Buffalo Chicken Wings

Plated and ready to eat!

inspiration: We love Buffalo Chicken Wings and during Super Bowl season, the cravings are stronger than ever! Since we don't have a deep fryer and also want to make these as easy as possible, after much trial and error, we found this method for baking the wings just as good, if not better, as the ones you find traditionally made in restaurants and bars.

ingredients:

• 36 raw chicken wings
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1 tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. cayenne powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup Franks Red Hot sauce
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (homemade or store bought)
• 1/2 cup Thai Chili sauce

method: Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.

In a small bowl or Ball mason jar, combine the flour, garlic powder, chili powder, chili powder, cumin powder, cayenne powder, salt, pepper and stir to combine.

Remove chicken wings from their packaging and pat dry with a paper towel to remove any liquid and moisture. This will ensure the dry rub will stick evenly to the skin and also help the wings to get crispy in the oven. Place the wings in either a large bowl or a large freezer bag and add in the spice flour rub. Toss or shake to combine and coat the wings with the mixture.

In another very large bowl, big enough to fit all the wings, combine the Franks Red Hot sauce, barbeque sauce, and Thai Chili sauce to make the Buffalo Sauce that will coat the wings when cooked and set aside.

Place the wings, evenly spaced and fatty side up, on a large baking sheet.

Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the wings from the oven and while they are still hot, put the wings in the large bowl with the Buffalo Sauce and toss to combine, coating each one with lots of sauce.

Plate the wings in a large bowl or on a platter with Blue Cheese dip and enjoy!

entertaining notes: Chicken Wings can be made 3 hours ahead of time, left, covered at room temperature, and then reheated at 400 degrees for 15 minutes if needed.

Yields: 36 wings (serves about 3 people)

Spice rub in the blue Ball

Shake & bake!

The sauce bath

Spice rubbed wings ready for the oven

Cooked wings ready for a sauce bath

Buffalo Chicken Puff Pastry Bites

Shredded chicken filling

inspiration: Everybody loves a good Buffalo Chicken wing! We wanted to make a tasty appetizer but nothing typical because sometimes you don't want to mess with the bone. We deconstructed the flavors and put them in a nice tasty puff pastry package.

ingredients:

• 1 package of puff pastry plus flour for dusting
• 1 whole chicken, cooked and meat fork shredded
• 2 cups Franks hot sauce
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup chopped jalapeños
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 eggs for egg wash

method: In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, hot sauce, blue cheese, scallions, jalapeños, salt and pepper and gently fold together.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Dust counter surface and roller with flour and cut each sheet into 9, 3x3" pieces. Take each piece, and roll out till about 3/8" thick and approximately 4x4". Place the mixture into the center of each piece, egg wash along the edges and fold over to form rectangles and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Place each one on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper so they are crowded but not touching.

At this point you can do one of three things: cook them off, refrigerate for cooking later, or freeze for another day. If you are freezing, place the cookie sheet in the freezer and let them set for about 30 minutes before putting in a freezer bag so they dont stick together.

When ready to cook, egg wash the pieces (with egg and hot sauce for color and flavor) and place in the oven.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until nice and golden brown.

Serve warm or room temperature and enjoy! These are also great served along side a blue cheese dip.

entertaining notes: These can be made ahead of time and frozen with the egg wash for about 2 months in the freezer.

Yields: Makes 18 puff pastry bites.