Food for Sunday is a “Big Easy”

Jack and Jackie Harbaugh’s boys are facing off in the most watched sporting event of the year. And it will be anything but easy. Jackie was quoted as saying, “One will win and one will lose, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t want a tie. Can the NFL do that?”

The NFL may not provide a tie for the coaches’ mom in Super Bowl 47, but the recipes below will give you and your guests a reason to throw any diet out of bounds quicker than one of Jackie’s boys will throw in the red flag. From coast to coast, and down to the bayou, these local favorites will score in your kitchen.

San Francisco is known for many things; fog, the bay bridge, the invention of popsicles, and most notably, the fortune cookie. Watch as your party-goers break into their futures.

1 egg white

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a cookie sheet. Write fortunes on strips of paper about 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Generously grease two cookie sheets.

Mix the egg white and vanilla until foamy but not stiff. Sift the flour, salt, and sugar and blend into the egg white mixture.

Place teaspoonfuls of the batter at least 4 inches apart on one of the prepared cookie sheets. Tilt the sheet to move the batter into round shapes about 3 inches in diameter. Be careful to make batter as round and even as possible. Do not make too many, because the cookie have to be really hot to form them and once they cool it is too late. Start with two or three to a sheet and see how many you can do.

Bake for 5 minutes or until cookie has turned a golden color 1/2 inch wide around the outer edge of the circle. The center will remain pale. While one sheet is baking, prepare the other.

Remove from oven and quickly move cookie with a wide spatula and place upside down on a wooden board. Quickly place the fortune on the cookie, close to the middle and fold the cookie in half. Place the folded edge across the rim of a measuring cup and pull the pointed edges down, one on the inside of the cup and one on the outside. Place folded cookies into the cups of a muffin tin or egg carton to hold their shape until firm.

Crab cakes are so popular in Baltimore, they’re even sold at Camden Yards. Use lettuce instead of a bun, and serve with a squeeze of lemon. Raven fans will “claw” over you for them.

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice plus wedges for garnish

1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 jalapeño, seeded, finely chopped

1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over

1 1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided

1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 head Bibb lettuce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Whisk first seven ingredients in a medium bowl. Add crab; fold to blend. Stir in 3/4 cup panko, chives, salt, and pepper. Divide into 6 equal portions. Form each into 1”-thick patties. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. Line a platter with lettuce leaves.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place remaining 1/2 cup panko on a plate. Coat cakes with panko. Fry until golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Arrange atop lettuce; serve with lemon wedges.

Any visit to New Orleans would not be complete without King Cake. There are many different recipes out there, most include filling the cake with brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans and raisins. You can use your own recipe, but the gist of a king cake is the baby stuck in it. Tradition goes whoever finds the baby hosts the next party. The cake is made into a ring shape and decorated with green, purple and gold colors and confetti. Make sure the baby is big enough so that one of your “happier” guests doesn’t inadvertently swallow it. Push the baby through the bottom of the cake, decorate and serve a kings cake that will delight all your guests.