Superbowl Saga: Buffalo Chicken Dip, 7 Layer Dip and Peanut Butter Fingers

Yesterday was the Superbowl, and although I'm 100% uninterested in sports, I do love a good Superbowl party. So after R and I discovered we could get basic channels through out internet cable, I made a Facebook event and scored a sweet last minute Superbowl party. All my favorite people came over and drank beer and ate food - and some even watched football. I smiled all night long. And everyone else ate all night long. It was great.

Last year's menu was a big hit, so I did the same thing this year:

Buffalo Chicken Dip, aka Superbowl Dip, aka "Danger Dip" (you'll see why when you read the recipe.)

Seven Layer Dip, aka Seven Secrets I Don't Tell My Husband (funny story)

Peanut Butter Fingers (an old family recipe, from Pennsylvania)

I like the balance of these dishes for a Superbowl party. You simply have to have a dip at a sports party, and the buffalo chicken dip is everything you could want out of a party dip: cheesy, tangy and predisposed to heartburn. The seven layer dip is a healthy relief, and very filling. And peanut butter fingers are pretty much the best dessert bar in the world.

See, Ryan thinks so too.

Buffalo Chicken Dip:

4 packages (8oz) cream cheese

4 chicken breast halves, cubed and broiled w/ salt

12-16 oz Frank's Red Hot Sauce to taste (ooooh, the heartburn)

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

2 cups shredded mozarella

There isn't an easier dip in the world. Throw everything in a crock pot and put it on low cook for about an hour, until everything is melted. Dip!

Peanut Butter Fingers (I have to give a nod to my mom's college roommate Becky, whose family recipe this is. Nobody know how to bake like the Pennsylvanian Dutch.)

Fyi, mom and I always double this recipe and use a Texas sheet cake-sized pan for more servings at parties.

Cookie base:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (can substitute cane sugar for white and brown)

1 egg

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1 cup quick rolled oats

Cream butter, sugar and eggs just like cookies, then add soda, salt, vanilla and finally flour once blended. Add oats last, then spread evenly with the back of a spoon on a greased pan. Poke dough with a fork before baking 12-15 min at 350F.

While the bottom is baking, make the frosting:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup peanut butter

2-4 tblsp milk or cream

As with regular frosting, cream peanut butter and powdered sugar, then add milk until consistency is like soft frosting.

Take the cookie base out when it's golden on top, then immediately sprinkle 2 cups of chocolate chips (or more, to taste).

Spread the chocolate evenly once it's melted:

Wait for the chocolate to cool a little before adding the peanut butter frosting overtop. You'll want to maintain the layered effect, so put the frosting on in small dollops evenly over the chocolate, then spread carefully with a spatula.

Mmm.

Seven Layer Dip (Seven Secrets I Don't Tell My Husband)

Layer 1:

1 can kidney beans

1 can refried beans

Mash smoothly together (a mixer or food processor work best), then spread on an oven-safe serving plate and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until beans begin to crack. Immediately apply layer 2.

Layer 2:

4 oz (1/2 package) softened cream cheese, placed in dollops on top layer 1.

Allow cream cheese to melt, then spread over beans evenly.

Layer 3:

2 soft, ripe avocadoes, pitted and scooped

2 tsp fresh kosher salt

Juice from 1 lemon

1/2 cup sour cream

Mash together with a fork, or in a mixer. Store airtight until spreading over layers 1 and 2:

Layer 4:

2 medium-large beefsteak tomatoes, seeded and diced (remove seeds to keep salsa from becoming too watery)

1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped

1 hungarian yellow pepper, finely chopped

3 tomatillos, finely chopped

Juice from 1 lemon

2 tsp fresh kosher salt

Mix together in a bowl, then drain and spread evenly on existing layers.

Layer 5:

1 can black olives, sliced.

Spread over layers.

Layer 6:

1 cup sour cream, applied in dollops then spread evenly.

Layer 7:

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar.

Mmmm! This is best served with thick, natural tortilla chips - the kind you find in the "ethnic" aisle vs. the cheetos aisle.

What did you think, boys?