Sweet and Sassy Chicken Wings

Equation of the day:

Superbowl=wings.

Unless you're vegetarian, then we have plenty of other options, but in non-vegetarians, this is fact.

As we girls were preparing for this Superbowl series, we were discussing what foods the men-folk would like. Instead of trying to think like a man, I turned to the hottie sitting next to me on the couch and asked him what he'd like.

Wings.

Wings it is, sweetheart, wings it is.

I was on a mission. I tried four different ways of preparing the wings, and four different variations of a basic sauce. I found that there wasn't much difference in the way I prepared them, and simultaneously created the perfect sauce that was met with happy grunts and sticky fingers, indicating I had pleased the man of the house. I chose to batter the wings, which created a light breading. You can certainly do it without this (just omit the egg and flour part and substitute coating the wings in canola oil and seasonings), but I found it added an extra dimension and something for the sauce to really sink into. I also tested eating the wings with the sauce simply coated on , then tried coating the wings and baking them with the sauce on, and much preferred the baked-on, caramelized sauce.

I did a little happy dance.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare your pan by lining it with foil, then a cooling rack, and spray the heck out of everything.

Dredge the chicken in the eggs and milk mixture in one bowl, then the flour mixture in another bowl. Place them on the cooling rack and lightly spray the wings with cooking oil.

Bake until crispy and golden.

While they're baking, make your sauce with the sweet chili sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic (minced), and Sriracha (or other hot sauce) to taste. I love the sweet chili sauce at Trader Joe's, and I know most of you have a TJ around you now, but many brands make the same stuff so that would do as well. I love it for dipping coconut shrimp or egg rolls in. It has some kick to it, so be careful when you're adding the hot sauce. I did find that the sauce was spicier before I baked it, so also keep that in mind.

But remember, it's the SupaBowl, you kinda have to eat spicy chicken wings.

Coat the chicken in your sauce, and crank up the heat to 450 degrees.

Place back on your cooling rack and bake for another 7-8 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a bit, but is still slick and gooey. Don't wait until it's dried out.

Sprinkle with green onions.

Perfect for sticky fist bumps and high fives.

Finger-licking good. Man-tested and man-approved.

Sweet and sassy chicken wings

Ingredients

2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken wings (about 30 wings)

2 c sweet chili sauce

1 1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c soy sauce

2 T fresh ginger

5 cloves garlic

Sriracha (or other) hot sauce to taste

2 eggs

1/8 c milk

1 c flour

1 t salt

1 t pepper

1 t paprika

green onions, sliced

Directions

1. Heat sweet chili sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and 1/2 t Sriracha sauce in saucepan on stove over medium heat.

2. Simmer while stirring until sugar has melted and sauce has thickened. Add more hot sauce if desired.

3. Whisk eggs and milk in bowl.

4. Whisk flour, salt, pepper, and paprika in separate bowl.

5. Coat chicken wings in eggs mixture.

6. Next, dredge chicken wings in flour mixture.

7. Spray wings with cooking oil.

8. Line cookie sheet with foil, place cooling rack over cookie sheet. Spray cooling rack with cooking oil.

9. Bake wings on cooling rack at 400 degrees for 35 minutes, until crispy and golden.

10. Remove wings from oven, increase temperature to 450 degrees.

11. Coat wings with sauce, move back to cooling rack and bake for additional 7-8 minutes.

12. Sprinkle with green onion slices and serve

Serves 6-8

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