There's a first time for everything

Looking back at all the blogs I couldn't believe I've never done a post about chicken wings. We are talking about some of the best wings ever, having won firehouse cookoffs and being requested at holiday parties. Granted, these wings are on a different level than your typical plain old buffalo wings. They are fall off the bone tender, sweet and sticky, and a pleasant breakaway from what you're used to. For those health nuts out there, they're not deep fried (though I wouldn't go so far as to say they are a healthy food...just an upgrade in the saturated fat category). It's safe to say I don't think you'll find a recipe quite like this one.

Recipe of the day: Sticky wings
1 package chicken wingettes
S&P
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c honey
2 tbsp ketchup

Toss the wingettes in the oil, line up in the pan and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for an hour, turning every 15 minutes to prevent sticking until golden brown.

Stir together the honey, soy sauce and ketchup and pour half of the sauce onto the wings and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, pour remaining sauce over wings, then serve immediately.

Julie/Julia revisited

Since my better half came down with some sort of fluish head cold ick, I thought I would take advantage of needing great soup without too much in-kitchen time and make a classic: Potato Leek Soup. To be fair, it is very vegetarian and fits into the 5 ingredients or less category. To be unfair, it is extremely not carb free. Sorry ladies. But even the pickiest of critics seemed to enjoy it, and that is a win in my book. The recipe was originally written in 1931 by Irma Rombauer, well loved by Julia Child as one of her go to recipes, and trimmed down by me to fit into a teensy weensy pot in a teensy weensy kitchen.

Recipe of the day: Potato Leek Soup (Potage Parmentier if you want to get fancy with it)

1/2 stick butter
3 leeks (white and light green parts), sliced about 1/4" and soaked in water
4 russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth
Fresh ground pepper

Melt half stick of butter in a large pot and add sliced leeks. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes stirring frequently (see first photo) until very soft.

Add in stock, sliced potatoes, and pepper and cook for 30 minutes: use the back of the wood spoon to lightly mash when you go to stir it. (See photo 2).

Serve hot with toasty bread with melted mozzarella for dipping (last photo).

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. And so good!