Super Bowl LVI, the 56th Super Bowl game, is scheduled to be played Sunday, Feb. 13. Like many others, I’ll be watching the game, having a few beers and snacking on salty and spicy foods. Sure, it’s easy to order a pizza to be delivered, but I can do that any night of the week. With a little prep on Saturday and some effort on Sunday, I can have wings, sliders, pretzels and cheese: a party spread so tasty I won’t even care about the point spread! So no matter what team you root for, kick back enjoy the game, the comradery and the great food!

Baked Honey Sriracha Wings

Yield: Approx. 25 wings

• 5 pounds chicken wings
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ounce vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

Glaze

• 6 ounces unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup Sriracha
• 2 ounce soy sauce
• Juice of 3 limes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

To make the glaze, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Stir in honey, Sriracha, soy sauce and lime juice. Bring to a boil; simmer until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine wings, butter, vegetable oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.

Place wings onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, using metal tongs to turn once. Brush wings with Sriracha glaze and continue to cook for 15 more minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro and sesame seeds, if desired.

Andollie Sliders with Caramelized Onions and Creole Mustard

Yield: 12 sliders

Make the creole mustard, form the burger patties and caramelize the onions a day in advance to save time on game day!

Burgers

• 8 ounce Andoullie sausage
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 small shallot, chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 12 pretzel roll buns

Caramelized Onions

• 1/4 cup vidalia onion, peeled and thin sliced lengthwise
• 1/4 cup of olive oil

Creole Mayo

• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon of creole seasoning

Add sausage, shallot and egg to a food processor and pulse until ground.

In a large bowl mix by hand sausage mixture, ground beef, salt and pepper until all ingredients are combined. Form into 2 ounce patties and refrigerate the day before grilling.

Preheat grill pan until smoking hot.

Remove patties from refrigerator and let come to room temp before grilling.

Cook about 3 minutes per side for medium rare, longer for well done.

Make the creole mayo by mixing mayo, creole seasoning, Worcestershire and hot sauce in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until combined. Store in the refrigerator.

Caramelizing onions

This can be done days in advance and kept in the refrigerator.

In a large skillet pan heat oil over medium high heat until hot. Add onions and cooking for about 15 minutes stirring often. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking (stirring often) until onions are deep golden brown.

Crispy Wonton Mozzarella Sticks

Yield; 24

Assemble in advance and freeze on a baking sheet until game day.

• 1 package mozzarella string cheese, or 1 pound block of mozzarella
• 24 wonton wrappers
• 2 egg whites
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Italian seasoning to taste
• grated fresh parmesan to garnish

Cut string cheese into 3 equal pieces or cut block of cheese into 24 pieces that are about ½ an inch wide and 1½ inches long.

Place a wonton wrapper in front of you in the shape of a diamond. Use a pastry brush to brush egg white on the surface of the wrapper.

Place string cheese in the center.

Fold in the north and south diamond corners then take the eastern corner and roll it around the cheese until the whole thing is completely covered.

Seal up the corners. If the seals don't feel secure, brush with a little more egg white and press together.

Repeat with remaining cheese and wrappers.

Heat fry oil in a deep pot to about 375 degrees. Carefully drop mozzarella sticks into the oil and fry until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.

Remove from oil and place on a plate. Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Top with grated parmesan.

Serve HOT with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Soft Pretzel Bites

Yield: 5-6 dozen

Pretzels

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• Vegetable oil
• 3 quarts water
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
• Coarse sea salt

Chipotle Bacon Queso Cheese Sauce

• 1 (16 ounce) package Queso Fresco cheese
• 1 (12 ounce) can Ro*tel
• ½ cup cooked bacon, chopped
• 1 can (7 ounce) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

For the pretzels: Combine the 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.

Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

(Once it has risen, dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Just remove from fridge and let dough come to room temp before boiling in the baking soda bath.)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring the 3 quarts of water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring 22 inches and shape. Cut the dough into one inch pieces to make the pretzel bites. Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches. We did about 15 bites at a time. Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon. Place pretzel bites on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.

Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. Serve with cheese sauce.

For the cheese sauce: Combine all ingredients except bacon in microwavable bowl, stir to combine. Microwave on med 1-2 minutes stirring after each minute. Continue to microwave and stir until melted. Top with cooked, chopped bacon.

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Baking/Pastry, and Value-Added Local Food, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.