Fiery Buffalo Wings

Surprise quick entry!!! 

On Superbowl Sunday, my fiance's mom bought about 2 pounds of chicken wings, and then decided she didn't want them. Well, we happened to be at the right place at the right time and she handed the wings over to us! We didn't end up eating them on Sunday (my 7 layer dip was just way too filling), so they sat in the fridge until I decided what to do with them. 

I finally decided! On Thursday night, I made fiery buffalo wings.

I haven't mentioned my favorite book Cook This, Not That! in awhile. I think the last recipe I pulled from it was the French pot roast. Anyway, this book's expertise lies in taking popular fast-food or chain restaurant menu items and creating healthier, cheaper alternatives. This recipe is based off of Hooter's wings (because why else would you go to Hooters?!). If you follow this recipe, according to the book, you will save yourself about 700 calories! You can't beat that! 

FIERY BUFFALO WINGS, courtesy of Cook This, Not That!

YOU WILL NEED:

2 lbs chicken wings (preferably a mix of wing segments and drummettes)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot or Cholula work best)

Juice of 1 lemon
Celery sticks (optional)

mise-en-place

You will also need a baking sheet and a medium or large skillet.

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Toss the chicken with the salt, pepper and chili powder (using a gallon-sized zip-closed bag is the easiest way) and arrange on a baking sheet. Roast until the skin is lightly blistered and the meat is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

2. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet or saute pan. Add the hot sauce and the lemon juice. Remove the wings from the oven and add directly to the hot pan, tossing thoroughly to coat every piece in the sauce.

3. Serve the wings with celery sticks on the side and blue cheese dressing.

I asked my fiance what he wanted with the wings, and he requested jasmine rice and peas. Ask and you shall receive!

Now, I didn't have the ingredients to make blue cheese dressing, but here's a quick way of doing it:

Mix 1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt (like Fage 2%) with 2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese and about 2 tbsp lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste!

I have made the dressing before and it is very light and refreshing, and the taste is not overpowering like bottled dressing is. It's quite pleasant.

Wow, this really was a super short entry. Well, tonight's recipe will be posted tomorrow and it will make up for it: it's shrimp scampi night! I swear, you will be so impressed with how easy this is. I am pretty excited! The shrimp in my fridge are calling to me. And yes, you will learn how to peel and de-vein shrimp!

Stay tuned, eaters.