Bowls That Are Better Than the Super Bowl

Okay, let's just get it out of the way, the Super Bowl is going to be a little different this year. But just because you can't host your annual giant blowout Super Bowl bash, doesn't mean you can't make it special. Because the one thing that tends to be an issue with hosting a big gathering, is that the food is more focused on abundance and scale, rather than being special for its own sake. But this year, you can go all-in on some fun Super Bowl dishes and celebrate the fact that it is smaller!

And there is no better way to hone in on the Super Bowl theme than to make your meal all about edible bowls! Here are some of our favorite ways to celebrate the "bowl" this Super Bowl season:

Bread Bowls

Hollowed-out round loaves of bread are a terrific way to serve everything from hot dips, which can be baked right in the bowl, to individual portions of soups, stews, or chilis. You can make the bread homemade or buy small loaves from a local bakery. You can serve the bowls as is, toasted, or even made into garlic bread or toasted with cheese on the outside for extra oomph. Just be sure to check loaves carefully for cracks or holes and leave between 3/4-1 inch of bread all the way around to prevent leaking. Err on the side of thicker dishes, like creamy soups or hearty chilis, and not brothy offerings, which can get soggy too quickly. Be sure to serve in a larger bowl or deeper plate just in case of a breach!

Try it: Italian Bread Bowls

Mini Toasted Bowls

Little bowls for appetizers are adorable, and easy to make! Muffin tins of all sizes work for this, and you can bake off mini bowls by lightly spraying the carb of your choice, nestling it into one muffin tin, and then putting a second tin on top before baking, to ensure that they stay in their bowl shape. You can use biscuit dough, pizza dough, corn or flour tortillas, phyllo dough, puff pastry, pie crust, or other soft flatbreads like lavash to make these bowls. Then fill with anything imagination can dream up, from dip to hummus, cocktail meatballs, tuna salad or chicken salad, or even pizza toppings and taco fillings. If you don't want to make your own, look for things like scoop tortilla chips, pre-made phyllo cups, or frozen puff pastry shells.

Try it: Muffin Pan Bowls

Fried Bowls

Anyone who has ever eaten a taco salad knows that the fried flour tortilla bowl is the best part! If you are an adept deep fryer, now is the time to make these treats at home. They sell "basket" formers for use in your deep fryer, which makes it much easier to get the results you want. And while flour tortillas are traditional, you can also use things like fresh pasta sheets or pie crust to make fried bowls for your party.

Try it: Homemade Tortilla Bowls

Veggie Bowls

Not all edible bowls have to be bread-based. Whether you hollow out larger vegetables as serving containers, or use smaller ones for individual portions, there is something about a vessel you can eat that is extra fun! Think about serving dips in peppers, hollowed out eggplants, or small hollowed out cabbages. Use the muffin-tin method on spiralized carrots, potatoes, beets or other root vegetables to make little baked nests. And, of course, hollowed out potatoes can be so much more than just potato skins, think about baby potatoes stuffed with artichoke dip as an appetizer, or a potato boat shepherd's pie stuffed with stew and topped with mashed potatoes. Or go with stuffed peppers, the classic "edible container" dish that everyone loves.

Try it: Chef John's Stuffed Peppers

Dessert Bowls

You can use the muffin tin method to make bowls out of almost any hearty cookie dough you love, to make edible bowls for a scoop of ice cream or pudding or mousse. Packaged cinnamon rolls work for this as well. Or make bowls out of marshmallow rice treats and paint the interior with melted chocolate to give it a good seal, and then fill with treats.

Try it: Sugar Cookie Cups with Coconut Buttercream Frosting