A Super Bowl Favorite: Homemade Buffalo Wings
We must admit, we're a little miffed about the news lately surrounding one particular Super Bowl ad, but what can you do besides agree with the South Florida Raging Grannies, curse under your breath, and thank gawd that some people don't actually run our country. (Well, that's what we do.)
However, we like watching football. We may not watch religiously, know any of the players by name, or have a favorite team (go underdog, we got your back!), but when it comes to sports it's one of our favorites to watch. Actually, maybe we should rephrase that. Football is rather one of our favorite sports to peek at during the exciting moments while we're cooking in the kitchen. That's a little more accurate. Regardless, we'll normally take any excuse to cook for a group of our friends, and the Super Bowl just happens to be one of those times. But this year, we may just have to turn off the T.V. during some of the commercials, as per the cook's orders.
Though we're normally all about bringing out the best in homemade foods and making veggie-filled, healthy meals, the Super Bowl just isn't the time and you've got to pick your battles. Get a bunch of burly men with jerseys and face paint in your living room and try serving them soup and salads. We dare you. Better yet, throw in a cloth napkin to go along. We double dare you.
What you can do, is save a couple calories and some money in your wallet by making Super Bowl foods yourself. As we like to look at it, you may be eating things that are still not the most health-conscious choices, but at least you know exactly what you're eating and what the ingredients are. Plus, you can tailor the ingredients to fit your needs, which is always an added bonus.
We had originally hoped to make this more of a healthy Super Bowl foods post, but then we realized--who are we kidding? Guys don't want to eat turkey burgers or fresh spring rolls while watching football; this is their day and they want all of that delicious fried food that they associate with the big game. Plus, turkey burgers and fresh spring rolls are foods we love to make in the summer and foods that we would much rather dedicate an entire post to when the season is right.
Regardless, we chose instead to do a recipe on homemade buffalo wings because that's what they want, what they love, and more importantly, what they'll eat (and hopefully thank you for). This was our first time making buffalo wings, and we were actually quite shocked by just exactly how much they taste like any others that you might get with a drunken pizza delivery order. If we would have realized long ago how easy they were to make on our own, there would have been many past Super Bowls where they would have been a favorite.
So if you're watching the Super Bowl this year, we hope that you'll be enjoying some great food and a good cold one with all of your friends. We know we'll be.
Homemade Buffalo Wings
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 2-3 lbs. chicken wings
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup Frank's Hot Sauce
- Vegetable oil for frying
Optional Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. Tabasco sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp. cider vinegar
- Cayenne pepper to taste
Preparation:
Cut the tips off of the chicken wings and either throw them away or save them for making stock. Cut the chicken wings in half at the joints. Heat a skillet with 2" of frying oil on the stove top. Fry the chicken wings until they are finished, about 5-8 minutes. Drain.
While your wings are frying, melt butter and the hot sauce in a pan. Once the wings have drained and the sauce is melted, toss the wings in the sauce to coat. Serve and enjoy.
Blue Cheese Dip
The Joy of Cooking
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 finely chopped parsley
- 1 to 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice or red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- Pinch of ground red pepper
- 4 oz. Roquefort or other blue cheese
Preparation:
Combine all of the above ingredients in your food processor and process until smooth. We normally put in 3/4 of the blue cheese before it processes and then add the last 1/4 at the end so that there will be some blue cheese chunks throughout.
Note: This recipe makes quite a bit though it says it only makes 2 1/4 cups. If you do not plan on using it later on, we would recommend cutting it in half. However you could also use on salads or as a dip for any other veggies you may have out.
