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Super Bowl Like a Chef

Super Bowl Like a Chef

by | Jan 20, 2025 | Eat, February 2025

We tapped local MVPs to whip up Super Bowl party recipes based on F&B trends.

Mocktails, vegan, retro… Down, set, hike to the snack table to Super Bowl party like a pro—because we all know the only thing that really matters during those Super Bowl parties are the food and drinks—and the halftime show, obv (hey, Kendrick!). This year, instead of bringing a 12-pack of cheap beer and a sad store-bought snack tray to the function, we rec whipping up one (or all) of these recipes handcrafted by local chefs and mixologists around trending bites and bevs. … We promise they’re gonna be a touchdown (had to). 

So Retro
Vinnie’s Steakhouse & Tavern

It’s not a Super Bowl party without dips. Period. Spark nostalgia with chef/GM Tom Armstrong’s riff on Lipton onion soup dip (hey, retro soup packets!)—an OG staple he grew up on, with his mom oft making it for parties. “It was always my favorite thing,” he says. “If I were only making one thing to eat while watching the game, this would be it.”

Charred Onion & Chive Dip

► 1 large red onion
► 2 cups sour cream
► 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
► 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
► Hot sauce to taste
► Coarse sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
► 1/4 cup fresh chives or green onion, sliced 
► Canola oil

Peel and cut onion into 3 to 4 thick slices. Rub with a little canola oil and set aside. In a hot cast-iron skillet, char the onions on both sides until black on the outside and cooked on the inside (~10 mins). Remove from pan; season lightly with salt. Once cooled, dice onions and, in a bowl, combine with sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, hot sauce and chives. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve with potato chips.

Flair for the Dramatic
The Merchant

Taking your cocktail game to new heights—and making Miller High Life boujee (we never thought we’d see the day!)—is bartender Jacob Baker of The Merchant fame and his casual-cool Instagrammable bevy that’s perf for traditionalists and die-hard beer fans alike. Cheers to that!

Fideo

► 2 oz. mezcal
► .75 oz. grapefruit juice
► .75 oz. lime juice
► .75 oz. Aperol
► .5 oz. agave syrup
► Mini Miller High Life

Combine all ingredients but the High Life into a shaker and shake vigorously. Dump into glass and top with more ice. Open Miller High Life and place in drink.

Vegan Ease
Glasshouse Kitchen

Who said vegans don’t enjoy game-time grub?! Your plant-loving friend can get just as much in on the action with Glasshouse Kitchen Chef de Cuisine Chris Freed’s riff on loaded baked potato bites made with nary a touch of dairy. Decreasing your animal byproduct intake yet still eatin’ good? How super.

Vegan Bites Super Bowl Snack Wye Hill

Vegan Baked Potato Bites + White Bean Veggie “Sour Cream”

► 10 fingerling potatoes
► 2 cups canned navy beans, drained
► 3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
► 1⁄4 cup lemon juice
► 2 tsp. garlic powder
► 1 tsp. onion powder
► 2 red bell peppers, deseeded and diced
► 3 jalapenos, deseeded and diced
► 1 thinly sliced shallot
► 1 tsp. chili powder
► 1 tsp. smoked paprika
► Salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Wrap the fingerling potatoes in foil and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Slice in half, scoop some flesh out and fill with White Bean Veggie “Sour Cream” filling. Bake for 15 more minutes. Garnish with Frank’s “crema” (make the “sour cream” without peppers, shallot, chili powder and paprika and mix with Frank’s RedHot), crispy potato skins (peel the skin from one potato, cook in oil until crispy, toss with salt and pepper, and crumble like bacon bits) and thinly sliced scallions. 

In the Spirit-Free
Fox Liquor Bar

Going dry is having a moment. Whip up this delicious concoction courtesy of former Best Bartender nom of Fox fame Zoë Palmer for your sober friends—or those who just decided to extend their Dry January. Your booze-loving pals may even find themselves reaching for a glass or two… and we promise they won’t even miss the alcohol. 

Do Your Job

► 3/4 oz. Seedlip NA spirit
► 3/4 oz. cinnamon simple syrup
► 3/4 oz. hibiscus tea
► 3/4 oz. tart cherry juice
► 1/4 oz. grapefruit juice

Shake all ingredients; then strain in a coupe glass or over ice; top with a cherry garnish (optional).

Cracking Inspiration

Cracking Inspiration

by | Aug 29, 2023 | Eat, September 2023

The Bear was a huge inspiration for chefs, including Ashley Christensen

Turns out eggs are more than just eggs. Whether or not you’ve watched season two of The Bear yet, you’ve likely seen the omelet from the show that immediately whipped the internet into a viral frenzy—and basically changed the way we think about eggs. Feeding a famished Natalie (Abby Elliott) on the fly, chef de cuisine Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) couldn’t just cook up any ole omelet. 

Elevating the breakfast staple, she starts by whisking eggs in a fine-mesh sieve, fills the omelet with Boursin cheese, and tops it with chives and crushed potato chips. Potato chips! On an omelet! Groundbreaking, really. 

The impressive hack inspired both home cooks and professional chefs alike, including Raleigh’s own Ashley Christensen (of Poole’s, Death & Taxes, Beasley’s, and Fox Liquor Bar fame). “I love this scene in The Bear,” she muses, “as eggs cooked that gently can be so comforting, and so much more than just eggs and cheese.” 

Christensen likens the masterpiece to that of heralded chef Ludo Lefebvre’s omelet on the menu of his California-based Parisian bistro Petit Trois. On an early episode of Selena + Chef with Selena Gomez, he walks through a step-by-step cooking demo of the tasty dish, teaching novice cooks how to produce a Bear-worthy French omelet of their own. 

“To me, the key is always the low temperature of the pan, and the confidence to work the eggs vigorously and quickly in the first moment, and then to let them be,” says Christensen. “The warmth of the eggs warms the cheese perfectly, and letting the omelet rest its way to done—versus taking it all the way over the heat—seals the deal.”

While eggs may be a simple meal, The Bear proves they can be so much more than just a quick breakfast. Here, some additional tips from local chefs to up your egg game.

Ashley Christensen

“You can use that sieve trick with cooked eggs too. For the best deviled eggs, puree your hard-boiled egg yolks with creme fraiche, cornichon juice and mustard until smooth, then pass through a fine-mesh sieve to get a fluffy, buttery texture.” Another pro tip: “Add cottage cheese to scrambled or baked eggs to help freezer-proof them, keeping them fluffy when they’re reheated.”

Giorgios Bakatsias

“An omelet made with quality ingredients is one of life’s simple luxuries. Start with beautiful ingredients, like fresh eggs and herbs. Add a soft cheese, and be gentle.”

Coleen Speaks

“I have my own twist on an omelet using leftover chili. Begin by putting butter in a pan and cooking the eggs in one layer over low. Then top with chili and cheese, and stick under the broiler. Slide it out of the pan; fold the egg over; and top with sour cream and green onions.”