Gameday recipes: New England vs. Houston
The bye week is over and the playoffs are finally starting for the New England Patriots. They will host the Houston Texans on Sunday at Gillette, and what better time to have your friends over than to watch the first Patriots playoff game? Here are some game day recipes you can make that have the best of both sides: Houston and New England.
The easiest, and probably the tastiest dish you can make is a nice dip. This seven-layer Tex-Mex dip is all about Houston, but New England fans are sure to enjoy it too.
Seven-Layer Tex-Mex Dip
Photo Credit: allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
- 16 ozs refried beans
- 1 cup guacamole
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 8 ozs sour cream
- 1 oz seasoning mix (taco)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tomato (chopped)
- 1/4 cup green onions (chopped)
- 1/4 cup black olives (drained)
Directions:
In a large serving dish, spread the refried beans. Layer the guacamole on top of the beans.
In a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream and taco seasoning mix. Spread over the layer of guacamole.
Sprinkle a layer of Cheddar cheese over the mayonnaise mixture layer. Sprinkle tomato, green onions and black olives over the cheese. Serve with tortilla chips
Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com
Not a fan of Tex-Mex dips? Well here is a nice seafood dip you can try instead using none other than Maine Lobster…or should I say lobstah?
Warm Maine Lobster Dip
Photo Credit: Food.com
Ingredients:
- 2 (8oz) packages cream cheese
- 2 cups cooked Maine lobster meat
- 2 tablespoons freshly minced onions
- ½ tablespoon fresh horseradish
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Hot sauce, optional, to taste
Directions:
Soften the cream cheese in a bowl. Cut lobster meat into bite-size pieces. Stir all of the ingredients together.
Place in baking dish and refrigerate for several hours to let it set before cooking.
Bake uncovered at 375 for 25 minutes. Serve with crackers of chips of your choice.
Recipe courtesy of food.com
Now that you’ve had your appetizers, here are two recipes you can try for more of a main-course, but still easy to make, but more time consuming. First up is some Tex-Mex chili that is straight out of Texas. This chili recipe comes from the Goode Company Bar-B-Q restaurant in Houston.
Secret Recipe Chili
Photo Credit: MrFood.com
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 ½ pounds top sirloin, cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 ½ pounds lean pork butt, cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1/3 cup chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoon masa hernia (which can be found by the corn meal in the store)
Directions:
In a soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in beef, pork, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes.
Stir in beef broth, chili powder, and oregano. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer. Add the masa harina and stir well. Continue to simmer over low heat for 1 hour or until meat is tender.
Recipe courtesy of MrFood.com.
If chili is not your thing, maybe you will love what’s next. New Englanders especially will love this recipe for a traditional New England clam chowder.
New England Clam Chowder
Photo Credit: Foodnetwork.com
Ingredients:
- 8 pounds small quahogs or large cherrystone clams, scrubbed and rinsed, opened clams discarde
- 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups finely chopped yellow onions
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cups 1/2-inch cubed, peeled potatoes, about 1 1/4 pounds
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 1/2-teaspoon pieces
- 1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup finely chopped chives or green onion
Directions:
In a large stockpot bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add clams, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover, quickly stir clams with a wooden spoon. Cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes longer (this will depend on the type and size of clams you are using), or until most of the clams are opened.
Transfer the clams to a large bowl or baking dish and strain the broth twice into a bowl, being careful to strain out the sand. (You should have about 6 cups of clam broth. If not, add enough water to bring the volume up to 6 cups.) When the clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from their shells and chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Set clams and broth aside.
In a large heavy pot cook the bacon until crisp and the fat is rendered. Pour off all bacon fat except 2 tablespoons. Add the butter, onions and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves, and cook until the vegetables are thoroughly wilted, about 3 minutes, being careful not to brown. Add the potatoes and reserved clam broth, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the broth thickens slightly and the potatoes are very tender. (If you like a thicker broth, mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon.) Remove from the heat, stir in clams and heavy cream and season with pepper and salt, if necessary.
Set aside for 1 hour, covered, to allow the flavors to marry. Place the pot over low heat, and slowly reheat, being careful not to bring to the boil. Serve hot, garnished with 1 or 2 pats of butter, parsley and chives.
Recipe courtesy of Foodnetwork.com
