Honey Pecan Chicken Wings

Just in time for your holiday buffet and so easy to make ahead so you can enjoy your own party. Plan on an hour in the oven and then keep warm to serve.

36 chicken drumsticks cut from wings

1 stick of butter, melted

1 teaspoon of garlic salt

½ cup of honey

¼ cup of coarse mustard

1 cup of fine French breadcrumbs or panko

1 cup of pecans, minced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter and add garlic salt, honey, and mustard until well mixed. Combine breadcrumbs and pecan bits and reserve. Dip drumsticks into butter mixture or brush on generously, then coat them with the crumb mixture. Bake on a foil-covered sheet for an hour at 350 degrees, turning once halfway through the hour.

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Chopped Chicken Livers

A great friend was very close to the Browdy’s in Mountain Brook, Alabama and inherited this prized recipe from Mrs. Browdy before the family deli closed after decades in business. The limited ingredients are simplicity itself, which always makes for memorable dishes.

1 pound of chicken livers, rinsed, drained, and cartilage removed

½ cup of rendered chicken fat (or three tablespoons of butter)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 boiled egg, chopped

½ cup of mayonnaise (not original recipe ingredient)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 jigger of brandy (not original recipe ingredient)

I have taken advantage of updated kitchen equipment and made a few modern tweaks to the recipe without changing the intent. Melt butter and saute’ livers until they are cooked through. Puncturing them multiple times before cooking will help reduce spattering. Add onion and cook until transparent. Put livers, onion, and mayo in a food processor and chop until combined. Add chopped egg and pulse two or three times. Add salt and pepper to taste, and if we are serving the chopped liver as an evening hors’ oeuvre, we blend in brandy.

Barbecue Biscuits with Two Sauces

Sometimes you need substantial party food that will be

popular with everyone. Barbecue fills the bill but it can be

messy and complicated to prepare along with the expected

accompaniments. We have been very successful with

commercially-prepared pulled pork and small frozen tea

biscuits. If you have the time to smoke your own beef, pork,

or chicken and bake homemade biscuits, all the better,

but our guests forgave our taking short cuts by consuming

the entire offering. Set out a large basket of warm biscuits,

a vintage stoneware platter with barbecue, along with

small bowls of chopped onions and dill pickles and these

two sauces:

 

Tennessee Valley White Barbecue Sauce

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

½ cup of sour cream

½ of a small white onion, grated

1/4 cup horseradish

¼ cup of white vinegar

1 lemon, juiced and zested

Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Combine and refrigerate for several hours

before serving

 

Mentone Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

¾ pint of cider vinegar

1 quart of Louisiana Hot Sauce

2 ounces of Tabasco

1 cup of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of black pepper, freshly ground

1 tablespoon of dry mustard

2 tablespoons of chipotle pepper, ground

2 lemons, juiced and zested

¼ pint of bourbon

Combine all but the bourbon and bring to a low simmer

for about half an hour. Remove from heat, let cool slightly,

and add the bourbon. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Birmingham Buffalo Chicken Dip

We enjoyed this at a gathering of old friends and 

fraternity brothers in Birmingham, Alabama not

too long ago and were impressed with this easy and

tasty way to enjoy the flavor of Buffalo Chicken

wings without the complications.

Put this together and offer it with crusty chunks

of bread, carrot sticks, and celery ribs. Have a

sufficient quantity of beer for tongue-cooling

purposes.

1 pound of chicken, poached, boned and chopped

16 ounces of cream cheese, softened

1 cup of ranch dressing

½ of a cup of red pepper sauce (We prefer Crystal)

1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, grated

2 tablespoons of garlic, minced

1/4 cup of poblano peppers, finely minced

Warm chicken and hot sauce until heated throughly.

Stir in cream cheese, ranch dressing, cheddar cheese,

garlic and peppers. Transfer to a crockpot and cook

on low for at least one hour.

Chicken and Apricot Meatballs

These are a nice change from Swedish or Italian meatballs and are perfectly delicious straight from the pan but try them in a chafing dish in a light curry cream or a Greek egg and lemon sauce.

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 pound chicken, ground

½ cup of dried apricots, minced

½ cup of bread crumbs

¼ cup cilantro

1 tablespoon of Madras curry

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and form small balls about two inches in diameter. Heat olive oil in a saute pan, add meatballs, and cover. Cook for about six minutes until golden brown, turning once, and drain well.

 

 

 

Blackthistle Peach Chicken Bites

These were a favorite of guests at Blackthistle

Plantation back in the 1980’s. Usually served in the

antebellum winter kitchen before a roaring fire,

they were a perfect accompaniment to drinks before

a dinner of prime rib or the signature shrimp,

artichoke, and pecan casserole.

2 pounds of chicken tenderloins

½ teaspoon of tarragon

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound of bacon

¼ cup of butter

2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

½ cup of peach preserves

Slice the tenderloins into bite-size portions and sprinkle

with tarragon, salt, and pepper. Wrap each bite with a

half strip of bacon and secure with a pick. Melt the butter

with Worcestershire sauce and peach preserves. Place

the chicken bites in a baking dish and pour the butter

sauce over all. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes and

insure that the bacon has crisped before removing the

chicken bites.

Pistachio Chicken

 

The luxury of shelled pistachios with a simple

treatment of poached chicken breasts…a wonderful

salad or spread for pita chips.

 

1 pound of poached chicken breast, shredded

 

1 cup of mayonnaise

 

1 tablespoon of mustard

 

1 teaspoon of fresh tarragon, minced

 

½ cup of pistachios, toasted and chopped

 

2 stalks of celery, minced

 

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

 

Combine ingredients and serve while the nuts

are crunchy!