You know what Sunday is? The Superbowl. Yep. And my Seahawks are in it. For the second year in a row. (Woo-hoo!!!!) And, win or lose, when it's over I will be sad, because I will have to wait until fall to watch football again. (But I'll be less sad if we win!).
I would venture to say that Superbowl Sunday is probably the king of all snack days in America. Chips, dip, chicken wings, pretzels, and drinks that fizz are all on the top of the list of what Americans will be filling their grocery carts with in the next few days.
I found this recipe a few years ago, and it's definitely a superb snack for football watching with friends or anytime you want something easy that looks and tastes impressive with very little effort. When feeding a lot of people, this is a nice one to pull out of the oven along side a main dish and a salad. Or use it as a party appetizer.
Unless you bake the bread from scratch, I wouldn't even call this a recipe. More like a method for dressing up a loaf of bread. But oh-so-yummy. Which is perfect. You do not want fussy food while watching football. You might miss a Richard Sherman interception while you are working on the food. You wouldn't want that. Horrors.
So, try this one out this weekend on your snack table. It will disappear between Seahawks touchdowns. ;-)
(Note: I believe the original recipe credit goes to the-girl-who-ate-everything, which is a really great recipe blog. Definitely check it out!)
Me with my grandpa. A 12 since mid-1970s.
The Step-by-Step
And this is everything you'll need. That's it. Preheat your oven to 350F and put your Seahawks jersey on. (Blue and green hairspray optional).
So first we cut the bread like this. Pre-game show on in the background? Good. Make sure you don't slice all the way through the bottom.
Cover a baking sheet with foil.
HELPFUL TIP: Take a little squished ball of foil and put it in the middle of the pan. When you put the sliced bread on top, the lump in the middle underneath will help the cuts in the bread "open" a little, which will make it easier for you to get the goodies in the cracks.
Put your bread on top of the lump of foil.
Now take your cheese and slice it in thin, small slices. Stick the slices in all of the cuts, making sure every square of bread has cheese on all sides. This part is a little tedious, I'll admit.
Only a few minutes 'til kickoff? Perfect. Don't worry, we won't miss it.
Melt the butter, and mix in the poppy seeds and green onions. Pour over the bread, and attempt to drizzle a little into all the cracks and over the surface of the bread. Trade a little smack talk with that one guy on Facebook who likes to give your team a hard time. (Is HIS team in the Superbowl? I think not.)
Mmmm. Now you'll need to stick this baby in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. It'll be ready by the end of the 1st.
Commercial break, time to pull this out of the oven. Now how does that look?
I'm just about that action, boss.
The Recipe
MAKES 1 LOAF TO SHARE (6-10 SERVINGS)
1 round loaf crusty bread (sourdough is really good, but not necessary)
About 16 ounces of cheese (about 500 grams), sliced into small pieces
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped green onions (spring onions)
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Slice the bread horizontally and also vertically without cutting all the way through the bottom crust.
Prepare a baking sheet by lining with foil. Take a small-ish ball of foil and smush it flat and place in the center of the pan. Put the sliced bread loaf on top of the smushed ball of foil. This will help the slits in the bread open a bit.
Arrange the cheese in the slits of the bread, making sure every surface of cut bread is touching cheese.
Melt the butter in a glass measuring cup and add the poppy seeds and green onions. Mix and pour over the bread. Try to get the butter into the slits as well as over the surface of the bread.
Bake 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown a little.
Remove from oven, serve while hot.
