You’re Nuts: What is your Super Bowl party go-to dish?

We have made it to Super Bowl Week. This year’s contest is taking on a little more importance than normal for those in Central Ohio and around the Buckeye State, because not only does the big game include the Cincinnati Bengals, but there is also a number of former Ohio State players competing in Sunday’s game.

This year there will be even more of an emphasis on Super Bowl parties in Ohio because Cincinnati is playing, marking the first time that the Bengals are playing in the league’s final game of the season since 1989 when they took on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIII. Add in the fact that COVID-19 numbers are trending downward compared to last year, and there will be more people who are comfortable with gathering with friends this year.

While the game will take on huge importance for some, a lot of people look forward to Sunday because of the food at Super Bowl parties. The beauty of the food at Super Bowl parties is there are so many different options out there that can be made. Just Google “Super Bowl party food” and the top results are articles with 60+ recipes that could be made for the big game.

We’re not claiming to be The Food Network or Top Chef here at LGHL, but Meredith and Brett are going to give you their favorite dishes they like to make for Super Bowl parties. Hopefully no matter where you watch Sunday’s game, you find full plates, good friends, and an exciting game.

Today’s question: What is your Super Bowl party go-to dish?

We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.

Brett’s answer: Crockpot pork tenderloin

It’s probably a big surprise that the guy who grew up in Western New York isn’t choosing buffalo chicken dip for his Super Bowl go-to. I just figure that the easy answer for this question is buffalo chicken dip, and I wanted to show that I had a little more culinary chops than that. Really it takes you about as much time to buy the ingredients for buffalo chicken dip together as it does to actually mix them all before putting your dish in the oven.

One thing you are certainly going to need if deciding to do a crockpot pork tenderloin is time. I’ve found that a safe time frame is 6-8 hours, depending on how much else you throw in along with it. I start with a 4-5 pound boneless pork tenderloin and get that going with a marinade/sauce. What makes doing a dish like this great is there are a number of different ways you can go when it comes to the flavor. I’ve made this dish with Caribbean Jerk, Carolina Gold, and a number of others.

After you choose the flavor you want in the dish, you then also get to decide what accompanies the pork. Usually I’ll chop up some potatoes, onions, and carrots, while also adding some corn and beans. Really there is no wrong answer to what you can add, it all really depends on personal preference.

After cooking a while, the pork eventually just falls apart and turns into pulled pork, which makes it easy to scoop into a bowl at a party. Sometimes I’ll just throw a little cheese on top, and others I might throw some of a bun and make a little sandwich out of. Just like cooking it, there is no wrong way to eat this dish.

While I don’t have an actual recipe for you to follow, since I usually am just winging the flavoring and ingredients (I have also done the same meal except using chicken instead of pork), I can at least add a picture of one of the times I made this, which actually was for last year’s Ohio State/Clemson CFP Semifinal matchup.

Meredith’s answer: Bell pepper nachos

Yes, I’m shocked the Bills fan didn’t choose Buffalo chicken dip. I admit it was one of the party foods I missed when I went vegetarian, but a friend made a “chicken” dip with cannellini beans for a watch party last year and it was actually really (really) good.

I got a new favorite watch party food ahead of Ohio State’s season opener against Minnesota, when a friend sent a recipe for a nacho platter with a base of bell peppers and filled with seasoned chorizo (soyrizo in my case), black beans, salsa, cheese (of course), sour cream/crema, jalapenos and cilantro.

I love these nachos because they have structural integrity, since the bell peppers are like personal little nacho topping delivery boats. They can also be accommodated to meet a variety of dietary restrictions, which is helpful. I also love that they can fit into your party menu as an app, a side dish or a main.

I’ll also use this opportunity to put my stake in the ground and declare that nachos should be WIDER and not TALLER. When you have tall nachos, you just get a bunch of soggy, overly burdened chips at the top and a layer of naked chips on the bottom. Wide, flat nachos — like those mentioned above — avoid this issue entirely with an even distribution of toppings. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.