BrokeAss Gourmet, The premier food, wine and lifestyle blog for people who want to live the high life on the cheap.

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On February 7, host a Super Bowl Tailgate Party at home and save with these simple tips from Champion Pitmaster Chris Lilly, football analyst Mike Golic and Kingsford Charcoal.

• Cheap Shot: Try a flavorful, inexpensive cut of meat like split halves of chicken or skirt steak.
• Top Dog: Take hot dogs to the next level with gourmet homemade toppings right from the charcoal grill, such as onions, peppers or a spicy corn relish.
• Cover the Spread: To cut costs, purchase, slice and arrange your favorite vegetables, instead of buying a pre-packaged platter.
• Avoid a false start: Light briquets in one easy step (without lighter fluid) and be ready to cook in about 10 minutes with Kingsford Match Light Instant Charcoal Briquets.
• Score a touchdown with these instructional videos by Chris Lilly.
  How to Cook Chicken
  How to Cook Beef

With all the necessary tips and tricks, get going on a Super Bowl Tailgate Party with this simple and delicious recipe by Mike Golic and Chris Lilly.
BBQ Blitz Chicken Wraps

• Ingredients
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, rinsed & patted dry
  salt and pepper $12
• 2 medium yellow onions – cut horizontally into half-inch thick slices $1
• ¾ cup barbeque sauce $2.50 for 16 oz.
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes – stems removed, seeded and coarsely chopped $1.50
• 2 cups shredded lettuce $1 for a head
• 8 six-inch flour tortillas – wrapped in foil $2

Total Cost of Ingredients $18.50

Directions

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Grill over Kingsford® charcoal together with the onion slices over medium heat on all sides for about five to seven minutes on each side.

Brush the chicken and onion generously with the barbecue sauce and grill until crispy and chicken has reached an internal temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove the chicken from the grill and cover with foil to cool. Once cool enough to handle, shred the chicken and separate the onions into rings.
Warm tortillas on the grill for two to three minutes. Fill the warm tortilla with chicken and onions. Top with chopped tomato and lettuce and roll into a snug wrap. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

Melanie Yunk, President of Melanie's Fine Foods, is the creator of the award-winning Big Acres® Gourmet Sauces and Rubs and distributor of gourmet goodies for kitchen & grill. She lives with her husband Kent in San Carlos, California.

Well, I can’t quite believe it.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of BrokeAss Gourmet’s launch. One year ago, my friend Adam Metz and I posted our first BrokeAss Gourmet post, The $50 Pantry, which is, to this day, one our most popular and important articles. We rounded up our friends and celebrated with drinks and snacks at The House of Shields in San Francisco. This year, to celebrate the one-year-mark, I’ll be hosting a party at Hobson’s Choice in San Francisco, starting at 7 PM. There will be an awesome raffle, the proceeds of which will be donated to Haiti earthquake relief.

In the past year, BrokeAss Gourmet has been in MSN Money, TIME.com, and secured a place for itself among the top food and lifestyle blogs around.

In honor of this exciting day, my friends at Joffer, my friend Roberta at Apron Strings and I have joined forces to offer a series of BrokeAss Gourmet cooking classes. For those of you who don’t know, Apron Strings is the premier cooking school for kids and adults in San Francisco. Roberta and I have cooked together for years and I believe her to be the best in the business. The first class will be offered Sunday, February 21st, from 1-4PM. We’ll be cooking amazing food, drinking fantastic wine and having a hell of a lot of fun.

Cooking classes at Apron Strings typically run for about $80 per person, including all food, wine and recipes, but thanks to Joffer, we’re able to offer this class for just $50 per person.

I can hardly believe it’s been a year. Thank you so much for reading BrokeAss Gourmet. I hope I see you tonight at the party!

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Cook Time 0:25

I love Japanese pumpkin croquettes (kabocha korokke), popular in Japanese izakayas (beer houses). I don’t, however, love deep-frying (don’t get me wrong, i can get into frying, I just try to avoid it when I can). So these croquettes are a bit of a compromise, with all the flavor of traditional fried pumpkin croquettes, but baked—a delicious compromise if I do say so myself—with sesame seeds and nori, which complement the pumpkin and soy flavors nicely. The very non-traditional croquettes are a little more like very moist biscuits, and are perfect with a bowl of miso and a very cold Sapporo.

• Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups flour plus more for dusting Pantry
• 1/2 tsp baking powder Pantry
• 3/4 cup canned pureed pumpkin $1.50 for 15 oz.
• 1 egg, lightly beaten $1.50 for 6
• 1 tbsp soy sauce Pantry
• 1/2 sheet dried nori seaweed, snipped into 1” strips $2 for 10 sheets
• 1/2 onion, diced $0.50
• 1 tsp olive oil plus more for greasing baking sheet Pantry
• 1/8 cup toasted sesame seeds $2 for 8.5 oz.
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) $2.50 for 8 oz.

Total Cost of Ingredients $10

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil.

Heat olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Cook onions for 3-4 minutes, or until translucent. Remove from heat.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Stir in pumpkin, egg, soy sauce, onions and nori. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until a sticky dough forms. If the dough is too moist, add a bit more flour.

On a clean, dry plate, combine the sesame seeds and the panko. Mix well with fingers. Set aside.

Use floured hands to form the dough into balls that are about 2” in diameter. Roll each ball in the panko-sesame seed mixture, and place on the greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm

Makes about 12-15 croquettes.

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Cook Time 0:40

I love spanakopita. It’s got the flaky, crispy thing going on, as well as the cheesy-salty thing. Plus it’s got spinach, and even if you don’t usually like spinach, it’s hard not to love it when it’s in bed with feta, Parmesan and phyllo.

Spanakopita can be a bit intimidating to make, since phyllo takes some practice to get confident with, but the good news is that spanakopita are delicious whether they look right or not. If the triangle fold is too tricky, stick with a simple square—easier to do and just as delicious as the triangles.

Note: Spanakopita is traditionally made with butter brushed between the layers of phyllo. I prefer olive oil, as it’s healthier and I think it adds a nice layer of flavor to the spanakopita. If you prefer butter, melt about 1/2 cup (1 stick) and use it as the recipe instructs you to use olive oil.

• ingredients
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for brushing Pantry
• 1 onion, chopped, 0.50
• 3 garlic cloves, minced Pantry
• 4 scallions, sliced $1
• 1 pound fresh baby spinach, washed and chopped $2
• juice and zest of 1/2 lemon $0.50
• 1 egg, lightly beaten $1.50 for 6
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg $1.50 for 1 oz.
• 12 sheets phyllo pastry that has been defrosted (consult package for directions) $2 for 1 lb box
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 6 oz. feta, crumbled $4
• salt and pepper to taste Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $13

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly brush a baking sheet with olive oil. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add spinach, scallions, lemon juice and zest and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, just until spinach breaks down. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for 10 minutes to cool.

Once spinach mixture is cool, gently press it in a strainer to remove excess liquid. Return to bowl. Gently stir in egg, Parmesan and feta. Season entire mixture with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Carefully unroll 2 sheets of phyllo on a work surface. Brush both sides of each liberally with olive oil and lay the sheets on top of each other. Lay 3 heaping tbsps of mixture in a corner of the phyllo. Carefully fold over, folding into the shape of a triangle (or something that vaguely resembles a triangle). This diagram is a very helpful visual aid for understanding how to fold your spanakopita. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Arrange spanakopita on your baking sheet and give each one a final liberal brush of olive oil. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and serve. Alternatively, serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 6 spanakopita.

Askew Grill, with locations in San Francisco, Marin and the East Bay, is one of the best spots in the Bay Area to get simple, fresh food. I am a huge fan of their salmon skewers and marinated tofu, so I’m extra excited about this Joffer, which is $32-worth of food at Askew for just $15. There also happens to be an Askew Grill right next door to Hobson’s Choice, where I’m hosting the BrokeAss Gourmet Anniversary Party and Haiti Benefit this Thursday, so buy these up and grab dinner beforehand!

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This meal was inspired by a lamb burger I had at one of my all-time favorite restaurants in San Francisco, The Monk’s Kettle. These little burgers are so good I doubt you’ll be able to eat just one, which is lucky because they’re little. They’re also delicious minus the pita and sauce, over a bed of lightly-dressed spinach.

• Ingredients
• 1/2 lb lean ground lamb $5
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced $0.50
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped $1
• 2 oz. crumbled feta cheese $4 for 6 oz.
• 3 tsp olive oil, divided, plus more for pan Pantry
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped, divided Pantry
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt (any % fat) $2 for 6 oz
• juice and zest of 1/2 lemon $0.50
• 1/4 tsp dried dill $1.50 for 1 oz.
• salt and pepper to taste Pantry
• 4 small pita rounds, halved $2 for 10
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves $1

Total Cost of Ingredients $17.50

Directions

Combine lamb, onion, parsley, feta, 2 tsp olive oil, 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Very gently use clean hands to combine all ingredients, being careful not to break the feta down. Form into 8 patties, about 2 1/2” wide. Set patties on a clean plate.

Lightly brush a grill pan, regular pan or grill with enough olive oil to lightly grease it. Cook burgers to desired done-ness (I like medium rare: 2-3 minutes on each side). Remove from heat.

Whisk together the yogurt with remaining minced clove of garlic, 1 tsp olive oil, lemon juice, dill and salt and pepper to taste.

To serve the burgers, place a small handful of spinach into each pita pocket. Place a burger in with the spinach and drizzle with the yogurt sauce. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 mini-burgers.

Be the most popular kid at the party this weekend by showing up with a dozen gourmet cupcakes from That Takes the Cake, a fabulous husband-and-wife-team-operated bakery on Union Street in San Francisco. These cupcakes are freshly-baked, hand-frosted and have cool names like “Gentlemen Prefer Reds” (red velvet), “Prom Queen” (strawberry). Right now a dozen full-size cupcakes, a $33 value can be procured with this Joffer for just $17. Go get ‘em!

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I’m going to my friend Brett’s house for chili tonight, so I did what any good friend would do—I made corn muffins. But I have to tell you, these aren’t just any corn muffins—these are super-moist, spicy-sweet pumpkin corn muffins with luscious homemade honey butter. I am a really, really good friend.

• Ingredients
• 1 cup all-purpose flour Pantry
• 1 cup cornmeal $2 for 16 oz.
• 1 tsp baking soda Pantry
• 1 tsp baking powder Pantry
• 1/2 tsp salt Pantry
• 1 tbsp brown sugar Pantry
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for greasing muffin pan Pantry
• 2/3 cup milk (any % is fine) 1.50 for a pint
• 1 egg $1.50 for 6
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree $1.50 for 15 oz.
• 1 Poblano pepper, seeded and diced $0.50
• freshly ground pepper Pantry
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature $1
• 2 tbsp honey (or more to taste) Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $8

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan, two 6-cup muffin pans, or 2 8” round or square cake pans. If using muffin pans, muffin liners can also be used (regular size).

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Whisk in olive oil, milk, egg and pumpkin puree until a smooth batter is achieved. Stir in Poblano pepper and a pinch of ground pepper.

Pour into prepared muffin cups (they should be nearly full) or pans and top each muffin with a tiny pinch of black pepper. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

While the muffins bake, combine the butter and honey in a mixing bowl. Whisk aggressively until fluffy and well-incorporated.

Serve the muffins or cornbread with the butter.

Makes 12 muffins or 2 8” pans of cornbread and about 1/4 cup honey butter.