Chicken Wings, Fries and Celery

Rule of life:  When your wife uses your blog as part of a sermon, and she uses last night's dinner as an example of eating well, you post the recipe on your blog.

While I was on my long run (17.75 miles) yesterday, I developed a hankering for chicken wings and french fries.  After I got home and showered, I pitched the idea to the wife.  I guess the drooling was a "yes", so I took off to go back to the grocery store in Lykens (ironically, my long run had been from my house to the stoplight in Lykens and back).

Recipe for the wings

2.5 pounds of raw chicken wings whole

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Powdered and minced garlic

Thyme

Cayenne pepper

Melted butter

Dusting of flour

Crumbled Feta or bleu cheese

Here’s how I did it

Step 1- buy the chicken wings- not frozen wings

Step 2- preheat oven to 425 degrees

Step 3- place the chicken wings, with the side you would consider the "bottom" up, on a metal baking pan

Step 4- brush the melted butter on the “bottom” of the wings

Step 5- sprinkle some kosher salt, fresh pepper, powdered garlic, thyme, and a small amount of cayenne pepper onto the raw, buttered wings

Step 6- gently dust the seasoned underside of the wings with flour, then drizzle and brush some butter on the floured, seasoned wings… oh my gosh, I am so hungry

Step 7- turn the wings to the other side and repeat steps 1-6, but on step 6, brush the remaining butter onto the floured and yummingly sensational wings.

Step 8- put the batch of yumminess in the 425 degree oven and set the timer for 45 minutes (check temp after 45 minutes, if not done, set for another 5-10 minutes depending on how “not done” they are-- your goal temp is 180 degrees)

Step 9- melt some butter and minced garlic in a pan, place finished wings in the pan and sauté them for a couple minutes on each side

Step 10- portion and set them on the plate from which every lucky person will be eating, then sprinkle the crumbled cheese on top. Then eat them.

Recipe for "Fries"

Red skin potatoes (this can also work with sweet potatoes)

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Peanut or Canola Oil

Step 1- preheat oven to 425 or 450 degrees, depending on if you're cooking them alongside the wings

Step 2- cut the potatoes into the desired fry shape (leave the skin on)

Step 3- sparingly coat the potatoes in the oil and spread them out in a metal baking pan 

Step 4- dust with the salt and pepper to your liking

Step 5- put in oven, check after 30 minutes, then every 5-10 minutes- "fries" are done when they are browned on the top and when the cook sneakingly picks one or more off the pan, lets them cool and repeatedly "tastes" for doneness- when the cook keeps doing this several times, the "fries" are done.

Wings and Fries?  Really Mr. Eathealthyman?  Hey, I wanted wings and while wings themselves are not considered health food (chicken fat), and potatoes are really just balls of starch, I never said that I was on any type of diet.  I am free.

Michael Pollan, in his book Food Rules, actually advises that eating some of these unhealthy snacks and food is good, so long as you make them yourself.

When you make these items yourself it takes time and patience, you control the ingredients, and you learn to appreciate food more than if you just buy it from somewhere else.  You might just surprise yourself, too.  There's a sense of pride when you make it yourself and you become more discerning about food when you go out to eat.

I'm a coffee snob.  I grind my beans every morning and have developed a higher standard of taste for the beverage (I don't drink Folgers).  I've also developed a taste for other foods and won't order certain foods from certain menus because, as I say to my wife, if I can make it at home why would I buy it from someone else.

Someone who loves knitting will understand- if they know they can knit a nice sweater, they almost get annoyed when they see someone wearing a machine-knitted sweater; if they do buy a sweater from somewhere else, they are better able to determine the quality and therefore are more likely to buy higher quality than the rest of us.  A skilled carpenter, if they were to purchase a bookshelf, is more likely to choose a higher quality bookshelf, because they know what they are looking for.

It's the same way with food.  The more you learn to cook it yourself, the more likely it is that you will choose higher quality food that you will appreciate more than if you just buy everything prepackaged and highly processed.  The fresher and more whole the food you make, the more you will develop a taste and appreciation for healthier food.  At some point, you will develop an aversion to the wrong foods, and when you indulge, as you should from time to time, you will make chicken wings and fries the memory of which will provoke your salivary glands to drool... then you'll know you've arrived.

Check out this blog to learn some really tasty recipes:  http://tryandlike.blogspot.com/