Spicy Curry Wings

Spicy Curry Wings

Wing Time.  However, it is getting difficult to come up with new flavors.  Recently, we have been eating more Indian food.  I decided to see how curry wings would work out. Really well I must say.

I know this calls for a lot of spices, but you probably have most of them in your pantry already.  The garam marsala can be found in most grocery stores.  You can make more of the sauce later.  It can be used to stew chicken or poured over poached fish or shrimp.

Servings:  Dozen wings

Hardware:  Kitchen scissors, 2 large plastic Ziploc bags, a plate, plastic wrap, measuring cups and spoons, a large heavy skillet with a lid (I use cast iron), thermometer, tongs, a baking sheet, a cooling rack (or paper towels), a sauce pot

Time: Prep-15 minutes, Rest time: 30 minutes, Cook-15 minutes

(Start cooking about 2 hours before you want to serve the wings)

Ingredients:

• 1 dozen wings
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon garam marsala
• Salt & pepper
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup milk
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• ½ cup cream
• 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon garam marsala
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• cilantro for garnish

1. Use the kitchen scissors to separate the flaps from the drummettes.  Also snip the points from the flaps. Liberally salt and pepper the wings.
   Mix the flour, cornstarch, curry powder and teaspoon garam marsala in a Ziploc bag.  Shake up.
2. Put the eggs and milk in the other Ziploc bag.  Shake like crazy.  Make sure the eggs are completely mixed.
3. Put the chicken in the flour.  Shake up. Then put the chicken in the egg mixture.  Then back into the flour mixture.  You can repeat this process if you like more breading.
4. Put the chicken on the plate and cover in plastic wrap.  Put in the fridge for 30 minutes.  This will help the batter adhere to the chicken.  You can leave the chicken in the fridge for up to three hours.  Remove the plate from the fridge about ½ hour before cooking to allow the chicken to warm up.  This will allow the wings to cook evenly.
5. Place the cooling rack over the baking sheet.  If you don’t have a cooling rack, just line the baking dish with paper towels.  Set aside.
6. Put enough oil in the pan to fill it about half way up.  Pre-heat the oil until it is 350°.  This step is very important to keep the chicken from absorbing too much oil and becoming greasy.  You will want to adjust the temperature while cooking so the oil stays between 300° to 400°.   
7. Place the wings in a single layer in the hot oil.  Do not crowd the chicken.  You may need to cook in batches. Cover the chicken and do not turn for at least 5 minutes.
8. Turn the chicken and cook until it is a crispy golden brown.  The drummettes take longer than the flaps.  To make sure your chicken is done, cut into the thickest part of a drummette, the juices that run out should be clear and the meat should be completely opaque and have no hint of pink.
9. As the chicken finishes, place it on the cooling rack to drain.  You can place the cooling rack in the oven on the lowest setting to keep the chicken warm.
10. While the wings are cooking place the tomato sauce, cream and the remaining spices in the sauce pot on medium.  Turn down to low and simmer. Stir often enough to keep the sauce from sticking.
11. When all the wings are finished, pour the sauce over them. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve warm.

Lemon Honey Wings

Super Bowl time again. That means wings! These are sweet and sticky and very good.

Lemon Honey Wings

Servings:  Dozen wings

Hardware:  Kitchen scissors, measuring spoons and cups, a baking sheet, a cooling rack (or foil), a sauce pot, wooden spoon, a large bowl

Time: Prep-10 minutes, Marinate-4-6 hours, Cook-50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 wings
• ½ + ½ stick of butter softened
• 4 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
• Salt
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• Cooking spray

1.  Use the kitchen scissors to separate the flaps from the drummettes. Also snip the points from the flaps. Refrigerate until needed. Remove the wings from the fridge about ½ hour before cooking.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°. Place the cooling rack over the baking sheet. If you don’t have a cooling rack, just line the baking dish with foil. Spray liberally with cooking spray.
3. Liberally salt the wings. Mix ½ stick of the butter with the lemon pepper. Rub the wings with the butter mixture until they are completely coated.
4. Lay the wings in a single layer on the cooling rack place in the oven.  Cook for 20 minutes. Flip and bake for 20 more. If you prefer crispier wings turn the broiler on for 5 minutes or so. Make sure to monitor them so they don't burn. Turn the oven off and leave in the warm oven for 10 minutes.
5. While the chicken is cooking, place the remaining butter, brown sugar, and lemon juice into the sauce pot.  Heat on medium high, stirring until the butter is completely melted.
6. Remove the wings from the oven and toss in the honey sauce. Serve warm.

Monte Cristo

My husband and I went to Las Vegas this Christmas. Las Vegas has some of the best restaurants in the country.  One of my favorites is Bouchon, a French bistro located in the Venetian. Bouchon is one of Thomas Keller’s restaurants.  He has won many James Beard awards (best chef in America 1997) and his restaurant French Laundry is on my bucket list. While not the French Laundry, Bouchon is still delightful.  The bistro itself is beautiful. Everything is muted and elegant.  And even though it is very high end, it is unpretentious.  They serve French fries.

We had brunch there after sleeping in one morning. I had Eggs Benedict and my husband had the Croque Madame. The Croque Madame is a ham and cheese sandwich, dipped in egg and toasted, then topped with a fried egg and Monray sauce. We washed brunch down with champagne, because we were in Las Vegas at a Lyonnaise restaurant and that’s what you do. Decadence with style.

The food was so good that I began to research the Croque Madame and found out that it was the sister sandwich of the Croque Monsieur-same sandwich, no egg. These two French basics have an American cousin, The Monte Cristo.  Remember those things from Bennigans? Fried cheesy goodness, sprinkled with powdered sugar.  Okay, they aren’t health food.  But they are yummy. I decided to make a Monte Cristo.

Most of the recipes I saw called for dipping the sandwich in plain egg.  But I remember the Bennigan’s sandwich as being battered. So I made up a savory batter. When I make this again, I might cut the edges of the sandwiches off right before dipping them.  Having even edges would have made this easier to cook. Even so, this was delicious.

Servings: 2-4 (2 sandwiches)

Time:  Prep: 15 minutes         Cooking:  8-10 minutes per sandwich

Hardware:  A cutting board and knife, measuring spoons and cups, 2 mixing bowls, a whisk, a large deep skillet, a spatula, a paper towel covered plate

Ham, Cheese, Turkey, and Powdered Sugar

Ingredients

• 6 slices of bread
• ⅓ (5 oz.) turkey cold cuts, sliced thin
• ⅓ (5 oz.) ham cold cuts, sliced thin
• 4-1 ounce slices emmenthaler or Swiss cheese
• 1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• Oil to fill the pan ½ way
• Powdered sugar, red current jam

Monte Cristo

1. Start with 3 slices of bread. Spread mustard on two of them. Place a slice of cheese on each of those. Pile half the turkey on one and half the ham on the other. Spread mustard on both sides of the third bread slice. Place that third slice on top of the ham and then flip the turkey over onto that slice to create a triple-decker sandwich. Press it down a little to compress it. Now create the other sandwich following the same instructions.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together in one bowl. Whisk the eggs and milk together in the second bowl.
3. Fill the skillet half way with oil and heat it over medium. 
4. While the oil is heating, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Press the sandwiches down again. Dip each sandwich into the batter. Turn to make sure the sandwich is covered. Then place the sandwich into the hot oil and fry until it is golden brown.  This takes about 4 or 5 minutes. Then flip the Monte Cristo over and fry the other side for 4-5 more minutes.  Remove the Monte Cristo to the paper towel covered plate.
5. When the sandwiches are cool enough to handle, sprinkle them with powdered sugar. Cut them diagonally and serve warm with current jelly for dipping.