Super weekend for cooking

This is quite the weekend for people who like to cook – Chinese New Year and a little ol’ thing called the Super Bowl, which may be celebrated as much for food as for football. For Chinese New Year, I’ll let my friend Linda Shiue tell the story  about the dumplings she makes with her daughters. Francis Lam of Salon.com has a funny story, too, about stuffing his gut with all kinds of dumpling deliciousness.

 As for Super Bowl party food, I should confess that I’m not really a football fan. I wrote this story last year, which pretty much sums up everything I know about football. I included a recipe for Smoky Tuna Dip with Paprika and Lime, a little something I came up with when I couldn’t find real smoked tuna. It’s a tasty and simple dip, a nice addition to a Super Bowl spread. I do know that the big game will take place in Texas, so I’m offering my Texas Caviar with Home-baked Lime Tortilla Chips. Texas caviar is a black-eyed pea relish that is absolutely yummy, and it’s a healthy choice for the menu, too.

Now, one holiday I can wrap my brain around is World Nutella Day, today - "Nutella Lovers Unite for Just One Day!" We love Nutella in our house – the hazelnut and chocolate spread is used in sandwiches and sweets. Coincidentally, yesterday was Show and Tell for the letter “N” at preschool, and my baby girl carried a jar of Nutella to show her class.

I first tasted a Nutella milkshake at Flip Burger, Top Chef contender Richard Blais’ upscale burger shop in Atlanta (there’s a Birmingham location, too). He makes his with liquid nitrogen and breaks out blowtorch for the burnt marshmallow garnish. Through the magic of Google, I came across this recipe for a Nutella milkshake and I have to say, it’s brilliant. Chocolate ice cream, milk, and a generous squidge of Nutella. No canister of liquid nitrogen involved. The real genius move, though, is the toasted marshmallow topping made without a blowtorch, but in the toaster oven.

Enjoy your weekend!