Sweet and Spicy… just like me

Look and the color of these wings! There is no photoshop folks, that is the true color of my feisty chicken wings. As you know it was the super bowl this past weekend. We were planning on getting together with some friends, but it turned out to be a quiet night in. For me, a football game just isn’t the same without wings. Don’t get me wrong, I love traditional wing sauce, but since it was just the hubs and me, I wanted to play with flavor…

I started with Martha’s Stewart’s recipe for sweet and spicy chicken wings and made some changes to make it my own.

Feisty Wings
1/4 cup mesquite BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
1/4 to 1/2 cup Sriracha hot-chile sauce, or other hot sauce
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon toasted-sesame oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
salt to taste
2 pounds chicken wings not separated, patted dry with paper towels

Arrange the wings in a single layer on a foil lined cookie sheet. Turn your broiler to high and place the cookie sheet in the middle of the oven. Let the wings cook for 10 minutes before flipping them. You may need to flip the wings a couple of times to avoid burning. While the chicken is cooking, combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. When the chicken is cooked through, approximately 20 minutes, take them out of the oven and put them directly in the sauce. Toss to coat and serve.

You can deep fry the wings instead of broiling, but the cook time will vary.

Try these at you next party… they are delicious!

Always thinking of the next meal

-Katie

Mussel-rama

In the past I’ve written about my serious love of mussels. I know I have at least one post on it, but I’m sure it’s been mentioned several times. Last night, we had a party that was the ultimate indulgence of mussels. A lot of our friends share in my love of this creature and we had been comparing recipes for sometime. I figured, enough talk, let’s throwdown.

It took a little finessing, but the final plan sounded like this. We would provide the mussels and everyone had to come with a sauce or ingredients to make their version of mussels with. There were no limits and no qualifications. It just had to taste good with mussels. I know there are thousands of ways to prepare these little buggers so I was pumped to see what everyone was bringing.

I made my version of moule frite. I did a quick steam in bacon fat, shallots, and prosecco and then garnished with crispy bacon, bleu cheese, and watercress. I did make french fries, complete with truffle oil but they were gone before the mussels were cooked (and that’s saying something.) Our friend Desiree went with a white wine butter sauce with red onion and parsley…

Our friends Lindsay and David went a non-traditional route and made grilled mussels with a sriracha and wine sauce. It was crazy amazing. I wanted to stop eating them, but I couldn’t.

I will apologize to our other friends who’s mussels are not pictured, but I was so busy eating my first round, I forgot to take pictures of the second round. Our friends, Vicki and Steve made the mussels from Bonefish. Not only were they fantastically full of garlic, the sauce was perfect for dipping. Greg and Margot made a Tuscan tomato based sauce that was also out of this world. I know that I’m gushing, and raving about everything, but it’s the truth. There was not a bad mussel to be had!

The best part about this party was that everyone got involved. There was some friendly competition and everyone wanted to impress. We had simple appetizers and free flowing wine and beer. There were lots of laughs and lots of eating. It’s been decided that it was so fun, that we are now going to do a monthly dinner where everyone prepares something. It never ceases to amaze me that food brings people together, and when it’s made with care and passion.

Always thinking about the next meal

Katie