Super Spread for Super Bowl Bash, on a Budget

The big game is just a day away.

And if you still haven't planned the menu for your Super Bowl party, consider this the "two minute" warning!

But "The Early Show on Saturday Morning" tossed a touchdown pass, serving up award-winning chef, entrepreneur and author David Burke as its "Chef on a Shoestring."

He's considered a true trailblazer of American cooking and is one of the most respected chefs in the country.

Just this week, David opened David Burke Kitchen in New York's James Hotel.

"Early Show" Recipes Galore!
Special Section: Super Bowl XLV

In May 2009, he was inducted into the "Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America" by the James Beard Foundation. That same month, he won the distinctive Menu Masters award from Nation's Restaurant News as one of the nation's most celebrated innovators.

David is the man behind such restaurants as David Burke at Bloomingdale's, Fishtail, David Burke Prime, Primehouse, and Fromagerie.

As our Super Bowl "Chef on a Shoestring," he prepared a menu full of tasty treats for the big game.

David's menu included Seared Salmon Tacos with Guacamole, Shrimp Dumplings, sliders, Wild Mushroom and Chicken Chili, Baked Soy Wings, and Black Pepper Beef Sticks with Horseradish and Chive Pancakes.

And since this is a special day, we gave him $80 to work with - double our usual amount.

Usually - though not this week, considering our "inflated" budget - our "Shoestring" chefs are entered in our "How Low Can You Go" competition - the "Shoestringer" whose ingredients total is lowest will be invited back to prep our year-end holiday feast.

FOOD FACTS

(Source: Epicuirous.com)

Dumpling: Savory dumplings are small or large mounds of dough that are usually dropped into a liquid mixture (such as soup or stew) and cooked until done. Some are stuffed with meat or cheese mixtures. Dessert dumplings most often consist of a fruit mixture encased in a sweet pastry dough and baked. They're usually served with a sauce. Some sweet dumplings are poached in a sweet sauce and served with cream.

Wonton: A Chinese specialty similar to an Italian ravioli. These bite-size dumplings consist of paper-thin dough pillows filled with a minced mixture of meat, seafood and/or vegetables. The dough comes prepackaged as wonton skins. Won tons may be boiled, steamed or deep-fried and served as an appetizer, snack or side dish, usually with several sauces. They are, of course, intrinsic to wonton soup.

Chili sauce: A spicy blend of tomatoes, chiles or chili powder, onions, green peppers, vinegar, sugar and spices. This ketchup like sauce is used as a condiment.

Horseradish: This ancient herb is a native of eastern Europe but now grows in other parts of Europe as well as the United States. Though it has spiky green leaves that can be used in salads, horseradish is grown mainly for its large, white, pungently spicy roots. Fresh horseradish is available in many supermarkets. Choose roots that are firm with no sign of blemishes or withering. Horseradish should be refrigerated, wrapped in a plastic bag, and peeled before using. It's most often grated and used in sauces or as a condiment with fish or meat. Bottled horseradish is available white (preserved in vinegar), and red (in beet juice). Also available is dried horseradish, which must be reconstituted before using.

RECIPES

Seared Salmon Tacos with Guacamole

Ingredients:
8 ounces salmon
salt
pepper
2 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoon barbeque sauce
24 fried/crisp small taco shells
12 ounces guacamole
salsa
cilantro
raw onions

Steps:
•  Sauté salmon with salt, pepper and olive oil
•  Cook salmon rare
•  Allow salmon to cool
•  Dice salmon into 1/2 inch cubes
•  Blend barbeque with salmon
•  Add guacamole into taco shells
•  Top taco shells with salmon with raw onions, cilantro and salsa

Shrimp Dumplings

Ingredients:
16 shrimp or 1 pound
1/4 pound butter
wonton skins
1 tablespoon lemon zest
salt and pepper
3 tablespoon chives

Steps:
•  Chop shrimp
•  Puree butter and shrimp in food processor
•  Lay out wonton skins
•  Add 1 ounce pureed shrimp and butter to each wonton skin
•  Add skewer
•  Chill in refrigerator
•  Boil in water for 3-4 minutes
•  Serve with soy sauce (add lemon juice to soy sauce)

Sliders

Ingredients:
24 2 ounce beef patties
24 slices American cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked crispy
ketchup
24 potato buns

Steps:
•  Grill patties rare
•  Top with cheese, bacon and ketchup
•  Add to small potato bun

Baked Angry Soy Wings

Ingredients:
10 Chinese chicken wings
2 ounces sweet chili sauce
2 ounces sesame mustard sauce
1/4 ounce cilantro
1/4 cup scallions
sesame seeds
cayenne pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce

Steps:
•  Bake wings until crispy
•  Toss wings with sweet chili sauce
•  Sprinkle sesame seeds on wings
•  Top with cilantro and scallions
•  Add cayenne pepper and soy sauce to make "angry"

For many more recipes, go to Page 2.

Black Pepper Beef Sticks with Horseradish and Chive Pancakes

Ingredients:
12-15 ounces flank steak
salt
black pepper
2 teaspoons tobasco sauce
2 ounces Worcestershire sauce
4 ounces ketchup

Steps:
•  Marinate flank steaks with salt and pepper
•  Cut beef into strips (24)
•  Put on skewer
•  Combine Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and tobacco sauce
•  Broil beef on skewers
•  Paint on sauce and serve

Add pancakes

Pancakes with Chives

Ingredients:
1 box pancake mix (1 pint of batter or 1 pound)
1/2 cup chives
lemon zest of one lemon

Steps:
•  Make small silver dollar pancakes, 3 inch in diameter
•  Top with chives and lemon zest

Wild Mushroom and Chicken Chili

Ingredients:
4 bone in chicken breasts
8 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 small onion chopped
4 garlic cloves sliced
2 medium jalapenos peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 pound dry white beans
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cumin
1-3 inch piece cinnamon stick
2 cups grated white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
1/4 cup flat parsley, chopped
1 cup mushrooms

Steps:
•  In a saucepan bring the chicken pieces and stock to a simmer over medium-high heat
•  Lower the heat to medium and poach chicken
•  Skim off layer of fat
•  Remove chicken from broth and let cool
•  Reserve the stock in the pan
•  Remove and discard the skin and bones from chicken
•  Shred the chicken meat, cover and refrigerate
•  In large pot heat oil over medium-high heat
•  Add onions, mushrooms, celery, garlic and jalapeno-sauté for 10 minutes
•  Stir in shredded chicken and sautéed vegetable and season with salt and pepper

How did David fare with our $80 budget?

Shrimp Dumplings
shrimp $7.99
wonton skins $2.39
total $10.38

Beef Sticks
flank steak $7.99
Worcestershire sauce $3.75
pancake mix $1.99
chives $.99
lemon $.59
total $15.31

Salmon Tacos
salmon $6.99
bbq sauce $2.09
taco shells $3.39
guacamole $3.49
salsa $1.99
cilantro $1.99
raw onions $.89
total $20.83

Sliders
ground beef $2.99
cheese $2.24
bacon $2.00
potato buns $2.89
total $10.12

Chicken Wings
chicken wings $3.99
scallions $.69
sesame seeds $.89
cayenne pepper $.89
soy sauce $2.19
total $8.65

Chicken Chili
chicken $2.39
chicken stock $2.99
onion $.89
garlic $.39
jalapeno peppers $.18
white beans $1.39
cumin $.89
cheddar cheese $2.24
parsley $.99
total $12.35

Grand total: $77.64