No Love Lost...... For The Humble Chicken Wing.

Hello my wonderful followers (ahem, follower),
I can tell you that I sure have Lost No Love for me ol' favorite snacking food, The Chicken Wing. 
Peanut and Strawberry chicken wings to be precise. 

I bought the Peanut butter from Maltby Street Market check it out, It's flippin amazing
Maltby Street Market

Chicken wings are a dish best eaten on their own, in your pants, with a shame smeared sauce face. 
Seriously, if you want a date to run away fast, eat chicken wings in front of them............... or you could choke on a bit of squid in a nice sushi restaurant, make horrible retching noises and nearly vomit on the table.
That'll certainly do it.  
Well, I've never claimed to be a lady.
It's OK folks, he came back.  Ssssssssh, Don't tell Pepper Keenan.

Speaking of my one true love, Pepper. He was playing with The COC the other night in London but I couldn't get a ticket because I am a pauper. 
So I was walking past the venue and I saw Kirk Windstein, (Google it) started having a mild panic attack, spun around in a frantic circle and contemplated holding Old Kirky hostage till he agreed to get Pepper to come out and Marry me (only kidding Henry..... That totally didn't happen).

Here is a little Ditty from a band called Carcass, see what I did there eh, eh?  Chicken ...Carcass.....Chicken wings.
The puns are never ending with me.
I don't know why I don't have my own TV Cookery show yet?
Oh wait, no. 
It's because I'm a lazy blogger.

Enjoy the video folks, It's one of my all time favorites. 
The riffing is spiffing.  




I nicked the idea for this recipe from a bar in Putney called Lost and Co. Check it out. They do amazing cocktails and really tasty food. 
LOST & CO

It sounds bat shit crazy but it really works, the sweetness from the strawbs cuts through the salty peanut butter and it's a good recipe to make if you are skint as chicken wings are pretty dang cheap.

I'm not gonna lie, I ate a Kilo of them to myself and I was sauce smeared and in my pants but I didn't feel even the slightest bit ashamed.
 It's good when you can lick chicken wing sauce off your own body and there's no one there to judge you. 
Mmmmmmmmmm.

Peanut and Strawberry Chicken Wings  

1 Kg chicken wings jointed

Marinade
280g buttermilk or natural yoghurt
10g fresh grated ginger
50g runny honey
75g peanut butter
60g strawberry jam 

Sauce
70g buttermilk or natural yoghurt 
50g strawberry jam
75g peanut butter
10g hot sauce
60ml water 

Mix the chicken wings well with the marinade ingredients so that the chicken wings are well coated.
Store in the fridge over night. 

Heat your oven to 180 degrees (or equivalent) and place the chicken wings onto a well oiled tray or a tray lined with baking or greaseproof paper.
Cook the wings for about 35 to 45 minutes till crispy on the outside.

Whisk all the sauce ingredients together and toss in the hot chicken wings to coat evenly.

Make sure you have  a LOT of napkins, skin, whatever. 

Enjoy. 

When the Gumbo did my infatuation with Pepper Keenan start?

This recipe is in honour of my two favourite things.
Pepper Kennan. Front man and guitarist of Corrosion of Conformity and guitarist in Down, and good down home Southern Louisiana cooking.

(Other things of note which I love are Dolph Lundgren, Columbo, 80's action films, my Viking drinking horn, Mexican wrestling and pork pies. Oh, and vodka).

 To start the story.

I was a young girl, about the age of thirteen/ fourteen, in the bloom of my youth and just starting to get over my Eddie Vedder infatuation.
 I was watching the show Headbangers Ball on MTV which my Granny had kindly videotaped for me (yes, I said videotaped! it was the 90's).
My Gran was deemed posh on the scheme as she was one of the first to get cable.

So there I was watching the likes of Skintrade, Annihilator and Nuclear Assault when a video came on by a band called Corrosion of Conformity. Voting with a bullet to be precise.

There I saw a man.
Not your pretty boy Eddie Vedder type but a MAN!
A big hairy Metal Man by the name of Pepper Keenan.
That was it, my heart was his.




I’d imagine Pepper sitting on an old swing chair on a porch in our run down little shack, basking in the Louisiana sun.
Strumming a tune on his guitar, drinking a cold beer and eating some famous New Orleans (or N’awlins as the locals say) Gumbo that I had cooked for him.

After the gumbo was finished I'd bring him some freshly baked bread pudding which we would share from the same plate, feeding each other while laughing softly.

We’d sip some homemade lemonade laced with bourbon and kiss under the hot moonlit Louisiana sky.
Then he would take my hand and lead me to the bedroom where we would fall into a deep and comforting sleep in each others arms.

My sexual awakening hadn't happened yet. Clearly!

(For the record, I  completely made everything after the "voting with a bullet" video up. Hee hee. But I do write a damn good story don't I? )

You should check out my Mills and Boon tributes on "Jack n coke cupcakes"
http://appetiteofdestructionbook.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/jack-n-coke-cupcakes.html
and "If Mills and Boon wrote recipe reviews".
http://appetiteofdestructionbook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/if-mills-and-boon-wrote-recipe-reviews.html

I'm seriously considering a career as a Romantic novelist.


Here's something else for you to laugh at.
I call it:

An Ode to Good Ol’ Southern Cookin with Pepper

Oh dearest Pepper Keenan ,
You’re the size of a bear
With your big guitar riffs
And Man Metal hair

Your name goes with salt,
 Not sugar or spice
To share all my meals
With you would be nice

I’d make Turtle soup
And shit loads of crab
With Remoulade sauce
In which shrimps you could dab

I’d like to invite you
To eat Gumbo stew
With rice, shrimp and okra
Just me and you

I’ll fry up some Hush Puppies
To have on the side
And after some beers
We can have a good ride (On the St Charles Streetcar you filthy minded beggars)

I forgot about pudding
Now that wouldn’t do
I’ll make Bananas Foster
Just
Yes especially,
 just for you

As I would have said in the 90’s  “SCHWING"



Ok, Ok, here is the recipe then. I hope it is as authentic as it is in N’awlins.


N’awlins Gumbo

This makes a shit load of Gumbo. You canny make a small pot. It’s just not right. Invite people round, give it to your neighbours, the homeless, whomever and celebrate New Orleans style.

Ingredients:

note: This recipe calls for pepper. As in the spice. Please do not kidnap Pepper Keenan and try to cook him in a big pot of gumbo as this may lead to a spoiled stew and a lengthy prison sentance.

This is my Gumbo. Not a very good photo but damn it was tasty.

This is andouille Gumbo from the Gumbo Shop in New Orleans. This is the colour your Gumbo should be,

Andouille sausage (If you can’t get Andouille then you can use chorizo or merguez ) cut into chunky rings about 2cm thick
500g okra washed and stalks cut off
10 Big fat raw tiger prawns de shelled and de veined. (Oh fuck this. It’s NOT a vain. It’s the prawn’s shite pipe. I have no need of being polite, so de shite pipe the prawns).
150g butter
100g flour
2 Green bell peppers diced
6 stalks Celery diced
2 large onions diced
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon tomato purée
Teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2litres Chicken stock or one chicken stock cube dissolved in 2 litres of boiling water
Couple splashes hot sauce
Big handful chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

First thing you need is a BIG heavy bottomed pot.
Next you need to make your roux.
Put your pot onto a medium heat and plop in the butter. Once melted and starting to bubble slightly add the flour and stir.
Turn heat down to low and cook the roux, stirring every now and then until it is the colour of peanut butter, This will take about 10 to 15 minutes but be patient. It's worth it. Just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't burn.
When your roux is ready add the smoked paprika, onion, celery and green peppers.
Cook for about 5 minutes stirring every now and then until softened.
Add the sausage and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the okra and cook for a few minutes.
Add the chicken stock, thyme, bay leaves, hot sauce, tomato purée, salt and pepper.
Stir and bring to a simmer.
Cook slowly for about 40 minutes or until the okra is tender.
Plop in the prawns and cook for about 3 minutes. You don't want the prawns to go like rubber.
Take off the heat and add the chopped parsley.
Serve with boiled rice and nice crusty bread.

No, no. It's OK. You don't have to thank me.

Pepper. What a great invention.

I feel like a bit of Pepper.





Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

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