I live the life of a tortured fan. My teams are the Seattle Seahawks and the University of Utah Utes. So you can see why my life has been rough over the past few years. In both cases, so close to winning it all, yet so far away.
I had to live through the injustice of the Seahawks' Super Bowl. A game where it really seemed like the refs were against them. Turns out they were!!! One of the referees personally apologized for the blown calls he made in the 2006 Super Bowl (you can read the article here). And since that epic letdown, the team just hasn't been the same.
Being a Ute fan has been a tortured existence for the past 8 years. Two undefeated seasons and no National Championship. Sure, the Utes went to two BCS bowls, the first to do that from outside a BCS conference, but neither were the championship games. We blew away Pitt in the 2004 Fiesta Bowl. After a lot of disrespect from Nick Saban in 2008, we made him and his team cry in the 2008 Sugar Bowl. Yet we still don't have a crystal football. Why? Well I could go into the absolutely absurdity of the BCS system and the corruptness of the people who ran it, but that would exceed the one million word Blogger posting limit... At least we're in a BCS level conference now and the new four-team playoff system gives us a greater chance of winning it all. Here's hoping Kyle Wittingham and the boys have another stellar season.
My father's team is the Denver Broncos, so they're my second favorite team. I'm hoping that Payton Manning still has a couple more years in that neck of his for his sake.
No matter who I'm rooting for, the other part of football season I love is the food. No utencils required. It's all great finger food with lots of fat. Yes, it's not healthy, but you aren't looking for soy chips and tofu when you're watching a great game. You want something flavorful and substantial.
So what I'll do is either cook up a pizza, make a pot of chili, or make a batch of these chicken wings. I love fried wings as much as the next guy, but I bake my wings for this recipe. If there's a game on, I don't have time to stand over the fryer and ensure the kitchen doesn't catch on fire. The skin comes out a little crispy and still holds onto the extra sauce we add at the end.
You can make these ahead of time if you want and time them to come out as the games start. Or since it's 11:00AM in the Mountain Time Zone when the first games kick off, I'm not exactly ready to eat them that early. Starting the process right before kickoff allows me to do the prep during pre-game. Then I pop them in the fridge when the game starts (and snack on chips and salsa while I wait), then into the oven at the end of the first quarter, so I have them hot and ready to toss at halftime.
You can double up the batch below for a large party, just make sure you have room in the oven. Also, if you double up the batch, make sure you rotate the pans halfway through and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Make sure you take the temp of the fattest wing with your digital thermometer, just to avoid any unwanted trips to the restroom right after the final 2:00 warning.
Easy Baked Buffalo Wings
Wings
12 full chicken wings or 24 chicken wing parts
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
Sauce
3/4 cup Frank's Hot Sauce
3 tablespoons melted butter
Cover a pair of large cookie sheet with sides (no perfectly flat cookie sheets or your juices will spill in the oven) with tin foil and set cookie cooling rack on them. Spray them with non-stick spray to prevent sticking later. Set it aside for the moment.
In a very large bowl, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter. Then add the cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika and stir well. Dredge each of the wings through the butter and allow the excess to drip off, then place them on the cookie sheets. Place the cookie sheets in the refrigerator for 45 minutes. With about 10 minutes left in the cool-off period, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Then pull them out, flip them all over once and then cook for another 25-30 minutes until the skin gets crispy.
Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter and pour it into a very large bowl. Add the hot sauce and stir to combine. Then extract the wings from the oven and immediately place them in the bowl with the sauce. Stir or toss the wings until they are thoroughly coated. Move them to a serving platter and see how long they last.
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