Peanut Butter and Jelly...CHICKEN WINGS!!!!!

                       

ALRIGHT!!! So with Super Bowl Sunday approaching, I have been itching to make some FUN, greasy spoon dishes. Unfortunately, all of my friends and family are on a health kick so I don't really have many guinea pigs, lately. BUMMER.

Anyway, the first time I made peanut butter and jelly chicken wings, it was for my baby brother and when I posted the picture to Facebook and Instagram, people thought I had LOST MY MIND!! I hadn't. They were AMAZING!

They're a little sweet, a little spicy, and super sticky. It's fabulous and they are, indeed, a huge treat.

So, let's get this party started:

First of all, WE WILL NOT be frying any chicken!! I don't have the energy to do that today. So, we're going to Faux fry it. Which, to me, is much easier and cleaner.  The way we're going to faux fry is by mixing baking powder into our seasonings so as to make the chicken crispy.


We Will Need:

4 lbs of Chicken Drummettes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbsp Baking powder




Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Mix together all of your seasonings, including the baking powder and toss the clean and dried chicken into the seasonings.


Bake for an hour, turning the chicken every 15 minutes so that the crisp is consistent.




After the first turn


Second turn



Third turn

While the wings are baking, make the wing sauce.


We Will Need:

1/4 cup of Peanut Butter ( if you're not a fan of peanut butter, you can reduce the amount the recipe calls for but for however much you take away, replace it with Jelly)
1/4 of Jelly ( here's where your creativity kicks in. You can use any flavor of jelly, you'd like, I used Apricot. I won't again, though the flavor wasn't bold enough )
3 Tbsp Ponzu Sauce or Soy Sauce
1/4 cup seasoned Rice Vinegar
2 Tbsp Sriracha
2 Tbsp Freshly minced garlic
2 tbsp Fish Sauce (don't be scared JUST DO IT)
1 Tsp Sambal
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil


Wisk together all of the ingredients and thats it for the Wing Sauce!


When the wings come out of the oven,



Toss them in the sauce and put them back into the oven for 5-7 minutes.




That's where the sticky part comes in.




And that's it!!!! Peanut Butter and Jelly Chicken Wings!!!!

Carlie's FAMOUS Smoked Salmon Dip with Crostinis

 


My Smoked Salmon Dip is probably my MOST FAVORITE RECIPE! It's easy and inexpensive to make. It's a little fancy. It tastes REALLLLY good and allll of my friends are CRAZY about it. I decided to share this recipe with you, first, because as I have grown as a home cook, my recipe has, indeed, improved. I am very proud of it and I am delighted to share it with you. With Superbowl Sunday Approaching, I thought this would be a fabulous addition to your spread of goodies. And ,Yes, even the manliest of men can't resist it.

Before I go over the ingredients, Let's talk smoked salmon. In order for this recipe to be quick and easy, you're going to have to buy your salmon already smoked. It's usually sold in the same part of the grocery store where the fish is and its generally in a cooler. Make sure the packaging says SMOKED SALMON. There are two different kinds of packaged salmon one is the smoked salmon and the other package says "Nova Salmon. DO NOT BUY NOVA SALMON.

 Nova salmon or Lox is a salmon fillet that has been brined not smoked. Its usually used in a Brunch favorite like Bagel and Lox which is a toasted Bagel, cream cheese, tomato, lox, capers and red onion. The texture is completely different and it does not flake so you will be in for a great disappointment. Just ask my best friend, Brittany. 

Now that we've got that out of the way...

Smoked Salmon Dip Ingredients:

4 oz Smoked Salmon

8 oz Softened Cream Cheese

1 tbsp Mayonnaise 

1 tsp Freshly minced garlic

1 tbsp finely chopped red onion (because a lot of my friends are not onion fans I will generally puree the onion. they don't even know its there.

1 tsp Sweet Smoked Paprika

And a couple shakes of Worcestershire Sauce and a tiny drizzle of Olive oil . 

The Directions are Simple:

With an electric mixer; mix together cream cheese, mayo, garlic, onion, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce,and olive oil until everything is completely blended.






Flake in the salmon and gently fold it into your cream cheese mixture.






You can serve immediately or you Chill and serve later. I prefer the latter. To me, it tastes better the next day. 

Crostinis

1 French Baguette 

 Olive Oil 

Your Favorite Italian Seasonings (i usually use a little garlic powder, oregano, parsley, and basil) 

Directions:

Using a Serrated Knife cut the baguette into 1/2 inch rounds.



Anytime you're cutting bread, use a serrated knife so that you don't ruin the bread when you cut it.



 Place the cut baguette rounds onto a baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil.




Sprinkle a little Italian Seasoning onto each round and gently press it into the bread. ( or you can mix together the seasoning and the olive oil and brush them onto the bread together) Bake for about 20 minutes. Let them cool completely




And THAT'S IT!!

To Serve:

Take about a tablespoon of Dip and spoon it onto a crostini. Because I like fancy looking food. I garnish with fresh parsley.

Smoked Salmon dip is a great appetizer for a dinner party, a potluck, or a late night snack. Where ever you choose to serve it, I guarantee, it will be the star of the show!! 

FINALLY!!!

I’m Carlie-- a GORGEOUS twenty something hairstylist who has many passions. My favorite one of all, would have to be my passion for Food! No! It's Cooking! Let me take that back. Culinary Arts! 

Wikipedia describes the culinary arts as the Preparation, the Cooking, and Presentation of food. I love everything about food. I could, literally, spend hours in the Grocery Store, reading labels, tasting cheeses, googling produce, spices, teas, and all that jazz. There is just way too much to do there!

I have always enjoyed cooking and I have always been good at it. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my mother and my grandmother when I was a little, watching, asking questions, and tasting. At first, it was little things like brownies made from scratch with melted Dove milk chocolate candies instead of cocoa powder and chicken spaghetti with bowtie noodles (my best friend calls it bowtie surprise).  The older I got, the more I experimented. 

One day, almost two years ago, one of my friends who also happens to be a neighbor called me to vent, she was having a crappy week so I invited her over to have leftovers with me. The night before, I’d prepared a Mexican feast for my family. Burritos, enchiladas, Spanish rice, black bean and corn salsa, and Sangria, My family’s favorite. I had made so much food we had leftovers that would last for days. When she arrived, I fixed her a plate; she was so impressed with my hospitality and presentation she didn’t want to touch her food, So she took a photo of it. We ate, we talked, we drank and while she sat there I baked her some cookies. Thinking back on that day gets me so tickled.

Later that evening, when she got home, she posted a picture of her food. Nobody knew I cooked the way I did so when she added the hashtag #mystylistcancook people started asking questions.Did you make that?? How?? Do you always cook like this?? ...And so on. Before I knew it, I was posting pictures of food every day. I was so pleased with the reactions and I got to a point where I was looking forward to sharing the things I made with social media.  I’ve always been proud of the meals I have prepared. I put my heart and soul into them. I love with food. But the responses I got from people were very inspiring.  Because I don’t really write down recipes, it’s hard for me to share them when people ask for them. So I’ve decided to create a food blog. I want to share the things I  know.Inspire home cooks to be more creative...to not be afraid of food. It really is amazing.  I want to make decent home cooks, better and make good home cooks, great.  

Wish me luck.