Chicken Wings…Spicy, Savory and Sweet!

September 23, 2012 5 Comments

Chicken Wings…

Hello Lover…

I hate to admit it but I’m hopelessly addicted.  It started innocently with a fabulous recipe from Paleo Comfort Foods for Spicy Chicken Wings and then I branched out to a second wing recipe, Garlic Parmesan and now I’ve added a third wing recipe to the mix…Honey Dijon.  Holy cow…what’s next?

This past week as my husband and I were diving into a huge plate of wings (I was still only in the two recipe mode) we commented on how long we’ve been on the path in search of the perfect “home-made” wing.  We reminisced about the countless ways we’ve tried to make them…we’ve grilled them, deep-fried them (breaded and not), shallow pan-fried them, roasted them…in glass pans, foil pans and on baking racks, we’ve steamed them, chilled them and then baked them (courtesy of Alton Brown)…Oy Vey!

I’m happy to report that I have finally settled on the best way to make chicken wings…OFTEN.  But, in all seriousness, I have found that my favorite way is to pat them dry (this is necessary for a crispy skin so don’t skip it!) and bake them at a high temp on a parchment lined baking sheet for about 30 minutes…they are juicy and crispy with very little mess!

Classic Hot Wings…my current favorite.

Spicy Chicken Wings

1 pound chicken wings

salt

2 Tbsp. butter

1/4 cup hot sauce (I like Franks Red Hot)

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp celery seed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Rinse the wings and then transfer to paper towels and pat them dry.   Sprinkle with salt and place skin side up onto the lined baking sheet.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.  While the wings are baking combine the remaining ingredients in a large sauce pan and heat over low heat until butter is melted and sauce is combined.  Remove the wings from the oven and toss in the sauce to coat.  Serve immediately.

A perfect compliment to the hot wing…

Garlic Parmesan Wings

1 pound chicken wings

1 tsp. Mexican oregano

1 tsp. rosemary

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cumin

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. basil

1 Tbsp. chopped garlic

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Rinse the wings and then transfer them to paper towels and pat them dry.  In large bowl, whisk together oregano, rosemary, cumin and salt. Add chicken wings and toss to coat, making sure that all wings get some of the herb mixture.  Place skin side up onto the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.  In another large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, basil, chopped garlic and Parmesan cheese. Add cooked wings and toss well to coat.  Serve warm.

The newest addition…we call this one “dessert”

Honey Dijon Chicken Wings

1 pound chicken wings

salt

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 cup honey

dash of cayenne

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Rinse the wings and then transfer to paper towels and pat them dry.   Sprinkle with salt and place skin side up onto the lined baking sheet.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.  While the wings are baking combine the remaining ingredients in a large sauce pan and heat over low heat until butter is melted and sauce is combined.  Remove the wings from the oven and toss in the sauce to coat.  Serve immediately.

Serve wings with ranch or blue cheese for dipping along with a nice side of raw carrot and celery sticks for good measure!

This recipe is shared at:

 Tasty Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Fat Tuesday, Whole Food Wednesday, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Fight Back Friday, Fill Those Jars Fridays

Filed Under: Appetizers, Main Dishes, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Texas Sheet Cake – Gluten and Refined Sugar-Free

September 16, 2012 28 Comments

Texas Sheet Cake…just like I remember it.

Have you ever heard of a Texas Sheet Cake? Yeah, me neither.  When I grew up we just called it Sheet Cake…of course we lived in Texas so maybe that’s why we didn’t need to include the “Texas” part.  I have very fond memories of this moist, intensely chocolatey (almost brownie like…but not) cake with a super sweet icing that looked almost crackle-y (is that even a word?) on top when you cut into it.   I remember this cake being a part of just about every family celebration we had and after much research on this heavenly cake so do a lot of other southerners!  No one really knows the origin of the “Texas Sheet Cake” that may date back as far as the 1900’s but almost every recipe I came across has a slightly different name (Aunt Velma’s Chocolate Cake, Texas Sheet Cake, Cocoa Sheath Cake, Mexican Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Cookie Sheet Cake…) but nearly identical ingredients.  The most information I found as to why it’s called “Texas Sheet Cake” can be found here, you can follow the links in the post for some fun information on this wonderful traditional southern dessert.

I had a hankering for this dessert today but I didn’t feel like messing around with the recipe to come up with a grain-free version…mostly because I really wanted it to taste, look and feel like the chocolate cake I remember having at my grandmother’s house.  I opted to make a gluten and refined sugar-free version using quinoa flour and coconut palm sugar, all the other ingredients are the same as the original recipe.  Now, one theory on the name “Texas Sheet Cake” is because it makes a cake the size of Texas since it is traditionally baked in an 12×18 half sheet pan, which is HUGE.  I cut the original recipe in half to make a 9×12 quarter sheet cake, which still yields 12 generous servings!

Gluten-Free Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa flour

1 cup palm sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. cocoa, heaping

1 stick butter

1/2 cup boiling water

1/4 cup buttermilk

 1 egg beaten

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Icing:

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

7 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. cocoa, heaping

3 Tbsp. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

8 ounces coconut palm sugar, powdered**

**Powder the coconut palm sugar by placing it in a high-speed blender or food processor and blend on high until it reaches the consistency of finely powdered sugar.

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, eat and enjoy!

Just a few thoughts…

This cake turned out just as I remembered it.  I was completely thrilled with this recipe and how well the quinoa flour and coconut palm sugar didn’t change the texture or taste of the original recipe.  With that said…this cake was WAY too sweet for my taste now!!!! Did I love it? Yes.  Did it satisfy the craving I was having for a childhood memory? Yes.  Will I make it again? Yes.  Will I play around with the recipe to make it grain-free and less sweet? Probably not…This will be one of those recipes that is pulled out on a special occasion or when in need of a comfort food fix, anything different would defeat the purpose of this recipe!

Moist and dense…but not too much of either one…

the perfect combination.

See…crackle-y!

The best way to eat it is warm with a scoop of homemade vanilla bean ice cream!

This post is shared at:

Fat Tuesday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Fill Those Jars Friday, Fresh Bites Fridays, Tasty Tuesday, Fight Back Fridays, Allergy Free Wednesdays

Filed Under: Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Italian Bacon~Spinach~Tomato Mini Frittatas

September 7, 2012 1 Comment

This a simple recipe that uses fresh and flavorful ingredients and it’s easy to put together.  I used raw milk cheese in mine but if you are dairy-free you can simply leave it out.  Enjoy this high protein, low carb dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner with a nice side salad or even some oven-roasted sweet potatoes.

Pastured eggs, nitrate-free bacon, vine ripe tomatoes, baby spinach and raw milk cheese…beautiful!

Italian Bacon~Spinach~Tomato Mini Frittatas

This recipe makes two servings (the photo above was for one).

Ingredients:

4 pastured eggs

4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 large tomatoes, sliced thin and seeded

1 ounce baby spinach

2 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease 4 ramekins or 2 individual size serving dishes, set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together eggs and Italian seasoning.

In each dish layer tomatoes, spinach, cheese and bacon…depending on the size of your dish you should have enough room to repeat the layers.

Pour the whisked eggs over the layered ingredients evenly (about 1/4 cup in each ramekin).

Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set.

Baked to perfection!

You can pop these easily out of the ramekins or serve them directly in the baking dish.  Either way…Delish!

This recipe is shared at:

Fill Those Jars Fridays, Fresh Bites Fridays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Whole Foods Wednesdays, Made From Scratch Mondays

Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , , ,