audience that when you're in the South as a guest in someone's home, and they bring out the pimento cheese it's a special thing, so I was really honored when Billy made this dish for me.
Note: Any leftover dip, can be thinned out a bit with more soymilk and served as soup. When I cater parties I place the dip in small shot glasses or demitasse cups, and slice the sandwiches into long strips and serve them on top of the glasses. I also like to slice a small baguette thinly and use that to make the sandwiches.
By Akasha Richmond
My Homemade Potato Chips
There's no need to set up a deep fryer to make great potato chips—the oven is just fine.
By Katy Sparks and Andrea Strong
Hot Crab Dip
Recipe from the kitchen of Felicia Gray, age 12
Many crab dip recipes call for imitation crabmeat, but there's no place for "krab" here. Only real lump crabmeat makes it taste best. Serve it while it's hot with crackers, bite-size pieces of bread, or veggie sticks. It can also be presented in a bread bowl and served with a tray of fresh broccoli, carrots, zucchini, or crackers.
Shepherd's Pie
The ultimate dish for a cold winter day, this hearty pie couldn't be more satisfying. Picard uses venison along with pork to create an amazingly tender and sauce-rich filling.
By Martin Picard
Mustard Cheddar Crackers
Get ready for the most deliciously tangy adult nibbles that have ever made you lick your lips. These are not only easy to prepare, but the dough can be frozen and kept for when guests drop by unexpectedly.
Nuked Nachos
This is the ultimate party dish because you can add it to your spread in no time flat. Almost everything for this mini meal comes out of a bag or a can, but brightening up the dish with some fresh cilantro makes it taste and look really fresh. A few minutes in the microwave makes everything warm and gooey.
By Dave Lieberman
Cheese Animal Crackers
Unlike the sweet animal crackers in the familiar circus box, these boast a savory cheese flavor. They're a nice accompaniment to the chicken soup with rice.
Basic Beer-Can Chicken
Here's a grilled chicken technique that's become a cult hit with backyard barbecue masters. For luxe and delicious twists on the technique (from the Japanese-flavored "Roppongi Roaster" to the Italianate "Toscana in a Can"), see the article "Beer Can Chicken Goes Upscale" in the Starters section of the August 2005 issue of Bon Appétit.
Calgary Hot Wings
Barbecue without beer is, well, too depressing to contemplate, and I'm not just talking about to drink. Beer's malty sweetness and pleasantly bitter edge of hops make for an interesting marinade. These Calgary Hot Wings were inspired by the Big Rock Brewery, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I taught a memorable cooking class at Big Rock—memorable not only for the impressive assortment of interesting beers on tap but also for the fact that it snowed 3 inches during my outdoor class, a first for this Miami-based grill guy.
By Steven Raichlen
Shanghai Stuffed Soup Buns
The trick to stuffed soup buns is to fill them with a solid form of soup. The tender wrappers are filled with an aspic made from pork and chicken bones, which melts into a savory broth during steaming.
By Nina Simonds