THE BC Lions nearly made it to the Grey Cup again.
Even though we don't have our team to cheer for, diehard football fans out there will no doubt be gathering to watch the big game anyway.
Here are some recipes to fuel your fervour.
BAKED BUFFALO HOT WINGS
5 lbs. chicken wings, cut at the joints into "drummies" and "flats," bony tips discarded (it's easier to see where the joints are if the wings are skin-side down)
4 Tbsp vegetable oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups flour
Blue cheese dressing (homemade or purchased)
Celery sticks Sauce: 1 cup hot sauce (This is the traditional hot wing sauce. If you can only find Tabasco, which is much hotter, use ½ cup Tabasco and ½ cup chili Sauce)
1 cup butter
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
To make the sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat (make sure the heat is low, you don't want the butter to separate); add the
hot sauce, paprika and Worcestershire and whisk together well to combine.
Rinse the wings with cool water; pat them completely dry with paper towels, then put them in a large bowl and toss with the oil and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the flour evenly over top and toss the wings to coat with flour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees; line a large baking sheet with foil and place two wire baking racks on the sheet (you may have to overlap the racks a bit to get them to fit). Grease the racks using a paper towel dipped in vegetable oil. Arrange the wing pieces on the racks skin side up. They can fit together snugly but don't crowd them so they overlap. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown, then with tongs turn them over and cook for another 20 minutes until crisp. Gently rewarm the sauce and stir well to combine. Put one-third of the wings at a time into a large bowl and pour one-third of the sauce over each batch. With tongs turn the wings to coat them generously with the sauce; transfer to a serving platter. Serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing alongside (and a lot of napkins).
BARBECUED CHICKEN PIZZA
1 12-inch prebaked pizza crust
1 cup barbecue sauce
3 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken (buy a rotisserie chicken to make it easy)
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, sliced into thin rings
1 Tbsp oil
2 cups shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese, or a mixture
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup sour cream, mixed with 2 tsp fresh lime juice
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the onions and red pepper until softened, about three-five minutes. In a medium bowl combine the chopped chicken with half cup of barbecue sauce and stir to coat. Spread half cup of barbecue sauce evenly over the pizza crust. Spoon the chicken mixture evenly over the crust, then distribute the cooked red pepper and onions evenly over that. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top. Place pizza directly on oven rack and bake for about 15 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly. Carefully remove from oven (easiest if with tongs you slide the pizza onto a rimless baking sheet). Drizzle sour cream-lime juice mixture over pizza and sprinkle cilantro over top; cut into narrow wedges. Makes about eight-12 servings, depending on size of slices.
Angela Shellard has done informal catering for sports and business functions. Contact: [email protected].
