A Super Bowl's Not Super without good food (and friends)! Wings and Apple Crisp
I greatly enjoyed the superbowl yesterday, as did my appetite. We had a spread fit for kings (or Saints). My contributions were chicken wings (my first!) and cranberry apple crisp.
First the good (in this case the Colts would be the analogy):
Superbowl Wings
This ended up being an amalgam of a few different recipes. They got the golden wing of approval from the wing connoisseurs at the party so that was good.
Marinade - Place in a large heavy duty ziplop bag which is then placed in a large bowl:
3 Tbsp canola oil
4 large cloves of garlic, pressed
~2 tsp cajun seasoning (could have been more liberal with this)
1/4 small bottle Frank's red hot (~1/2-3/4 cup)
A few shakes of cumin, paprika, and fresh ground pepper
I marinated 4 pounds of chicken wings (broken into 3 segments with wing tips reserved for stock). It made 46 wing pieces that way. Mix to coat chicken well and marinate overnight in the fridge; turn the bag occasionally to ensure even coating/marinading.
About 2 hours prior to cooking, add the Frank's red hot sauce.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place chicken wings on baking racks set over rimmed cookie sheets (this helps them crisp as much as they can). Bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
3/4 bottle of Frank's red hot (about 1.5 cups)
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) of butter, melted
Combine and serve along side.
These wings had a nice garlicky flavor with a bit of heat without sauce; heat can be kicked up a notch by dipping/drizzing sauce over wings. Rather than dip them, I just served the sauce along side so folks could tailor to their palate. Alternatively, you could dip them all (or toss it all in a crock pot to stay warm).
Extreme closeup:
Now for the truly awesome (such as The Saints): The best apple crisp ever!
Cranberry Apple Crisp
This recipe is from Cooks Country. I happened to catch (for the second time) the episode where they made this dish (which I had forgotten I wanted to try). Christopher Kimball comments that this was by far the best dish ever made by that particular chef, which is a pretty big statement given the delicious dishes regularly prepared on the show. So I decided to let us judge for ourselves.
Yep the crust did cruch when cut into. Lovely. Crisp indeed.
Poor lonely naked crisp:
The happy couple: crisp + ice cream (a crime to not serve them together):
I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter except I skimped a bit on the apples; I would recommend not doing that as the balance was tipped a bit more towards the cranberry but it was still utterly delicious. Nice thick, not runny, wonderful texture and flavor. I am drooling about having another piece tonight. BTW I did the make ahead version and it turned out fine,
Serves 8 to 10
If you can't find Braeburn apples, Golden Delicious will work. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
Filling
1 pound cranberries , fresh or frozen
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apple (6 to 8 apples), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 1/2 pounds Braeburn apples (6 to 8 apples), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
3 tablespoons Minute Tapioca
1. For the topping: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Pulse flour, sugars, cinnamon, and butter in food processor until mixture has texture of coarse crumbs (some pea-sized pieces of butter will remain), about 12 one-second pulses. Transfer to medium bowl, stir in oats, and use fingers to pinch topping into peanut-sized clumps. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
2. For the filling: Bring fresh cranberries, 3/4 cup sugar, and water to simmer in Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook until cranberries are completely softened and mixture is jam-like, about 10 minutes. Scrape mixture into bowl. Add apples, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and dried cranberries to Dutch oven and cook over medium-high heat until apples begin to release their juices, about 5 minutes.
3. Off heat, stir cranberry mixture and tapioca into apple mixture. Pour into 13 by 9-inch baking dish set over rimmed baking sheet and smooth surface evenly with spatula.
4. To assemble: Scatter topping evenly over filling and bake until juices are bubbling and topping is deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. (If topping is browning too quickly, loosely cover with piece of aluminum foil.) Transfer to wire rack to cool. Serve warm.
Make Ahead: While this crisp is best eaten the day it is cooked, the topping and filling can be made ahead. After pinching the topping into small clumps in step 1, transfer the mixture to a zipper-lock bag and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month. The cooked filling can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. To bake, sprinkle the chilled topping evenly over the chilled filling, loosely cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the juices are bubbling and the topping is deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes longer.
First the good (in this case the Colts would be the analogy):
Superbowl Wings
This ended up being an amalgam of a few different recipes. They got the golden wing of approval from the wing connoisseurs at the party so that was good.
Marinade - Place in a large heavy duty ziplop bag which is then placed in a large bowl:
3 Tbsp canola oil
4 large cloves of garlic, pressed
~2 tsp cajun seasoning (could have been more liberal with this)
1/4 small bottle Frank's red hot (~1/2-3/4 cup)
A few shakes of cumin, paprika, and fresh ground pepper
I marinated 4 pounds of chicken wings (broken into 3 segments with wing tips reserved for stock). It made 46 wing pieces that way. Mix to coat chicken well and marinate overnight in the fridge; turn the bag occasionally to ensure even coating/marinading.
About 2 hours prior to cooking, add the Frank's red hot sauce.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Place chicken wings on baking racks set over rimmed cookie sheets (this helps them crisp as much as they can). Bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
3/4 bottle of Frank's red hot (about 1.5 cups)
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) of butter, melted
Combine and serve along side.
These wings had a nice garlicky flavor with a bit of heat without sauce; heat can be kicked up a notch by dipping/drizzing sauce over wings. Rather than dip them, I just served the sauce along side so folks could tailor to their palate. Alternatively, you could dip them all (or toss it all in a crock pot to stay warm).
Extreme closeup:
Now for the truly awesome (such as The Saints): The best apple crisp ever!
Cranberry Apple Crisp
This recipe is from Cooks Country. I happened to catch (for the second time) the episode where they made this dish (which I had forgotten I wanted to try). Christopher Kimball comments that this was by far the best dish ever made by that particular chef, which is a pretty big statement given the delicious dishes regularly prepared on the show. So I decided to let us judge for ourselves.
Yep the crust did cruch when cut into. Lovely. Crisp indeed.
Poor lonely naked crisp:
The happy couple: crisp + ice cream (a crime to not serve them together):
I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter except I skimped a bit on the apples; I would recommend not doing that as the balance was tipped a bit more towards the cranberry but it was still utterly delicious. Nice thick, not runny, wonderful texture and flavor. I am drooling about having another piece tonight. BTW I did the make ahead version and it turned out fine,
Serves 8 to 10
If you can't find Braeburn apples, Golden Delicious will work. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
Filling
1 pound cranberries , fresh or frozen
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apple (6 to 8 apples), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 1/2 pounds Braeburn apples (6 to 8 apples), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
3 tablespoons Minute Tapioca
1. For the topping: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Pulse flour, sugars, cinnamon, and butter in food processor until mixture has texture of coarse crumbs (some pea-sized pieces of butter will remain), about 12 one-second pulses. Transfer to medium bowl, stir in oats, and use fingers to pinch topping into peanut-sized clumps. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
2. For the filling: Bring fresh cranberries, 3/4 cup sugar, and water to simmer in Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook until cranberries are completely softened and mixture is jam-like, about 10 minutes. Scrape mixture into bowl. Add apples, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and dried cranberries to Dutch oven and cook over medium-high heat until apples begin to release their juices, about 5 minutes.
3. Off heat, stir cranberry mixture and tapioca into apple mixture. Pour into 13 by 9-inch baking dish set over rimmed baking sheet and smooth surface evenly with spatula.
4. To assemble: Scatter topping evenly over filling and bake until juices are bubbling and topping is deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. (If topping is browning too quickly, loosely cover with piece of aluminum foil.) Transfer to wire rack to cool. Serve warm.
Make Ahead: While this crisp is best eaten the day it is cooked, the topping and filling can be made ahead. After pinching the topping into small clumps in step 1, transfer the mixture to a zipper-lock bag and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month. The cooked filling can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. To bake, sprinkle the chilled topping evenly over the chilled filling, loosely cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the juices are bubbling and the topping is deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes longer.