The wind beneath my....

Ragazzi, you don't need too many smarts for what this one is going to be about, do you? And, truth to be told, it's a good one.
When she was a wee thing, Annalena's favorite part of the chicken, was the wing. Indeed, it still is, and it is only by sheer force of her titanic will, that Annalena does not rip the wing from the Guyman's portion of chicken, when we have our weekly roasted bird. Annalena's mamma, however, liked wings as well, so things being what they were....
And it was also a time, that long ago, when wings were popular for reasons that are not clear in Annalena's mind. As a result, her Nana frequently could NOT get wings from the butcher, or could get very few. So, it was one of those things that just did not cross the table.

Years pass, and wings have gone out, and in, to favor. Of course, we are all now aware of the ubiquitous buffalo wings, hot wings, and so on, and so forth. Annalena generally avoids these because (i) inevitably they are hideous (ii) the ingredients used in them make Annalena feel like each wing has 500 calories, and (iii) notwithstanding (i) and (ii), to paraphrase Chaka Khan "once she gets started, oh baby she's hard to stop." Those six hundred calorie MoFos go down Annalena's throat like , well, never mind.

So, anyway, a few weeks ago, on the advent of the Superbowl, one of Annalena's favorite chefs, David Tanis, posted a recipe for , as he called it "spicy lacquered chicken wings.' Annalena decided to try to make it.

TRY to find a chicken wing the week before Superbowl Sunday. You would have more luck finding Annalena at Costco.

So, it waited, until we had a dinner party this week, and Annalena served these as a "tidbit" before the main course. They were a success. And Annalena is glad that people were there, because she would have easily eaten all 24 of them. Having said that, if you look through the recipe, there is no fat added to this dish. All the fat is in the wings itself, plus some in the sugar. So when you do your calorie counts, keep that in mind. And now, let us get to work.

You will need a few odd ingredients here. One is rice wine (for which you can use mirin or even a sweet rice wine vinegar). You will also need "five spice powder." Annalena forgets what is in five spice powder, but if you ever go into a GOOD Chinese restaurant and wonder "MMMM. What is that smell?" and you are not talking about the grease, you are smelling five spice. Get yourself a small jar, and use it here, and substitute it for cinnamon, using half as much five spice as you would normally use the cinnamon. Your world will explode, in a good way.

Let's make a marinade. Mix together three tablespoons of soy sauce (low sodium is fine), and an equal amount of that rice wine, or sherry. Then 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, dark or light (dark makes a nicer wing). Add a tablespoon of grated ginger, 6 very finely minced garlic cloves, a half teaspoon of the five spice, a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper (you can up this, if you want them spicier), and a bit of grated orange zest. Mix this all up together and then pour it over 3 pounds of what are now called "party wings." These are the wings with the little tip taken off. You will get anywhere between 18 and 24 wings in 3 pounds (which should make you appreciate, or be frightened of, Annalena's appetite. Yes, she could have eaten all of these).

Stir everything together, and put them in the fridge overnight, or leave it at room temperature for an hour. Preheat your oven to 375, and look for an appropriate pan. Annalena used a 9x13 metal roasting pan. Anything that has enough of a surface area so that the wings can lie in one layer is fine, but DON'T use a baking sheet here. You will burn everything if you do.

Pour the stuff into the pan and, unlike many of Annalena's recipes, this is not one where you can go away and read "War and Peace," or create a card castle, etc. No, you have to peak in on these, every 8 minutes or so. Chef Tanis suggests using a brush, and painting them with the sauce that comes off of the wings. You can do that. Annalena simply shook her pan vigorously, so that the wings started to move around, the top became the bottom (don't go there, please), and then repeat this, for 40-45 minutes.

Over the course of that baking, these guys will darken, and your home will take on that mysterious smell of a GOOD Chinese restaurant.

When they are ready, Chef Tanis suggest an elaborate salad with oranges, and cilantro and cucumbers to put them over. More power to you if you choose to do this. They are just fine as they are. And they are fine cold. And they are fine warmed up and served a day later.

IF your sauce thickens while these flappers are cooking, then pour a few tablespoons of water in. This is important, because there are a lot fo carmelizing agents here, and your pan will get very ugly if you don't keep an eye on things.

Yum, yum yum. I do believe that Ms. Gilda may find herself making these this weekend. Just have that feeling. Annalena is making a second batch herself, but she is making sure the Guyman is there, so that they make it to their intended recipients.

Flap, flap, flap.