the "i can't believe their not fried" buffalo chicken wings

If you were entered into an eating competition - and you got to choose the food you think you could eat the most of to win - what would it be?  Hubs and I play this game sometimes and somehow I always end up back to my old faithfuls - chicken wings - or chicken nuggets.  I can pop these babies back like a champ and i truly believe i could beat hubs in a contest.  After playing the "what could you eat the most of" game not too long ago, I naturally got the craving to make some homemade chicken wings one cool fall night.  Leaf game was on - I was going to be forced to watch it anyway - may as well make it a hockey and wing night right? These crispy, juicy, saucy little bites of joy do not touch a drop of oil yet actually taste like a fried chicken wing - it's simply magical i tell you.  Don't believe me? try for yourself.

Ingredients (serves 2):
16 chicken wings
3 ounces unsalted butter
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup hot sauce (I used Franks Buffalo Wings Sauce)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Place a deep pot with a steamer basket and 1-inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.

Place the wings into the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F

Replace the paper towels with parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

While the chicken is roasting, melt the butter in a small bowl along with the garlic. Pour this along with hot sauce and salt into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken and stir to combine.

Remove the wings from the oven and transfer to the bowl and toss with the sauce.

Serve warm & enjoy!

Chefs Note:  For a great dipping sauce, simply mix 1 cup plain yogurt with 1/4 cup blue cheese and a sprinkle of cilantro - refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving!

xo Chef Natty

Prosciutto & Arugula Flatbread

Happy Tuesday Everyone!  As i sit here watching Jamie Oliver make sausages on Live with Kelly (now sans Regis), I remembered it was probably time for another Chef Natty installment for some mid-week culinary inspiration.  For today, I will be sharing a very simple recipe that I stole off of one of my besties whom i've previously referred to on this blog as Mellag.  Mellag brought this yummy flatbread over to a girls night not too long ago and i'm pretty sure i ate over half of it myself.  It was so simple yet addictive and delish.  Perfect for an easy lunch, an easy hor'derve for a dinner party or of course, a fab addition to a wine and picky foods girls night in.

Ingredients:
1 foccacia flatbread
10-12 large slices of good quality prosciutto (preferably a la Village Cheesemonger)
2 heaping handfuls of Baby Arugula
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
12-14 fresh basil leaves
EVOO
balsamic reduction
salt

Using a mortar and pestle (if you have one), grind together the basil, about 1/4 cup of EVOO and a generous pinch of salt to make a thick basil "drizzle".  ** If you do not have a mortar and pestle, simple chop the basil up as small as possible and stir together with the EVOO and salt.

Next, we simply assemble the flatbread.  Start with your arugula, top with the prosciutto, sprinkle with goat cheese, drizzle with the basil oil and the balsamic reduction.  simple as can be.

Chef Note:  You can substitute the balsamic reduction with honey for a savory sweet combo that you are sure to love!

Slice up, Serve & Enjoy!

xo Chef Natty (complements of Chef Mellag)

Barefoot Contessa's Filet of Beef Bourguignon

Maybe I should start my introducing myself.  My name is Natalie, I write this blog. I have not written in ages which makes me a sucky blogger as of late, and if you have moved on to some other foodie blog I don't blame you.  However, I may just have the ticket to bring you allllllll back with restored faith.

When it comes to dinner parties, I tend to always be the one hosting.  Other than family, I had yet to be treated to a home cooked meal by anyone else - until a couple weeks ago when hubs and I got the invite by one of our "couple" friends to join them for dinner and see their new lovely home.  After a very impressive, homemade feast, I insisted on the recipe for her main dish of filet of beef bourguignon.

Barefoot Contessa my friends... - another culinary domestic goddess to be praised.  While most of her recipes have one single secret ingredient - butter - this recipe is surprisingly toned down on the butter overload but nevertheless absolutely delicious.  I made it for hubs and my parents and it was a total hit.  Perfect for these cold months we have ahead of us.

Ingredients (Serves 6):
1 3-pound filet of beef, trimmed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons good olive oil
1/4 pound bacon, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups good dry red wine, such as Burgundy or Chianti
2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/2 pound pearl onions, peeled
8 to 10 carrots, cut diagonally into 1-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick (domestic or wild)

With a sharp knife, cut the filet crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices. Salt and pepper the filets on both sides. In a large, heavy-bottomed pan on medium-high heat, sauté the slices of beef in batches with 2 to 3 tablespoons oil until browned on the outside and very rare inside, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove the filets from the pan and set aside on a platter.

In the same pan, sauté the bacon on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, until browned and crisp. Remove the bacon and set it aside. Drain all the fat, except 2 tablespoons, from the pan. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook on high heat for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the beef stock, tomato paste, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Strain the sauce and return it to the pan. Add the onions and carrots and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and the vegetables are cooked.

With a fork mash 2 tablespoons butter and the flour into a paste and whisk it gently into the sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes to thicken.

Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms separately in 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil for about 10 minutes, until browned and tender.

I decided to add some roasted potatoes to the dish to add a little starch into the mix as well - but the original recipe does not call for them.

Add the filet of beef slices, the mushrooms, and the bacon to the pan with the vegetables and sauce. Cover and reheat gently for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not overcook. Season to taste and serve immediately.
Enjoy!

xo Chef Natty

Pizza Bianca with Mushrooms, Pears, Thyme, Parmesan & Truffle Oil

Since you literally can never have enough pizza, I decided to throw another one in to the mix.  Even though my Pizza Bovanese was a fairly recent post - I know most people won't have an issue with another pizza love entering their life so soon.

This pizza was thrown together by hubs as an impromptu, improvised but nevertheless impressive project one Sunday night.  Now that the leafs are back to rape my television for another season, hubs knows the best way to make this a fun experience for me is to bribe me with food and alcohol.  Ergo, we decided on a pizza, wings and beer night at home a couple weeks ago to "enjoy" a leaf game together.  After realizing that we have too much dough - one pizza became two - and number two came out as a random assortment of ingredients thrown together into a fantastic accident.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 ball fresh dough (found in bakery section of your local grocer) - rolled out as thin as possible
1 pear (sliced very thin)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
salt
2 tbsp fresh chopped thyme
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
truffle oil for drizzle
EVOO

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a pan, melt your butter over medium heat.  Add your mushrooms in a single layer and cook until browned on both sides - lightly salt and then remove from pan.

Top your pizza w a thin layer of EVOO using your hands to spread evenly.  Top the pizza with your mushrooms, pear slices, thyme, a few pinches of salt and cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the bottom is slightly golden.  Drizzle with truffle oil before you are ready to serve.

Pair with a leaf game and an abundance of booze and you'll have yourself a jolly ol' time.  I know I did.

Enjoy!

xo Chef Natty