Anti-Superbowl Party -- A Much Belated Account

Ninjahusband and I are both completely disinterested in watching sports. We can both think of dozens of things we'd rather do than watch a sporting event. Thus, it's become somewhat of a tradition in our house to have an Anti-Superbowl Party, where we play video games and eat copious amounts of amazing food. This year we had my good friends Dean & Kristina, the Wondersisters, and Supertoddler's girlfriend {Super H} and her family over. We had an amazing time eating and playing Rock Band while laughing, talking, and creating a general ruckus.

The menu was elaborate and took a lot of effort, but was completely delicious. I served:

Phyllo-Wrapped Asparagus Spears and Stuffed Mushrooms drizzed with truffle oil {pictured above}

A Variety of Dips: creamy hummus, blended salsa, smooth guacamole, and butternut squash dip, served with whole grain and blue corn tortilla chips

Mediterranean Pizza: hummus "sauce", sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, greek olives, and roasted red peppers

Veggie Patch Pizza: carrot butter pate, slivered red onions, shoestring beets, and broccoli

Thai Pizza: creamy peanut sauce, red bell pepper, grated carrots, bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, and cilantro

Taco Pizza: enchilada sauce, Mexican-style "ground beef", Favorite Cheese Sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and vegan sour cream {this was the favorite of the evening}

For dessert there was Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Cheesecake and fudge {not pictured}.

After that much work in the kitchen, it was nice to relax and hang out with my friends, and enjoy all that great food with them!

Pretty Much the Best Hummus of All Time

Come to find out, I have been making hummus incorrectly my whole life. Come to find out, I've really been making "chickpea mash".

Lately I've been craving that really creamy, tangy hummus you get at middle eastern restaurants, but could not re-create it at home to save my life. I knew I had all the ingredients, right, I knew that I was adding enough liquid to get the right consistency, so why was it pasty or "mashy", rather than creamy and delicious?

On a desperate mission to find the knowledge I sought, I pored over dozens of recipes, looking for something different, anything different, that might help me finally make the perfect hummus. I came across this recipe on VegWeb, called Creamy Hummus, Restaurant Style. It introduced the concept of creating an emulsion between your tahini and your lemon juice BEFORE adding any other ingredients. Genius! Why hadn't I thought of that sooner?

Carefully following my new-found technique, I made the batch of hummus pictured above. It was...incredible. Just like the illusive hummus from my beloved restaurants.

Pretty Much the Best Hummus of All Time

4 tbsp tahini
4 tbsp lemon juice
1+ cloves of garlic, smashed {I used just one and it was plenty garlicky enough, you may use more if you must, for warding off vampires or something}
14 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
olive oil
water
salt
garnish of choice

1. Emulsify the tahini and lemon juice in your blender or food processor until very creamy, at least a minute or two. Add the garlic and puree until smooth.

2. Slowly start adding your chickpeas, one small handful at a time. Alternate additions of chickpeas with drizzles of olive oil and water, adding salt occasionally. Taste and check the texture often, and stop adding olive oil, water, chickpeas, and salt when you have a hummus with the taste and texture of your dreams.

3. Serve drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with your garnish of choice {mine was influenced by my addiction to smoked paprika}.

You may not use all the chickpeas in the can {although I did}, and as much as I loathe to give you quantities {this is really best done by eye/taste}, I think I used 2 - 3 tbsp of olive oil and 4 tbsp of water, total.

Aaaaand I just remembered that I have leftover hummus in my fridge. Until next time...