Arguably, the best part of Super Bowl Sunday, despite cheering for your favourite team and watching the iconic commercials, is the food! Up your hosting game with these quick and easy to prepare appetizers using BelGioioso cheese, that offer a refined upgrade to your classic game day snacks.

Prosciutto & Burrata Crostini with Balsamic Glaze

  • Ingredients:
  • French baguette (sliced)
  • BelGioioso Burrata cheese
  • Prosciutto
  • Arugula
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • The juice of one lemon
  • Salt and pepper
  • Balsamic glaze
  • Directions:
  • 1. Preheat oven to 325
  • 2. Slice baguette and drizzle with olive oil, then put them into the oven for 10- 12 min or until they are golden brown.
  • 3. In a medium bowl, toss arugula in olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper
  • 4. Drain burrata and spread on top of crostini’s, then top with a small piece of prosciutto and dressed arugula.
  • 5. Finally, drizzle balsamic glaze on top of each crostini and serve.

Pecorino Cheesy Meatballs

Ingredients:

  • For the meatballs:
  • ½ cup fresh bread crumbs
  • ½ cup grated BelGioioso Pecorino Romano cheese
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 pinch of dried red pepper chili flakes
  • 1 egg
  • 1 pound of lean ground beef
  1. For the sauce:
  2. 1 24oz jar of Marinara Sauce
  3. 1/2 cup red wine or beef broth
  4. a few pinches red pepper flakes
  5. 1 red bell pepper, washed, seeded and diced
  6. 2 cups grated BelGioioso pecorino cheese
  1. Directions:
  2. 1. In a large pot, combine marinara sauce, wine or broth, pepper flakes and bell pepper. Cover with a lid and set over a low flame to simmer. Once the bell pepper begins to soften, set aside.
  3. 2. In a large bowl, toss bread crumbs together with Romano cheese, garlic, parsley, black pepper, red pepper, and egg. Gently, mix in beef with your hands.
  4. 3. Form beef mixture into meatballs roughly 1 1/4 inches in diameter.
  5. 4. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan and bring to medium heat. Sear meatballs on both sides (about 2-3 minutes). Lightly coat a casserole dish with some of the sauce. Place meatballs in the dish and cover with remaining sauce. Top it off with 2 cups of grated pecorino cheese.
  6. 4. Cover in tinfoil and bake at 425°F for 25 minutes.
  7. 5. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

Fried Bocconcini Bites with Spicy Tomato & Garlic Chutney

Ingredients:

  • Chutney:
  • 8 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes
  • Fried Bocconcini:
  • 16 (1-inch diameter) balls of BelGioioso bocconcini mozzarella cheese
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3 cups seasoned Italian-style bread crumbs
  • 4 cups vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

  1. To make the chutney:
  2. 1. In a blender, combine the garlic, salt, ginger, red wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, cumin and cayenne pepper. Blend until smooth.
  3. 2. Transfer the mixture, along with the tomatoes, to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick (about 40-55 minutes).
  4. 3. As the chutney cooks, break up the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt to taste.
  5. 4. Allow chutney to cool to room temperature before serving.
  1. To make the fried bocconcini:
  2. 1. Drain bocconcini and place on a paper-towel lined plate. Pat the tops dry and refrigerate uncovered for 2 hours to allow the cheese to dry.
  3. 2. Preheat over to 200°F and set aside a rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack inside of it.
  4. 3. In one bowl, combine the flour with salt and pepper. In a second bowl, beat the eggs. Prepare the breadcrumbs in a third bowl.
  5. 4. Coat each bocconcini cheese ball with flour, then dip in the eggs and roll in bread crumbs until coated evenly.
  6. 5. After all of the cheese has been coated, freeze for 10 minutes.
  7. 6. Meanwhile, heat a large saucepan of oil (to a depth of about 3 inches) over medium-high heat.
  8. 7. Once the oil has reached 375°F on a deep-frying thermometer, fry a couple of bocconcini at a time until golden brown (about 20-30 seconds each).
  9. 8. Briefly drain the fried cheese bites on a paper towel-lined plate, then place on wire rack in the oven to keep warm.
  10. 9. Serve warm with chutney.

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

  • Ingredients:
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup grated BelGioioso Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ cup grated BelGioioso Romano cheese
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
  • ½ tsp dried basil
  • ¼ tsp garlic salt
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • ½ cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
  • ¼ cup shredded BelGioioso mozzarella cheese
  • Ingredients:
  • 1. Preheat oven to 350 °F and lightly grease a small baking dish with olive oil spray.
  • 2. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, BelGioioso Parmesan cheese, BelGioioso Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
  • 3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with BelGioioso mozzarella cheese.
  • 4. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Caprese Skewers

  • Ingredients:
  • Mini BelGioioso mozzarella balls (if they are in water, drain and pat dry with a paper towel before adding to your skewers)
  • 1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • 4” bamboo skewers
  • Directions
  • 1. To prepare Caprese skewers, spear the top of one tomato and slide it up 1” from the top of the skewer.
  • 2. Take a small basil leaf, folded in half, and spear against the tomato.
  • 3. Repeat with a mozzarella ball, and then repeat with another tomato, basil leaf, and mozzarella ball.
  • 4. Just before serving, drizzle with a balsamic glaze.

Pizza Bites

  • Ingredients:
  • Olive oil spray
  • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
  • 2/3 cup marinara sauce
  • 1 cup shredded BelGioioso mozzarella cheese
  • 1 ounce pepperoni, chopped
  • Dried red pepper flakes, for serving
  • Directions
  • 1. Preheat oven to 375˚F and spray two 12-cup muffin tins with oil.
  • 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • 3. Add in the yogurt and mix until well combined (the mixture will look like small crumbles).
  • 4. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until it is tacky (there should be no dough left on your hands when you pull away).
  • 5. Divide the dough into 16 equal size small balls (about 25 grams each).
  • 6. Press each ball of dough into the bottom of the muffin cups, allowing it to go up the side slightly.
  • 7. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and carefully press balls down in the middle to create a small well.
  • 8. Top each ball with 2 teaspoons of marinara sauce, 1 tablespoon of cheese and a sprinkle of pepperoni.
  • 9. Bake for a further 3 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
  • 10. Remove from oven and allow to cool 2 minutes before carefully removing the pizza bites out of the muffin tins.
  • 11. Grease the pan again and repeat with remaining dough and toppings.

BelGioioso products are available in grocery stores island-wide.

For more information regarding BelGioioso click here.