Superbowl Recipes and Hard Cider Recommendations

Greetings everyone! We here at Ciderpress hope that everyone is staying warm through this cold weather that is sweeping some of the country. How many of you are ready for Superbowl Sunday? It's a great time of the year to curl up on the couch and watch some football, and you can't do that without food. It's pretty much a scientific law that Superbowl Sunday is only second to Thanksgiving when it comes to comfort food. Hawke and I have come up with some of our favorite football food recipes to share with you. But this post wouldn't be complete without pairing those goodies with hard cider! Since some of us are trying to be healthy this time of year we thought it would be fitting to offer some options to these recipes to make them more diet friendly....where it's possible.

#1  Curried Ground Pork Chili (Vegetarian Option)

1/2 cup Quinoa (rinsed) + 1 cup of water
1-2 pounds of ground pork
1 med onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced  (add more if you want more spice)
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped (combine different colors for more flavor)
1 zucchini, peeled and chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
3 cans of chili beans, drain half way
3 cans of diced tomatoes (with juice)
2 cans of tomato sauce
Use salt, pepper, chili powder, and a pinch or two of sugar depending on taste.
2 Tablespoons of ground Cumin
3 Tablespoons of Curry Powder

**For the Vegetarian option, just remove the pork from the recipe!
Top with sour cream, (or greek yogurt) shredded cheese, or even corn chips!

First, combine the Quinoa and water, cover with lid and cook about 10-15 mins (you may need to add a little additional water)
Brown the ground pork in a skillet with the chopped onion, you can drain the fat or add it for flavor
Combine pork and onions with the rest of the chopped veggies, adding the beans (with half the juice) and diced tomatoes.
Stir everything together and add Cumin and Curry Powder. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 15 mins. Taste, and then season as desired. Simmer for another 15 mins.

The Curry adds a great new flavor to an old favorite, and the great thing about this recipe is that it will feed a crowd! Depending on the size of all the vegetables, it will serve 7-8 people.
For this chili, we suggest a mild hard cider so as not to take away from the bold flavors. Aspall English Demi Sec would be a good selection, or possibly Woodpecker.

#2  Slow-Cooker Hot Wings 

One 4-5 pound bad of chicken wings
1 1/2 cups honey
1 stick of melted butter (or margarine)
1 12 oz bottle of your favorite hot sauce (we used Frank's Red Hot)

**For the cider lovers, add 1 bottle of Woodchuck Amber or Angry Orchard Crisp to the sauce mix before pouring into the slow cooker. The sauce will be thinner, but the cider flavor will cook into the chicken.

Melt the butter in the microwave and combine with the hot sauce and honey in a big mixing bowl.
Arrange the chicken wings so that they comfortably fit in the slow cooker.
Pour the hot sauce mixture evenly over the wings and cover.
Cook 6-8 hours on low. Periodically (every 2 hours) rotate and baste the wings in the sauce.

Coincidentally, we suggest drinking Woodchuck Amber with this recipe. Blackthorn Cider might also be a good flavor pairing.

#3 Hawke's (Not So Secret Anymore) Pork Pot Stickers

Your in luck readers! After much pleading and bribery, I have convinced  Hawke to give up his most valued secret recipe. I have personally witnessed 50 of these bad boys disappear in a matter of minutes. True story bro!

1 pound ground pork (or substitute tofu)
1 cup chopped kimchi (add more for extra spice)
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 package of wanton wrappers
1 Tablespoon of honey

**To make the kimchi more uniform and easy to work with, pulse it in a food processor.

In a large bowl, combine by hand: ground pork (or tofu,) kimchi, honey, ginger, garlic, egg and salt.
Use a large plate to prepare the wanton wrappers and have a small bowl of water handy.
Spoon a teaspoon of the mixture into the middle of one wanton wrapper. Dip your finger into the bowl of water and trace the edges of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper and pinch the edges to seal.
In a non-stick skillet, heat a few teaspoon of the vegetable oil. Cook each batch about 2 mins until lightly browned on the bottom. Add 1/2 cup of water to the batch and cover, cook 6 mins or until the filling is cooked through. Serve with soy sauce or sweet and sour sauce.

For the pot stickers we recommend trying a ginger hard cider such as Angry Orchard Ginger. This variety of cider has become somewhat of a fad in the market, so there are several companies that now make ginger hard cider.

As always, thank you for reading and enjoy the recipes! Feel free to post comments on our Facebook page if you like them.

Aspall English Demi-Sec Draft Cider

Greetings readers! We hope all of you had a great holiday season and that the reality of returning to work hasn't hit you too hard. But if it has, we have a new cider to recommend to take the edge off! We received this cider as a Christmas present from one of Bailey's roommates (and we are very thankful.) Let's get this rolling!

Aspall English Demi-Sec Draft Cider is made in Suffolk, England. It has an ABV of 6.8% and take it from us, it packs a punch! This company makes a few different varieties of cider, but sadly the website was not working properly when we tried to access it. We will list it for you anyway and hope you have better luck.
                                                         http://www.aspall.co.uk/

Color:
Bailey really loved the color of this cider. It is a very crisp light gold that is very clear. She rates it with a 5/5 apples.
Hawke also enjoyed the color, however he has become a fan of the more unfiltered ciders as they seem to have richer flavors. He rates this one with a 4/5 apples.

Smell:
Bailey started to feel a bit let down after taking a whiff. She felt there is an overbearing smell of alcohol with a faint sour apple aroma. She rates this with a 2/5 apples for this category.
Hawke also felt that the apple smell was there, but it definitely took a back seat to the wine / alcohol. He gives it a 3/5 apples.

Taste / Complexity:
You will understand then, when Bailey took a cautious sip and loved it! She feels that this cider is very crisp, with a slightly sour apple flavor. The alcohol flavor is also very present, but it seems to complement and balance with the apples. The flavor is very mellow, but enjoyable. She rates this with a 3/5 apples.
Hawke got the alcohol flavor right away, but also detected a bittersweet apple flavor that left a tingle in the back of his throat. He felt that there were no extremely bold flavors here, but also enjoyed it. He rates it with a 4/5 apples.

Aftertaste:
The mellow taste continues as Bailey felt this cider has a sweet (but not too sweet) aftertaste. It is a very simple and clean aftertaste. She rates it with a 3/5 apples. Hawke felt that the aftertaste was very fleeting, but it was somewhat sweet. He rates it with a 2/5 apples.

 Price:
$8-10 for a pint bottle. Bailey feels that this is a very nice cider and feel that the price is reasonable for a pint.  She gives it a 4/5 apples for price.
Hawke definitely agrees that the price is reasonable considering that it is an imported cider. He feels like that it is a solid cider. He gives it a 4/5 apples.

Overall:
We have to say, out of all the English ciders we have tried so far, this one ranks pretty high. Usually we feel that they are very bitter or that the taste of alcohol is just too overpowering to enjoy. We feel this cider would be great for a spring or summer evening possibly paired with a seafood dish. Hawke also commented that he could definitely see this cider being served with a basket of fish and chips at the local pub. This is a great mellow cider for someone who doesn't want or need big bold flavors in their drink of choice.

Overall Bailey rates this cider with a 17/ 25 apples or a yellow apple.

Overall Hawke rates this cider with a 17/25 apples or a yellow apple.