Bob's Buffalo Chicken Wings

Boneless Buffalo-Style Chicken Wings

Back-story One

I first made these wings for Super Bowl XLV (that’s 45 for you non-Romans). In that game the Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. The second time I made them was on September 3, 2011 when BYU beat Ole Miss. The team I was cheering for won both times that I have made them. Keep that in mind when you are considering whether or not to make them. I don’t want you spoiling their perfect record.

Back-story 2

I always preferred Buffalo wings on the bone; you know the way they are made in nature. However, after getting married I learned that boneless wings can be just as good, if not better. They are a lot less work to eat.

Acknowledgement

I stole this recipe from some guy named Matt Swick on cooks.com. Very little has been changed (except the funny parts...that's all me).

Equipment

- 9x11 inch baking pan

- Medium-sized sauce pan

- Frying pan

- 1 gallon Ziploc® bag (generic equivalent is fine)

- Bowl (large, but not too big)

- Bowl (large, but not too big)*

- Tongs

- Paper Towels

- Platter

- Sufficient aluminum foil to cover the top of the 9x11 baking pan.

* You can either use 2 bowls or you can use the same bowl twice and clean it out between steps (see step 6 in Procedure section below)

Ingredients

- 2.5 pounds (40 ounces) of chicken tenderloins**

- 2 cups (1 pint) of Buffalo wing sauce (I use Frank's)

- 1.5 cups (72 teaspoons) of butter

- 2 cups (32 tablespoons) of flour

- 1 tablespoon (1/16^th cup) pepper

- 4 large chicken eggs***

- Oil sufficient for frying

- Blue Cheese dressing (optional)

- Celery sticks (optional)

** You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead, but tenderloins are the perfect size. If you choose to use boneless skinless chicken breasts, please consider cutting them to the approximate size of a standard chicken tenderloin, because as we have established, that is the perfect size. You should get about 3 tenderloin-sized pieces per chicken breast. I have never used chicken breasts, so this knowledge (3 tenderloin-sized pieces per chicken breast) comes from Matt Swick, who if you remember, is the guy from whom I stole this recipe (see Acknowledgment above).

*** If you don’t have chicken eggs at your disposal, quail eggs will also work. Keep in mind that it takes 4 or 5 quail eggs to equal the volume of 1 chicken egg.

Procedure

1. Crack eggs into the bowl (the large, but not too big one) and beat them
2. Place the 2.5 pounds of chicken tenderloins into the beaten eggs and allow the chicken to soak for 10 minutes.
3. Dump the 32 tablespoons of flour and the 1/16^th cup of pepper into the 1 gallon Ziploc® bag (or generic equivalent). Seal the bag and shake it so the pepper is blended into the flour.
4. Pour 13 mm (about 1/2 inch) of oil into the frying pan and heat it until it is hot, like 300-350 degrees or something (maybe hotter, I am not an expert)
5. After the chicken tenderloins have soaked for 10 minutes in the beaten eggs, place the chicken tenderloins (now covered with egg) into the 1 gallon Ziploc® bag (or generic equivalent). Seal the Ziploc® bag (or generic equivalent) and while doing so, allow as much air into the bag with the flour, pepper, and egg-covered chicken as possile. Shake the Ziploc® bag (or generic equivalent) until the chicken tenderloins are coated with the flour/pepper mixture. According to Matt Swick, the air in the bag provides space for the flour/pepper mixture to coat the egg-soaked chicken.
6. This step varies depending on your decision to use 1 or 2 bowls (see Equipment above)
1. If you have selected to use 2 different bowls: Pour the flour/pepper-coated chicken tenderloins into the second bowl (not the one with the egg-mixture in it).
2. If you selected to use only 1 bowl you will need to wash the bowl in which the chicken tenderloins soaked in the egg mixture. After washing and drying that bowl, pour the flour/pepper-coated chicken tenderloins into that bowl.
7. Check to make sure that your oil is hot. Warning: DO NOT dip your finger into the oil to see if it is hot. Although this is an effective means to determine whether or not the oil is hot, it is not smart.
8. Lay 2 to 3 layers of paper towel down on the top of your platter.
9. Using tongs, place the flour/pepper-coated chicken tenderloins into the oil. Please note: the quantity that you will be able to fry at one time will depend greatly on how large your frying pan is. Fry the chicken tenderloins for about 240 seconds (1/15^th hour) per side or until a nice golden-brown. Do not be concerned too much about cooking the chicken at this point; that comes later (see step 16 below).
10. Place the golden-brown, fried chicken tenderloins onto the paper towel-coated platter (see step 8 above) to cool. The paper towel will magically absorb any excess oil.
11. In a medium sauce pan, melt the 72 teaspoons of butter.
12. Preheat oven to 450 Kelvin (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
13. Once the butter is melted, pour in the pint of Buffalo wing sauce. You just want to heat it up a bit; the sauce does not need to boil or anything like that.
14. Take all of the fried chicken tenderloins and place them in the 9x11 inch baking pan. Arrange them in a manner that will allow for even coverage with sauce. No distinct pattern is required, but you just don’t want them in a big pile.
15. Pour the butter/wing sauce sauce over the fried chicken tenderloins.
16. Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil
17. Once the oven has reached the specified temperature (see step 12 above), place the aluminum foil-covered pan in the oven for 1/24^th of a day (3600 seconds). This is why you didn’t have to worry about fully cooking the chicken during the frying process; you are baking them too…genius!
18. Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks (optional)
19. Enjoy! (mandatory)

ChexÒ Muddy Buddies

Jeff Sokol

9 c. of Chex

1 c. chocolate chips

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. butter

1½ c. powdered sugar

Microwave butter, chocolate chips, and peanut butter for 1- 1½ minutes. Add vanilla. Mix in a Ziploc bag to coat the Chex.

Pazookee

Steve Sokol

Reverse engineered from BJ's restaurant.

Take one tube of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough.
Spread it out in a personal pizza pan (like 6 inches across) so this is basically one big cookie.
Cook it according to instructions for cookies. This will leave the giant cookie pretty rare. That is perfect.
Put a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top.
Eat while the cookie is still burning hot and before the ice cream melts. This might mean you have to eat really fast--go for it.
Viola--you have created a wonderful treat. This will make you gain weight and is probably bad for your heart--certainly increases your risk of diabetes. It might also burn your mouth and give you an ice-cream headache. But some things are worth it.

Pizza Dough

Tim Bahr

After Hayley made several attempts to make the perfect pizza crust and was unsuccessful, I decided to take it into my own hands.

2¾ to 3¼ c. flour

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. warm water

2 Tbsp cooking oil or olive oil

In large mixing bowl combine 1¼ cups of the flour, the yeast, and 1/4 tsp. salt; add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the remaining flour.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes). Divide dough in half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes.

Grease two 12-inch pizza pans or baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle with cornmeal. On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough portion into a 13-inch circle. Transfer to pans. Build up edges slightly. Do not let rise. Spread sauce onto crust and top with your favorite pizza toppings. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Grilled Chili-Lime Corn on the Cob

Bob Sokol

I read about this online and tried doing it the fancy way by grilling it in the husks, but it sucked (the preparation, not the corn), so I don’t do it that way anymore. This way tastes just as good and is a lot easier.

Make the chili-lime butter with the following stuff (makes 4 ears):

3 T. of unsalted butter at room temp (or microwaved so it is soft)

1 T. of lime zest (I don’t have a zester, so I use a cheese grater)

1 tsp. of chili powder

1 tsp. of salt

1/2 tsp. of cracked black pepper

1/4 tsp. of garlic powder

Shuck the corn. Smear the chili-lime butter onto the corn. Wrap the corn in tin foil. Grill over hot coals for 15 to 20 minutes. You can also smear more chili-lime butter on the corn before you eat it. (4 drams = 1 tablespoon)

Eggs in a Bun

Charlie Sokol, from the kitchen of Gayle Sokol.

Charlie's mother made these for breakfast when he was little. He remembers having them often because they were so good.

4 hamburger buns, may be day-old

4 small eggs

1 T. melted margarine

Put hamburger buns onto a greased cookie sheet. Cut a circle in the middle, reserving bread. Crack an egg into hole. Make bread crumbs using the taken-out middle bread and melted margarine. Crumble this on top of the egg.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes. If you like your eggs softer, bake less time. Makes 4 Eggs in a Bun.

Pok Chuk

Jeff Sokol

Naranja agria marinade (can find in Latin markets*)

Salt and pepper

Pork, sliced thin

Marinate the pork in the naranja agria marinade. Grill on BBQ with salt and pepper. Serve with tortillas, pickled onion, beans and rice, and cilantro.

*If you can’t find the marinade, use 1 grapefruit, 1 orange, and 1 lime to make your own. Naranja agria is a sour orange that you can’t buy here, but can find in the markets in Mexico.

Baby Back Ribs

Bob Sokol

I like ribs, so I learned how to make them by combining stuff that sounded good from different sites on the Internet.

Make a dry rub using the following stuff:

About 1/2 c. brown sugar

About 1/4 c. paprika

2 big spoonfuls of kosher salt

1 big spoonful of black pepper

1 big spoonful of garlic powder

1 big spoonful of onion powder

1 big spoonful of chili powder

1 small spoonful of cayenne pepper (optional)

Take the membrane of the back of the ribs if it is there. Apply rib rub generously onto the ribs, wrap individual slabs in foil (shiny side out) and refrigerate over night (or at least a couple of hours).

When you are ready to begin cooking, open one end of the tin foil and pour in about 1 cup of braising liquid* and reseal them. Put the ribs (which are in the foil) on a cookie sheet and braise the ribs (bake them) for 150 to 180 minutes. Before removing the ribs from the oven, prepare a barbeque (preferably charcoal) grill.

Remove the ribs from the foil and sear them on the grill (5 to 10 minutes per side) and apply BBQ sauce as desired. If you don’t own a grill (or it is too cold to go outside) you can also finish them under the broiler.

I use store-bought Brisket sauce and liquid smoke in a 2 to 1 ratio. Some people use BBQ sauce, but I am not a fan of that. You can use just about anything; you just don’t want the meat to dry out.

I’ve never tried it, but here is Alton Brown’s braising liquid recipe:

1 c. white wine

2 T. white wine vinegar

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. honey

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Chicken Curry

Jeff Sokol

3-5 chicken thighs

1-2 potatoes

1/4 green pepper

2-4 carrots

1/4-1/2 onion

1 cube Chicken bullion

Curry powder (we buy cubes)

Teriyaki sauce

Soy sauce

Brown Sugar

Boil chicken thighs in water. Empty all but what looks like 2 c. of water. Add desired amount of chopped carrots and onions. Add bullion, curry powder, brown sugar, teriyaki and soy sauce according to desired flavor. Add already cooked potatoes already cubed. Thicken with cornstarch if needed. Serve over rice.