CadeMade Two-for: Gameday Favs - Homemade Chicken Wings

With the Super Bowl this past weekend, I wanted to make something that screams football and I can't even tell you the amount of times I've watched a game eating a batch of wings (with my favorite frosty beverage, of course!).

They come in all ranges of flavors and sauces, from spicy and tart to sweet and smoky to wet and dry.

I decided to make two batches: Sweet Southern Barbeque and Spicy Cajun Dry.  Wow, was it a long process...but the results were worth it!

Check it out!



The Concept: Gameday restaurant fare from Your very own kitchen.

The Ingredients:
4 lbs of chicken wings (tips removed, split at the joint)

For the Sweet Southern Barbeque Sauce (tweaked slightly, originally from The Neelys on FoodNetwork.com):
2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tbsp. sugar
5 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tbsp. black pepper
1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 tbsp. ground mustard
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

For the Spicy Cajun Dry Rub (credit unknown):
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tsp. paprika
5 bay leaves (ground)
3/4 tsp. caraway seeds (ground)
3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (ground)
3/4 tsp. cumin (ground)
3/4 tsp. coriander (ground)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. mustard (ground)
2 tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. lime juice

The Process (tweaked slightly, but the credit for The Process goes to Alton Brown): Beware! The whole process takes at least 5 hours.

For the Sweet Southern Barbeque Wings:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl; reserve 1/2 of the sauce mixture.
2. Place two pounds of wings in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag and cover with the sauce mixture.  Place in the refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Place the reserved sauce mixture in a sauce pan and bring to boil.  Reduce to low heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Allow to cool.
4. Remove the wings from the bag and rinse off the marinade.
5. Place wings in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam for 10 minutes.
6. Remove the wings and allow to dry on a cooling rack in a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
7. Replace paper towels with parchment paper and place the wings on the parchment paper.
8. Spread sauce over the wings using a pastry brush (or the back side of a spoon).  Be sure to cover all sides of the wings.
9. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 minutes, turning the wings after 20 minutes.
10. Remove from oven, serve warm and enjoy!

For the Spicy Cajun Dry Wings:

1. Mix the orange juice and paprika in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag.
2. Place two pounds of chicken wings in the bag. Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Remove the wings from the bag and rinse off the marinade.
4. Place wings in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam for 10 minutes.
5. Remove the wings and allow to dry on a cooling rack in a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
6. Replace paper towels with parchment paper and place the wings on the parchment paper.
7. Combine all remaining ingredients, until it forms a paste. If the paste is too thick to spread easily, add 2 tbsp. water or spirits (brandy, whiskey, vodka, etc.) as needed.
8. Spread paste over the wings using a pastry brush (or the back side of a spoon).  Be sure to cover all sides of the wings.
9. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 minutes, turning the wings after 20 minutes.
10. Remove from oven, serve warm and enjoy!

Pat Yourself on the back because You just spent 5 hours making wings!

Wish I'd Thought Of Thats (WIdTOTs): I don't want to kill You with text, so I'll only put the top 3 here:

• The spiciness of the Cajun Dry wings is directly proportional to the amount of cayenne pepper in the rub - I like my wings pretty spicy, but I also like to enjoy my food; so, I stay away from anything that means: "This will feel like you're eating lava."  I'd say the Cajun Dry rub is about what most restaurants would call "Hot."
• Make more of the barbeque sauce and put it in a jar - The sauce is really tasty! Keep it in Your refrigerator and "wow!" Your friends with homemade barbeque sauce.
• The Kicker - The whole process takes about 5 hours - 3 hours if you let the wings marinade over night.  For some people, 5 hours is simply not worth the satisfaction of making homemade wings.  Fortunately, I'm not one of those people!

The Finished Product:
Not Hooters or Pluckers, but definitely better than the mega chains like WingStop.  If you can stand the kitchen for 5 hours, these wings are definitely worth it!

Enjoy!
-Cade

Bacon-Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Cookies

How was My first post not about cookies? How was it not about bacon?

Ahhh bacon. :-) Mmmmm.

Ahhh cookies. :-) Mmmmm.

So is it "Ahhh bacon cookies. :-) Mmmmm." or "Ahh!! Bacon cookies. >:O Bleeeaahhh."?

Let's find out.

This recipe is from Food Network Magazine. (I warned you!) It's available here.

The Concept:

Cookies are good. I eat cookies. Bacon is good. I eat bacon. Bacon and cookies are good. I eat bacon and cookies. "Lightbulb" yet?

The Ingredients:

Bacon (Duh!), Chocolate chips, and the makings of peanut butter cookie dough.

WIdTOTs:

1. Leave out the chili powder - Let's face it. Bacon's salty and savory, so what's the chili powder supposed to do? That's rhetorical. You can't taste it anyway.
   
2. Mush the chocolate chips into the peanut butter dough BEFORE you ball it out - This is not as easy as it sounds. There's a reason You don't see chocolate-chip peanut butter cookies at your local chippery. Peanut butter cookie dough is not meant to hold chocolate chips. But in this recipe, You're putting the bacon on top and there's just not room for the chips too. You'll make it work. I have faith in You. :-*
3. Cut the bacon BEFORE you cook it - It's much easier to get a consistent chunk and it looks better on your cookie. (Better looking food tastes better.)
4. The Kicker: Don't tell your SigO that You put bacon on their cookie - ...unless of course you were particularly mischievous the last time you said "Close your eyes, sweetheart. Trust me."

The Finished Product:

Sweet. Salty. Satisfying. While I won't put this up there with nacho-cheese-chocolate-chips, it's definitely on par for a savory sweet kick to your taste buds. I'll definitely be making these again. Come on. You know You're thinking it. "Sure. Why not?"

Bacon cookies for breakfast? Yes, please!

-Cade