Buffalo can fly?

Most people's fathers have those corny jokes that get repeated over and over again. Asking me if buffalo could fly was one of my father's go to cornball jokes. Luckily I haven't heard it as much as others since I haven't really fallen in love with spicy chicken wings until college. 

My fraternity, ZBT, seemed to host most get togethers at a chain sports bar named Damon's. The place was wonderful. Four huge screens and a volume selector for whichever game you were watching, large booths that could accommodate at least the executive board (we weren't the sveltest of people), and best of all, amazing wings. Unfortunately the number of Damon's are dwindling and the one that opened by me in Jersey closed very quickly, but the love of wings that was ingrained in me during these formative years is still here and I usually set out to try the wings in most places I go.

That leads to tonight's dinner: TJ's Rooster Wings

I could start by telling you about the wings, but I will start with something I think is oft overlooked: the blue cheese dressing. All commercially available blue cheese dressings are trash. I can say that because I do believe that I've tried them all. They are always too sweet. Sometimes the flavor of the namesake cheese is crowded out by other flavors. No matter what, there is something wrong with all of them. It was because of this that I resorted to the unthinkable for a couple of years... ranch dressing. I tried a bunch of different recipes myself and just could not nail the taste I was looking for. The ranch was suboptimal at best, but would have to do. Last year I decided to give it another go in creating a blue cheese dressing I was at least happy about. There is just something abut the tang of the cheese mixed with the spiciness of the wing that just makes the perfect meal.

I finally found it. I made the simplest of recipes by looking at a number of recipes and paring them down to the basics. My recipe has 5 ingredients. That is all you need for the perfect accoutrement to your greasy, fatty, spicy wings. I had a request to list recipes so here ya go:

1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles (I use a Wisconsin buttermilk blue cheese)

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

I minced garlic clove

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend.  This makes a very smooth dressing. If you want it to be chunky, I have added more crumbles after the blend.

Now to the rooster wings. Any idea why I call them that? Remember that heavenly hot sauce Sriracha I mentioned a few posts ago? There is a rooster featured predominantly on its label and since it is the main component to my hot wing sauce I decided to honor the animal in the name.

2 lbs of wings, separated into pieces, tips discarded 

3 tbsp melted butter

1/4 cup hot sauce (I use Sriracha)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Dash of black pepper

(You can also add paprika if you want the wings to have a more deep red color, but I usually leave it out since I don't care for it)

Mix together everything but the wings in a bowl. Set aside 2 tbsp of the sauce and marinate the chicken wings in the remaining sauce for a minimum of 30 minutes. Broil (note I'm not frying the wings, this makes me joke with my wife that I'm eating healthy) the wings for 10 minutes, turn over and broil for 10 more minutes. (Watch the wings during these final minutes. They can get very dark). Remove from oven and toss with the set aside sauce.

I've made many different wings. Like most my meals, some have been great and some have been tossed after a bite. These are the best wings I have ever made. I also make a grilled wing with a spicy BBQ sauce, but that is a post for another day.

What type of wings do you like? Are you a breaded or unbreaded  type of person? Wet sauce or dry rub? There are so many different options with the wing, and each one can be delicious. 

A healthy dinner option

Despite the fact that my body looks like it was built on grease, trans fat, and sugar, every now and then a healthy meal does make it inside my belly. Tonight was one of those nights. 

 The picture did not come out very well, but that is stir fried chicken breast with fresh asparagus, red onion, and baby portobello. 

I've tried to do these stir fries vegetarian before, but I truly do miss the meat component, and don't give me that tofu garbage. I like tofu as a part of a dish, such as in hot and sour soup, but it is not a meat substitute. 

This dish was amazing. I made a garlic sauce that I coated and sautéed the dish in for a minute prior to serving. This sauce didn't overwhelm the great taste if the asparagus, but just left a subtle hint of garlic.  The one thing I wish I did was have a bed of rice for the meal. The left over sauce would have perfectly flavored the rice.

For dessert I had a wonderful peanut butter cream pie from... You guessed it, Wegmans. A wonderfully dense pie of a peanut butter cream and Oreo crust topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  Unfortunately for you I forgot to picture it prior to devouring it. Still some left so look for it in a future post. 

What type of Chinese food do you like to make? Or are you simply a take out type of person? What do you normally order?

The end of a beautiful Sunday

First off, while I am doing my second post in a day, do not expect this. I am going to try and at least do three posts a week but hopefully more will be completed. 

Now to answer the question that is on everyone's mind: ”What time did the whining begin?"  She must have gotten up very early this morning because the hour of our discontent was around six, or right when we were sitting down for dinner. Nothing beats trying to relax with some perfectly seared meat than having a young child whining to you about how she now hates hot dogs despite eating them yesterday. 

We had a wonderful day today at the pool and then strawberry picking, which I will regale you with in tomorrow's post after I process the pictures. But now for our meal tonight. 

 Tonight was my first attempt at sliders. Usually I make my own burgers with 80/20 ground beef, cooked until medium rare and wonderfully juicy in the middle. Today I opted to get these pre made sliders at my favorite food store Wegmans. Not only is Wegmans great for the wonderful selection of food, but also because they offer an hour and a half of free child care for those that are shopping there. Have any of you tried to go grocery shopping with a 5 year old? Seriously, Wegmans could offer me horrible brand X food and I would still love them simply for the babysitting. 

These were a wonderful burger that had Swiss Cheese and sautéed portobello mushrooms mixed in. I've had them in the larger, normal-sized burger before, but the slider represented a slight challenge for me. I found that I should have cooked them a little less, but luckily the amount of cheese that was mixed in kept them juicy despite cooking them to a slightly more done medium than I am used to.  

When they were done I dressed them with a slice of tomato, some of my homemade half-sour pickles (blog post about these forthcoming), and my horseradish cream sauce I made for a roast beef I made the for a previous meal.

It was good, I've had better but these were decent and I may try them again, except next time I would probably just make my own.

What are your favorite combinations to have on burgers or sliders? Where do you side on the full sized burger vs. slider debate?