Happy Monday to all! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Now the start to another week…want to know the only thing getting me through the Monday morning blues? The promise that at the end of this week is one of my favorite days of the year…Super Bowl Sunday! For a girl who likes appetizers and finger foods as much as I do Super Bowl Sunday is like the Holy Grail. I mean, you get to eat and drink ALL day, hang with friends and scream at the TV, and because of some weird Super Bowl vortex, absolutely no calories count that day!  Since I thought you might need some inspiration, this entire week is dedicated to appetizers, drinks, and treats that will make your Super Bowl Party a smash!

First up.. HOMEMADE PICKLES. I am telling you, put a jar or two of these out at your Super Bowl party and they will be gone faster then Tom Brady can throw a football. Store bought versions don’t hold a candle to these homemade gems AND they are both cheap and easy to make. What could be better?!

All you need is: a bunch of dill, baby cucumbers sliced in half, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, peppercorns, honey, and rice vinegar. I used canning jars which you can find at most supermarkets, but you could also use any container with a tight lid. Also, you could use regular cucumbers and slice them up, but I like spears better than slices so the baby cucumbers are perfect.

Slice up your cucumbers and jam pack (seriously!) them into your canning jar with about 4 sprigs of dill.

Then combine vinegar, peppercorns, salt, red pepper, and honey in a suce pan and bring to a boil.

Boil about 3 minutes and then let sit and come to room temperature. Right about now your house will be overcome with the smell of vinegar, but these pickles are worth it!

Once the mixture has reached room temperature, pour into your pickle jars and close the lids tightly. Then, stick them in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours and up to 4 days before opening.

When you crack them open you will have crunchy, tart, slightly sweet & spicy pickles that will blow you away. My husband and I ate an entire jar in about 15 minutes. Once you pop it is hard to stop! These are guaranteed to be a hit at your superbowl party or just about any old time! Now that I found out how easy it is to pickle I can’t wait to try out some more recipes!

Enjoy!

Homemade Spicy Dill Pickles

Makes enough for 2 jars of pickles

Recipe very loosely based off of this recipe from Bobby Flay

  • 4 cups rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 8-10 sprigs fresh dill
  • 2-3 pounds baby cucumbers, halved

Directions

Combine the vinegar, honey, pepper flakes, peppercorns, and salt in a medium non-reactive saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Let boil for 3 minutes; remove from the heat and let sit until cooled to room temperature.  Place the cucumbers in a large canning jar along with 4-5 sprigs dill. When the vinegar mixture is cooled, pour over the pickles. Close jar tightly. Refrigerate for at least 48 hours or up to 4 days.