Wings and Football in Tallahassee

Friday night we went to the uh-mazing Kings of Leon concert at Phillips Arena. Having previously seen KOL at the intimate Tabernacle, I did not think I would enjoy such a big venue for their show. Their show was a solid well-attended success; however, I did wish we were in a smaller setting so I could be closer to the band. After the concert, my boyfriend and I headed to Tallahassee.

This round of Tallahassee time was to visit Desi again, but this time for the Florida State VS Georgia Tech game. Nick and I stopped in Albany on Friday night. We stayed in a dingy seedy hotel for $35. The room was a great price, but we definitely got what we paid for. As soon as we pulled into Desi and Sean's driveway, we said our hellos and ran straight for the shower.

We packed up an incredible tailgate at with two other couples that have FSU season tickets and parking passes for tailgating. The tailgate consisted of two tents, a high def tv, and Mexican food. Although it monsooned after we pitched tent #1 at around 3pm, the weather was flawless the rest of the tailgate. We visited with other friends and family, including (but now limited to) Nick's aunt, uncle and cousin, and one of my friends from high school.

The 8pm game started with each team scoring on back to back possessions. And then came the rain delay. After the rain delay, FSU and GT fought it out over a long long long game. With points being scored back to back, and amounting to about as much as a low-scoring basketball game, GT finally eaked out a win. We were thrilled. Our friends? Not so much.

Sunday we had a day of recovery and more football. Before the 4pm Falcons game we all decided on wings for lunch/dinner. While Desi, Sean, and Nick all ordered from a local wings joint that was not not GF friendly (with my sanction), I cooked up some wings of my own.

With the help of Google, I found a few BBQ sauces that are gluten free:
* Sweet Baby Ray's (found on a GF forum post but unconfirmed via the co.'s website)
* Cattleman's Classic, Smoke House, & Sweet and Spicy (confirmed by their website)
* Bone Suckin' Sauce Regular, Hot, Thicker, Hot Thicker, Mustard, Hiccupin' Hot, and Seasoning Rub (verified via their website. Their sauce comes complete with a GF section of their website)

At the local Winn Dixie I found Cattleman's sauce and some chicken wings. Now, I've never successfully made wings before. (My prior attempt at GF wings were a fail because the sauce was disgusting.) I did some guessing (we had time constraints with game time) at how to make them. The wings turned out great and were ridiculously easy. Here is what I did.

Emergency Game Day Wings
* GF BBQ Sauce of your choice
* Wings
* EVOO

1. Heat enough EVOO in a skillet to sear your wings in. Preheat the wings to 350 degrees.

2. Fry the wings in the EVOO until the outside of the wings are cooked (seared).

3. Place wings in a baking dish and cook in the preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (or until the wings are cooked through, and you do not desire them to be crispy). Up the heat of the oven to broil, and bake until the outsides of the wings crisp a bit, for about 10 minutes, if desired.