Soy and Jalapeno Wings

Buffalo wings are a national treasure and will never go out of style. But, these days, I am more enamored with the Asian variety and decided to try my hand at a soy-based marinade. I threw the following into a sturdy plastic bag with the zip on top: a good amount of soy sauce, a wee bit of mirin and sesame oil, grated ginger, sliced garlic, sliced jalapeno and something like 1/4 cup of brown sugar.



The wings turned out smashing, but not without a couple hiccups with my method. To avoid my mistakes, do two things:

1. Do not dump the wings and the marinade into the baking dish because it is the easy way out. Your wings will not cook (at least, not at the rate a sane person would desire). Somehow, I conveniently forgot about all those recipes that state "pat dry" when dealing with marinated meats.

2. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-30 min. 350 degrees is the old reliable 40mph of cooking, but it was too tame for my wings.

One note about the marinade: the jalapeno wasn't present in the end product, so next time I will try a hotter chili. Making wings in the oven (as opposed to fried) is a less fussy alternative and so much cheaper than at a restaurant. Try them for awards parties and/or sports watching!

Chicken Teriyaki - Work Edition

Because after a while, you cannot eat another frozen meal or a $13 salad for lunch. I made even chicken teriyaki (bottled sauce) tonight for a few meals. Enough is enough! I need to make these take-to-work meals happen, especially with all that holiday spending coming up.

I'm lucky because we have a kitchen at work with a full-sized fridge and microwave. I've worked in an office before that had a mini-fridge, which is hardly accommodating. Later in the week, I look forward to taking some penne with tomato sauce and mushrooms. Woohoo!

Chicken Katsu and Salad with Apple and Blue Cheese

I've been remiss with my cooking, but last night, I got back on track with an oldie, but a goodie dish from my arsenal. Chicken katsu, breaded cutlets (or in this case, tenders), whatever you want to call it: I breaded the chicken in egg and panko crumbs (per usual, I was too lazy for the 2nd step of flour), which was then pan-fried and dipped in tonkatsu sauce. And of course, eaten with rice.

I felt in the mood for a better-than-the-usual simple salad. I picked up some granny smith apples and blue cheese to gussy up some mixed greens and dressed it with a balsamic vinaigrette.



Sometimes, wanting to eat two different types of cuisine in the same meal can be just plain wrong, but it worked here (I am guessing because I was craving the combination of apples and blue cheese so intensely).

And to drink, we had Tsing Tao beer. I got a big task off my to-do list, so I was in the mood to celebrate! Happy weekend, everyone! I may not have Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers to help kick off TGIF, but I do have cheap Thai food and alcohol in the cards for tonight, which is like 30% as good.

Al Fresco #1

Over the weekend, I had my very first visit to the Hollywood Bowl, a lovely amphitheater that is a summer must-do for many LA locals. I was looking forward in particular to the Bowl's "bring your own" food and (alcoholic) drink policy; they've got plenty of refreshment options there, but the hefty prices and long lines can be disheartening to say the least. Although I did not have a gingham lined picnic basket to glide along with (this time!), I did pick up a new cooler, which bodes well for future trips to the beach.

I was very excited to make chocolate covered pretzels, a recipe I had seen on PBS's Everyday Food. The process had looked charmingly easy and I had made a mental note to try it sometime. Well, the steps are so simple and the pay-off is spectacular. I must recommend you try them for your next festive occasion. They'll be gone in mere seconds.


I also wanted to take a substantial protein of some sort. Chicken drumsticks sounded easy to handle both for the cooking and the eating. When I stumbled upon this recipe on the Everyday Food site, it was case closed. But, I did choose to use a bottled honey bbq sauce instead of making it from scratch. These little darlings (Jamie Oliver's vernacular has effectively seeped into my brain) turned out wonderfully.


Not homemade, but still part of our feast were: French bread, Havarti cheese, salami, Italian giardiniera (pickled vegetables), grapes, popcorn with Mrs. Dash seasoning (a habit I picked up a year ago from my best friend, Mary) and two 24-oz. Tecates.

I have lots of ideas for next time. Like, so many. So, stay tuned for my next al fresco experience!