Buffalo Chicken Wings

One really great outcome of eating GF/CF is that processed foods are, for the most part, off limits. (OK, I know not everyone will agree that’s a good thing but hear me out.)

When I started down this road I eliminated all those convenient boxes, cans and junk foods and began cooking more things from scratch. I never eat a baked good that doesn’t come from my own kitchen. I make most of my own sauces and salad dressings. I’m not fanatic about this. I have my vices~the occasional potato chip or Starburst makes it’s way into my mouth. But, with convenience foods basically taboo I really eat so much better than I ever did before. And, I like it.

I will come out publically and say I’m torn about the number of GF foods now making their way into the mainstream. (I may have to duck a few flying GF rolls for saying such a thing.) Sure, it seems great for those of us who cannot have gluten to now have a cake available at Starbucks, more readily available baking mixes, or a larger variety of breakfast cereals. But, is it really a good thing to add more processed food back into our lives? Obviously, that’s a personal view and each of us will have our own take. And, I will buy some of these convenient products but not so much as before.

This lifestyle requires we all cook—and, cook a lot. And, the result is wonderful. Cooking is so creative. And, it means that we know what we’re eating and serving to our families. All the ingredients are whole ingredients. For the most part, they aren’t chemicals or preservatives or who knows what. Admit it, we’re all healthier now than when we ate a lot of processed foods.

How does this all relate to Buffalo Chicken Wings? We have to have some of those comfort foods from before. I miss some food, don’t you? So, like all my friends out there in the blogiverse and beyond, ya gotta make some of this stuff at home in order not to feel deprived.

And, wings, to me anyway, are a comfort food. Little saucy nuggets of pleasure. I admit I like sloppy, tasty foods I can eat with my hands. There’s something about picking them up and slurping them that adds to the delight of having wings. And, these wings, as we say in NJ, are “to die for”. You won’t be able to make enough. Trust me on this.

Serve with Buffalo Sauce, recipe found HERE.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

20 chicken wings
½ cup sorghum flour
2 tablespoons fine corn meal
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper
olive oil for drizzling
Buffalo Sauce

3 stalks celery and 2 carrots cut into small sticks
Blue cheese dressing (if you aren’t CF/dairy-free)

Preheat the oven to 400℉. Use Convection Roast if you have a convection oven.

Prepare the Buffalo Sauce. You can do this while the wings are cooking.

Cut off the wing tips and discard (or use for soup). Cut the wings in half at the joint. Trim excess skin or fat.

Put the flour, cornmeal, paprika, chili powder, salt and pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Place all the chicken pieces in the bag. Seal and shake to assure all the chicken pieces are covered with the flour mixture.

Line the bottom of a broiler pan with a piece of parchment or aluminum foil and replace the broiler pan top. Remove the chicken pieces (shaking off excess flour) and place them on the broiler pan. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Put the wings in the hot oven and roast for 15 minutes. Turn them and roast another 15 minutes. They should be getting fairly crispy by now.

Remove the broiler pan but keep the oven on. Place about 2 or 3 tablespoons of the Buffalo Sauce into the bottom of a small shallow bowl or dish. Brush each wing lightly with the sauce – don’t worry about coating the wings thoroughly but get some of the sauce on each side.

Return to the oven for another 12 minutes turning once in the middle.

If you want them a little more brown and crispy—turn on the broiler. Place the wings under it for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Watch carefully because they will brown up quickly.

Remove the wings from the oven, plate, and serve with the leftover Buffalo Sauce, carrots, celery and blue cheese dressing (optional).

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Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Dipping Sauce

It’s grilling season. Wahoo! At 6pm, out on my deck to take in the great outdoors, I sniff the wonderful scent of my neighbors’ dinners cooking. Steak, chicken, fish, veggies. Mmm.

I love my grill. Both of them—the gas grill and the little Weber charcoal one. I delight in cooking entire meals on them, night after night. How cool would it be to have an outdoor kitchen like the ones often featured in home and garden magazines? I would spend all my time there. (Until everything is snow covered.) Heaven.

Have you ever noticed how much more relaxing it is to grill your dinner than to cook it in the kitchen? You prep all the food, take it outside, put in on the grill and take a seat. Read a magazine and sip a cool drink while the meal is just cooking away. Sure, you have to check on the food, and maybe flip it, but it just seems so much easier. And, the clean up is almost non-existent.

Here’s the ultimate in outdoor cooking. My husband, sister and I took a wilderness survival course a few years back. (It was fun and informative and we saw a bear. “Cue the bear.” What are the odds? But, I digress.) Anyway, they taught us how to make a meal by cooking it in the earth! You dig a hole and fill it with hot rocks. Then layer vegetation, your food, and more vegetation. Cover the whole thing with soil. Doesn’t that sound awesome? I want to try it some day. (I married an Eagle Scout so I think I can get him to help me make that dream come true.) Again, I’m straying from the objective; let’s move on to the grilled shrimp.

This recipe is simple and fairly quick. It would make a nice appetizer or light dinner for you and your honey. Hope you enjoy.

Interested in other delightful shrimp recipes? Just visit The W.H.O.L.E. Gang Friday Foodie Fix.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Dipping Sauce

The Shrimp
1 pound large shrimp, cleaned and deveined (about 24-30 shrimp)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lime juice
6 or 7 sprigs cilantro, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper
¼ teaspoon chipotle chile pepper powder
¼ teaspoon Spice Hunter Chili Powder Blend

The Dipping Sauce
6 fresh pineapple rings (1/4 to 3/8 inches thick)
2 large onion slices (1/4 inch thick)
3 or 4 springs cilantro, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon Frank’s Hot Sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon lime juice

For the shrimp: Rinse the shrimp, pat dry, and set aside. Mix the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, salt, pepper together in a small bowl. Remove 1 tablespoon and set aside. Stir the remaining chili spices into the marinade mixture. Place the shrimp in a small bowl and pour the spiced marinade over the shrimp tossing well to coat. Let the shrimp marinate in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

Coat the pineapple and onion slices with the remaining marinade. Place them on a preheated grill set at medium heat. They may take about 8-10 minutes to brown nicely. Turn them halfway through cooking and remove when they are slightly wilted and have begun to brown.

Place the shrimp (skewered or in a grill type wok) on the grill about 4 minutes after you have started grilling the pineapple and fruit. Turn the shrimp once cooking them about 4 or 5 minutes total. The meat should be pink and no longer transparent.

The pineapple, onions and shrimp should be done all about the same time. Remove them to a plate.

For the dipping sauce: coarsely chop 4 of the grilled pineapple rings and the 2 onion slices. Place them in the bowl of a small food processor. Add the cilantro, hot sauce, salt, pepper and lime juice and pulse until it has a thick, chunky appearance. (Alternatively, you may just chop all of the ingredients to resemble a salsa and spoon it over the shrimp rather than using it as a dipping sauce.) Place the dipping sauce/salsa in a bowl and serve along side the shrimp as an appetizer or main course accompanied by rice pilaf and a tossed garden salad. Garnish with remaining grilled pineapple slices.

This recipe should serve about 4 people for dinner or 6-8 for appetizers.

Note: Fresh mango or peach would be a great addition to the dipping sauce/salsa. I didn’t have any on hand but would definitely try it next time. Also, the hot sauce is optional. This dish is a little spicy and if you prefer a milder version omit the chili spices and the sauce. It would still be a nice dish.

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