Super Bowl 2019: Recipes, Snacks with Patriots vs. Rams Theme

Everyone can find a reason to enjoy Super Bowl 53. Football fans obviously want to watch the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams compete for the NFL's biggest prize. Even those who aren't big-time football fans can use the Super Bowl as an opportunity to spend time with friends and family in pseudo-holiday fashion.

The Super Bowl is, above all else, a social event—and what social event would be complete without the proper spread? Food and drink are at the center of every great Super Bowl party, and if you're hosting or at least bringing a dish along (every good guest should), you'll want to bring the goods.

While you can never go wrong with pizza and wings, those looking to be a hit at their Super Bowl party will want to be a bit more creative. So, why not go all-in on the Super Bowl theme and base your dish or dishes on the teams involved?

Here are some of the top recipes from around the web that will allow you to do exactly that.

Appetizers

Avocado Fries

Larry Crowe/Associated Press

Nothing screams California like fresh avocados. Here's a quick and delicious recipe for avocado fries from Lena Abraham of delish.com. While one batch only yields four servings, with a 15-minute total time, making several batches won't put a huge dent in your day.

It's worth noting, though, that you will need an air fryer for this one.

Ingredients

• 1 c. panko bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. Paprika
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 2 avocados, sliced

Directions

1. In a bowl, whisk together panko, garlic powder, and paprika. Place flour in another shallow bowl, and in a third shallow bowl beat eggs.

2. One at a time, dip avocado slices into flour, then egg, then panko mixture until fully coated. 

3. Place in air fryer and fry at 400° for 10 minutes. 

Fries can either be served by themselves or with a dipping sauce of your choice. Either way, they should be a hit.

Crab and Bacon Dip

If you're looking to make your own dip, why not go with some crab and bacon dip? New Englanders love their seafood, and you can never go wrong with adding bacon. Here's a simple, yet indulgent recipe from Julie Menghini of HostessAtHeart.com.

There's no baking involved here, just some simple mixing and refrigeration. This is a perfect dish to make a day or two ahead of time if your schedule necessitates.

Ingredients

• 4 oz. crab meat
• 1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1 tbsp. chives
• 1/4 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
• crumbled bacon

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream on medium speed until smooth.

2. Shred the crab and stir in all of the remaining ingredients except for the bacon pieces.

3. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

4. Garnish with chives and bacon just before serving.

If you're familiar with cream-cheese based dips, you know that frail chips are simply going to break off. Try thick crackers, pita chips or bagel chips.

Main Dishes

Lobster Rolls

Diane Bondareff/Associated Press

You may expect to see New England clam chowder here, but that's a little too obvious. Instead, let's turn to another Boston staple—the lobster roll. This is a dish your fellow revelers are sure to enjoy, and as long as you're using pre-packaged lobster meat, it's another quick one.

This is another recipe that only serves four, but once again, the quick prep time means you can make several batches in under an hour.

The following recipe is from Jamie Deen and Bobby Deen of FoodNetwork.com. If you're looking for a recipe using live lobsters, that can be found on the website.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. lobster meat
  
• 1/2 c. mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• 4 rolls, lightly toasted
• melted butter

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the lobster meat, mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

2. Brush cut sides of the rolls with melted butter and fill with lobster salad.  

That's it! The only baking that needs to be done here is the toasting of the rolls. Therefore, the lobster salad can be mixed the day before your Super Bowl bash and you can toast up the rolls on game day. This is especially handy if you're bringing this with you to a party—just be sure to ask for a few minutes of oven time before you arrive.

You can even use hot dog buns for this one and make several smaller lobster rolls for bigger groups.

Fish Tacos With Corn Slaw

Richard Vogel/Associated Press

Street food is king in Southern California, and one could argue that the taco is the king of street foods. Below is a wonderful fish taco recipe from Lauren Miyashiro of Delish.com.

This one has a longer total preparation time of 35 minutes due to the marination involved. If you're making several batches, though—and you'll want to—those can marinate at the same time, cutting down on your total time.

Taco Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• lime juice
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 lb. cod
• 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• 8 corn tortillas

Corn Salsa Ingredients

• 1/2 c. mayonnaise
• lime juice
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 2 c. shredded purple cabbage
• 1 c. corn
• 1 minced jalapeno pepper

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper.

2. Add cod, tossing until evenly coated. Let marinate 15 minutes. 

3. While fish is marinating, make slaw: In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, lime juice, cilantro, and honey. Stir in cabbage, corn, and jalapeño. Season with salt and pepper. 

4. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat vegetable oil. Remove cod from marinade and season both sides of each filet with salt and pepper. Add fish. Cook until opaque and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Let rest 5 minutes before flaking.

5. Serve fish over grilled tortillas with corn slaw and avocado.

Tacos can be served with sour cream, lemon or lime juice or guacamole for garnish. These are also great with a side of chips and salsa and/or rice and beans.

Dessert

Donuts

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

There's one thing both Los Angeles and Boston have in common—at least as far as foodies are concerned. Both have a slew of terrific donut spots. So why not give a nod to each city and serve up some fresh donuts at halftime?

Making donuts at home can be a daunting task, but here's a quick and easy recipe from Jessica at Butter With a Side of Bread.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. melted butter
• 2-3 tbsp. milk
• 1 tbsp. corn syrup
• 1/4 c. melted chocolate chips
• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 2 c. 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 F.

5. Once oil is ready, drop donuts in and let cook for about 2 minutes, then turn and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove and place on a plate covered with a paper towel.

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

These donuts are best served warm (like all donuts). If you're interested in cutting down on prep time, you can also use premixed chocolate or flavored glaze.

If you want to lean harder into the Super Bowl theme, use blue glaze or icing and top the donuts with colored sprinkles—silver for the Patriots and gold for the Rams, who are wearing their blue and yellow throwbacks for the big game.