Sweet & Sticky Honey Soy Chicken Wings

Heather Jurczyk from HeCooksSheCooks.com shares her recipes with Shindigz

On the off-chance you are one of the unaware, March Madness spills over into April. The Final Four teams have solidified their spot for the NCAA Championship and there is a very good chance someone you know (or maybe even you) are making plans for a sweet get together for the big games. Since you will be competing with the TV at this event, you want to make sure whatever it is you make outshines squeaky shoes on a wooden court and big orange dimpled balls. If you’re looking for an excuse to fire up the grill and satisfy your basketball fans, these wings will do the trick.

Sweet & Sticky Honey Soy Chicken Wings

15 whole wings (or 15 drumettes and 15 wingettes)

• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 2” of fresh ginger root, peeled and grated.
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and grated.
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• ¼ cup lemon or lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ½ teasppoon cayenne powder
• ½ cup canola oil

1. Rinse and pat wings dry.
2. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, heat honey till it is thin. Add soy sauce till well combined. Remove from heat.
3. Add the ginger thru the cayenne powder. Mix to blend well. Allow to cool completely.
4. Add the canola oil and wisk to blend well but do not emulsify.
5. Put the wings in a 2 gallon bag and pour the marinade over the wings. Push the air out of the bag and seal. Rock bag back and forth and massage wings to coat evenly with the marinade.
6. Place in the refrigerator and let sit overnight, turning the bag over a few times to mix up the marinade and the wings.
7. The next day, start your grill and bring it to 350-400. (Make sure your grate is clean and oiled.)
8. Take the wings out of the bag and transfer the marinade to a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Bring marinade to a vigorous boil for a minimum of 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
9. Lay the wings on the oiled grill grate in a single layer. Grill the wings over medium heat. Turn and baste with marinade at 15 minutes in and then again at 30 minutes. Remove at 45 minutes. Serve.

 

Optional: Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds or thinly diced scallions.

Next weeks recipe is going to be Pecan Pear & Bacon Bites.

Recipe by Heather Jurczyk, the sassy half of the  duo that make up the cooking team of He Cooks She Cooks. They have a weakness for feel good, down to earth, amazingly tasty eats that almost always include the addition of beer.

From growing their own tomatoes to brewing their own beer, they like to cook from scratch as much as possible. They know what’s important. Love. Food. Beer. Visit He Cooks She Cooks for more recipes.

Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients

2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
10 ounces orange marmalade
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
3 tablespoons prepared mustard
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 cup beer
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails attached
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 ounces unsweetened flaked coconut

Directions

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together marmalade, horseradish and mustard; set aside.
Combine 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, paprika, curry powder, salt and cayenne. Stir in beer.
Dredge shrimp in 1/4 cup flour, dip in beer batter and roll in coconut.
Fry shrimp in hot oil until golden on both sides. Drain briefly and serve with reserved dipping sauce.

Chinese Firecracker Wraps

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 pound ground turkey
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chile paste
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon white wine
• 14 sheets phyllo pastry dough, halved into triangles
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup sweet and sour sauce for dipping

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the turkey in the skillet until no longer pink; add the cabbage, carrots, and green onions and cook together until the vegetables are all slightly tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir the chile paste through the vegetable mixture.
3. Whisk the cornstarch into the white wine in a small bowl; add to the mixture in the skillet and continue cooking and stirring until the liquid in the skillet is slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
4. Place one half sheet of phyllo dough on a flat surface, brush with a small amount of the vegetable oil, and top with a second sheet of phyllo. Place about 2 tablespoons of the turkey mixture on the short end of phyllo; shape mixture into about a four-inch log. Roll phyllo and turkey mixture. Twist the log about 1 inch from each end to make a firecracker shape; place on greased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining phyllo and mixture until all are used. Lightly brush the firecrackers with vegetable oil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until the phyllo dough is crisp and golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Serve with the sweet and sour sauce.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sushi Rolls

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Creamy Peanut Butter
• 2 tablespoons Strawberry Jelly, Jam, or Preserves (pick your favorite)
• 2 slices bread

 Directions

1. Remove crusts from bread. With a rolling pin or large soup can, completely flatten bread.
2. Spread 1 tablespoon of  peanut butter and 1 tablespoon of  jelly on each slice of bread.
3. Roll each slice into a tight spiral. Cut each spiral into 4 pieces.

Spicy Peanut Butter Marinade

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sherry, dry
• 1/4 cup soy sauce, dark
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup ginger
• 1/4 cup green onion
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce
• 6 garlic cloves

Preparation:

• Combine everything in food processor and mix. Marinade pork for up to 8 hours. Remove the chops from the marinade and boil the marinade. Grill the chops and use the marinade as mop while grilling.

Almond Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas, halved
• 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast meat
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds, toasted
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon ground dry mustard

 Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the onions, carrot, red pepper, peas, chicken, cilantro and almonds. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, teriyaki sauce and dry mustard until smooth. Pour over salad mixture and toss until coated. Serve in pita pockets or on a bed of lettuce.

Wonton Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound boneless pork loin, coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces peeled shrimp, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped green onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger root
• 24 (3.5 inch square) wonton wrappers
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/8 cup finely chopped green onion

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine pork, shrimp, sugar, wine, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon chopped green onion and ginger. Blend well, and let stand for 25 to 30 minutes.
2. Place about one teaspoon of the filling at the center of each wonton skin. Moisten all 4 edges of wonton wrapper with water, then pull the top corner down to the bottom, folding the wrapper over the filling to make a triangle. Press edges firmly to make a seal. Bring left and right corners together above the filling. Overlap the tips of these corners, moisten with water and press together. Continue until all wrappers are used.
3. FOR SOUP: Bring the chicken stock to a rolling boil. Drop wontons in, and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped green onion, and serve.

Cucumber and Avocado Sushi

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked glutinous white rice (sushi rice)
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 pinch salt
• 4 sheets nori (dry seaweed)
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced into thin strips
• 1 avocado – peeled, pitted and sliced

Directions

1. Combine the water and rice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until rice is tender and water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside to cool.
2. Cover a bamboo sushi mat with plastic wrap to keep the rice from sticking. Place a sheet of seaweed over the plastic. Use your hands to spread the rice evenly onto the sheet, leaving about 1/2 inch of seaweed empty at the bottom. Arrange strips of cucumber and avocado across the center of the rice. Lift the mat and roll over the vegetables once and press down. Unroll, then roll again towards the exposed end of the seaweed sheet to make a long roll. You may moisten with a little water to help seal. Set aside and continue with remaining nori sheets, rice and fillings.
3. Use a sharp wet knife to slice the rolls into 5 or 6 slices. Serve cut side up with your favorite sushi condiments.

Mandarin Fruit Cocktail

1 package orange gelatin, prepared and allowed to set up
1 container whipped topping
1 small can mandarin oranges
1 small can crushed pineapple
1/2 bag miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Stir the gelatin so that it breaks up.  Add the other ingredients and mix until well combined. Refrigerate for several hours.

Mini Egg Roll Appetizer

1 lb ground pork
1¼ cup diced scallions
7 tbsp soy
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cornstarch
10 egg roll wrappers
3 ½ tbsp peanut oil

1. Heat just 1 ½ tablespoons of the peanut oil on high in a large non-stick pot or wok. Add the ground pork, just a ¼ cup of the diced scallions and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Using either chopsticks or a fork, break the pork up into tiny pieces as it cooks. Cook for about 10 minutes or until brown.
2. Stir in the remaining 6 tablespoons of soy, rice wine vinegar, hoisin sauce and ground ginger. Bring this to a boil.
3. In a small cup, mix the cornstarch with a little water just so it dissolves. Add this mixture to the pot and stir until the pork is coated with sauce, about 2 minutes.
4. Remove the pork from the heat and let it cool.
5. Once the pork is cool, add the remainder of the scallions and mix thoroughly.
6. Begin making the egg rolls by laying a wrapper on a plate with the long end in front of you. Place a skinny line of meat close to the long end. Fold the short ends of the wrapper up just about ¼ of an inch. Then slowly roll up the wrapper. The line of meat should be thin enough that the wrapper rolls around it almost 2 times.
7. Once all the wrappers are filled, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut oil on high in a non-stick pan. Place about 3 rolls in the pan, or as many as can comfortably fit without touching.
8. Cook for about 2 minutes and then using either chopsticks or a fork, roll each roll onto its uncooked side. Cook all sides for about 2 minutes or until brown. Place each finished roll onto a plate with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
9. Let the rolls cool for about 10 minutes and then cut each one in half and place them on a serving plate. Makes 20 appetizers.