Ginger-Soy-Glazed Wings

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday! I hope you're all planning on rooting for the Patriots! And I hope you're all planning your menus. You really can't have a Super Bowl party without wings, so here's a great recipe for some crispy wings with a sweet-savory ginger-soy glaze. I loved how the wings were super moist but still had crisp skin.

Ginger-Soy Glazed Wings (adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2012)

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken wings and drumettes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack in the pan.

Toss chicken wings, oil, salt, and pepper together in large bowl.

Spread wings out on prepared rack in single layer.

Bake until wings are cooked through and skin is crispy, 45 to 50 minutes, turning pan halfway through.

Meanwhile, combine honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger in small saucepan.

Bring mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve honey, then reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Strain mixture into liquid measuring cup, and let sit for about 15 minutes to thicken.

Transfer wings to large bowl, and pour glaze over wings.

Toss gently with tongs to coat wings. Return wings to rack and lay out in single layer.

Return pan to oven, and cook wings for 8 to 10 minutes longer, until glaze is glossy and caramelized.

Serve hot.

Need some more ideas? Try these other Super Bowl-friendly recipes!

Buffalo chicken stromboli
Chicken chimichangas
Fish tacos
Five-spice pork wraps
Mini margarita cupcakes
Mini pepperoni pizza pull-apart breads
Mini Philly cheesesteak egg rolls
Onion strings
Panko-crusted asparagus
Rosemary-truffle tots
Sausage and pork stuffed mushrooms
Shredded beef and cheese flautas
Slow-cooker chicken quesadillas
Soft pretzel bites with cheddar-mustard dipping sauce
Steak tacos

Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

Super Bowl Sunday is almost here! I'm sure you're all busy planning your menus, so I thought I'd share this awesome Buffalo chicken stromboli recipe. You start by simmering chicken in Buffalo sauce, then you mix it with cheese, fold it inside some puff pastry, and bake the whole thing. It's sure to be a crowd pleaser, and it's really easy to make.

I made two versions, one with cheddar cheese and one with cheddar cheese and blue cheese. And then I whipped up a blue cheese dip on the side, which was a great partner for the stromboli as well as Buffalo Wing Pretzel Crisps and celery sticks.

Buffalo Chicken Stromboli (adapted from Cook's Country and allrecipes.com)
Printable version
Makes 2 stromboli, serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds), trimmed and cut in 1-inch strips
1/2 cup Frank's RedHot Sauce, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese
1 (17.3-ounce) package puff pastry, thawed
Blue Cheese Dip, optional (recipe below)
Celery sticks, optional

Preparation

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken and 1/2 cup hot sauce. Reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, until chicken is cooked. (I would err on the side of under- or just-cooked as the chicken will continue to cook in the oven too.)

Shred chicken and toss with sauce.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Drain chicken and divide between two medium bowls. Stir blue cheese and 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese into one bowl of chicken.

Stir remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese into other bowl of chicken. Stir in additional hot sauce if desired (I know some of you are braver than I am).

Unfold one pastry sheet on lightly floured countertop. Roll pastry into 10- by 14-inch rectangle.

With short side facing you, spoon one bowl of chicken mixture down center of puff pastry. Fold the long sides to the center over the chicken mixture, and press to seal. Tuck and seal ends. Then place stromboli seam side down on one side of large baking sheet.

Repeat with remaining sheet of pastry and remaining chicken mixture and place stromboli seam side down on same baking sheet.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until puff pastry is golden brown, turning halfway through.

Let cool 5 minutes. Cut each stromboli into 1- to 2-inch thick slices.

Serve with Blue Cheese Dip and celery sticks, if desired.

Blue Cheese Dip (adapted from Saveur)

Ingredients

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
2 scallions, trimmed and sliced thin

Preparation

In medium bowl, whisk together cream cheese, sour cream, and heavy cream. Using rubber spatula, fold in blue cheese and two-thirds of the scallions. Transfer to serving dish and top with remaining scallions.

What are you making for the Super Bowl? Let's go, Pats!

Golden Cider-Roasted Turkey

How many of you have roasted a turkey before? Would you believe this is the first whole turkey I've ever roasted? I spent a lot of time looking through recipes and finally settled on Golden Cider-Roasted Turkey from Sunday Roasts. (I had such good luck with the roast recipe in this cookbook that I figured the turkey recipe would be incredible too.) How could anyone go wrong with a recipe that incorporates apples, leeks, cider, wine, sage, and thyme to flavor the turkey and its accompanying gravy anyway?

Jeff and I went to Stop & Shop last week and picked out a gorgeous 13.46-pound Butterball turkey, and then we went to Whole Foods this past Saturday morning to get all the accompaniments. On Sunday morning, I got up bright and early, prepped the turkey, and got it in the oven by 9 a.m. We had friends coming for dinner around 3, and I wanted to have the turkey cooked and carved and start making stock with the carcass before they arrived.

Every half-hour I would call Jeff over to the oven to help me baste the turkey. I would hold and turn the pan and make sure it didn't go sliding out of the oven while he basted it with a cider-wine mixture and some herbed butter. I think this diligent basting is what made the turkey come out so moist. I had toyed with the idea of brining it to ensure it would be moist, but brining wasn't even necessary.

In just 3 hours and 15 minutes, the probe thermometer I'd put in the turkey thigh was registering 165 -- actually it had gotten to 165 a while before, and I was starting to think it was stuck on 165, so I stuck the probe in the turkey breast, which registered 167. The recipe said the turkey thigh should be 180, but a quick phone call to Dad confirmed that I could, indeed, take my turkey out at its current temperature.

I let the bird rest for 30 minutes, during which time I checked out a how-to-carve video on Butterball's website. I didn't like the way they sliced the breast, and I remembered seeing one of the test cooks at work do it differently, so I checked out YouTube, and sure enough, there was a how-to-carve video from America's Test Kitchen. I had Jeff watch the video with me, and then I gave him the oh-so-fun job of carving the turkey. He did an amazing job.

I reserved the thighs, turkey neck, and carcass for my stock -- that's right, do not throw away that turkey carcass (I have stock and soup recipes coming)! And then we plated the rest of the meat and tented it with foil to keep it moist.

In the meantime, I had poured the drippings in a bowl and placed them in the fridge so the fat would rise and solidify on top -- a trick from Dad that you can use if you don't have a fat separator. It speeds the process along a little. (I made sure to register for a fat separator... and a much nicer roasting pan.)

With the turkey carved and plated, I started my stock simmering, made my gravy and all of my sides (green beans with sage and brown butter, carrots roasted with thyme and shallots, and sautéed apples and leeks), and then when our friends arrived, I threw some popovers in the oven.

They brought mashed potatoes and dessert, and we had a mini Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat!

Golden Cider-Roasted Turkey (adapted from Sunday Roasts)
Printable version

Ingredients

1 (13- to 14-pound) turkey, patted dry
Kosher salt and pepper
2 cups (160 grams) chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (1 to 3 leeks)
2 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
4 sage sprigs, plus extra for garnish
4 thyme sprigs, plus extra for garnish
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 1/2 cups apple cider
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
2 to 3 tablespoons flour

Preparation

Arrange a rack at center position, and preheat oven to 325 degrees. (Make sure you can fit your turkey in the oven. I removed the top rack to make room.)

Remove the turkey neck and giblets from the cavities in the turkey. Discard the giblets and save the neck to roast with turkey.

Place the turkey on a rack set in a roasting pan, and place the neck in the pan next to it. Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper.

Combine apples and leeks in a bowl, and place 1 cup (100 grams) of the mixture in the turkey cavity along with the sage and thyme sprigs.

If you use a Butterball turkey, you need only fold the wings under the turkey, but if you get a different turkey, you'll need to truss your turkey at this point (tie the legs together and secure the wings with twine).

In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, dried sage, dried thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper until well blended. Reserve and set aside 2 tablespoons of the herb butter for the gravy.

Take 4 tablespoons of the remaining herb butter and rub it all over the turkey.

Spread the remaining leeks and apples on the bottom of the pan.

Combine the cider and white wine in a bowl or large measuring cup. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cider mixture for the gravy.

Pour 1/3 cup of the remaining cider mixture over the turkey.

Roast the turkey until golden brown and thermometer inserted in thigh registers 180 degrees (or use your judgment), basting every 30 minutes with the cider mixture and 1 tablespoon of the herb butter, for about 3 hours and 10 minutes or longer.

If turkey starts to brown too much, cover it loosely with foil.

When the turkey is done, transfer it to a platter and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. (I used two dish towels to pick up the hot turkey and move it to a platter.)

Set a sieve over a large bowl, and pour the pan drippings through it. Press down on solids to squeeze juices out, and then discard solids. Skim off fat drippings. (As I mentioned above, you can put the drippings in the fridge for a while and the fat will solidify, so you can just scoop it right off the top. And save that fat for sautéing the veggies for turkey soup!)

Pour the drippings and any juices from the platter into a saucepan, add the reserved cider mixture and any cider mixture left over from basting. Place the pan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring often, until liquids are reduced by a third, about 5 minutes.

Combine reserved herb butter, any remaining herb butter form basting, and 2 tablespoons of flour to make a paste. (Add more flour, if you want a thicker gravy.)

Stir the butter-flour mixture into the pan a little at a time until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, 5 to 6 minutes.

Season with salt to taste, and transfer to serving bowl or gravy boat.

Carve and plate the turkey (reserve neck, thighs, and carcass for stock, if desired), garnish with sage and thyme sprigs, and serve, passing gravy on the side.

Some notes: The original recipe calls for 3 to 4 leeks, and I only needed 1 to get 160 grams of chopped leeks, so I made sautéed apples and leeks with the extras. I took my turkey out long before the thigh registered 180 degrees. The breast was at 165. I was a little worried that the thighs weren't fully done, but I just reserved them for my stock instead of serving them, so I didn't have to take any chances. And they filled my soup with tons of flavorful turkey meat. (Stock and soup recipes to come.)

This turkey was so moist! I was really happy with the way the recipe came out. The gravy was a tad on the sweet side, but it was so flavorful and complemented the turkey nicely.

We're heading to Jeff's parents' for Thanksgiving dinner. I'll be making a dessert that I'll share with you soon.

What are your Thanksgiving plans?

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I'm not planning to blog about any of my sides, but here are the sources for the recipes:

Green Beans with Browned Butter, Hazelnuts, and Sage (I left out the hazelnuts) - Cook's Country, November 2011
Roasted Carrots with Shallots and Thyme - Light & Healthy 2012: The Year's Best Recipes Lightened Up
Sautéed Apples and Leeks (modified to leave out the chicken) - Eating Well
Popovers - Baking Illustrated

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I am slowly and steadily making my way through the stack of cookbooks I've been sent to review over the past few months. One of those cookbooks is The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches, written by food blogger Susan Russo of Food Blogga.

The book is small (with lots of small type) but chock-full of information. The sandwiches run the gamut from A to Z and range from those so simple I wouldn't even bother to use a recipe to make them (hello, BLT, grilled cheese, and PB&J) to more complex recipes with many steps (I'm looking at you, pulled pork sandwich). Every sandwich is pictured, which I really like, and accompanied by some sort of history or trivia. If you're curious about the difference between a hoagie, a hero, and a grinder, you'll want to read this cookbook.

I know I'll be making many of the sandwiches in this book, but I opted for a fairly simple sandwich for my first one: the chicken salad sandwich. I'd like to say I followed the recipe exactly, but I learned I'm not so disciplined when it comes to following a recipe for a sandwich. By nature, sandwiches call for ease and simplicity, so I did a lot more estimating than measuring.

I also ended up cutting back on a lot of the ingredients, and I still had enough chicken salad to make four sandwiches, which is the original yield. I can't imagine how big the sandwiches were supposed to be! Below is my scaled-down version. (Note that I used this recipe to cook the chicken to give it more flavor.) The chicken salad is sweet and tangy and definitely worth making.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches (adapted from The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches)
Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

8 ounces poached, shredded chicken (from about two boneless, skinless breasts)
2 tablespoons finely diced celery
2 tablespoons relish
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
1 tablespoon finely diced Vidalia onion
Salt and pepper
4 slices cheddar cheese
8 slices whole-grain bread or bread of your choice (toasted if desired)

Preparation

Combine chicken salad ingredients in a bowl. If desired, cover and refrigerate 2 hours to let flavors meld (I didn't do this).

For each sandwich, top a piece of toast or bread with a slice of cheddar and one-fourth of the chicken salad.

Then top the sandwich with another piece of toast or bread, and serve.

"It's nothing fancy -- just a simple, delicious meal between bread." - Susan Russo

What's your favorite sandwich?