Super Bowl, Smuper Bowl...I Love Me Some Wings.

I'm a fan of sports, usually enjoy a good baseball game, and really did enjoy the World Cup while we were in Paris two years ago.

What I realize I love the the most about sporting events (and everything else) are the snacks and foods that go along with these events. My very favorite sports snack is the almighty chicken wing.

I embarked on my research about a week ago. In the past, I had thought you either fried the wings or boiled and then baked the wings. Many recipes online required flouring the wings, which I wasn't going to do due to the gluten-freeness of my diet. I decided to do what cooks used to do in the olden-times: I asked the butcher his advice.

There happens to be a very nice butcher shop in my neighborhood. I saw the wings in the butcher case but they didn't look like the kind I've gotten in restaurants.

So I asked the butcher two things:

  1. Are the wings/drumsticks usually split in two before cooking?
  2. Don't I need to boil the wings before I bake them?

And the butcher responded:

  1. Yes, he said, and I can cut them into two for you.
  2. No, don't even think of that! Just bake them in a hot oven and then roll them in the sauce.

After a bit more instruction from my butcher-best-friend, I was ready to tackle the sauce.

I wanted to make something the kids could eat, too, but after some consideration, decided that just this once I'd go for it and make a sauce the adults could love, and the kids could eat theirs plain. I remembered Gran-Fran making some awesome BBQ sauce back in the day, and based on this recollection, I knew I needed ketchup as my base. And something spicy, then something sweet. I added butter, too, which I can't recall if Gran-Fran would be thrilled by this or mortified that I used butter in something involving meat. (I'm sure we'll be getting a comment sometime soon from her weighing in on the matter.)

Then, I started thinking about a recipe I had seen on the craftzine website that served chicken wings on top of cupcakes. At first I thought it sounded not so good. But then, it got in my head, and I figured that maybe if I were to make a savory cornbread to put under the wings, it would offset the spicy sauce nicely. I used a gluten-free mix, with almond milk and added some chipotle powder, too.

And so, here it is, plain and simple, my first try at at making my very own chicken wings. They are really, really good, and worth the effort.

Chicken Wings with Hot Sauce

Ingredients

For the Chicken Wings

  • 2 lbs Chicken Wings, cut into wings and drumsticks
  • Olive Oil for roasting

For the Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup Hot sauce of your choice
  • 1 cup of Ketchup
  • 1/2 of a Lemon, jucied
  • 3 Tbsps Butter, softened
  • 4 cloves Garlic, chopped coarsely
  • 1/2 Tsp Sesame Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Honey
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste

For the Cornbread:

  • 1 box Gluten Free Pantry Yankee Cornbread mix (or any kind of cornbread mix you prefer)
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1-1/3 cups Almond Milk
  • 1 Egg lightly beaten
  • 6 Tbsps melted butter

And: 2 stalks of Green Onion, sliced thinly

Roast The Chicken

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Place the chicken in a roasting pan in one layer.
  • Sprinkle with salt and a olive oil.
  • Roast for 40 minutes or until the skin is browned.

Make The Sauce

  • While the chicken is roasting, put all of the sauce ingredients in a pan and heat over low on the stove.
  • You'll know when it's done when it sticks to the back of a wooden spoon and it has thickened.
  • Remove the chicken from the oven and take it out of the pan.

Make The Cornbread

  • Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
  • Add in the eggs, almond milk and butter.
  • Mix until all the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
  • Spread the mixture evenly in a baking pan.
  • Bake for 20 minutes. (It cooks in a 425 degree oven, just like the chicken.)
  • Remove, cool and cut up into serving sized pieces each large enough to hold a wing.

Time To Serve It Up

  • Working in small batches, put a wing or two in the sauce, rolling them around to coat them thoroughly.
  • Place a wing on top of a piece of the cornbread.
  • Spoon a bit of sauce over the top of each wing and add some green onions.

Enjoy!

It's Not Burger King...Best Chicken Sandwich Ever

I love the Burger King Classic Chicken Sandwich.

Let me rephrase that. I love the memory of eating the Burger King Classic Chicken Sandwich. That first bite, the warm breading, the mixture of grease and mayonnaise. I rarely allow myself to buy one anymore, but the memory lingers on.

Yesterday, while I was doing birthday returns, there appeared on the horizon the mighty Burger King. I was almost weak enough to give in and get in that drive-thru lane and get me one of those sandwiches.

Then it dawned on me, wait a minute, I can make my own version, my way, in no time at all. Which is exactly what I did.

I knew I could make a good gluten-free breaded chicken, mayonnaise is always in my fridge but I had to think about the elements (other than actually deep frying) that make that sandwich taste so good. Then it hit me: lettuce. I know it seems simple, but I never put lettuce in a sandwich, unless it's a BLT.

The marinade that I made is a one that I make regularly. I replaced the milk with almond milk and added some honey, barbecue sauce, egg and hot-sweet mustard. The bread I used is a great gluten-free variety toasted and spread with mayonnaise.

Well, let me tell you, it worked! What a great treat, easy, not too bad for you, and delicious.

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Breaded Chicken Sandwich (or the Faux Burger King Classic Chicken Sandwich)

serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 4 Chicken Breasts, boneless/skinless, cut thin
  •  1 egg
  • 3 ounces Almond Milk (or any kind of milk you have on hand)
  • 1/4 cup Barbecue Sauce
  • 2 tsps Mustard (I used sweet-hot, but you can use any variety)
  • 1 Tbsp Honey
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free Bread Crumbs (I use this brand.)
  • 2 slices Udi's Gluten Free Bread

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  • Mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl large enough to accommodate all the chicken, too.
  • Add the chicken. Let it soak for at least ten minutes. If you've thought ahead and got to this point the night before, go ahead and soak the chicken overnight.
  • Turn the heat to high on a large skillet.
  • Put the bread crumbs on a shallow plate.
  • Place the chicken in  the breadcrumbs and turn it over to coat both sides.Repeat until all chicken breasts are coated.
  • Add oil to the hot pan.
  • Place each piece of chicken in the pan, making sure there is some space between each piece.
  • Cook on the first side for 5 minutes.
  • Turn over the chicken and cook for 2 more minutes.
  • Put the pan in the oven to finish cooking for about 10 minutes.
  • While the meat is cooking, shred the lettuce and toast your bread.
  • Remove from the oven and make your sandwich.

Enjoy!

Chicken Picatta

Have you ever had a dish that just makes you smile? This dish does that for me. Gran Fran made this for me and Joe a few weeks back and it reminded me of weeknight meals from my childhood.

My parents were (and still are ) the King and Queen of the multi-task. Both Gran Fran and Joe worked at the same office. They took shifts getting the younger kids (mostly me) to school. Gran Fran would head into the City early (around 7am, I think) and Joe would go in after he dropped me at school (around 8:30am). The afternoon shift would mostly fall to my older brother and sisters, and we did live in a town where we could just go out and play, ride bikes or walk down to the store without too much trouble.

Gran Fran would arrive home around 5pm, in time to get dinner on the table. She did, however, instruct us post-school over the phone on how to prep the dinner and get anything in the oven that we could handle before she got there. This was before cell phones and e-mail, so Gran Fran called us at about 3:30 to get us started.

The only issue was that she was convinced everyone around her could hear everything she said. She spoke at barely above a whisper, which sometimes led us to some odd conclusions on ingredient measurements and cooking temperatures. The best part about her behavior was that for a good number of years, she was in an office with her door closed whilst having these illicit conversations with her children.

Gran Fran and Joe managed to raise another generation of multi-tasking adults in my brother, myself and my sisters. It is both a blessing and a curse. A Claro can get done in half a day what it takes a normal person a full day and half to do. I often get comments when I arrive at work (around 8am) after I've recounted the amount I've accomplished between the hours of 5:45 and 8am. It seems normal to me to finish two loads of laundry, put away the dishes, make breakfast and lunch for myself and my daughter, get the dinner ingredients organized, shower and get out the door. I guess it's a bit much.

The chicken picatta featured above makes for a nice easy weeknight meal. Not much fuss, lots of flavor and not too many dishes after cooking. It's the perfect end to an otherwise crazy day.

Chicken Picatta

serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lbs. thinly sliced chicken breast
  •  1/4 cup all purpose flour (I use Rice Flour)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper tp taste
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 12 ounces mushrooms, cleaned, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic quartered
  • 1 1/2 cups marsala
  • 3 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced

Method:

1. Salt and pepper chicken cutlets; dredge in flour.

2. Pour oil intoheated skillet 3. Saute cutlets on both sides until golden and just about cooked through.

4. Remove cutlets from pan; add mushrooms and saute until golden.

5. Add garlic and marsala; reduce slightly over high heat.

6. Return chicken to pan,stir; cover simmer until the marsala forms a nice gravy.

7. Serve sprinkled with parsley