Super Bowl 2022: Recipes, Snacks with Rams vs. Bengals Theme

0 of 4

Al Behrman/Associated Press

This Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals will face off in Super Bowl LVI. It’s an important game, of course, but the Super Bowl stopped being a mere game several decades ago.

From the halftime show to the parade of interesting (and expensive) commercials, the Super Bowl has become a global entertainment event. It’s also one heck of a good reason to throw a party. No Super Bowl gathering would be complete without an impressive spread of food and drink.

Frozen hot wings and pizza delivery aren’t going to cut it.

Here, we’ll dive into some delicious and relatively easy Super Bowl-themed dishes that can help spice up any Super Bowl experience. This year, we’ll be looking specifically at foods prevalent in the Los Angeles and Cincinnati areas.

1 of 4

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Cincinnati has a rich German heritage, and German-inspired foods like goetta are quite popular in the area. Goetta, a combination of ground sausage and grains (typically oats) is a Cincinnati staple. The area even holds an annual goetta festival known as Goettafest.

While finding prepared goetta outside of the Midwest may be tricky, here’s a wonderful goetta balls recipe from Queen City Sausage. It does require a deep fryer, but it’s quick and simple to make.

Ingredients

• 2 1-lb. rolls of goetta
• 8 oz canola oil
• 5 oz plain bread crumbs
• 2 eggs

Directions

1. Heat oil in the deep fryer (Queen City Sausage recommends 375 degrees).

2. Form goetta into 1.5-ounce balls.

3. Whisk eggs in a bowl.

4. Dip goetta balls into egg wash, then roll into bread crumbs.

5. Dip goetta balls into deep fryer, cook for roughly six minutes per batch (3-4 balls per batch).

Allow the goetta balls to dry slightly on a paper towel or wax paper and then serve. I find that goetta goes well with spicy brown mustard, and if you want to add to the Cincinnati flavor, try pairing with a beverage from one of the area’s many craft breweries.

2 of 4

Matthew Mead/Associated Press

Few things represent Southern California cuisine quite like seafood. Dungeness crab is a personal favorite of mine whenever I visit, but this recipe from Lindsay Funston of Delish.com uses canned crab meat and can be made virtually anywhere.

You might recognize this recipe from last year’s Super Bowl recipe spotlight—the Tampa area is a wonderful place for seafood. However, I felt it was worth bringing this one back. I use this recipe frequently throughout the year, and it really is quite simple to make.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp. hot sauce
• salt
• black pepper
• 1 lb. jumbo lump crab meat
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
• Canola oil

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, egg, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Separately stir together crab meat, panko and parsley. Fold in the mayonnaise mixture and form into eight patties.

3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, coat pan with oil and heat until shimmering. Add crab cakes in batches and cook 3-5 minutes per side until golden and crispy.

These crab cakes are great with tartar sauce or cocktail sauce, though I usually serve them with grated horseradish and lemon or line. Be sure to check the crab meat before cooking, as I’ve found that bits of shell do often end up in the can.

3 of 4

LARRY CROWE/Associated Press

If you’ve ever visited the Cincinnati area, you’ve likely had someone tell you to try the chili. If you’re not from the area, you’ll probably find it to be more of a meat sauce than what one thinks of as a traditional chili.

Still, this Greek-inspired sweet and spicy mixture is quite good when served over hot dogs, spaghetti or when mixed with cream cheese and cheddar to make a dip. Canned Cincinnati-style chili is perfectly fine, but here’s a homemade recipe from Sara Bir at Simply Recipes.

There are a lot of ingredients here, and it’s best made a day in advance, but nothing about the recipe is particularly complicated.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 4 cups water
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1 large onion, minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 3 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 oz unsweetened chocolate

Directions

1. Cook tomato paste over medium-high heat in a pot for 1-3 minutes until slightly browned (not burned).

2. Remove pot from heat, add ground beef and water and stir. Return to heat and add remaining ingredients except for vinegar and chocolate.

3. Simmer uncovered for 2-3 hours, stirring often (the longer you cook, the less watery the chili will be).

3. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate (preferably overnight).

4. Once the chili is cold, scrape off any fat that has settled at the top.

5. Reheat the mixture, bringing to a simmer and adding vinegar and chocolate. Once the mixture is heated throughout, it’s ready to serve.

Cincinnati-style chili can be served on top of hot dogs or sausage, topped with diced onions and cheddar cheese. It’s also good over cooked spaghetti with cheese, onions and/or beans—to create a 3-, 4- or 5-way.

Additionally, you can mix a few healthy ladles of chili with a brick of cream cheese—topped with cheddar—and bake until hot to make a delicious chili dip.

4 of 4

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Here’s another recipe we’re bringing back from a past Super Bowl—this one from the 2019 game that also featured the Rams.

Why donuts? As Joshua Lurie of Discover Los Angeles noted “L.A. is the U.S. city with the most donut shops.”

Los Angeles is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines. The city’s longstanding car culture and fast-paced lifestyle, though, have made portable foods like the donut ubiquitous. While homemade donuts might not carry the flair as those found in a Los Angeles gourmet bakery, here’s a quick and easy recipe from Jessica and Nellie at Butter With a Side of Bread.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. melted butter
• 2-3 tbsp. milk
• 1 tbsp. corn syrup
• 1/4 cup melted chocolate chips
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups frying oil
• 18-count package refrigerated biscuit dough

Directions

1. Pour frying oil into a medium saucepan and begin heating on medium-low heat.

2. Open biscuit dough and separate. To make regular circle donuts, separate each biscuit and cut out a small circle in the center of each biscuit using a biscuit cutter or a soda bottle cap.

3. Combine butter, milk and corn syrup in a bowl. Chocolate chips can be melted in a microwave. Whisk in melted chocolate chips and powdered sugar until smooth. Glaze will set up, so return it to the microwave if needed to soften and whisk smooth again.

4. Check the temperature of the oil using a meat thermometer. It needs to read 350 degrees.

5. Once oil is ready, drop donuts in and let cook for about two minutes, then turn and cook an additional two minutes. Remove and place on a plate covered with a paper towel.

6. Once the donuts have cooled, dip one side into the chocolate glaze.

These are best served hot—if you’ve never had fresh, hot donuts, you’re in for a treat—so I’d recommend not making the donuts ahead of time. These donuts can also be topped with colored sprinkles to further lean into the Super Bowl theme. Simply use blue and yellow sprinkles for the Rams and orange and black sprinkles for the Bengals.

Don’t be afraid to put a few donuts back for yourself for Monday morning, either.