Buffalo wings, made at home!

I have an embarrassing confession to make.  I never understood why buffalo wings were called buffalo wings... I mean, they are made with chicken.. it wasn't until a few years ago I twigged they hail from the city of Buffalo NY in the US.  I know.  I feel pretty dumb!

I never really had them until I went to the Philippines either.  The Philippines I refer to as the 53rd state of the US.. It still has a very strong American influence - in it's restaurants, shops and the accent.  There's still a strong American Military presence there also.  

So anyway, back to the buffalo wings... I was surprised at how tasty they were, how moreish and most of all how they were spicy without being too much.  I knew I had to make them for my hubby, a must-make on my list for a while.

The difficult thing about making buffalo wings here in Australia is the sauce most Americans use for it is bought at the store, but not readily available.  So I made my own.  You'll need 1 batch of sauce for 2kg of chicken drummettes.  So clearly you can make a lot, or you can use some of the sauce and make smaller batches.

I used drummettes.  I asked for them at my butcher, sometimes you can get lucky and buy them, but if you don't, just buy chicken wings and cut them at the joint.  Or if you can't be bothered, just leave them whole.

Makes 2kg  - serves 10-15 people for nibbles
Ingredients
2 kg chicken drummettes or wings
1 batch chilli sauce
50 g butter
3 tb worchestershire sauce

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees c

In a saucepan heat the sauce, butter and Worcestershire sauce until the butter is completely melted.  Set aside.

In a frypan, add about 3cm of canola oil and heat until it's ready for shallow fry (it's spits a little)
Add your chicken in batches, then transfer to a tray with kitchen paper to drain.

When all finished, pour the sauce over the wings, and heat in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.

Serve with blue cheese dip if you like!  

I made mine with 100g blue cheese crumbled into 2/3 cup mayonaise and 2/3 cup sour cream and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Just remember one thing.. don't double dip.. well...unless no-one is watching!

Caviar Pie - simple and moorish

In my time in Manila I have met some wonderful folk and I have eaten some wonderful things, and most of the time these two things intersect.   This is one such dish that I tried at a Thanksgiving dinner last November and the minute I tasted it I knew I HAD to have the recipe.

So I politely demanded (!!) the recipe from Tanya whose Mum had made it.  When that recipe arrived in my inbox, I was soo happy.  And then when I saw how simple it was I couldn't understand why I didn't work it out! So simple, so delicious!

I made it last weekend when we were having a social weekend, I made a double batch because we had two social gatherings - but even if you don't I'm warning you - it's addictive you may want to do it anyway!

Even if you are not a fan of caviar I urge you to try it.   Olivia who doesn't even like fish kept coming back for more and more and more... and more.

Soooo good.  Serve it at your next get together or take it to one.  Go on.. you know you want to.



Ingredients
1 tub philadelphia cream cheese
1 tub sour cream
3 spring onions, finely chopped
10 or so garlic chives, finely chopped
lemon juice
lumpfish caviar



Method:
In large ramekins of even teacups, small bowl, whatever you want - line it in cling film, roughly chop up your spring onions, discard ends.

Chop up your garlic chives - good rule of thumb with these if the ends resemble blades of grass, you don't want to eat that bit..

In your food processor, whizz up your spring onion and chives - if you don't have one, chop them up as small as you can.

Add the sour cream and cream cheese.. give it another whizz (again if you don't have a food processor stir very well until well combined - hope your arms are strong!)

Give it a whizz (I did mine for about 20 seconds)

Spoon into your bowls/ramekins and flatten out..  fold over leftover cling wrap to seal on top.

 Refrigerate until you want to use (up to 2 days ahead.

To serve, unwrap the top, turn out onto a plate and top with caviar.. squeeze over some lemon juice.

It doesn't look exciting, but wait til you taste it!

I made a large one in a souffle pan and topped with red caviar! YUM.

How easy can it get!  It certainly is a conversation piece!

Warm Pizza Dip and the multi-national-pot-luck-dinner

Hello everyone I hope your weekend has left you well rested and ready to tackle another week.  These weekends for me go waaaay too fast. Way too fast!

I spent Saturday morning at the hairdresser with the laptop on my lap, then seeing my Nan and then we went to catch the Gymboree sale at Parramatta - not a very short trip but we did get some very cute items, I promised my Mum I would take some photos of their fashion parade, so I may share those with you too.  My frills are growing up SO fast.

Sunday I spent some time cooking - at present Pinterest is a major source of cooking inspiration to me and when I saw this pizza dip on there I knew then and there I would be making it and soon.  In fact I made it only hours later.   It's a great simple recipe that hasn't done the rounds as much as spinach/french onion cob loaf or seven layer dip.  This is incredibly simple and dangerously addictive.

Great to have a with a few wines or take to a gathering - which is what I did - our office is always a flurry with colleagues visiting/staying here in Sydney from all corners of the world we all got together for 'multinational pot luck' night.  It was really fun and delicious, and I'm sure we'll do it again.

Chicken Masala, Beef Rendang, Malaysian Omelette, a tofu dish (I can't remember I don't eat tofu!), crispy duck, Chinese BBQ pork, rice.. salads.. amazing!

But OK, let's get back to the dip!  

Adapted from Closet Cooking

Ingredients:

250g Philadelphia cream cheese

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

1 jar pizza sauce

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, extra

1/4 cup tasty cheese

1/8 cup finely grated parmesan

pepperoni

olives, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees c

Mix together philadelphia cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream,1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.  Spread over the base of a quiche or pie tin.

When it's even, then spread over a pasta sauce - I used woolworth

Then top with remaining mozzarella and tasty cheese, place the pepperoni and olives on top and grate over the remaining parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until bubbly on top.  Serve with pita bread or as I did white corn chips

Look at my friends hoe into it, gone in seconds!

Try it this weekend: Cheese Fondue

If you lived the sixties and seventies you'd remember fondue.  Fondue also had a brief revival in the early naughties, where I first became familiar with preparing it.  These were the days for me that hubby and I were in blissful domesticity, sans kids.    I had an old fondue set, I picked up at my local vinnies and we would make chocolate and cheese fondues sometimes for friends, and sometimes just for us.

When we got married, we put a fondue set on our bridal registry, and lo and behold we got two... one stainless steel and one in cast iron.  Needless to say my orange gem was liberated back to vinnies.. but I decided to keep the book that came with it....

And on the inside the inscription which I love... 'To Diane, for ME, from John'

Clearly, this man loved fondue.  If you don't have a fondue pot, you can use a regular saucepan but you need to be sure that your hob/stove can be set to a low setting, and then you have to eat quick (not hard to do promise!). The beauty of a fondue set is it comes with a burner stand, so you can light a burner with some fuel (methylated spirits) and keep it slowly simmering whilst you dip in..

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic

3 cups swiss cheese (I used a combination of emmental and generic swiss)

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 tsp mustard of your choice

Method:

Rub the inside of your fondue pot or saucepan with the garlic.

Add your grated cheese, wine and mustard.

Put over a very low heat, stir constantly until the cheese melts through...

 Serve with your 'dippers'   I used button mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, grilled hungarian sausage and bread cubes cut from crusty rolls.

The dipping is the fun part - double-dipping not allowed!

Have you had fondue?  What do you like to dip in or what would you like to?

Canape, snack or treat on a cold day - snacky franks!

Not all of us can be saints all the time and these are something I spoilt my family with for a snacky lunch last weekend -  they were warm and tasty and great for a blistery cold winter's day.  I had something like this at a BBQ years ago - but they were actually fried not baked on the BBQ - so you could do that too -  I think these would be perfect for a warm canape for an afternoon in front of the footy.  Easy peasy to prepare too!


Ingredients:
500g cocktail frankfurts (If you or your children are susceptible to food colourings, remove the skins or buy skin-less franks)
3 rashers bacon
sweet mustard (I used swedish mustard - you can buy this one at Ikea - but wholegrain honey mustard is delicious also)


Method:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees c

Slice bacon in 1/3rds lengthwise and in 1/2 again so you have 6 long thin strands of bacon per rind.   It doesn't matter if they break...

Cut a slit in the frankfurts half and smear some mustard in the centre.

Wrap in a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Place in a baking dish and spray with some canola oil before placing in the oven for 15 minutes or so.

Serve! They don't need sauce or anything - they are a bit crunchy and a bit sweet and might tasty!

What's your go-to snack on a cold day?  Hot chips with vinegar is one of my faves too!

Bloke food - Oven baked maple pork ribs

My husband is mad for ribs and really as much as I like them they really are a 'man's meal'.    If hubby is having mates over (very rare) or there's a footy game he'd like to watch - I always include the ribs.  These ones are easy to set and forget and the kids just go mad for them - cut them up into individual ribs with kitchen shears and let them go for it!  The sauce is sweet and sticky but not in an overly way as some ribs tend to be.

Ingredients:

800g (or three racks) of pork ribs

3/4 cup maple syrup

1 tb chilli sauce (or you could use 1/4 tsp Tabasco)

1 tb red wine vinegar

1 onion, grated

2 tsp dijon mustard

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees c

Mix all marinade ingredients and pour over ribs

Bake for one hour, but baste a few times (say at 20mins and 40mins) to ensure it doesn't dry out...!

Enjoy!

The one where I admit my hubby was right: Oven baked smoked salmon spring rolls

Well as I was scouring the internet last week looking for a use for some extra smoked salmon I had (I bought a good amount for blinis I'd made but had leftovers) and I came across these - and I was a little dubious but as I called it out to hubby he was very enthusiastic:

'They sound yummy' he said

'You really think so? Fish in a spring roll?  In the oven?'  I wasn't so convinced.  Ironic given I'm the fish-lover in the family.

So hubby went out to the garden and picked some spring onions and coriander and I popped the oven and got chopping. 

Well my hubby was right (If he reads this I'm sure he'll print it for future reference....!) these are delicious and definitely would be fabulous for a canape or entree or just a treat.  Really delicious.

Ingredients: (makes 24)

250g smoked salmon, roughly chopped

2 tb mayonnaise

2 sprig coriander, finely chopped

3 spring onions, finely chopped

pinch of chinese five spice

8 sheets filo pastry

50gr butter, melted

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees c

Mix together the salmon, mayonnaise, coriander, spring onons and five spice together, set aside

Melt butter in a small bowl or cup in the microwave

Wet a teatowel with cold water and wring out the excess, have on standby.

Layout your pastry on the bench and cut into thirds lengthwise.  Carefully wrap 2/3 of the pastry in the teatowel to keep the pastry moist whilst you make the spring rolls.

Brush each piece with the melted butter and place 2 tsp of the mixture towards the end of the pastry...

fold the pastry inwards to cover the ends..

Then roll up to make the roll shape.

Brush outer with butter... and place on some greaseproof paper-lined tin.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden... serve with some soy sauce and eat when warm and crispy!

Do you admit when your other half is right?  Do they take delight in it and vice versa?

Christmas or new years nibbles - Honey chilli cashews

This is another of Janelle Blooms recipes from one of my favourite ever issues of Family Circle (Christmas 2007).  Who doesn't love cashews?  Seriously too yummy.

These are quick and easy and will have your guests happily munching - great with a drink or just on your Christmas table.  Enjoy your Christmas friends!


Ingredients:
750g unsalted cashews
100g butter
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp hungarian (smoked) paprika
1 1/2 tsp salt flakes


Method:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees c

In a saucepan mix butter, honey, 1/4 cup of water, chilli, paprika and salt - heat until boiling, turn off and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

When cooled, pour over cashews (in a bowl) mix well.

Pour out onto a greased baking tray and roast for about 5 minutes or until golden brown, stir and turn cashews and return to oven for a further few minutes or so until browned on other side.

 Allow to cool until cold, then store in airtight container for up to 5 days.