Buffalo wings with blue cheese dip and celery

This little number is a 'Friday night with a movie' favourite. For that reason I make no apologies for the fact that you will need to purchase a bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce (Sainsburys stock it).

I first had buffalo wings in a bar in Toronto whilst on my gap year.  I did not have ID so whilst everyone else drank margarita slush puppies I acquainted myself with the menu.

You will need

For the wings

1 pack (around 800g) of chicken wings.

For the Dressing

1/2 bottle Frank's hot sauce
30g (or a heaped tablespoon) of butter
1 sprinkling (to taste) of caster sugar

For the Dip

50g or so (around third of a pack) of soft blue cheese -I think St Agur works well
1/2 small tub of sour cream
A tablespoon of mayonnaise
1 small garlic clove crushed
a scant teaspoon of white wine vinegar

Left over dip can be loosened with a bit of milk and used as a salad dressing.

And lots of celery peeled with your veggie peeler and cut into batons



Now, Before we get going we need to have a chat.  800g of chicken wings will seem like alot and you will be really tempted (as I was the first time) to only cook half of them.  DON'T!  You will eat almost all of them in one sitting and the left-overs are awfully nice to find when grazing on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Method

Cut off the scrawny wing tip of each chicken piece with a sharp sturdy knife, rolling your eyes demonically and yelling out "yaaa HA!" with each dissection if you must.

Tip the wings onto non-stick baking sheet and bake at 200 for about an hour turning once or twice.  They may take less time they may take more - it really depends on relative plumpness.  Whatever, I like them really crispy and that takes time. Tip into a large bowl leaving behind the fat, dress with the hot sauce and serve with the dip and celery.

For the dressing just heat up the remaining chicken ingredients in a small pan until the sugar has dissolved.

For the blue cheese dip just mix the ingredients well.

You can thank me later.

Blackened miso halibut

This really is astonishingly easy.  Sit gaping at your plate in astonishment with chopsticks aloft thinking 'blimey, I'm good' easy.

You will need

A thick piece of meaty white fish (with skin on) such as halibut.  Mine was 200g.  Little piggy wiggy.

And for the marinade

1/8 cup of sake
1/8 cup of mirin
1/4 heaped cup of sweet white miso
1 1/2 tablespoon caster sugar

Method

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a non reactive bowl and plunge in the white fish. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for 24 hours or so.

Heat the grill to high.

Lift the fish out of the marinade and give it a gentle shake to get the excess gunk off.

Put onto a non-stick oven tray skin side down and grill until very dark brown and the flakes separate easily.

I had mine with japanese rice and wilted and wrung dry spinach which I had sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

I also had a glass of chilled sake.  Of course.

Spicy nuts - something to have with a drink

Yesterday evening I made cute little bone shaped dog biscuits.  Nice things to take as a gift when visiting a household with a canine.   I had little cellophane bags ready and lots of pretty curly ribbon.  I even had tiny, pert gift tags ready.

I still have the bags, the pretty ribbon and the gift tags.

In my defence the biscuits smelled really good.

So this evening I made a human snack.

 You will need:

A large handful (think of a New Zealand rugby player - oh la!) of raw shelled cashews or pistachios
A glug of vegetable or olive oil
A sprinkling of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne or chilli powder

Method

Mix the sea salt and chilli powder or cayenne in a small bowl.

Heat the oil in a frying pan until medium hot and add the nuts.  Toss them around for a minute.  Scoop the nuts out of the pan onto kitchen paper leaving the oil behind. Sprinkle immediately with the salt and chilli mix.

Leave to cool.  Eat with a glass of chilled white wine and remember that a bottle of wine is not a challenge.  You can put the cork back in.  Thank you Nigel Slater for that last, important, tip.

Two vegetable side dishes - your Mum will be SOOOO pleased

Baked Courgettes
Garlic Beans


My Mum is brilliant with vegetables.  Brilliant.  These recipes are from her.  Fanks Mum.

Baked Courgettes

You will need

1 large courgette (zucchini)
Large handful (approximately 2/3 cup) of coarse white breadcrumbs (panko breadcrumbs work well)
Heaped tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
Level tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Method

Top and tail the courgettes and slice them lengthways into 4 (or about 1/4 inch thickness - but please don't get the measuring tape out).
Butter a small ovenproof gratin dish and lay the strips in - each one overlapping by a 1/4 inch.

Mix together all the other ingredients, sprinkle over the courgettes and sprinkle liberally with olive oil.

Bake for around 20 minutes at 180C until the topping is golden and crunchy.

Garlic beans

You will need

A large handful of french green beans (called squeaky beans in our family)
A generous knob of butter
1 clove of garlic - crushed
Salt

Method

Bring a pan of well salted water (it should taste like sea water) to the boil.  Add the beans.  Bring back to the boil with the lid on then immediately remove the lid.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  They should be just tender.

Drain and plunge into a bowl of iced water.  The ice water is very important.  It stops the beans from cooking and helps them retain their bright green colour.  Mum is insistent; this step must not be missed out....

When cold, drain and pat dry with a tea towel or some kitchen paper.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat.  Add the garlic. Cook VERY GENTLY for 30 seconds.  Do not let it brown.  If it does start again.  You are just warming the garlic through.

Keep the saucepan on a gentle heat and add the beans and toss them in the butter for a minute until hot and serve immediately.

Chips and dip

I was once lucky enough to be taken on holiday to the BVI.  We stayed in the most amazing villa high up in the hills.  I had never stayed anywhere quite as glamorous and suspect I never will again..... we had a maid for goodness sake! Her name was Lydia and she was a super cook.

One evening she did 'chips and dip'.  The dip was based on cottage cheese and all of our party bar me and the 12 year old thought it wasn't for them.  More fool them.  It was fabulous!  The 12 year old and I scoffed the lot with plain tortilla chips.  And had no room for supper but did we mind?

Here is Lydia's recipe exactly as she wrote it down for me:

Cottage Cheese Dip

1 cup cottage cheese
1 T.S mayo
1 T.S grated onion
3 dash worcestershire
2 T.S basil (chopped)
Dash cayenne (pep)

Mix well.

I have used the same approach but with cream cheese and added some chopped ham and walnuts.  Good spread on little bread rounds to have with a drink.

A really simple supper.....

According to my brother I am talking too much on this blog.....

And there are too many ingredients.

So here is a recipe.

With not very many ingredients.

Chicken with a cream sauce

You will need

1 chicken breast cut in half horizontally
A tablespoon of plain flour
A 'glug glug' of white wine (about 2 tablespoons)
1 garlic clove squashed but not peeled
1/2 a cup of single (half and half) cream

Method

Put your two bits of chicken onto a chopping board and bash with a rolling pin, a (un-open) wine bottle, your hand, a shoe - whatever,  until flat.  You are looking for the thinness of an i-phone.  This is an easier exercise if you put the chicken between cling film before you start bashing.

Put the flour in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Dredge the chicken through the flour.  Along with taking your shoes off and walking on a golf green, a flour dredged chicken breast is one of life's tactile pleasures.

Heat up a splodge of oil in your non-stick pan and fry your breasts (!) along with the garlic clove for 4 minutes each side.  Do not turn the breasts before the time is up. Feel free to fiddle with garlic.

Remove from the pan and keep warm.  (Just put them in a bowl with a plate on top).

Splash the wine into your still hot pan and reduce by half.  Take off the heat and add the cream.  Stir around.  Return to a low heat for a minute or so.

Serve on the chicken with some bread and soft floppy lettuce leaves.  Or chips.

Not quite Masterchef

About six months ago wine woman (me) filled out an application form for the TV show Masterchef.  And then forgot all about it.

Two weeks ago I received a phone call.  An interview for the show!

They asked me all manner of things. What sauces could I make, for instance?  I said I could make mayonnaise,  bechamel, veloute, hollandaise, beurre blanc, pesto, gribiche ....  I went on and on. And on .... and on.  Eventually, and after a pause whilst I drew breath, the patient little voice on the other end of the phone said "Yes, but can you make gravy?".

Oh.

But despite coming across as a world class muppet I got a screening.

The excitement!  The phone calls!  The outfits!  Oh YES!

And I was rubbish.  Beyond rubbish.  I made a world class muppet look like Einstein. Einstein on a good day.   You know when you go through customs and suddenly you start walking in an oddly stilted 'Ministry of Funny Walks' type fashion?  Well, I made the Monty Python crew look like a bunch of amateurs.

Anyway, this is the dish I cooked and, despite the above, it really is rather fantastic.....

Sticky chicken with sushi rice and basil (with thanks to Ruth Watson in her book Fat Girl Slim).  I also served a cucumber and seaweed salad - recipe to follow.

You will need


2/4 (depending on size and appetite) boneless, skinless chicken thighs - sliced into the finest strips you can possibly manage
Scant 1/2 tablespoon of cornflour
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1/2tablespoon of soy sauce

Mix these all together and set aside.

You will also need

2 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce (or Ruth Watson has half of sweet chilli and half of hoisin)
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
2 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped

1/2 cup of Japanese or 'sushi' rice

A really generous handful of basil leaves - shredded

Method

Put the rice in a sieve and run it under the cold tap until the water runs clear.  If you have time leave it to drain for half an hour.  Whatever, put into your smallest lidded saucepan (mine is 6 inches across) and add half a cup of cold water.  Bring to the boil with the lid on.  Then turn down to the lowest heat and cook for 20 minutes.  Turn off the heat and leave with the lid on until you are ready.  I have left it for up to an hour with no adverse effects.

Heat up your non-stick pan and tip in the chicken.  Toss around over a high heat for 4 minutes then add the garlic.  After 30 seconds add the sauces and lower the heat a bit.  Cook for a further 4 minutes until everything has reduced and is all sticky.

Serve with the rice and basil.

Do not cook this on television.