I finally got to watch Avengers: Endgame over the weekend. On Friday night, Kevin and I met up with friends for the last movie showing at a local movie theater in Ohio. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the movie until the very end. Without spoiling the movie for others, all I can say is the movie seemed to have tied up a lot of loose ends from previous storylines. The next day, we were so tired, we took a long afternoon nap to recuperate. We really didn’t stay out too late, but I guess the older I get, the less I am able to bounce back from staying out later than usual. When I finally woke up from my nap, I was craving a combination of fried food with a fresh dip. I realize I do have very specific cravings. I immediately checked my refrigerator and saw I had some chicken wings sitting at the bottom level of my refrigerator. I ended up separating the wings into three parts. I saved the drums and middle parts for frying and tossed out the tips. I also prepared a very basic frying batter by combining some flour, salt, pepper, chili powder, and hot sauce in a bowl. As the chicken wings were frying, I whipped up a fresh yogurt herb dip using some parsley, cilantro, mint, and lime. Whenever I eat wings, I always want a side of crunchy carrots and celery. This specific craving is probably influenced by all of the restaurants and bars I’ve frequented over the years serving wings with a side of carrot and celery sticks. The crispy fried chicken and crunchy vegetables paired with the refreshing yogurt herb dip was just the perfect combination. After the wings and sauce were prepared, we both devoured the wings right away. Now, I need to shift my focus back on studying for exams. This upcoming week will be especially busy for me. In two of my classes, I have exams coming up. I’ve been studying throughout the semester, but I still want to make sure I am as prepared as possible for my exams. When I need a break from school and work, I find myself almost always in the kitchen. One of my favorite ways to relax is to cook up some delicious food. These wings and dip definitely hit the spot for both Kevin and I. I was hoping to save half of the wings for another meal later this week, but Kevin and I enjoyed the wings so much, we ate all of the them immediately. During busier weeks, having a few dishes in my arsenal of quick meals really helps in keeping me on track with eating healthier. These wings and dip were just a treat after a long week. We had some leftover dip, so we saved it to serve with some raw vegetables as a snack later in the week.
For the chicken wings:
· 1½ cups vegetable oil
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· ½ teaspoon chili powder
· 2 teaspoons hot sauce
· 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
· 6 chicken wings, drums and middle parts separated, tips removed
For the yogurt herb dip:
· 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
· ½ lime, zested and juiced
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 6-8 sprigs fresh parsley, stems trimmed
· 6-8 sprigs cilantro, stems trimmed
· 6-8 sprigs fresh mint, stems removed
(Optional) For serving:
· 2 carrots, cut into strips
· 2 celery stalks, cut into strips
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet. Set aside.
2) Heat a small Dutch oven pot on medium heat. Add the vegetable oil. Let the vegetable oil heat up before frying the chicken. The oil is ready when you see waves form in the oil.
3) In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, chili powder, and hot sauce. Use a fork to combine the ingredients. Set aside.
4) In another bowl, add the lightly whisked eggs. Set aside.
5) Use tongs (or chopsticks) to pick up one piece of chicken. Dip the chicken in the first bowl. Turn the chicken to coat in the flour mixture. Dip the chicken in the second bowl and turn to coat the chicken in the whisked eggs. Dip the chicken back into the first bowl to thoroughly coat the chicken piece. Remove the coated chicken to a plate. Continue this process with the rest of the chicken pieces until all of the chicken pieces are coated.
6) Fry the chicken in the Dutch oven pot 2-3 pieces at a time for about 2 minutes per side until the chicken wing parts are golden brown. Rest each piece of chicken wing part over the wire rack to prevent the chicken from becoming soggy at the bottom. Continue the process with the rest of the chicken wings until all pieces are fried.
7) Place the fried chicken wings resting on top of the wire rack into the preheated oven for 17-20 minutes to further crisp up the chicken wings. Once time is up, remove the chicken wings from the oven. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before serving.
8) To make the yogurt herb dip, combine the Greek yogurt, lime zest and juice, salt, parsley, cilantro, and mint in a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are well mixed. Serve in a sauce bowl alongside the wings.
Takeaways: I had initially intended to make some buffalo wings and had prepared buffalo sauce by combining 4 tablespoons of melted butter, ¼ cup of hot sauce, and ½ teaspoon of chili powder in a bowl. I didn’t end up tossing the chicken wings in the buffalo sauce. Instead, I served it as another sauce option alongside the yogurt herb dip.