Yes, I went to a Super Bowl party this past Saturday. As in, almost a full week after the actual Super Bowl. The game was aired here at 1 in the morning, and I guess nobody felt like staying up so late on a Sunday night to watch it. But my friend got the game on DVD, borrowed a projector from work to show it on a “big screen” (in this case, his living room wall), and offered to have an official viewing at his place, complete with American snacks.

My assignment was the 7-layer bean dip. Such a fabulous party standby—when my brother was home from Iraq on leave during the summer, we had a huge party at our parents’ house spanning all of Labor Day weekend, during which my mother must have made about 6 platters’ worth of layered bean dip. It always got devoured—it was the perfect snack during the evenings while waiting for chicken off the grill, as well as the next afternoon when everyone craved some salty, satisfying snacks.

Bean dip platter being licked clean by shirtless man, Labor Day 2007

The dip itself is straightforward, but it gets a little more complicated when all the familiar ingredients aren’t readily available. The first challenge was the refried beans. Mexican food isn’t popular here (yet), so there are no canned refried beans. I did some research and learned that they are usually made from pinto beans, but sometimes also from black beans. I went to an organic store where I’d seen several varieties of dried beans, unsure of whether pintos were among them. They weren’t, but black beans were, so I settled for those.

Working with dried beans was a new experience for me, since in the States I always bought canned. I checked out several recipes for refried beans, and in the end just used them as guidelines. I put 2 cups of beans in a saucepan with water and brought them to a boil for a few minutes, then drained them, added new water, and simmered them on low for several hours. Most recipes said to simmer them for 1.5 to 2 hours, but I think mine were simmering for about 3 before they attained a level of softness that seemed right. I threw in 2 crushed cloves of garlic and salt, and added water when they seemed to need it. When they were soft, I mashed them up as best I could with my plastic serving spoon (and added chipotle chili powder) before heating up a few tablespoons of canola oil in a large pan and frying the bean mash in it. As the mixture cooled, it seemed to get stiff, so I added even more water. I wasn’t really happy with it at that point—the unmashed bean pieces scattered throughout were still too firm and grainy, and the flavor was bland. I decided that next time I would use a bit more oil, and also chicken stock (or some other seasoned liquid) to loosen it up instead of water.

I also made guacamole. You can buy that pre-made here, but I didn’t trust the pale, pasty green stuff in a jar at Stockmann. I found some decent avocados, so making it myself seemed like the way to go. It came out quite garlicky and salty, but I think that was OK. Since the avocados weren’t the ripest in the world, they probably benefited from the flavor boost. I love guacamole… I should make it more often.

So pretty

So then came the time to assemble my dip, which actually did have 7 layers (I haven’t made it in a long time, so I was afraid I’d miss one)—refried beans, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, shredded cheese (I used Estonian-made “Dutch cheese” [Hollandi leibjuust] instead of cheddar), and some chopped jalapeños along the edges. You know what? It was awesome. Somehow the beans, which seemed unimpressive on their own, were lovely as a part of the dip. The texture even felt perfect—perhaps the beans continued to soften after cooking? I have no idea what happened there, but I’m glad it did. Like any good bean dip, mine was pretty much devoured.

My contribution to the party was in good company alongside hot chicken “wings” (they were actually chicken pieces) with homemade blue cheese dressing, oatmeal raisin cookies, Hershey Kisses, and of course, the King of Beers. We were able to watch all the ads from the Super Bowl website, so it was as good as any Super Bowl party I’ve ever attended… the outcome of the game never matters to me anyway, just how much fun I can have while watching.