THE WINE BENEATH MY WINGS
The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of the human race
than the discovery of a star.
~Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)
PART OF SUPER BOWL XLIV MENU
WHO DOESN’T LIKE WINGS?
Teaching children to cook should not be a project, relegated to a specific season of the year or time you set aside. Any time is a good time to cook something. And any time is good to have kids in the kitchen helping in some way, shape or form and learning while doing. The next opportunity you have to make something to eat, call in the kids to help. They’ll become used to cooking as a way of life and, the younger they start, the more they will learn to do it themselves. I was always in the kitchen helping Mom with dinner.
“Let me do it!” was my enthusiastic mantra, and by the time I was in junior high school I would have dinner on the table just as Mom walked in the door after work, making her feel like she was living the dream. Since the age of six, I helped with dinner, setting the table and making the salad while Mom did the bulk of the cooking.
I bought a cookbook at the school book fair when I was ten: The Better Homes & Gardens Junior CookBook for the Hostess & Host of Tomorrow, but after quickly outgrowing the chicken baked in potato chips, burgers on a stick, and baked apples, I moved on to regular cook books and recipes from magazines Mom had amassed.
We already had a deep fryer and my brother and I bought Mom a Veg-i-Matic for Christmas so we could make french fries. That was a coup, and we were soon eating freshly made french fries with stunning regularity. Before long, I was planning meals and compiling shopping lists. Julia Child became my cooking instructor during the summers on PBS, and I wrote down every recipe she broadcast. Cooked many of them, beginning with her famous Beef Bourguignon. And then the Galloping Gourmet came on, allowing me to feast on Graham Kerr’s food as well as his dreamy English accent. I do remember one dish of his I made that was not good, teaching me firsthand that cooking in tin foil may not be the best.
I still have that BH&G cookbook (can never part with books). As I sit here flipping through it’s thin seventy-five pages, I couldn’t help but notice the two-page headline on the first two pages:
Cooking can be so easy!
Indeed it can. So why are so many Americans convinced otherwise? People of all ages the world over — and in so-called ‘underdeveloped’ nations — are cooking their meals and feeding themselves real food every day. We should be doing no less. Doing half that would be a vast improvement.
SHORT & SWEET
Chicken wings are a great party item or dinner or lunch, hot or at room temp. You can use just the prime mid-wing section, or the drumettes (as the drumstick-shaped part of the upper wing is known); just don’t include the wing tip. (Add those to the stock pot!) You can also use small drumsticks, the lower leg of the chicken, if you want more meat. Chicken leg/thigh quarters and chicken breasts can be marinated and served for dinner. Yes, this preparation contains wine, but the alcohol evaporates as it is heated, so don’t fret about serving it to kids.
Rinse wings quickly in tap water; drain and dry before putting into the marinade. Let them marinate in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days (3 to 5) to let the flavor penetrate deeply into the meat. If you are not marinating for at least a day before cooking, don’t refrigerate them. Refrigeration will slow down the process of the meat absorbing the marinade. Any marinade with wine, beer, vinegar or lemon is a preservative, so leaving it unrefrigerated for short periods is safe.
Put the whole spices in a spice infuser for easy removal, so you don’t risk guests biting into a peppercorn. If you don’t have a spice infuser, use a large tea ball. If you don’t have that, just add them to the marinade & strain them out before making the gravy. If you haven’t any brandy, you can use Madiera, Sherry or Port. And if you want them sweeter, use Madiera Sherry or Port for half of the wine.
REALLY EASY
Bake the marinated wings and you’re done! However, I must warn you, most of the really good flavor is in the gravy, so I urge you to give it a try. It’s easier than you think.
EASY, BUT BETTER
Bake wings, then make the gravy by reducing the marinade and thickening. Toss the wings back into the gravy to coat, serve with plenty of napkins and you’ve got a party! If serving chicken parts for dinner, you can pass the gravy separately, putting it over rice or potatoes as well as the chicken. Add a simple vegetable and you’ve got dinner worthy of company.
PREPARATIONS LISTED ON LEFT SIDEBAR
