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.

40 Degrees of Winter Grilling

I'm not sure where I'd rate this weekend. It started out a little rocky. Nick and I went to MF Sushi bar to relive our first date for our 6:30pm reservations. (It will officially be a year tomorrow.) He ordered a beer, I ordered a hot green tea to take the chill off. My green tea was incredibly hot. I went to touch the cup, and did the insta hand recall. At some point in yanking my hand away, I tipped the cup enough to spill the tea on my lap. Everything happened in slow motion after that. I was in the bathroom, putting cold layers of paper towels on my burned lap. Rinse, repeat, cry and sit on the floor in between. I emerged from the bathroom and told Nick we had to leave. Now.

Nick, of course, saved the night. We stopped at Kroger for frozen corn. He coxed me through my tears, and got us home despite the sudden onset of transmission problems in his car. Once I was settled, went to the store to pick up food. I am not sure how he did it, but Nick managed to invent a way of fixing an incredible steak on the stove with onions and a side of steamed rice. (I hope he remembers the recipe later. It was simply amazing.)

The results this morning were a patch of blistery burn on each thigh and another area which I prefer not to reveal on my g-rated blog. Today was a slower, more enjoyable day for the two of us, once Nick attempted to get his car looked at. We took a late-afternoon nap, and grilled outside. (I cut up a cucumber for an appetizer.) I made a sweet and sour sauce for dipping the chicken, green/red pepper, onion, and pineapple skewers in. The sauce recipe is from the book The Gluten-Free Gourmet Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy.

Sweet and Sour Sauce
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon GF soy sauce (optional- I omitted this)

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and use immediately or store, when cool, in a jar in the refrigerator. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Chicken and Basil Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

Hospitals are not noted in cookbooks for their food. What have I found that is G-F at my hospital? The salad bar and the once-a-week baked potato bar (I bring my own butter). Each week I have "the big cook" and make myself dinner, with enough leftovers for the 3, 12-hour shifts I work. This dish is one of my favorites to bring to work, because it warms up well and is easily prepared.

Chicken and Basil Stir Fry

Serves: 4 hungry people; Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 30 minutes

What You Need:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, cut into 1/4 inch strips (or bite-sized morsels)

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion (I recommend a sweet onion), coarsely chopped

2 bell peppers (red, yellow, green, or a mix), ribs and seeds removed, cut into 1/4 inch strips

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups Thai or other basil leaves, tear the larger leaves in halves or fourths

1. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok, over medium high heat.

3. Cook half the chicken, cooking until just cooked through. Remove to plate, and cook the remaining chicken in the same fashion. When all the chicken has been set on a separate plate, wipe the pan out with a paper towel.

4. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet, keeping the heat at medium-high. Add onion and bell peppers. Cook until they start to brown (3-ish minutes). Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.

5. Add chicken and basil leaves to pan, and mix. Remove from heat.

6. Serve over warm white rice, with a dollop of peanut sauce.

Peanut Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 2 minutes

What You Need:

1/3 ("heaping") peanut butter - best with pure peanut butter that is not sweetened

1 shallot

5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons walnut oil

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon cardamon

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon rice milk

coarse salt to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor (I use a food processor attachment on my blender), and whip it, whip it good.

2. Dollop onto each plate of stir-fry or mix it all over the stir-fry.