A New Take on an Old Wing

You've been there...among your friends you have a reputation for making a certain dish; and every time your friends throw a party, they expect you to bring that same old dish over and over and over again. Well, I've decided to take the buffalo by the horns. If I am doomed to making hot wings for the rest of my life, I am going to spin it into something a little bit more deserving of the two years I spent in culinary school. So instead of the customary chicken wings or drummies, I use cut up pieces of boneless, skinless breast. And I have combined the other 'usual suspects' into a blue cheese slaw. The same tastes with a new twist...

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken breast, boneless and skinless

Sriracha chili sauce

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

canola oil, for frying

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup Frank's hot sauce

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut chicken in 1-1/2 chunks. Marinate in srirachi chili sauce for 4 hours to overnight.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt and cayenne pepper. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottom skillet - to about 2 inches. Do not overfill. Place over medium heat and heat until the oil registers 375 degrees on a deep frying thermometer. (This process can be made easier if you have a deep fryer.) Working in three batches, dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and fry until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate of cookie sheet. Make sure the oil temperature before frying each batch.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, hot sauce and lemon juice. Toss the fried chicken chunks in the hot sauce mixture. Transfer to a large foil-lined baking sheet, or 2 small ones, and bake until they have absorbed most of the sauce, about 20 minutes. Turn the chicken halfway through the cooking process.

Blue Cheese Slaw

Ingredients:

2-1/2 ounces blue cheese

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

2 sticks carrots, thinly sliced

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and freshly ground black pepper

blue cheese, crumbled for garnish

Preparation:

In a small bowl, mash blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until mixture resembles large-curd cottage cheese. Stir in mayonnaise, vinegar and garlic powder until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix with celery and carrots. Garnish with crumbled blue cheese.