Cheesy Onion Chorizo Dip

It's that time of year. Super Bowl Sunday is almost upon us, and that means a ton of food. Is the best part of the game watching the game? Definitely not. It's the endless supply of wings, chips, nachos, and, most importantly, dips.

This is not your ordinary dip. Of course it's cheesy and creamy and gooey, but it's also spotted with spicy nuggets of chorizo and succulent caramelized onions. Chorizo is a spicy spanish sausage with a beautiful red color; just remove it from the casing (don't leave it on even if it's not plastic) and cook it in a skillet, breaking up the clumps with a spoon. For the onions, just throw them in another skillet with some butter and seasoning and let them cook until golden and tender. Mix all the other ingredients together and let it melt together to make the perfect bite.

Not sure how to serve it? Be creative! Experiment with different flavors of chips, or just slice and toast some bread. I've found one of the best ways is to just eat it with a spoon, but that is usually frowned upon in Super Bowl parties or really any time I'm sharing it with other people. However you eat it, it is sure to be fantastic!

8 oz Chorizo
2 T Butter
2 Cups Diced Onions
1/8 tsp Thyme
8 oz Cream Cheese, Softened
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1/3 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
3 T Hot Sauce
4 Scallions, Sliced

Remove the chorizo from its casing and cook in a skillet over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring to break into small pieces. Cool.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and thyme; season with salt. Lower heat to medium-low and cook onion, stirring often, for 20-30 minutes or until soft and caramelized. Cool.

Heat oven to 375F. Grease a baking dish or pie plate.

Combine the cream cheese, hot sauce, and mayonnaise. Add the mozzarella, onions, 3/4 of the scallions, and chorizo.

Pour the dip into the prepared dish. Bake for 10-15 minutes or unti bubbly, then broil until golden. Sprinkle with remaining scallions and serve with bread and/or chips.

Recipe Adapted from www.foodiecrush.com

Beer & Bacon Pecan Bars

With all of the healthy recipes I've been publishing, it is high time I made something, well, not. I want calories. I want deliciousness. I want artery-clogging goodness. A note to the reader: stop here if you want to eat healthy. These bars are dangerously delicious, and you won't be able to resist making them. They are filled with everything you could possibly want, like gooey caramel, shortbread, beer, nuts, and, of course, lots and lots of bacon. These aren't prissy little treats with gossamer threads of spun sugar atop light, fluffy mousse. No, these are man bars.

The bars have lots of components. There's the crust, a really simple brown sugar shortbread. Pulse it, press it, bake it, done. After I make the crust, I make the bacon. It really isn't necessary to make it this soon, but this way you get a snack while you slave over the stove making the rest of the recipe. I cook off six strips cut into bits (for the bars) and a couple more strips (for the chef). I drain off the fat, but I definitely don't throw it away because I toast the pecans in it. Yes, you read that right. Pecans toasted in bacon fat. Just chop the pecans, add them to the skillet after you take out the bacon bits, and stir over medium heat until fragrant. Meanwhile, make the beer reduction. I put the beer in a pot over medium heat and let it reduce down until it's half the original volume; just be careful that it doesn't spill over the edge. It's the same amount of flavor but much less liquid, so the bars will be gooey but not too liquidy. I add butter, cream, corn syrup, and lots of brown sugar to the beer reduction, and then I stir in the pecans and pour the whole thing onto the crust. After a nice sprinkling of bacon, I bake the bars until set and chill them until I can cut them.

Nobody can resist this dessert. It is a little complicated, but it is certainly worth it. They are rich, decadent, and full of flavor; sure to please anyone.

2 Sticks + 2T Butter

2 Cups Flour
2 1/4 Cups Light Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Cup Stout
2 Cups Chopped Pecans
1/2 Cup Corn Syrup
1/4 Cup Cream
2 Eggs
6 Strips Bacon, Diced

Heat oven to 350F. Line a 9x13" pan with parchment.

Pulse the flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor until combined. Add 1 stick and 2T butter; pulse until small bits remain. Add up to 1/4 cup water until it begins to stick together.

Press the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 12 mintues or until golden.

Cook the diced bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Drain the bacon and keep the fat. Heat the fat in the skillet and add the pecans. Toast, stirring often, until fragrant. Cool.

Heat the stout in a small pot over medium heat; reduce to half the original volume. Add the remaining butter and whisk until melted.

Combine the stout/butter mixture, corn syrup, and cream. Add the remaining brown sugar, then whisk in the eggs. Fold in the toasted pecans.

Pour the pecan mixture onto the crust. Sprinkle with the bacon bits and bake for 30 minutes or until almost set.

Makes 24
Recipe Adapted from www.thebeeroness.com

Cucumber Salad

Looking for a simple side dish that won't break your New Year's resolutions? This is it. It's just thinly sliced crisp cucumbers tossed with a yummy dressing and sprinkled with crunchy sesame seeds. It's that easy. The only trick is to keep the slices of cucumber as thin as possible so that they absorb the dressing. I have a mandoline, a really cool little piece of equipment that can slice anything as thin as you want it to be. I like to use it for this since it really speeds things up, but make sure you are very careful if you want to use one. If you don't have one, it's just as easy to use a knife to slice the cucumbers paper-thin. Either way, it will be fantastic!

2 lbs Cucumbers

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 Cup Rice Vinegar

2 T Soy Sauce

2 tsp Sesame Oil

2 T Sugar

1/2 tsp Sesame Seeds

Slice the cucumbers thinly; mandolines work well for this. Toss with the salt and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Squeeze gently to dry.

Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar.

Toss the cucumbers with the dressing. Let sit for at least 1 hour.

Sprinkle with the sesame seeds before serving.

Serves 6-8

Recipe Adapted from Appetite for China