Spicy Buffalo Wings
Makes 16 pieces
Oil for frying
8
chicken wings
⁄
cup unsalted butter, melted
1
3
3–6
tablespoons "Louisiana style"
hot sauce
2
teaspoons cider vinegar
Blue Cheese Dressing and celery
sticks, carrot sticks, zucchini sticks
Cut wing tips from wings and discard or reserve
for making chicken stock. Split each wing at the
joint and cut through so there are 2 pieces from
each wing. Rinse and dry completely. In a large
bowl, combine the melted butter, hot sauce and
cider vinegar and stir until completely blended.
Heat oil until it is 375°F. Put half the wings into
the Cuisinart
Compact 2-Quart. Deep Fryer and
®
cook until browned and crispy, about 12 to 15
minutes. Remove wings; drain briefly on layered
paper towels. Then stir hot, crispy wings into the
hot sauce mixture. Repeat with remaining wings.
Serve hot with cold vegetable sticks and Blue
Cheese Dressing.
Note: If you have some guests who do not
appreciate hot and spicy, fry the wings as
instructed and toss with your favorite BBQ sauce
or honey mustard sauce. For "super-hot" strength
wings, add additional hot sauce along with the
Louisiana-style hot sauce.
Blue Cheese Dressing
½
cup mayonnaise (regular or lowfat)
½
cup sour cream (regular or lowfat)
½
cup crumbled blue cheese
1
teaspoon finely chopped garlic
¼
cup finely chopped parsley
1–2
tablespoons finely chopped onion
1
tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir well to
blend. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30
minutes before serving, to allow flavors to blend.
Fried Calamari
Makes about 3 servings
Vegetable oil for frying
1½
pounds cleaned calamari, including
some tentacles
⁄
1
cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1
3
2
teaspoons finely chopped parsley
¾
teaspoon granulated garlic powder
¾
teaspoon each: kosher salt and freshly
ground pepper
Marinara sauce for dipping
Fresh lemon wedges for garnish
Rinse and drain the calamari; place on thick
layers of paper towels, pressing and blotting them
completely dry with another layer of paper towels
on top. Cut the bodies into ½-inch rings, and cut
tentacles into halves or quarters if large.
Heat oil to 360°F in the Cuisinart
2-Quart. Deep Fryer. Preheat the oven to 500°F.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Place the flour, parsley, granulated garlic, salt,
and pepper in a jumbo resealable food storage
bag. Working with about a quarter of the calamari
at a time, drop calamari into the bag, seal and
shake. Squeeze the sides of the bag to
completely coat the calamari. Take care that the
pieces are individually coated and not stuck
together. Remove from the bag and place on a
baking sheet lined with plastic wrap. Repeat until
all the calamari have been coated evenly with
flour mixture.
Gently add calamari to hot oil, about 1 to 1½
cups at a time, trying to let all the pieces drop in
separately. Do not crowd the calamari, because
crowding will drop the temperature of the oil. The
calamari will be pale golden and just cooked in
about 40 to 60 seconds. Do not overcook – they
will become tough. Lift the calamari out, using a
slotted spoon or metal skimmer, and drain in a
single layer on prepared cookie sheets. Repeat
with the remaining calamari. When all the calamari
have been fried, reheat them in the 500°F oven
for several minutes. Sprinkle lightly with a little
more salt, and serve with warm marinara sauce
for dipping.
10
Compact
®