Monday, November 29, 2010

Crab Wings

I'm making my "soon-to-be-famous Crab Wings" for a pot luck dinner tonight. Yesterday I put two big packs of wings in two zip top bags to marinade in some vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, Old Bay Seasoning, parsley flakes and black pepper.

This morning I made the CrabWing Sauce. Two sticks of butter, two bottles of Frank's Hot Sauce, a dash of apple cider vinegar, and a good healthy dose of Old Bay in a pot on the stove. Put in the Old Bay to taste. I go by color! When the sauce is "almost brown" that's usually enough Old Bay...but sample it often to check. Use crackers, tortilla chips, anything, to sample the sauce.

When it's time to make the wings, I use my Showtime Jr. Rotisserie. (Remember "Just set it...and forget it!"? I tell you, I love this thing! I even made our Thanksgiving turkey in it.) I put the wings in the rotisserie basket and let it spin for about 45 minutes. The really cool thing is...I use the whole wings, tips and all, so when they get brown and are kinda sticking out of the basket...they look a little bit like crab claws. :-)

When they're done, I toss them with the wing sauce and serve with more sauce on the side and some celery sticks and ranch dressing.

Mmmmmmm....Crab Wings....

Enjoy!
-J

Friday, November 19, 2010

Ratatouille and Brunswick Stew

This seems like an odd combination, but I have to do a double post today. Mike and I recently took a trip up to Charleston SC and Savannah GA, so when we got home we needed to clear out the fridge and took some inspiration from the trip...

Ratatouille - not the movie
This is one of my favorite ways to use eggplant and squash. I made some variation of it several times before I learned it really was ratatouille!


Brown some eggplant (sliced or cubed) and place in a casserole dish. Layer on the other veggies...zuchinni, yellow squash, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cover with parmesan cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 40 - 45 mins.

I like it served with some cheesy bread that's been toasted under the broiler. Mmmm!


Brunswick Stew
Mike made Brunswick Stew, named after Brunswick Georgia.
He smoked a chicken out on the patio, and while that was going, made the stew from chicken stock, lima beans, peas, corn. While that was stewing, he made the red sauce from crushed tomatoes, a little hot sauce, onions.
Several hours later, mix them all together and serve!