What I Had For LINNER: Wings 3 ways

So, this started out as a wing purchase to go with the NBA finals on Sunday. Then, I made such a big lunch, that by the time dinner rolled around, the wings were put off for another day ... which was yesterday. Different day, same dish plan. I just got back from Hawaii and while I was there I did two neat things, harvest cacao pods and pull bee hives for processing. This is all in connection with the new prime time show for Food Network I have on the way called "How'd That Get On My Plate?". I follow ingredients from the rawest form to the finished product. More on that later ... 

One of the finished products I went to Hawaii for was honey.

I packed up 4 jars of the honey we packaged at the plant and brought them home ... 1 for me and 3 for friends. The one I kept was a more honey spread consistency. That is unique to the type of nectar the flower gave off for the bees to extract. Anyway, I just wanted a honey that looked different and the Macadamia Nut Honey I harvested looked like the regular typical honey. I like to play with food and new undiscovered food is even more fun! For honey that came straight from the hive just last week, I guess you'd think I should use it in an intelligent dish teeheehee, and I'm sure I will in the next coupla days, but for now let's dumb it down with some wangs! :-) Gooooooo (your nba fave here)!! I don't care much who wins, I just like game-time eats! Ok ...

For the wings, I prepped them like I usually prep, but I finished them off different. The first set were like I did on Emeril a few years back, my standby recipe. I used fresh oregano this time cuz it was in the fridge, but dry oregano is good too. The second set of wings was a mix of lemon and lime zest, plus salt and pepper ... I sprinkled it on right after pulling the wings from the oil and they were pretty yummy. And the 3rd set of wings were coated with a new recipe I put together for Honey BBQ sauce courtesy of my Hawaiian honey harvest!!! Some ketchup, lots of garlic, dark brown sugar, some ill spices (i'll give up the recipe/blend soon, but turmeric ... it's in there) and the very honey I brought back from Hawaii. It turned out yummy and really, they were just wings, but breaking up the 24 wings into 3rds made it seeeeem fancy ... neat home cookin' trick lol. I also made a gorgonzola dipping sauce, with just lemon, sour cream, buttermilk, lots of gorgonzola and salt n pep. That was some yummy stuff too ... so much so, this is all I have left from the meal ... I present ...

The Honey BBQ Plate ....

Lunch and Linner

This week is very busy for me. Cooking for Real starts this Sunday so I've been running around doing some things in the city. The weather here is so crazy. It was 60 degrees yesterday and very in-betweeny teeheehee. New word. I was between hot and cold and really depending on the side of the street you walked on, you were improperly dressed. Kinda funny, I had lunch with a friend and we practiced unconscious walking based on the shadow/sun side of the street. We ate at Houston's on Park Ave. in Manhattan, haven't been there in years, I usually stick to the local owned-businesses because there are sooooo many to go through in NYC and I aim to accomplish a good majority of the menus in my lifetime! About Houston's though, I really like the lighting in there. I got the "Sashimi Tuna Salad: pan seared ahi with cilantro-ginger vinaigrette, mixed greens, avocado & mango" and after hesitating twice, an order of fries and a 7&7 to drink. I remembered faintly thinking the fries were great with a steak I had there years ago and was happy when they arrived. Just as I remembered. I like plenty types of fries. I'm not a skinny or fat freak, I'm more into the texture, the doneness(another new word) and the seasoning. So these are thin, long, some skin on a tip here or there and the right amount of salt. The drink at lunch right? I know you are still thinking it, I know I am teeheehee ... well, look what can I say, I had a teeny headache and didn't wanna take a pill and wait for hours. Had a few sips and was self medicated. I'm so wrong, but it worked. :-) ... The salad was yummy, mango and avocado really were perfect yesterday. Refreshing and cool. Gonna have to work something out this weekend with the two, I'm inspired a bit. Ok, here's my Linner from yesterday ... finally finished off the ravioli I made last week. Took them out of the freezer and turned Italian into the world's original pasta, Asian food. I fried some, then steamed some and had them with a soy sauce mixture I make and some jasmine rice. When I was in Korea, they served the fried version on a stick and they were called yaki-mandu ....sooooo yummy, street food at it's finest. Of course, these were filled with beef and sage and asiago, because I intended them for ravioli last week, but the flavors really blended well. Real yummy .... ok, here are the pics ...