Sunday, February 5, 2012

#SaucySuperBowl Munchies for #SundaySupper

I love trying new products, so when my friend Isabel from Family Foodie said, "I have this friend who owns a sauce compa--" Yeah, that's about as far as it got before I was waving my (virtual) hand in her (virtual) face and saying "yes-yes-yes-I-want-some-now-please!"

Isabel, who has a knack for organizing food bloggers, gathered some other blogging taste testers, and we each got a different product from Intensity Academy. I got Chai Thai Teriyaki Sauce.

But of course, we couldn't just chug the stuff and say "yum." That would be silly. Instead, we're making superbowl snacks for everyone to virtually share. Well, I might not be sharing mine. Because I might just eat 'em all up before you get here. Or there. Or virtually wherever.

When I got my bottle of sauce the first thing I did was taste just a little bit of it plain. When I heard the name, I was thinking about chicken wings, but when I tasted it, the first thing I thought of was cream cheese. I have no idea why, but that's what stuck in my head. I had to find some way to marry it with cream cheese.

It seemed that the best way to accomplish that goal was simply to mix the two together. Oh, yumminess! The recipe almost ended right there, with me scooping the stuff into my open maw, but I knew I had to do something a little more ... er ... photo-worthy than that. I mean, really, no one wants to see me huddled in a corner with a bowl and a spoon.

Since I was so in love with the flavor, I didn't want to muddy it with anything too strong. I decided on zucchini. And then I waffled about a garnish. If it was summer, I might have added some chives from the herb planter. This time of year, I rooted around in the fridge until I found some radicchio. I thought the purple color would make a nice accent and the slight bitterness would be a good counterpoint to the sweetness of the cream cheese mixture.

Turns out I was right.

Of course, you could use the cream cheese mixture as a filling for celery or thin it out a bit with milk and use it as a dip for chips. Or for vegetables. Or spread it on crackers. See how I'm being nice and not mentioning slurping it up with a spoon?

Needless to say, this is a ridiculously simple recipe. But it doesn't have to be complicated. The sauce does all the flavor-work. You just have to step back a bit and not interfere too much.

Chai Thai Teriyaki Zucchini Rounds

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
3 tablespoons Chai Thai Teriyaki Sauce
Small zucchini, sliced into rounds or ovals
Radicchio, sliced into thin ribbons for garnish

It's all about assembly. Mix the cream cheese with the sauce. Taste it, but try to avoid slurping it all up, or you'll have to run to the store for more cream cheese.

Add more sauce if you like, to adjust the flavor, but don't let it get too thin - it needs to hold its shape on the zucchini.

Put a small dollop of the cream cheese mixture on each zucchini round, and top with a few ribbons of radicchio. Eat. Uh ... I mean serve.

Want to know more about these sauce? There are more bloggers making snacks with them this Sunday. Check them out:

  • Renee Dobbs from Magnolia Days is bringing her Famous Loosen your belt Chili Skins
  • Erin Meyer from Big Fat Baker is bringing Pulled Pork with Homemade Kaiser Rolls
  • Launie Kettler is bringing Coffee Smoked Gypsy Gold Dust Chicken from her Teeny Tiny Kitchen
  • Samantha Ferraro has been busy finalizing her fabulous Fish Tacos from The Little Ferraro Kitchen
  • Sunithis Selvaraj will blow you away with her Sweet Glazed Pineapple Shrimp Kebobs from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz 
  • Emily Robinson’s recipe for Chai Chili Sauce stuffed Bacon Wrapped Shrimp is at Ultra Epicure
  • Jeff Young from The Catholic Foodie created Chai Chipotle Chup Jalapeno Poppers
  • Isabel from Family Foodie is bringing Chai Thai Meatballs.
  • Every good Super Bowl Party needs a signature drink and Eileen Gross from Wine Everyday  is providing the Sangria!

Disclaimer: I received a bottle of the sauce I used at no charge.

Yum