A Super Bowl Menu That's Actually Chic

These are the rules of game food: Classic Super Bowl snacks must be easy to eat with your hands — and easy to prepare ahead of time, so you can watch the action, too. The recipes here score big on both counts, playing up salty and sweet flavors that make the spread as exciting as the touchdowns. Tequila — baked into the chicken and poured as shots — doesn’t hurt, either.

Related: 36 Dinners You Can Make in Just 15 Minutes!

Bites

"Love" Dip with Tortilla Chips and Crudites

This simple blend of creamy and spicy is inspired by the original Love Dip, sold at the Texas supermarket chain Central Market.

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup chopped scallions (from 3 or 4 scallions), plus more for garnish (optional)
1/2 cup hot-pepper relish or salsa verde
Tortilla chips, for serving
Crudites, such as cucumber, carrots, and jicama, for serving

1. Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high until fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in salt and scallions. Fold in relish; garnish with scallions. Serve with chips and crudites.

Pigs in Blankets

Pigs in blankets can be frozen until firm, then stored in freezer bags up to one month ahead.

All-purpose flour, for surface
2 sheets puff pastry (about 1 pound), preferably all-butter
Honey Dijon mustard
18 fully cooked sausages (each about 5 inches long), such as frankfurters, Andouille, or chicken sausages
1 large egg, beaten
Poppy seeds, for sprinkling (optional)
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, for sprinkling (optional)
Mustards, such as brown or whole-grain, for serving (optional)

1. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each pastry sheet out into a 12-inch square, then cut into 4-inch squares. Lightly brush lower half of each square with mustard, center a sausage on mustard-coated edge, and brush top inch with egg. Roll sausages in pastry, pressing seams to tightly seal. Brush tops with egg, then sprinkle with poppy seeds or flaky salt. Cut each at an angle into thirds. Freeze pigs in blankets, uncovered, on a parchment-lined baking sheet until firm.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place frozen pigs in blankets 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve warm with mustards.

Related: 20 Classic Comfort Food Recipes from Martha Stewart

How to Prepare Pigs in Blankets

1. Roll and Cut Pastry
A pizza wheel and a ruler ensure you’ll get nine even squares.

2. Wrap Sausages
Egg wash will help seal the pastry around the sausages.

3. Add Toppings
Brushing with egg and sprinkling with poppy seeds or sea salt adds sheen and crunch.

4. Cut Into Thirds
Cutting the sausages before freezing makes them quick and easy to bake and serve.

Tequila-Lime Chicken Drumsticks

3/4 cup silver tequila
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from 6 to 8 limes)
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks (about 20)
3 tablespoons safflower oil
Clementine or orange wedges, for serving (optional)

1. Combine tequila, lime juice, honey, salt, pepper, chicken, and oil in a large resealable bag. Place in a baking dish and let stand at room temperature, turning bag occasionally, 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip back into bag; pat dry. Reserve marinade. Place chicken on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cooked through and golden brown, about 40 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, transfer marinade to a saucepan and boil over medium-high heat until thickened and reduced to 1/3 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a serving platter and immediately brush with glaze. Serve warm or room temperature, with clementine wedges.

Drinks

Black Velvet Stout

Stout beer
Sparkling wine, such as Prosecco

1. Fill a tall, narrow glass three-quarters full with beer. Top off with wine. Serve immediately.

Orange Wheat Shandy

48 ounces wheat beer
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from 3 to 4 oranges)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Thinly sliced oranges

1. Combine beer, orange juice, and almond extract in a pitcher. Stir; serve with sliced oranges.

Tequila-Shot Pilsner

Lime wedges
Flaky sea salt
Pilsner
Shot of silver tequila

1. Run a lime wedge around the rim of a rocks glass; dip rim in flaky sea salt. Fill with Pilsner. Serve with a lime wedge and a shot of silver tequila (poured into the drink or served alongside).

Sweets

Chocolaty Pretzel-and-Peanut Cookie Bars

These cookie bars can be made up to three days ahead and stored in a cool place.

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
5 1/2 cups salted mini pretzel twists
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cups lightly salted cocktail peanuts
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably 61 percent cacao, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line with parchment, leaving a 1-inch overhang on long sides. Butter parchment.

2. Place 4 1/2 cups pretzels in a food processor and pulse until texture resembles coarse cornmeal. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sugar and butter until well combined. Transfer to pan, spreading evenly, and pack down flat with the bottom of a measuring cup. Drizzle condensed milk evenly over crust. Sprinkle evenly with peanuts, chocolate, and remaining 1 cup pretzels, gently pressing them into milk.

3. Bake until chocolate melts and condensed milk bubbles and becomes golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack, then refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Run a paring knife between bars and short sides of pan. Using parchment overhangs, transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 20 squares.

What You Can Do Ahead of Time

Several Weeks Before
Form pigs in blankets; freeze until firm. Seal in heavy-duty resealable bags; store in freezer.

3 Days Before
Shop for pantry and fresh ingredients, beer, and liquor. Make cookie bars; store in a cool spot.

1 Day Before
Juice oranges for cocktails and limes for chicken marinade; refrigerate. Chill beer and sparkling wine.

2 Hours Before Guests Arrive
Marinate and bake chicken. Mix dip. Cut vegetables for crudites. Cut oranges and limes for garnish. Set up food buffet and beer bar.

When Guests Arrive
Bake pigs in blankets. Mix shandy.

More from Martha Stewart:
Quick, One-Pot Meal Ideas To Feed the Whole Family
42 Slow-Cooker Recipes Worth the Wait
25 New Ways to Eat Avocados
35 Pantry Staples for Healthy Eating

Tell us you have a beer cocktail ready for the big game.