Super Bowl Bento, #SundaySupper

With the arrival of Super Bowl season, a spell seems to take hold of my husband. Like many American football fans, the TV mesmerizes him. He shouts, waves his hands and dances in front of the television. With all this expended energy, my husband needs nourishment. But man - especially a gluten sensitive one - cannot live by bread and football alone. So, I prepared a Super Bowl bento (Japanese lunch box.)

 


 Super Bowl Bento:
Asian Sesame Chicken &
Football Rice Balls & Gluten-Free Touchdown Chocolate Brownies


Chicken and chips, I understand, are Super Bowl staples. To address my husband’s health concerns, I concocted an Asian Sesame Chicken recipe. Chicken is baked with a drizzle of soy sauce, honey and sesame oil. (Happy to report the result is succulent and super-delicious!) Sesame seeds provide a fantabulous crunch covering.  



Asian Sesame Chicken


Sticky Japanese white rice shaped into mini footballs play well with the chicken. The yummy stripes on the football, by the way, are SeaSnax. (Non-GMO, gluten-free dried seaweed seasoned with spices and olive oil.)



Sticky Rice & SeaSnax


Bento making rules demand that every single nook and cranny of the lunch box is covered. (No blank spaces allowed.) So, of course, this Ninja Baker had to add a gluten-free chocolate brownie for the husband. Almond meal flour and fine chocolate melt into one touchdown brownie. The recipe is inspired by one of the England's baking royals, Nigella Lawson,  (Only a bit of brownie is needed to shape into mini footballs for the bento. So there is plenty leftover for the baker to enjoy.)  


Almonds and chocolate melt into one luscious gluten-free brownie!
(Photo Courtesy of Jerry Witt)


For more Super Bowl scrumptiousness, scroll down to see an inspirational buffet provided by #SundaySupper participants. (If you like to bake, cook and see families back together around the dinner table, please see the #SundaySupper info below.) The topic of discussion around the virtual table at tonight’s #SundaySupper on Twitter is…drum roll please…Super Bowl recipes. 

The Ninja Baker's Sesame Chicken

Japanese fried karaage chicken is a bento lunch box staple. For my health conscious husband, I created this baked sesame chicken. Same crunch factor. Plus, the bonus of an assertive sesame flavor paired with a tangy soy and honey sauce.

Ingredients: 
  • 1/3 pound chicken tenders
  • ¾ cup rice flour blend
  • 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon powdered lemon peel
  • 3 pinches of salt
  • 2 dashes of pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup white sesame seeds
  • 3 tablespoons of sesame oil
  • 2 ½ tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 2 ½ tablespoons of honey
Directions: 
  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 pan with parchment paper.
  2. Cut the chicken tenders into finger food size pieces. (Or ask your butcher to do so.)
  3. In a bowl, whisk the salt, pepper, onion and lemon peel powders into the flour.
  4. Crack open your eggs into a separate bowl. Beat lightly.
  5. Pour the sesame seeds into a third bowl.
  6. Dip the chicken tenders into the flour bowl. (Cover well.)
  7. Next drench the chicken in eggs, followed by a roll in the sesame seeds.
  8. Place into the lined pan.
  9. Drizzle the chicken with sesame oil, soy sauce and honey.
  10. Bake for 23 minutes. (The bottoms will be darker than the lighter tops.)

Tip:  If you prefer a uniform color, flip the chicken bits halfway through the bake.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Touchdown Brownies

Touchdown! My gluten-free chocolate brownies were a huge hit with my husband and his colleagues. No one missed the flour.

This recipe is adapted from Nigella.com.

Ingredients: 
  • 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1 cup of softened butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon coffee extract
  • ¾ cup superfine sugar
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 ½ cups almond meal flour
Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Line a 9 inch cake pan with tin foil and copiously spray butter flavored cooking spray.

Bring a pan of water to a boil. Turn down the flame so that it simmers.

Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over the simmering water. Stir with a heatproof spatula until melted. Take off the heat. Briskly stir in the extracts and sugar. Let the chocolate mixture cool for a few minutes.

Whisk in the eggs to the slightly cooled chocolate and sugar mixture. Incorporate the almond meal.

Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Increase the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes.

Tip: With aluminum foil, tent the edges of the brownie pan if you see the edges turning black at the 15 minutes mark. Also, please note a darker and/or coated pan may need less baking time.

Our host of today's Sunday Supper is the phenomenal Heather of Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks. By day, Heather is a special education teacher. By night, she creates recipes which have won awards and appeared in numerous publications.

Allow me to introduce you to a few more inspirational bloggers aka creators of sensational Super Bowl recipes. 


Game Day Appetizers:


Game Day Entrees:



Game Day Desserts:





Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter every Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat.

Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy! You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Wishing you delicious fun on Super Bowl Sunday and always! 

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

 

 

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Tags: 
Super Bowl
Chicken recipe
Japanese bento
gluten-free brownies
#SundaySupper