Linus and The Great Pumpkin
Yesterday I taught the Knife Skills Technique class at the Williams-Sonoma near my home on the upper East side. I really appreciated seeing familiar faces in the nice size crowd huddled around the cook top eager to learn and taste whatever goodies we produced as a result of the lesson. For some, a chicken recipe might seem like a strange conclusion to a class titled "Knife Skills", but the journey seemed logical to me, but then, that might be the issue - it's logical to me!
It's chilly here in NYC today; it definitely feel like fall. So whether you're planning to settle in tonight to watch Dancing with the Stars or the Jets on Monday Night Football, there's no need to wait with Linus for the “Great Pumpkin” to appear; with this recipe you can make a Great Pumpkin recipe appear anytime. Pronounce it Pea-Con or Pea-Can, either way, when you serve my fun, tasty and healthy seasonal spin on traditional wings, you'll score one in the win column .... even if your team is a no show in the winner's circle.
Sauce:
As a result of this class, I produced a lot of vegetables in a variety of shapes - crudité anyone? Of course, you can't teach knife care and maintenance without discussing cutting boards - use the wrong surface and you'll never be able to keep your knives in good working order. And of course I'd be totally remiss if I didn't discuss cutting board sanitation!!
By now I hope you can see it isn't much of a leap from knife skills to a chicken recipe. We ended class by showing off one of my favorite boards for raw foods; it's the best of all worlds for safely working with raw animal products – it looks good, doesn't warp, has two usable sides, it feels more like wood under my knife than most options but, and here's the big one, it's able to be cleaned and sanitized like only a non-wood board can be, in a dishwasher. Mike, I hope you'll get to read this and can follow my logic - crudités plus chicken can only add up to one thing - the bar food favorite - spicy chicken wings!
It's chilly here in NYC today; it definitely feel like fall. So whether you're planning to settle in tonight to watch Dancing with the Stars or the Jets on Monday Night Football, there's no need to wait with Linus for the “Great Pumpkin” to appear; with this recipe you can make a Great Pumpkin recipe appear anytime. Pronounce it Pea-Con or Pea-Can, either way, when you serve my fun, tasty and healthy seasonal spin on traditional wings, you'll score one in the win column .... even if your team is a no show in the winner's circle.Linus's Great Pumpkin Pecan Wings
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs Chicken wings (or wingettes)
Toasted Sesame seeds to garnish
1 jar of Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter
2 small lemons
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T Gluten Free low sodium Tamari sauce
(if NOT GF, you can use low sodium soy sauce)
(if NOT GF, you can use low sodium soy sauce)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce to taste (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Combine Pecan Pumpkin Butter, the zest and juice of both lemons, garlic, ginger, Dijon mustard, Tamari,and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl (you'll need one big enough to hold all the chicken too). Let the flavors in the sauce develop while you work on the rest of the recipe. Add hot sauce (optional) to taste just prior to tossing it with the chicken.
Cover sheet pan with aluminum foil. (I like the non-stick variety)
Cut off wing tips; save for stock or discard if you don't make your own stock. Cut remaining wing into two parts at joint. Season with salt and pepper.
Place the wing sections on the foil-lined pan. Do not crowd the pan - there needs to be some room between each wing to render out the fat so they will get crisp.
Bake wings, approx 25-30 minutes (internal temp 165°F). The juices need to be clear when you cut into the wing all the way to the bone.
Carefully add the cooked wing sections to the bowl with the sauce.
Toss chicken and sauce, coating well.
Place sauced-wings back on the foil lined pan. Broil for a few minutes JUST to heat the sauce and crisp the edges for the perfect finish.
Remove from pan, arrange on a platter and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds to garnish.
Serves 4 (or 2 hungry teenage boys)
I never cease to be amazed at how much my teenage son can eat and stay so slim!
Practice your knife skills by serving these with perfectly cut vegetables; top-off the presentation by adding the tomato rose you learned in class to the platter!
NOTE: The Pecan Pumpkin Butter used in this recipe is available at Williams-Sonoma (hint: take advance of the special pricing when you buy two at the same time) as well as directly from Muirhead Foods in Ringo, NJ. A quick call to Muirhead this morning confirmed that their product is gluten free. They told me that they received so many calls on this subject that they are planning to add that information to their website and perhaps even the label. I can't tell you how much I appreciated their commitment to "wholesome ingredients using no added preservatives, gums, or colors" and telling me that their spices are pure, meaning no-anti caking ingredients have been added.
I'd love to get your comments on this recipe. Don't be shy - leave me a comment!
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