I absolutely love football season. An excuse to do nothing on a Sunday but watch TV and eat comfort food? That’s one American tradition I whole-heartedly embrace. I also love the sport itself, and often watch as many games as I can.

Being a Giants fan, this year’s Super Bowl was especially anti-climactic for me. I usually root for the underdog when I have no skin in the game, but it goes against my DNA to root for Philly, and rooting for the Pats feels like cheering on Goliath.

My usual strategy with Super Bowl food is to only make food that can be prepped ahead of time, or requires little to no fussing so I miss as little game-time and commercial-time as possible. Since I couldn’t get pumped about the game this year, I decided to get pumped about the food:

• Super Bowl Stromboli (recipe below)
• Bacon-Wrapped Cheesy Stuffed Jalapeños
• Cajun wings

Did I mention that all that food was just for Tom and me?

I found the Stuffed Jalapeños recipe on Pinterest a long time ago and finally had the chance to try it. The recipe was delicious exactly as is, and not nearly as cumbersome to assemble as I expected. They were creamy, a little spicy, smoky, and offered the benefit of not having to deep fry anything. I will 100% make these again.

I wish I had the willpower to wait before I snapped a picture of the final product, but these puppies looked so delicious I immediately inhaled them when they came out of the oven. They came out golden brown and perfectly crispy. For the Cajun Wings, I used this recipe for the cooking method, and tossed 2 lb of frozen wings from Trader Joe’s in the following spices with the baking powder:

• 3 T Creole/Cajun seasoning (like Tony Chachere’s)
• 1 t onion powder
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t smoked paprika
• Taste for salt (depends on salt amount in Creole seasoning)

My mom’s version of Stromboli is always a huge hit at family functions, but due to its less-than-healthful nutritional properties, she only makes it for one specific holiday party. Tom and I missed that party this year, and I really missed getting to eat Stromboli. My version is slightly different than my mom’s, which uses capocollo and Provolone. Tom and I both love a good ham and Swiss with Dijon, so I thought, why not do that, but still add salami because I freaking love salami.

I thoroughly enjoyed the snacks, I rooted for the commercials between trips to the kitchen, and was thrilled when it was over so I could watch This Is Us (and cry).

Super Bowl Stromboli

Printable version

Ingredients

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 lb pizza  dough
• 1/8 lb your favorite deli ham (sliced thin)
• 1/8 lb your favorite Swiss cheese (sliced thin)
• 1/8 lb your favorite hard salami (sliced thin)
• 1 1/2 t Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t oregano, crumbled
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes
• 1/2 shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Brush 11 x 17 baking sheet with oil. Roll dough out on prepared sheet to edges.
3. Arrange slices of ham in a lengthwise row down center of dough, leaving 1/2 inch of space at ends. Top with a row of Swiss cheese followed by a row of salami.
4. Spread evenly with mustard. Sprinkle with Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes. Cover with mozzarella.
5. Leaving about 1 inch of dough on either short end, make ~1 inch cuts in toward the middle down each long side of the dough, creating a sort of fringe. Make the same number of cuts down each side.
6. Starting at one end, fold the ends in toward the middle. Create a braid with the fringe pieces on each side, pinching and brushing seams with water.
7. Bake about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Note: Replace deli meats/mustard with any of your favorites