J A M E S O N & G I N G E R
G L A Z E D  W I N G S
+ T E M P U R A  S H I S H I T O
P E P P E R S

A double feature! A double down! A Dubsmash! 

Pardon my excitement, everyone. These both came out mind blowingly good- so I got a little pumped when I saw them again.

Superbowl 50! What a game, amiright?! Just kidding- I don't think I even watched 2 minutes of the game-- I was focused on drinking, cooking & hosting. Aside from these two things I also made beef barbacoa taquitos that I didn't have one bite of because they were gone in seconds.

If you really know me, you will know that Jameson Irish Whiskey is my all-time favorite hard liquor. Jameson & ginger with a lime all day! I even concocted a Jeannie-son & Ginger Martini at Blue Taleh when I was a full-time drink slinger.

These wings were the perfect amount of sticky & I can say they are the best wings I've ever made. The key is to really get a nice charring on the skin.. mmm.

The tempura shishito peppers were something Todd & I had in Phoenix, AZ at Squid Ink Sushi Bar. There were bonito flakes (dried fish) on top of the ones we had but I was out so I opted for Korean chile threads! 

I've been buying a lot of random spices online lately- check out Spice Jungle & Beanilla if you are just the slightest bit intrigued.They instantly make any dish look freaking fancy as fuuuuhh. 

So here goes! Please let me know in the comments below.. if you like it, watched Bey perform, drink Jameson, are a wings or drums kinda person, or whatever else! I want more comments! 

Please, just to know I'm not talking to myself here. Or you know what? So what if I'm talking to myself.. either way- comment & make me smile [:

Ingredients:


For Jameson & Ginger Wings

2 dozen Wings + drums
2 cups JAMESON
1 ginger root peeled & minced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup plain ol' white sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Hoisin sauce
Sesame seeds & scallions for garnish

For Tempura Shishito Peppers
1 bag Shishito Peppers (~20 peppers)
1 cup flour
1 cup water
Oil for frying
Any dipping sauce you want

Directions:

For Jameson & Ginger Wings
1. Mix whiskey, brown + white sugar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic & hoisin sauce together in a bowl. 
2. Rinse your wings & drums- add HALF of the sauce. Marinate them suckers for a day if you can! Or however long you can really..

3. Preheat the oven for 400°. Line a large baking sheet or two with aluminum foil & spread the chicken all out in a single layer. Bake for 30 minutes on one side & flip to bake for another 20 minutes. 

4. While the chicken is cooking take the other half of your sauce mix & put in a sauce pot to caramelize. Start at high heat & once it boils bring it medium. As the liquid begins to evaporate bring it to a steady simmer. This literally took me the entire time the chicken baked! If the sauce doesn't thicken add cornstarch (a little bit at a time!)

4. Put the broiler on high & transfer the chicken to the top rack to get a nice, dark charring! This is seriously key. 

5. Once the chicken is done cooking add to a platter & drizzle the glaze all over. Toss it up!

6. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds & chopped scallions on top to serve.

For Tempura Shishito Peppers

1. Rinse peppers well & make a slit lengthwise in every pepper. This ensures there is no popping in your hot pan full of oil! Also, if you are scared of the heat- don't make these! Kidding.. take some seeds out (I did not do this because I'm not a pussy).

2. Speaking of hot pan full of oil.. fill a pan/ wok about 1" deep with your fav frying oil.

3. Mix flour & water together. If you like a thicker tempura, add more flour (think pancake batter).. if you like a thinner tempura add more water!

4. Holding the stem of one pepper at a time, dip into your batter & drop into your oil to FRY BABY FRY!!

5. Easy.. so so so goddamn easy. Flip them after a minute or so & fry for another minute. The last thing to do is garnish with chile threads (god, I love chile threads) & serve with a little dipping sauce! I opted for a dumpling sauce mixed with spicy ponzo. Maybe I'll do a spicy mayo next?

So! Do you think you will make these? Let me know if you do & I'll love you FOREVER.

N O N G S H I M  U D O N
B O W L  R E V I E W
(+ chicago eats)

Today a freak blizzard ripped & roared through northern New England with absolutely NO FUCKS given! Driving home though was seriously magical! It's wild how serene & gorgeous it looks after the snowfall.

Anyway! I must admit how bad I've been at keeping this blog up to date. I'm the worst I know.. I've been really busy, sorta. Recently, I took a trip out to Chicago to visit my charming cousin Angela & we seriously ate like (truffle) pigs. We shamelessly inhaled:

• the deepest DEEP DISH PIZZA at Lou Malnati's mmm...!
• really good fries & cocktails at the Game Room at the Chicago Athletic Association
• craft cocktails, fancy nuts & deviled eggs at a speakeasy called The Violet Hour
• an out-of-this-goddamn-world italian dinner at Balena *dreams*
• a small scoop of cookie dough ice cream at Insomnia Cookies
• an espresso filled donut & coffee w/ soy at Firecakes Donuts
• a spicy mezcal bloody mary from The Little Goat while waiting for..
• the BEST freaking burger with fries + a duck egg at Au Cheval
• avocado toast (I made this!) while thinking of where to eat next
• a late night, comforting bowl of ramen at ANI
• a chicago dog DUH!!! at Portillo's
• the most satisfying hot pu'erh tea at David's TEA
• absurdly filling & tantalizing fried chicken + mac & cheese at The VIG

 

You can bet your goddamn bottom dollar I came home & could not fit into ANY of my pants!! I feel like a cow... yes, still.. even after 2 weeks!! What an unforgettable trip with her & my fur-nephew Pierre :]

Aside from the trip I haven't cooked up anything too blog-worthy lately.. Or if I did I'm too hangry so I don't take pictures! I promise I'll post something soon though (I have an idea already!) 

Okay! So, this post not only is covering what I ate in Chicago but a review of this Nongshim Udon Noodle Bowl! I've reviewed another product of theirs in the past-- check it out >> here <<.

First off, I bought this big, bad, bowl at my local Market Basket for around ~$4. Not bad, but I could also buy 4 of my favorite Shin Cups with that! The bowl itself is huge. Serving size said 2 (but I ate this almost entirely in just one sitting) & the sodium content is so bad I won't dare post it! 

The udon noodles themselves were really nice! I was surprised how well they kept together being an off the shelf & not refridgerated product. The directions said to add hot water to the noodles & then drain. The lid had these preforations which was pretty neat! After that add more hot water & the broth base + dehydrated veggies (which has seaweed, tempura flakes, fish cakes & other oddities). 

Flavor wise- not bad! There was a weird flavor that lingered on my tongue though. This isn't a spicy soup so I was kind of itching to grab the Sriracha bottle but refrained. This certainly is a nice, quick emergency lunch (I stock up on instant noodz for this reason) & I enjoyed the whole "being-in-a-bowl" aspect to it.

Would I buy it again? Probably not. There was just so much & the fact that it wasn't a spicy broth made me feel pretty MEH about it.. Shin Cup ALL THE WAY.

Nongshim Udon Bowl