Ideas for munchies during the football game?

Williams 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Yooper

Yooper

Ale's What Cures You!
Staff member
Admin
Mod
HBT Supporter
Joined
Jun 4, 2006
Messages
75,125
Reaction score
13,276
Location
UP/Snowbird in Florida
We're going to a friend's to watch the Packers/Bears game tomorrow evening.

It'll be shortly after dinner, so they only want munchies/snacks.

But I'm drawing a blank on what to make and bring! I almost never snack, and never eat junk food. Popcorn is out (no popper and no way to bring it from our cottage even if I had one!) so what's left?

The host is making a layered Mexican dip with chips.

I don't have to stick to my regime, but I don't eat wheat or sugar normally.

One thought I has was what my friend calls "Belly Buttons". http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tasty-...racker&e8=Quick Search&event10=1&e7=Home Page Sure, there is wheat, but no sugar and it's sort of crunchy like popcorn.

I need help!
 
Bacon wrapped bacon and homebrew

I love me some sea salt and vinegar kettle chips, pretzels and good mustard (soft pretzels are the best, but normal bagged ones work great too), potato skins with a little sour cream chives and bacon bits, baby carrots and ranch dip, hummus and pita bread. Well there are a few from unhealthy to healthy for you.

Oh and Pirates Booty if you have it, puffed rice with cheese (in the chips aisle)
 
Bensiff said:
Bacon wrapped bacon and homebrew
Click to expand...

Bacon wrapped bacon sounds good to me.....or.....you could take it step further. And yes, I did recently use this a side dish. A horribly, wonderful, gutbusting side dish. Mac-n-cheese, rolled up in sausage and wrapped in a woven blanket of bacon and than slow cooked in the smoker with apple wood chips. An oven at 225* would work though.

http://inhousebrew.weebly.com/1/pos...cheese-sausage-why-not-all-three-at-once.html

If this doesn't scream gluttony, America and Football all at once I don't know what does.
 
Bensiff said:
Bacon wrapped bacon and homebrew

I love me some sea salt and vinegar kettle chips, pretzels and good mustard (soft pretzels are the best, but normal bagged ones work great too), potato skins with a little sour cream chives and bacon bits, baby carrots and ranch dip, hummus and pita bread. Well there are a few from unhealthy to healthy for you.

Oh and Pirates Booty if you have it, puffed rice with cheese (in the chips aisle)
Click to expand...

Hmmmm- "soft pretzels" really sounds awesome. I would have to make them today, though. Would they still be good tomorrow, if I popped them briefly in the oven when I got there?

I love the idea of hummus, but since they already have a dip I was thinking of a finger food without dip and/or chips.
 
Yooper said:
Hmmmm- "soft pretzels" really sounds awesome. I would have to make them today, though. Would they still be good tomorrow, if I popped them briefly in the oven when I got there?

I love the idea of hummus, but since they already have a dip I was thinking of a finger food without dip and/or chips.
Click to expand...

What I would do is make the dough today and cook tomorrow before heading over to the party. I have made Alton Brown's recipe which turned out pretty good, not as good as a local German pub we have that actually uses lye to get that perfect crust, but Alton's method does give a nice crust and some of the flavor to go with it...so, if you aren't afraid of making dough check out the video of the episode .

Oh yeah, and while a good stone ground mustard is great, traditionally they are served with brushed butter or a cheese type spread called obatzda. Make sure to get pretzel salt too, it really makes a difference.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Mock Lobster Nuggets:
Cut up halibut (or other firm white fleshed fish) into 1" cubes. Cook in a large pot of water with equal parts of salt and suger (usually 1/2 to 1 cup of each) until done. Drain.
Dill Sauce:
Freshly chopped dill, pinch of cayenne mixed well into a bowl of sour cream
 
Wow, more great ideas!

I'm leaning towards pretzels, but I'd have to make them today since I have plans to be out all day tomorrow. I bet they'd crisp up in the oven.

And I happen to have a TON of lye, due to my obsessive soapmaking. :D
 
Yooper said:
Hmmmm- "soft pretzels" really sounds awesome. I would have to make them today, though. Would they still be good tomorrow, if I popped them briefly in the oven when I got there?

I love the idea of hummus, but since they already have a dip I was thinking of a finger food without dip and/or chips.
Click to expand...

Hummus taste great from a finger. The bread is a PITA. ;)
 
Yooper said:
Wow, more great ideas!

I'm leaning towards pretzels, but I'd have to make them today since I have plans to be out all day tomorrow. I bet they'd crisp up in the oven.

And I happen to have a TON of lye, due to my obsessive soapmaking. :D
Click to expand...

See, you are all setup with the handling know how and materials and making me very jealous. I was supposed to go to the Berliner (my German pub) tomorrow night and have my pretzel with a 1L of good German beer but my buddies fiance declared we had to go to the Irish place for trivia night so of course he had to support her...I'll give it a few years and then he won't cave so easy, soft pretzels are more important :).

Let me know how they turn out and if you dig up a good recipe please send it along to me.
 
Beer bread is easy. Especially if you have a large supply of bandaid beer.
 
How about steaming some wings tonight and making a simple hot sauce of Tabasco (or your favorite hot-sauce) and butter and pop them in the oven when you get there? Since you dont like cheese, you can use ranch dressing and carrot/celery for dipping sauce.

Or, if you are worried about mess...

BLTs cut into finger-sized sandwiches?
 
My Foccaccia flat bread is really tasty. Basic bread recipe with around 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive oil, two teaspoons of salt and fresh cracked black pepper in the dough. Best if you prep everying thing ahead of time and can bake at your friend's house. If not just bake it before you leave. Takes around 45 minutes.

Top with a creamed cheese spread that has chopped black olives, freshly minced garlic and black pepper.
 
Bensiff said:
See, you are all setup with the handling know how and materials and making me very jealous. I was supposed to go to the Berliner (my German pub) tomorrow night and have my pretzel with a 1L of good German beer but my buddies fiance declared we had to go to the Irish place for trivia night so of course he had to support her...I'll give it a few years and then he won't cave so easy, soft pretzels are more important :).

Let me know how they turn out and if you dig up a good recipe please send it along to me.
Click to expand...

I used Kai's recipe (braukaiser.com): http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Brezels_and_other_Laugengebäck

I have the final portion in the oven right now, and I'll grab a photo in a few minutes.

My yeast is kinda old (since I stopped eating wheat, I stopped making bread), but I proofed it and it bubbled. The pretzels didn't rise much, though. I sampled one, and I should have put more sea salt on them when I baked them but otherwise they are quite good.

Thanks to everybody who came up with great ideas. I'll remember this thread for the next time, but I had a craving for pretzels once someone mentioned it!

Now, two questions! I assume I'll just freeze these tonight, and bake until warmed tomorrow evening? I don't want them soggy.

Also, mustard? Should I bring mustard to the friend's house? Or something else? Cream cheese? I ate the sample naked so I have no idea what to put on it!
 
Photo (last 3 still in the oven):

DSCN0659.jpg
 
Watch the Basic Brewing Video Octoberfest episode last year and make your own mustard from a beer or a couple different varieties. I did it with a smoked porter for deviled eggs with success.

Just note, if you add more beer at blending time to thin it a bit, beware of exploding mustard if your blender top seals well.
 
The noble pig, a winery in Oregon, I think, has amazing recipes with beautiful pictures of each step. All the appetizers I made from there have made have gone over great at parties, and I can't cook. Noblepig.com
 
I would bring some nice crow, because that's what all the green bay fan will be eating. GO BEARS:ban:
 
Hot homemade mustard is finished, and in the fridge. I had limited ingredients (why have I never stocked brown mustard seed?!?) but it's "ok" plus I have a couple of commercial mustards.

I think it'd go spectacularly with cream cheese and jalapeno spread, but I didn't have cream cheese or jalapenos and didn't feel like a trip to the store tonight.

I stuck the pretzels in the freezer, and the plan is to just take them out frozen and pop them in the oven for a few minutes to warm up. They should stay crispy on the outside and soft inside, I hope!
 
Yooper said:
I used Kai's recipe (braukaiser.com): http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Brezels_and_other_Laugengebäck

I have the final portion in the oven right now, and I'll grab a photo in a few minutes.

My yeast is kinda old (since I stopped eating wheat, I stopped making bread), but I proofed it and it bubbled. The pretzels didn't rise much, though. I sampled one, and I should have put more sea salt on them when I baked them but otherwise they are quite good.

Thanks to everybody who came up with great ideas. I'll remember this thread for the next time, but I had a craving for pretzels once someone mentioned it!

Now, two questions! I assume I'll just freeze these tonight, and bake until warmed tomorrow evening? I don't want them soggy.

Also, mustard? Should I bring mustard to the friend's house? Or something else? Cream cheese? I ate the sample naked so I have no idea what to put on it!
Click to expand...

Those turned out nice, I'll have to use that recipe and compare to Alton's repurposed bagel dough...just don't know if I will use the lye, maybe just use the less aggressive baking soda. I'd guess freezing would be best. I like a nice ale mustard myself, something like a brown ale goes nicely or an easy going porter like Black Butte. But, sounds like you are already done with decisions and have everything done. Cheers.
 
Looks good, Yoop. Homemade mustards usually need a week or so to really mellow out and be at their peak (some of the more complex ones even more time). Kinda like beer!
 
FYI popcorn popper is called a pan with lid... Just sayin.


But those pretzels trump popcorn every moment of every day, so....

But I'd do the Atomic Buffalo Turds. In fact, I plan on having those for the tailgate at next week's WMU Bronco Football game! Trying to talk my wife into making some chili to heat up in the parking lot as well. Maybe some brats and/or burgers.
 
PseudoChef said:
Looks good, Yoop. Homemade mustards usually need a week or so to really mellow out and be at their peak (some of the more complex ones even more time). Kinda like beer!
Click to expand...

We ended up eating the mustard on some brats before going to my friend's house, and it was hot but in a good way! I know to make it a week in advance the next time.

The pretzels were a HUGE hit. The host ate all of his (3!) plain, without mustard, anyway. (I brought two kinds of commercial mustard). He loved them, and said that pretzels were exactly the right thing.

They lye/water is very easy, but it's good to be cautious if you don't have experience with lye as it does have very serious consequences. Since I"m still making tiny batches of soap at least weekly, I'm pretty comfortable with lye and the utensils (never aluminum!) and stuff.

The pretzels were "pretzel" tasting, and were exactly right. I've seen some other recipes were people review them and say they are too "bready" or yeasty or something. These tasted just like a hot pretzel, the good kind. No bagel/bread flavor in it, just great pretzel taste. I use sea salt, as I didn't have any Kosher salt, and I didn't put on quite enough. It was still good, but I like a little more salt on mine.

Of course, as I was eating mine I thought about those Aunt Annie pretzels I see that have all kinds of toppings- and I think a cream cheese/jalapeno combination would have worked well with that pretzel and the Summit Saga IPA I had with it.

Seeing the Packers win made it even more satisfying. :D
 
When I bought pretzel salt 2 years ago, I got it off ebay for like $2. It lasts forever, and rimming a glass with it makes the best margarita ever if you are into that sort of thing.

This just gave me an idea... what if you used the same pretzel dough to make a roll or a bun, and put a mini cheesesteak in it??
 
CreamyGoodness said:
When I bought pretzel salt 2 years ago, I got it off ebay for like $2. It lasts forever, and rimming a glass with it makes the best margarita ever if you are into that sort of thing.

This just gave me an idea... what if you used the same pretzel dough to make a roll or a bun, and put a mini cheesesteak in it??
Click to expand...

We were trying to come up with tailgate ideas the other day and I think we decided on chili this weekend.

But Cheesesteak Sandwiches would be AWESOME! I might even break with tradition and put some jalepenos on mine!
 
We loved these pretzels so much- and they definitely tasted "pretzely" and not "bready". I think a cheesesteak sandwich with them would be awesome.

Homer, I bet the next time you come visit that I'll be serving pretzels and mustard!
 
Yooper said:
We loved these pretzels so much- and they definitely tasted "pretzely" and not "bready". I think a cheesesteak sandwich with them would be awesome.

Homer, I bet the next time you come visit that I'll be serving pretzels and mustard!
Click to expand...

Ok! I'm busy next few weekends, but maybe middle of October?? ;)
 
Ugh.. I hate myself. I have just decided that I NEED to make some of these pretzels for this weekend. Just have to make sure my lye solution is food grade. I've tried before without using lye and they were not very good.

EDIT: Nope, just 100% lye drain opener. For the price of food grade lye, I'll buy more. And I'll have plenty on hand for soapmaking and BOM BMAKING
 
Homercidal said:
Ugh.. I hate myself. I have just decided that I NEED to make some of these pretzels for this weekend. Just have to make sure my lye solution is food grade. I've tried before without using lye and they were not very good.

EDIT: Nope, just 100% lye drain opener. For the price of food grade lye, I'll buy more. And I'll have plenty on hand for soapmaking and BOM BMAKING
Click to expand...

There is a brand of lye at Ace Hardware that is 100% sodium hydroxide drain opening, but I used it in soapmaking and I read on a soap forum that it IS ok for food. That doesn't mean it's true, of course, but you might actually have a food-grade lye.
 
Yooper said:
There is a brand of lye at Ace Hardware that is 100% sodium hydroxide drain opening, but I used it in soapmaking and I read on a soap forum that it IS ok for food. That doesn't mean it's true, of course, but you might actually have a food-grade lye.
Click to expand...

I have used it for soapmaking, but 100% lye might mean 100% lye suitable for industrial purposes... I don't know. I think if they made it safe for eating they would have put it on the label. Or maybe they just didn't want to spend money and time to get an actual certification from the FDA??

2 lbs of Food Grade lye from Amazon is like $5 plus shipping. I think I can swing that.
 
Homercidal said:
I have used it for soapmaking, but 100% lye might mean 100% lye suitable for industrial purposes... I don't know. I think if they made it safe for eating they would have put it on the label. Or maybe they just didn't want to spend money and time to get an actual certification from the FDA??

2 lbs of Food Grade lye from Amazon is like $5 plus shipping. I think I can swing that.
Click to expand...

Meh, just tell your guests that not only can they enjoy the pretzel now, they won't have any plumbing problems later. :D
 
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top