Cali Hot Wings Recipe

October 27, today was eaten up making dishes for the Pig Pickin' tomorrow. I made another Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Butter Sauce. I also made a Blue Cheese Cole Slaw that I've previously critiqued. I'm taking my own advice and seeing if 4 oz. of cheese improves the dish. I made the sauce for my California Hot Wings. It is a mixture of catsup, balsamic vinegar, soy and Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic, celery salt, salt, pepper. It also includes chipotle, ancho and cayenne chili powders. You can make it as smok'in as you want. The balsamic adds a slight background sweetness and acid to balance out the heat. I've modified the recipe to include the smokiness of chipotle (smoked dried ground Jalapeno peppers) chili powder, the deeper bite of the ancho in addition to cayenne pepper. You can bake or deep fry the wings ahead of time. Once they've cooled you can add to the sauce and refrigerate. About an hour and a half prior to service remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Set oven to broil and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing. The best I've had was a recipe from Tyler Florence: Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing: 1/2 pound crumbled blue cheese, plus 1/4 pound for garnish 3/4 cup sour cream 1/2 lemon, juiced 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Pinch cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon minced chivesTo prepare the creamy blue cheese dressing: Whisk together 1/2 pound blue cheese with sour cream, lemon, vinegar and cayenne until smooth. Fold in chives, cover, and chill until ready to serve.