Sunday, July 04, 2010

Wings and a Prayer

Ohmahgah. Chicken wings.
I have been seductified.
Tell the truth: You think chicken wings are Buffaloed. Don't you? Buttery, hot, red, sassy, delicious, and that crazy side dish of celery and blue cheese dressing.
Well, I love those, too. They're easy to make and good to eat.
But I'd been having this nagging idea about mustard chicken. And as sure as you know it, a couple of mustard chicken recipes popped up in my Internet prowlings during the past week. One of them was wet and saucy, and the other used bread crumbs. Not for me. Neither.
So I invented a terrific slather of mustard (lots, Dijon, no seeds), loosened with a tablespoon or so of buttermilk, stirred with grated parmesan cheese (a fair amount; you be the judge), loads of cracked black pepper, and a healthy sprinkling of dried dill (I am the world's worst dill farmer; apologies). No salt needed.
OK, slide your coated wings on a rack into a hot oven (425F), and then turn it down to 350F. This is probably not necessary, but we had heated the oven to 425 and then changed our minds. Heh. About 45 minutes. Use tongs to flip the wings halfway through.
Please try this. That is my prayer.

11 comments:

Kailyn said...

I used to be all about buffalo wings but then Wing Stop came into town. Now it's about lemon pepper wings with blue cheese dip or garlic Parmesan wings with honey mustard dip. Your post made me think of the latter. And while they're good, sometimes the cheese is a bit much. (Did I really just say that there can be too much cheese?) I'm thinking that your wings might just be the best of what I love about the others.

Nancy Ewart said...

Alexandre Dumas, author of The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask. and The Three Musketeers, wrote a charming treatise on mustard in 1873 as part of his Grand Dictionary of Cuisine.
http://www.plochman.com/literary.htm

I guess he was on to something but then, I've always loved a mustard glaze on meat. I like mixing it with a bit of sweet or sour (say apricot jam or wine vinegar) and basting the chicken (or ham) with it. Delicious!

Now, I'm off to try your recipe. Mustard wings, it's what's for dinner.

kudzu said...

My family barbecue sauce is all about the mustard/vinegar/pepper kind and it's beautiful on wings.

I can tell you were raised in a military family by your reference to the WWII song that probably VERY few readers will recognize! I am trying to remember the words -- will Google -- but I remember the f-e-e-l-i-n-g of hearing it as a little child.

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Yum, yum, yum, chicken wings going on the list this week!

cookiecrumb said...

Kailyn: why have I been so timid about chicken and flavors!? I dare say I might be on a roll.

Nancy: Oh, my. I'm totally boggled, and it's your fault. Thank you! Happy Fourth.

Kudzu: Yes. I remember bottles of mustard-pickle-hot sauce on tables here and there, north of Florida. "Other" food is so interesting; pity people reject it.

Mouse: Hah! Do it. I know you will.

Chilebrown said...

You have allways have seductified me. Cranky is so lucky!

If those wings are half as good as the effort you have written, Bravo

Shine said...

Supper was on you Cookiecrumb! I couldn't do wings (eating to lose weight and for Lupus) so I took skinless chicken breasts and sauteed in garlic and butter. Then put huge amount of fresh dill in, followed by mustard and a wee bit of grated parmesan. The smell was so good I could hardly wait for it to get all brown and crispy. The little cracklings tasted great with brown rice and sliced tomatoes and zucchini. You rocked our culinary world tonight!

Ms Brown Mouse said...

You know me so well :)

Zoomie said...

You could try the one with the crumbs, only leave off the crumbs. I think I saw that one, too, and am getting around to trying it. Now, I figure I'll just try yours first. :-)

cookiecrumb said...

Chilebrown: This was a new flavor experiment for me, and if you haven't tried it, it's GOOD. Cranky may be lucky, but if it wasn't for him, I might not eat most days. xx

Shine: Your supper sounds very delicious! Glad I could help. I'm not familiar with the dietary needs of Lupus. You don't seem to be suffering! xx

Zoomie: Actually, it was the recipe with crumbs that led me to use grated parmesan cheese as a substitute. At first I was going to try it as a topping, but I decided it would work better stirred in. Do try! xx

cookiecrumb said...

Kailyn: You're right. Get off the Buffalo train, and there are so many possibilities. I've got oodles of ideas.

Nancy: How clever! A treatise on mustard. :)

Chilebrown: I managed to delete a comment of yours; it just would NOT publish. Sorry.