Big Game bites — NJ 101.5 morning crew’s Super Bowl recipes

From gourmet beer-braised beef crostini, caramelized bacon and Vietnamese wings to classic dips and snacks, Bill Spadea and the crew of the New Jersey 101.5 morning show brought in a spread of appetizers Friday as part of a pre-game Super Bowl celebration.

In addition to the food brought in by the New Jersey 101.5 staffers, friends of the show brought in additional fan fare ranging from homemade, stuffed grape leaves to a variety of dips.

Plenty of drool-worthy pictures and recipes are below. If you try your hand at making any of these creations, let us know. Tweet us pics @NJ1015. Enjoy!

Eric Scott's beer-braised beef crostini with caramelized onion & pepper jack cheese

These take some time to prepare, but the payoff will be some very happy (and impressed) Big Game revelers!

INGREDIENTS:

• Loaf of French bread or a good baguette, cut into ¼ inch round slices
• Olive oil
• Minced garlic
• oregano, salt, pepper, onion powder
• 4 pre-sliced beef eye round steaks
• 1 bottle of lager-style beer
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 3-4 medium, yellow onions, sliced
• Pepper-jack cheese, sliced

FOR THE CROSTINI:
Cut the bread or baguette into ¼ inch round slices. Mix olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and onion power into the olive oil. Lightly brush one side of the bread, and place in toaster over until brown. Remove from oven and set aside

BEER-BRAISED BEEF:
Quickly brown the pre-sliced beef eye round steaks (use high heat, you want them browned, NOT fully cooked). Let cool.

In a crock pot or Dutch oven, combine one bottle lager style beer, ½ cup beef broth, and any leftover pan drippings. Slice steak into ¼ inch strips, place on broth/beer mixture. Cook on low for three hours or longer.

CARMELIZED ONIONS:
Slice onion into strips and cook on low-medium heat with light olive oil for 45-minutes or until onions are fully caramelized. Do not allow onion to burn.

ASSEMBLY:
Place sliced steak onto crostini. Spoon caramelized onion on top of the steak. Top with a slice of pepper jack cheese. Bake in toaster over at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Reserve remaining gravy for dipping.

Patrick's carmelized bacon

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup chopped or whole pecans
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 pound thick-sliced applewood-smoked bacon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and place a wire baking rack on top.

Combine first five ingredients in food processor and pulse until pecans are finely ground. Add maple syrup and pulse to moisten the crumbs.

Cut each bacon slice in half crosswise and line pieces up on the baking rack (without touching). Spread pecan mixture evenly over each piece, using all of it. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until very browned but not burnt. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate to cool. Can be made ahead and served at room temperature.

Patrick Lavery's parmesan crisps

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 4-ounce piece of Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Grate the cheese using the large grating side of a box grater. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. One tablespoon at a time, spoon mixture into 3-inch rounds on the sheet pan. Make sure a little flour is in each portion. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on the sheet pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a baking rack and let fully cool to room temperature.

Jodi Spadea's Vietnamese Chicken Wings

INGREDIENTS

• 2 family-size packages of chicken wings or wingettes
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
• teaspoon sugar
• tablespoon honey
• tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread wings on baking sheet. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through. Broil quickly to crisp wings. 

While wings are cooking, make the sauce. In a skillet, melt butter and add garlic (do not brown). Add tabasco sauce (Bill thinks hotter the better), fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, honey, rice wine vinegar and chili sauce. Heat the sauce.

Put the wings in a large bowl and pour the sauce over the wings. Toss to coat.

Toniann Antonelli's beer & cheese dip

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups finely shredder sharp cheddar (set aside 1/4 cup)
• 1/3 cup of beer (Use the good stuff. I used Sam Adams Boston Lager)
• 1/2 package of ranch dressing mix
• salt, cracked black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper (optional)
• 2-3 slices of crispy bacon, crumbled
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion

Combine cream cheese, ranch dressing, beer, salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper. Mix until smooth. Stir in cheddar cheese. Place in serving bowl and top with green onions, bacon and reserved cheese. Serve immediately or refrigerate. 

Bob Williams' bacon-cream cheese wraps

INGREDIENTS:

• One loaf white sandwich bread
• 2 lbs bacon
• 1 tub whipped cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut bread slices in half. Spread cream cheese on one side of bread. Place bread slice on the edge of a slice of bacon and roll the bacon onto the bread.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 25-30minutes. Turn the wraps over after 15minutes. Drain grease and serve immediately.

Dan Zarrow's "Raindrops in a Stormcloud" a.k.a. (Pigs in a Blanket)

I learned how to "make" these in sixth grade Home Economics class. I made a huge batch of them for our family's Christmas party last year — they were gone before I had a chance to grab one.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package of all-beef hot dogs
• 1 can of Pillsbury crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each hot dog into thirds (you want bite-sized pieces). Remove the crescent dough from the can. Spread it out into a layer and separate the triangles. Cut each triangle in half.

Place a piece of hot dog at the "wide" end of each triangle and roll toward the narrow end. Bake, seam-side down, on a baking sheet for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and sere with spicy brown mustard.

Brian's Cheesy Chili Dip

INGREDIENTS

1 8oz. package of Philadelphia cream cheese

1 8oz. package of shredded cheddar cheese

1 16 oz. can of Hormel Chili (with or without beans)

1 bag of Tostito's Scoops (because the dip is heavy)

Spread softened cream cheese in the bottom of a microwave/oven safe baking dish. Top with chili, then cheese. Microwave or bake until cheese is melted. Serve with Scoops.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package mixed baby potatoes
• Olive oil spray
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• salt & pepper
• sour cream & chives for serving

Rinse the potatoes well. Par-boil in salted water for about 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray generously with olive oil. Slice potatoes in half and place face up on the cookie sheet. Spray potatoes with more oil and season with salt & pepper.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges become crisp.  You may have to judge from only the lighter colored potatoes but they all cook in the same amount of time.

Remove potatoes from oven. Turn on the broiler. Top potatoes with cheese. Place baking sheet back into oven for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Serve hot with sour cream and chives for dipping.