I said I'd make Buffalo wings, and here they are! They're super easy, and very tasty, crispy and spicy - a nice change from the usual sticky-glazed wings we seem to eat in Australia. For some reason, any time I eat something uninspiring or unsatisfactory at a restaurant, I leave absolutely determined to cook a better version myself. I made these, a week after our trip to Captain America's, to share at a cocktail party my friends were having. (The same cocktail party to which we brought the rainbow cookies, incidentally. It was a good party!)
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| Looks like KFC, yes yes? |
The sauce smelled incredibly hot and acidic, so I only coated half the wings in the sauce in case it was too powerful. (I later realised that I forgot to add the 6 tbs of butter that the recipe asks for - whoops!). But it actually tasted great: spicy, yes, but not overpoweringly so. They were super-addictive, and we totally smashed them! Even better than the wings, though, was the blue cheese dressing - so delicious. Even people who don't like blue cheese seem to like this: the sour cream seem to mellow out the intensity of the blue cheese, to make it a very accessible taste. I ate the leftover dip with crackers, with celery sticks, drizzled over steak... and I'm sure it would be great as a dressing for a chunky cos lettuce salad!
I'm actually not too sure on the reasoning for having celery sticks with the wings - is it to maintain a pretence of healthiness? Or simply for a crunchy contrast? - but either way, the combo was fabulous. I actually detest raw celery, but when it's dipped into the sharp blue cheese dressing, well, I realised that raw celery actually has a purpose.
Authentic Anchor Bar Buffalo Chicken Wings
Recipe from About.com
Ingredients
36 chicken wingettes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 cup plain flour
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons Frank's Louisiana hot sauce
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Toss the wingettes in a bowl with the oil and salt. Place into a large plastic zip-lock bag, and add the flour. Shake to coat evenly. Remove wings from the bag, shaking off excess flour, and spread out in a single layer on foil-lined baking trays. Bake for about 20 minutes, turn the wings over, and cook another 20 minutes, or until the wings are cooked through and browned.
While the wings are cooking, mix all the remaining ingredients in a pan, and over low heat bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and then turn off. After the wings are cooked, transfer to a large mixing bowl. Pour the sauce over the hot wings and toss with a spoon or spatula to completely coat.
Serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.
Blue Cheese Dressing
Recipe (with slight adaptations) from Kottke.org
Ingredients
1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves
2 tbsp fresh chives
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
Salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
Method
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender, and whizz until smooth. That's it! Tastes fabulous with the Buffalo wings, as a salad dressing, as a dip, to accompany steak or a baked potato...
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