Chef Anthony Chevalier, lecturer at the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, teaches Creole Cuisine. One lesson each year is called the Touchdown Twenty: How to Throw a Football Party for Your Friends for About $20 (with many items you already have in your kitchen).
"Football is exciting, and the food you serve should enhance that," Chevalier said. "My promise is that you can take that $20 and get plenty of food for a party of six, and make sure they get full! And you don't have to do a lot of shopping either."
FIRST DOWN: Deviled Eggs
Ingredients: Eggs, mayo, mustard, spices. Cost: $2.25. Servings: 6.
1 dozen eggs
¾ cup of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of mustard
½ teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
Boil eggs for 15 minutes, let cool for 30 minutes. Cut eggs in half (the long way). Take the yolks out (carefully) and put them in a mixing bowl. Set the egg whites aside on a serving platter. In the mixing bowl, add all of the other ingredients and mix until smooth and creamy. Pipe the mix into the egg whites (or spoon it in if you don't have a piping tool), sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.
SECOND DOWN: Guacamole and Homemade Chips
Ingredients: Avocado, tomato, onion, minced garlic, corn tortillas. Cost: $2.50. Servings 6.
Dip:
2 avocados
1 clove of garlic, diced
1 small tomato, diced
½ white onion, diced
1 lime
½ teaspoon of salt
Peel the avocado and put it in a mixing bowl. Mash up until smooth. Then add the onion, tomato, garlic and salt. Mix well, top with the juice of the lime and chill for 30 minutes
Chips:
1 package of corn tortillas
Frying oil
Cut the tortilla into triangles. Heat oil to 375. Drop tortilla slices into oil (the oil should bubble up around the slices when it's hot enough). Fry for 90 seconds. Remove from grease, season if desired and serve.
THIRD DOWN: Pigskin Potatoes
Ingredients: Red potatoes, bacon, spices, mayo, ketchup. Cost: $3.25. Servings: 6.
10 red potatoes
Frying oil
Zatarain's Creole seasoning
1 pack of bacon
Heat oil to 375 degrees. Quarter the potatoes and drop the slices into the oil. Fry for 7 minutes. Partially cook the bacon, so it's still very soft but not raw. Take fried potatoes out, season them with Zatarain's, then wrap the bacon around each piece of potato. Secure with toothpick. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes until bacon is crisp. Serve with dipping sauce
Dipping Sauce
1 cup of mayonnaise
½ cup of ketchup
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
Mix all ingredients together, cool for 30 minutes. Serve with Pigskin Potatoes.
TOUCHDOWN: Crawfish pasta
Cost: $12. Servings: 6+
1 lb. crawfish tails
1 regular package of spaghetti
1 large can of Rotel diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons of Zattaran's seasoning
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons of black pepper
1 stick of butter
1 large can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
Wash and clean crawfish tails. Boil spaghetti, set aside. Melt butter in frying pan, add onion, bell pepper and Rotel. Saute until very tender, then add spices. Stir, then add soup. Mix well, then add crawfish. Add spaghetti, mix well.
EXTRA POINT: Peach Cobbler
1 cup of buttermilk
1 large can of sliced peaches
1 stick of butter
1 cup of self-rising flour
1 cup of sugar
Cinnamon to taste
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in baking pan, then pour peaches (with the juice from the can) on top of the butter. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour and buttermilk. Wisk well, then pour over peaches and butter. Sprinkle cinnamon on top and bake for 40 minutes.
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