Pineapple Party Dip for Super Bowl and Beyond

pineapple party dip

This pineapple dip is perfect for game day this Sunday, actually it’s fun to serve at any party, so keep it in mind down the road.

The presentation is fun and it really stands out on your buffet table plus it tastes really delicious. Cream cheese with fresh pineapple chunks and other savory ingredients get molded into the shape of a pineapple then studded with whole pecans, when finished it will take on the look of a whole pineapple, you can swipe it on crackers, raw veggies, fruit, chips, whatever you like.
pineapple top

The process is simple, buy one pineapple, cut the crown off then split the crown in half lengthwise so it can lay flat on your serving platter.pineapple dip

Your cream cheese mixture can be whipped up the day before so all the flavors meld together nicely, you can even pre-shape it into the pineapple barrel shape beforehand, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it the night before.dipping sides

You’ll be using raw, unsalted pecans halves for your pineapple dip, once I counted and it took 70 to cover the cheese mixture which came from an 8 oz. bag, this time I bought a container full and I had extras, which is a good thing.

Just remember whatever kind of platter you’re going to serve it on to make sure you position the barrel of cream cheese with enough room for the crown piece to be placed back on top.

 

pineapple party dip

 

You can start from the top and work your self down placing the pecans on making sure to overlap them and cover the sides and bottom as well, you can also place them from the bottom up, trying your best to cover as much surface as you can.pineapple party dippineapple party dip

 

When completed with the pecans, just place the crown back in position then scatter your crackers and veggies all around.pineapple party dip

 

You still have time to gather up the ingredients to make this party pineapple dip for Sunday game day,  it’s a show stopper and your guests will love it!

Follow Proud Italian Cook on Instagram to see what else I’m cooking up during the week.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Pineapple Party Dip for Super Bowl and Beyond
 
Recipe adapted from The Healthy Foodie Blog
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 fresh, ripe pineapple
  • 1 cup or so of pineapple, finely chopped and drained or squeezed of juice if overly juicy
  • 2 - 8 oz bricks of cream cheese, softened
  • at least an 8 oz. bag of raw unsalted pecan halves, a little more just in case some are cracked. You'll need 70 or so to cover your cream cheese barrel
  • 1 tablespoon, grainy mustard
  • ¼ each of a red, orange and yellow pepper, small dice
  • ⅓ cup of black olives, canned, drained, sliced and chopped ( optional)
  • 2 or 3 green onions, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans
  • 2 heaping tablespoons, fresh chopped parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cut the crown off of your pineapple, slice the half lengthwise so it lays flat and save. Pick a pineapple crown that's not so big, otherwise it won't look in proportion.
  2. Chop up a cup of so of the pineapple flesh.
  3. In a medium bowl add the softened cream cheese and grainy mustard, beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
  4. Now fold in with a spatula the reserved pineapple, colored peppers, chopped pecans, olives, onions and parsley, making sure everything gets incorporated.
  5. It's important to taste at this point, you might want to add more of something to your liking.
  6. Now you can either refrigerate the mixture overnight in the bowl covered with plastic wrap, or on plastic wrap shape the mixture into the barrel shaped pineapple, covered completely with plastic wrap and refrigerate that overnight.
  7. When ready to serve place cream cheese mixture onto your serving platter, remember the crown is going to be placed on top so make sure you allow for that on your platter when positioning the cream cheese.
  8. Place the pecan halves from top to bottom or bottom to top covering the sides as best you can, overlapping the pecans to cover most of the cheese mixture.
  9. Position the crown in place and scatter all your dipping veggies, crackers and chips all around.

 

 

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How To Make A Muffuletta Sandwich

muffuletta sandwich The muffuletta is an Italian sandwich that originated among the Italian immigrants of New Orleans, it’s a mighty, hefty sandwich that has only has three very important components, bread, a spicy olive salad and Italian charcuterie.

muffuletta sandwich With Super Bowl coming up next weekend I thought this might be the perfect addition to your game day snacking table, but if not, please keep this in mind for summertime, it’s great for picnics and get-togethers.

ingredients for muffuletta sandwich Don’t skimp on quality when making your muffuletta you want to make sure you have the best bread you can find, a round loaf is traditional, along with fresh meats and cheese. For my muffuletta I went with a good salami, some mortadella, a spicy capicollo and a picante provolone, all sliced thin, but feel free to use your favorite cuts.

olive salad The main component is really this olive salad, you can either make your own or buy a muffuletta mix from a good Italian deli/store. I do a mixture of both, I buy a mix but add fresh ingredients into mine, but basically the salad consists of, Italian black and green olives, and a giardiniera mix of different veggies. In addition I like to add roasted red peppers and artichoke hearts to mine and always fresh chopped celery, parsley, oregano and good olive oil.

muffuletta sandwich It’s very simple to make, don’t be intimidated! Slice your round loaf horizontally then pull out some of the dense inside of the bread because you need room for all that filling to fit inside, save those insides for fresh breadcrumbs.

Spread that delicious olive salad all over the bottom and top portions of your sliced bread, then it’s all about layering.

muffuletta sandwich I like to put the cheese down first over the olive salad, it seems to cover it nicely and gives you a nice base for your layers, then go from there. I added olive salad in between some of my layers but you don’t have to, you can just have it on the top and bottom.

muffuletta sandwich When you’re done layering, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and weigh it down, this is important because it will help distribute all the flavors together nicely. As you can see I used my heavy cast iron pan and added some cans on top to weigh it down even more.

Let it sit for two hours before unwrapping and cutting into it, don’t let it sit overnight because the bread might become soggy from the oils, you want to keep your bread nice and crusty.

muffuletta sandwich Then cut it into wedges and enjoy! I cut mine quite big for the picture but honestly a small slice is better when serving other things along side it, it’s so densely filled that you couldn’t possibly eat such a huge wedge unless this was your only main course. It’s definitely a show stopper and it also feeds a crowd!

5.0 from 2 reviews
How To Make A Muffuletta Sandwich
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1 10 inch round Italian bread
  • olive salad, either a mix like I used, which I added more to, or you can make your own.
  • ½ lb each of mortadella, salami and capicollo or meats of your choice. ( you might have extra left over)
  • 1 lb or slicing provolone or a mixture of mozzarella and provolone
  • olive oil
  • WHEN MAKING YOUR OWN OLIVE SALAD, you will need;
  • a cup or more each of Italian black and green olives, chopped
  • a jar of vegetable giardiniera that has carrots, cauliflower and celery, drained and chopped
  • a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • a jar of roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
  • fresh parsley, 1 garlic clove and fresh crunchy celery and oregano
  • toss everything into a bowl and mix well together with good olive oil
  • IF USING A JARRED MUFFULETTA MIX
  • I always add fresh chopped celery, roasted red peppers, fresh parsley and artichoke hearts. I also drain the jars and add my own good olive oil to the mix.
Instructions
  1. Cut your bread horizontally and pull out some of the dense bread inside.
  2. Fill each side, the top and bottom of the cut loaf with the olive salad.
  3. Start to layer your meats and cheese, I start with cheese, adding olive salad in between the layers if you want
  4. When finished layering, put the top of the bread on and wrap in foil or plastic wrap.
  5. Compress the sandwich by weighing it down with a heavy pan filled with heavy cans.
  6. Let it sit for at least 2 hours before cutting but never overnight because the bread will become soggy and lose its integrity.
  7. Cut into small wedges for a crowd with other snacks or lager wedges for more of a main course.

 

 

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Bite Size Pizzettes!

Looking for some last minute Super Bowl snacks? These pizzettes should do the trick!
Mini bite size pizza’s made any way you like them. Just roll out some pizza dough, cut out rounds with a 2-3 inch cookie or pastry cutter. Place on greased baking sheet, top with your favorite ingredients, bake at 400F till crispy and golden, around 10 minutes.
My favorites are, artichoke and gorgonzola , and caprese style with tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella. The possibilities are endless, just make sure you make a bunch because they go quick!

Enjoy the game!!

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