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Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Black Pepper and Garlic Chicken Wings

Doesn't it just drive you crazy when you see an amazing photo in a cookbook? It drives me crazy. I have to have a large, rip-able bookmark with me when I'm looking through a cookbook. I see a picture or read an amazing recipe and riiiip, off comes a strip of said paper to insert as a placeholder. And I'm mad for cookbooks. The librarians must know by now not to put new cookbooks up for display, with no other books as fillers...because I usually just walk down the row and snatch 'em all up (then they have to go and choose something else to stand up)...you get the picture. I can pretty much find at least (at least!) one thing in any given cookbook that I want to make or try.

One of the newer ones I found, Big Small Plates by Cindy Pawlcyn had me drooling plenty, but there was this recipe...this photo...called Black Pepper and Garlic Chicken Wings (YUM)! Suddenly, I was craving wings in a bad way.

Black Pepper and Garlic Chicken Wings (with Ginger)
yield: 2 pounds

2 pounds chicken wings

+for the marinade:+
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 dried shiitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon honey

Combine soy sauce and shiitake mushrooms in a small pot and bring to a boil for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Whisk all of the other ingredients into the pot once cooled to room temperature.If using whole wings, cut off tip, then cut wing at joint to separate into drummies & "flat" sections. Place chicken in a large (gallon) resealable bag. Pour marinade over and seal well. Make sure chicken is well-covered with sauce.
Marinate for 12-24 hours in refrigerator, turning frequently.
Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a pan with foil, then arrange wings on a rack set over a shallow pan. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until skin is browned and crispy and meat has begun to pull away from bone at end.


-adapted from Big Small Plates by Cindy Pawlcyn
This is the point where I will say it again...doesn't it just drive you crazy when you see an amazing photo in a cookbook? Crazy in a great, must-have...hungry crazy way. But, also crazy when you make the same recipe and end up with a different result? A different "photo", if you will? Yeah, they still look pretty good. But, the picture in the book- oh man! They were molasses-colored and sticky and finger-lickin' good! Mine didn't exactly turn out that way :( Oh well, they were okay.

I really like the flavor combination in the marinade, but I'm definitely adding something sticky and messy next time. I want the napkins to stick to my finger tips! I want messy fingerprints all over my beer bottle! I want to pick sticky bits of goo from between my teeth! So, good in theory...but I think it could have been better...and will be next time.