Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings

Those that have been reading my blog for a while know that I cannot resist chicken wings. I wanted to try another Asian style chicken wing, so this is a cross between honey sriracha and orange chicken. I made these fairly mild because my son can’t handle the heat. But if these were just for me, you know the amount of red pepper flakes and sriracha would be doubled or tripled. Feel free to adjust to your taste.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 pounds chicken wings

MARINADE INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons lime juice (juice of one lime)
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3-4 tablespoons sriracha sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the marinade. Combine soy sauce, garlic, lime juice and ginger in a gallon sized Ziplock bag. Add wings to marinade. Seal and toss well. Leave in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Place wings on a baking rack over a baking sheet or parchment sheet lined baking sheet. Cook the wings for 35 to 40 minutes.
3. Make the sauce while the wings are cooking. Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. When the wings are done cooking, take the wings out and  turn up the oven to 450 F degrees.
5. Baste the wings in the sauce you prepared. Be sure to turn wings over and baste all sides thoroughly.
6. Return wings to oven. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until sauce caramelizes.

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Oven Roasted Tri Tip

Okay meat lovers, don’t hate me. I know a lot of the beef eaters out there are literally having a cow (teehee, get it?) seeing my roast not at red rare or medium rare state. But for some reason, any beef cooked under medium does not agree with my tummy. So here you get my pinkish medium to medium well tri tip roast. No worries I will tell you how to cook it to your desired doneness. Best of all, this is a simple recipe that you can make year round especially if you do not have a grill.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3-4 pound tri tip roast
• kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper
• garlic powder
• dried crushed rosemary
• 1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix
• Worcestershire sauce
• olive oil
• 2 small onions

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a glass baking dish big enough to hold your roast, season both sides of your tri tip with with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary, onion soup mix, worcestershire sauce and olive oil. I did not give measurements for any because I just generally season by sight and it depends on the size of your roast as well. Just make sure your tri tip is well covered in seasonings and sauce and oil.
2. Peel and cut onions into quarters and add to baking dish.
3. Let meat marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Take tri tip out of refrigerator 30 minutes before putting into oven. Make sure fatty side is on top.
4. Preheat oven to 450 F degrees.
5. Place in oven and cook for 15 minutes to brown.
6. Lower oven temperature to 350 F degrees. Cook 15 minutes for every pound for medium rare doneness. Cook 17 minutes per pound for medium doneness.
7. Take cooked tri tip out of oven and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Mini Cheesecakes

Since my father passed away earlier in December, this Christmas was bittersweet. I think my cooking and baking has reflected my sadness. So these mini blueberry cheesecakes I made weren’t given the usual attention and detail that I normally like to give my recipes that I post. So I apologize if the pictures aren’t as appealing as the mini cheesecakes really are.

 CRUST INGREDIENTS:

• 6 graham cracker sheets
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 stick of melted butter

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

TOPPING INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

To make the crust:

1. Using a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until they are crumbs.
2. Add sugar and melted butter and pulse until well combined.
3. Press 1-2 tablespoons into the bottom of your cupcake liners.

 

To make the filling:

1. Using an electric hand mixer, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth
2. Add heavy whipping cream, vanilla and almond extract, and lemon juice. Mix on high for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Pour filling over crusts to the rim of each cupcake liner.
3. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours. I made mine the night before, so it was refrigerated for 12 hours.

To make the topping:

1. Combine the blueberries, sugar, butter, cornstarch, vanilla extract and lemon juice into a small saucepan.
2. Cook over medium high heat for about five minutes.  Stir frequently until the blueberries breakdown and the sauce thickens.
3. Let cool down and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Are you ready to serve? Let’s go:

1. Carefully remove the mini cheesecakes from the cupcake liners.
2. Arrange on a platter and spoon the blueberry sauce over the top of each mini cheesecake.

 

This recipe yields 12 mini cheesecakes. Double the recipe if you have a larger crowd to feed. You can substitute any berry for the topping. I just like blueberries the most.