An Inspired Cook

It’s that time of year again . . . Hockey is back and my Detroit Red Wings start a new season that kicks off tonight!  I’m so excited and can’t wait until the puck drops!  This is a special year for the Red Wings, they just moved into the Eastern Conference with the Atlantic Division which includes 3 other original six teams.   The Red Wings are hosting the outdoor Winter Classic on New Years Day to be held at the University of Michigan.  And it’s also an Olympic year in which many of the Red Wings will compete for their native country.  Plus the Red Wings will be featured on the HBO series 24/7 this year.  Special year to be sure!  As you all know, I make a big platter of wings to celebrate opening day and wish my Red Wings Good Luck!  They kick off the season versus Buffalo so I’m definitely NOT making Buffalo wings.  Instead I’m going with Spicy Garlic Wings.  The sauce is definitely spicy and paired with garlic, lime and coriander.  Just the thing for game night.  So here’s to a great season and Lets Go Red Wings!!

I made a spice blend of salt, white pepper, coriander and onion powder.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and set up a broiler pan with aluminum foil in the bottom pan.  This will save you much clean-up time in the end.

Set the top pan on, spray with cooking spray and layer the 24 wings single file on the tray.

Sprinkle the spice blend on both sides of the wings.

Drizzle with olive oil.  If you have lime olive oil, even better!

These are ready for the oven.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then flip the wings over to cook an additional 20 minutes.

While the wings are in the oven it’s time to make the sauce.  I went with  Sambal Oelek’s fresh chili paste, butter, lime zest, lime juice cilantro and garlic.

A microplane grater works great for the lime zest and garlic.  Chop the cilantro and juice the lime.

In a saucepan, melt the butter.

When melted, add in the garlic, lime zest and cilantro.

And the lime juice.

And 1/2 cup of the chili paste.

Stir over medium low heat for 2 – 3 minutes.   Set aside.

After 40 minutes the wings are ready to come out of the oven.

Brush each side of the wings with some of the spicy garlic sauce and place back in the oven for 5 – 7 minutes.

They have that slightly glazed look that is hard to resist!

I reserved a bit of the spicy garlic sauce and made a yogurt dip.





Spicy Garlic Wings

24 Chicken Wings (about 2 pounds)

Spice Blend

1 tablespoon Coriander
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon White Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder

Spicy Garlic Sauce

1/2 cup Fresh Chili Paste (I used Sambal Oelek)
3 – 4 Garlic Cloves, grated on a microplane grater
1/4 cup Cilantro, roughly chopped
Zest of 1 Lime
Juice of 1 Lime
1/4 cup Butter

Combine the spice blend ingredients and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Set up a broiling pan with aluminum foil on the bottom pan and spray cooking spray on the top tray.  Layer the wings on the tray, sprinkle with spice blend on both sides and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for 20 minutes, turn the wings and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat.  Add the grated garlic, lime zest and chopped cilantro.  Pour in the juice and stir in the chili paste.  Cook for 2 – 3 minutes.  Seat aside.  Reserve 3 tablespoons for yogurt dipping sauce if desired.

Remove wings from oven, brush both sides with some of the spicy garlic sauce.  Place back in the oven for 5 – 7 minutes or until the sauce just begins to glaze.

Serve with leftover spicy garlic sauce and yogurt dipping sauce.

Yogurt Dipping Sauce

1 (6 oz container) Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup Sour Cream
3 tablespoons Spicy Garlic Sauce
1 teaspoon Honey

Mix together and refrigerate.

Makes about 1 cup