Recipe Box: For the serious snackers

It's three-o-clock in the afternoon and you're feeling low on energy. A growling stomach tells you there's no way your 11:30 lunch will keep you sane 'til dinner. Snacktime is a daily dilemma most everyone faces. It's a serious problem that if not treated quickly or properly can result in severe crankiness. In my case, I'm in dire need of munchies no less than three times a day, and most days, chips from a vending machine are too much of a bore for my taste buds to even pay attention. For those times when you're in need of a real snack, here are 10 fun and easy recipes from the Los Angeles Times Test kitchen that will keep you satisfied and cranky-free.

Johnny's spinach and cheese balls

Nori's seaweed crackers

Fig, proscuitto and blue cheese pizzas

Thin wheat crackers

Carrot chips

Cream cheese balls with sesame and pistachios

Four seed snapper crackers

Beer-battered rock shrimp with honey mustard

Melon bites with prosciutto and basil

Hot h-o-t boneless buffalo wings

ALSO:

Dinner tonight!: Spaghetti with arugula and garlic bread crumbs

Test Kitchen video tips: Non-stick cheese grating

Cookbook Watch: Joe Bastianich's 'Restaurant Man'

-- Jenn Harris

twitter.com/jenn_harris

Super Bowl: Basement Tavern, City Tavern, Rush Street & more

Basement Tavern: Sports fans can enjoy happy hour specials all night long at the Basement Tavern at the Victorian on Super Bowl Sunday. There will be $3 beers, $5 well drinks, $5 house red and white wines by the glass, and 50% off all bottles of wine and champagne. Hot dogs, hamburgers and other dishes will be complimentary with a two-drink minimum. Feeling indulgent? The tavern is also offering a Bottle and Bacon package: For $1,000, guests will receive a bottle of whiskey and bourbon and bacon-wrapped hot dogs for 10-20 friends. 2640 Main St., Santa Monica, (310) 392-4956.

City Tavern: This "new American tavern" is offering all-day happy hour in honor of the Super Bowl.  Spectators can sip on $10 craft beer growlers while munching on Super Bowl meatballs and pigs in a blanket made with Spanish chorizo. If you are going with a group, reserve your own table tap booth where you can pour your own beer throughout the game. 9739 Culver Blvd., Culver City, (310) 838-9739, www.citytavernculvercity.com.

Pink Taco: The Century City taco joint has 11 LED TVs and one jumbo projection screen for your Super Bowl viewing pleasure. The restaurant is serving crispy carnita tacos with salsa fresca and chipotle mayo, adobado chicken mini tortas, mini churros and more, all for less than $6 (or pick four for $22). 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 789-1000, www.pinktaco.com.

Rock & Reilly's: Located on the Sunset Strip, this pub boasts more than 45 Irish whiskeys and 14 antique framed flat-screen TVs as well as a 120-inch projection screen. It will be serving Super Bowl favorites with an Irish twist including whiskey bingo wings, Irish nachos (made with potatoes, peppered bacon and Irish cheddar), wee burgers and corned beef sliders. If you are not a beer drinker, the bar will have its signature Irish whiskey flights available. 8911 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 360-1400, www.rnrpub.com.

Rush Street: This high-end sports bar is serving up gourmet snacks on Super Bowl Sunday. Diners will be able to try dishes such as warm pretzels with beer cheese fondue, avocado fries, lobster and shrimp egg rolls, and a trio of hummus. For those with a bigger appetite, the gastropub will be serving pizzas, like caramelized onion, fig, pancetta and goat cheese, along with burgers, sandwiches and salads. It will also have an extensive drink menu including team-themed specialty cocktails. 9546 Washington Blvd., Culver City, (310) 837-9546 www.rushstreetculvercity.com.

ALSO:

Anthony Bourdain visits College of the Canyons on Feb. 9

'Moveable Feasts' dinner series by Los Angeles Nomadic Division

Tar & Roses open in Santa Monica

--Leah Rodrigues

twitter.com/Leah.Rodrigues24

Photo: Jeremy Back, assistant general manager of City Tavern. Credit: Gary Friedman/ Los Angeles Times

Frito-Lay unveils quieter SunChips bag

Frito-Lay hopes its new SunChips bag will please consumers who complained in droves last year when the company rolled out a "green" bag that could be tossed into the compost bin.

Snackers said the new bag was simply too noisy and detracted from the chip-eating experience. (Translation: In other words, it drowned out the TV and was harder to keep late-night secret chip eating a secret.)

There were so many complaints that the company yanked most of the bags off the market.

Then Frito-Lay scientists began to tackle the bag construction problem.

They had to find a way to quiet the deafening noise created by the wrinkling of two completely different bags sealed together -- the razor-thin bag that protects the food on the inside and the bag on the outside that carries the labeling. Enter rubber.

Movie popcorn equals three Quarter Pounders with butter?

Would you order three Quarter Pounders just for yourself -- or for your kid -- and then slather the buns with 12 pats of butter and wash 'em down with some sugary pop?

Well, that's what you are doing when you settle in with a popcorn and a soda at one movie theater chain. A study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest found that a medium popcorn at this chain contained a whopping 1,200 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat and 980 milligrams of sodium.

1,200 calories? That's an entire day's caloric allotment for some.  

Even worse: That's the calorie count without the "buttery" topping. Find out which chain, and see if your local movie theater was included in the study:

Does this make you mad?

-- Rene Lynch

Photo: Matthew Staver / Bloomberg

Sampler Platter: Make a bacon lamp, meet the White House Crustmaster, testing Campbell's Soup's noodles claim

The Crustmaster uses pies to lure Michelle Obama to the dark side. The original recipe for Worcestershire sauce is discovered (we assume it's the British equivalent of the original top-secret formula for Coca-Cola, but without cocaine). And the most practical how-to ever: making your own bacon lamp.

--Meet White House pastry chef Bill Yosses, a.k.a. the Crustmaster. CBS4 Denver
--Restaurant groups unhappy about health-care bill. Nation's Restaurant News
--"Emeril Live" may return to TV -- but not on the Food Network. ABC Action News
--The 10 most beloved and unhealthy gaming snacks. Topless Robot
--100 things restaurant staffers should never do: Part 1 and Part 2. New York Times
--Campbell's claims every can of chicken noodle soup has 32 feet of noodles. KING5
--Who would Jacques Pepin most like to cook naked with? Nigella Lawson. Gastrobuzz
--Original Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce recipe found. Daily Mail
--How to make a bacon lamp. Oddity Central
--Diners plan to spend 20% less on restaurant meals. Bloomberg

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Jacques Pepin's dream date, Nigella Lawson. Credit: Tina Fineberg / For The Times