Foodie Favorites hopes everyone has survived the past month with Super Storm Sandy and the Nor'Easter and that Thanksgiving was a nice reprieve to relax a little and enjoy time with friends and family. Onward friends! There is a month between Christmas and New Year's so I thought we'd concentrate on football since it is now on almost every day of the week. How about a classic favorite game day snack! You guessed it, Hot Wings!
Recently we had a couple of friends over on the premise that we were going to watch football- we didn't- but that was no reason not to have some snacks and drinks. Though some of you would prefer it, you don't actually NEED to go to Hooters or "Insert Local Sports Bar Here" for wings! I was actually on the prowl for already prepared wings that day, but as it turned out nowhere that I went had them (Note to self: should have tried Hooters or Local Sports Bar). I remembered that I had a super-easy recipe and that wings made at home can be quite tasty and not as fattening because you can bake them and not fry them! Most of you probably also have almost all of the ingredients for the classic wings or one of the 7 other varieties below. Just buy chicken wingettes or drumettes and it's a go. These recipes are from the February 2010 Food & Wine issue- no doubt it was just in time for Super Bowl.
Enjoy!
Foodie
Classic Hot Wings
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 pounds chicken wingettes and drumettes
2 1/2 tablespoons red hot sauce, preferably Frank's Red Hot
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with vegetable oil. In a bowl, mix the flour with the salt. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Spread the chicken on the baking sheet in a single layer and spray with vegetable oil. Roast the chicken for 45 minutes, turning once or twice, until browned and crispy.
2. In a bowl, toss the chicken with the hot sauce and butter; serve.
7 variations on the Classic Hot Wings:
Ginger-Honey: Add 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns and 1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder to the flour & salt mixture. Add 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce and 2 tablespoons each of honey, minced fresh ginger and scallions to the hot sauce & butter.
Jamaican Jerk: Add 1/2 teaspoon each of dried garlic, onion and thyme to the flour & salt mixture. Add 1 teaspoon jerk paste to the hot sauce & butter: garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
Mango-Curry: Add 2 teaspoons hot Madras curry powder to the flour & salt mixture. Add 2 tablespoons Major Grey chutney to the hot sauce & butter: garnish with chopped pistachios.
Maple-Chipotle: Add 1 teaspoon dried sage to the flour & salt mixture. Add 1 minced canned chipotle and 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup to the hot sauce & butter.
Old Bay: Add 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning to the flour & salt mixture. Add 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce to the hot sauce & butter.
Sweet & Sticky: Add 1/2 teaspoon each of dried garlic and onion and 1 teaspoon smoked paprika to the flour & salt mixture. Add 2 tablespoons melted hot pepper jelly to the hot sauce & butter.
Thai Green Curry: Add 1 teaspoon ground coriander to the flour & salt mixture. Add 2 1/2 tablespoons green hot sauce (in place of the red), 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon Thai green curry paste and 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro.
