Superbowl

This year we decided to have friends over for superbowl. It was a great time and the food was plentiful! I always tend to go overboard with any menu I am putting together. It always starts out small and then grows as I am making things. Everyone brought something too..... and man was it a good spread!!! I have been obsessing over the cupcakes I had at St. Cupcake in NW Portland last week. I really wanted another one of their coconut cream cupcakes. It was to die for. So I decided I would make some for Superbowl...good excuse to make cupcakes, right? They ended up being pretty comparable to St. Cupcake! So good! I also made a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. Amazing! Also on the menu was maple wings, pulled pork sandwiches, spiced nuts and a hummus platter. Here are the recipes!

Coconut cupcakes were from Ina Garten. The only thing I did different was to toast the coconut for the top of the cupcake.

Here is the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/coconut-cupcakes-recipe/index.html

Chocolate peanut butter cupcakes from Ina also. The peanut butter butter cream is amazing on these! And the cake is so moist and chocolatey!! YUM!!

Here is the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chocolate-cupcakes-and-peanut-butter-icing-recipe/index.html

Spiced Nuts These nuts are to die for. They are really hard to stop eating. The flavor is just amazing. Another one of my favorite chefs is Nigella Lawson. She got this nut recipe from a bar in NYC called The Union Square Cafe. Here is the link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/the-union-square-cafes-bar-nuts-recipe/index.html

Maple Wings I got this recipe from my Mom. These take a little time but are defiantly worth it. I usually go a little longer on the cooking time to make sure they get nice and caramelized. Here is the recipie:

3-4 lbs. chicken wings

1/3 C. teriyaki sauce

1/2 C. lite soy sauce or yoshida sauce

2 T. minced garlic

1 T. garlic powder

1 T. onion powder

1/2 T. black pepper

1 1/2 C. real maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken in a large disposable baking pan. Mix all ingredients together in a measuring cup and then pour onto chicken. Bake for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. After one hour increase the oven temp to 425. Continue cooking and stirring about an hour more until liquid is thick and wings are caramelized.

Southern Pulled Pork Sandwiches from Martha Stewart. These were great. Really easy. I used small potato rolls instead of regular sized buns so that they were more of an appetizer size. Instead of doing it in the oven I used my slow cooker. I let the pork cook for about 6 hours.

Here is the link: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/southern-pulled-pork-sandwiches

Hummus platter I love Trader Joes plain hummus. My kids eat it too. I always have some in

the fridge for a quick snack along with some carrots and snap peas. I threw this platter together for a healthy offering at the party. I included roasted tomatoes, pita bread, carrots, snap peas, greek olives, greek feta and cucumbers.

These are all great recipes to try anytime!! I hope you enjoy!