My most popular Super Bowl Sunday recipe.
Also, an Ask Ina about make-ahead Valentine's Day desserts!
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My Pan-Fried Onion Dip recipe is always wildly popular on my website ahead of the Super Bowl. The onions are slowly caramelized with 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne to give them a little heat, and they’re completely addictive. Every party also needs a delicious drink. Jalapeño Margaritas are spicy, citrusy, and so refreshing!
I don’t watch football, but I love the watch party that goes with it!
Ask Ina:
“I’m having a Valentine’s Day dinner, and I don’t want to spend Saturday focused on dessert. What’s a special dessert I can make or prepare ahead?”
This is the time for Chocolate Ganache Cake or Panna Cotta with Fresh Raspberry Sauce.
Two of my favorite things to serve together are raspberries and cream, and they happen to match the colors of Valentine’s Day! Panna cotta and raspberry sauce are both so easy to make. The sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, and the panna cotta needs to be prepared the day before, so it has time to set overnight.
You can make the chocolate cake a couple of days in advance, cool it, wrap it well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Chocolate ganache is just chocolate and heavy cream heated together over a double boiler. Be careful that you take it off the heat as soon as the chocolate is melted, or it will taste burnt! You can make the ganache right after dinner and simply pour it on. It’s actually easier to ganache a cold cake, just don’t refrigerate it after the cake is ganached.
I like to serve a slice on a plate with crème anglaise, but here’s my trick: Vanilla ice cream is essentially crème anglaise that's been frozen, so I defrost a pint of Häagen-Dazs to make the rich vanilla sauce.
This Week’s Favorites:
We started watching the movie Sentimental Value, and it was so stunningly good that we turned the movie off to save it to watch with a friend! It’s a Nordic movie about two sisters reuniting with their estranged father. We became fully invested in every character.
I loved going to Birmingham, Alabama for the first stop on my mini tour. Thank you to everyone who came, and for being the best audience!!
That “Vanilla ice cream is essentially crème anglaise that's been frozen, so I defrost a pint of Häagen-Dazs” tip is genius! Ina, you are the Best!!!
Dear Ina : Marking your February 2nd very happy birthday to you — hope you will be celebrating after your mini-tour ! And as it is Ground Hog Day — it will be time for selecting one or more of your soup recipes to get through 6 more weeks of winter here in NYC. Cheers !