Football Food: Nikki's Nuclear Wings

Ok, so I'm not exactly what you'd call a football fan.  I don't know a thing about it. *gasp*  But, I do know how to eat while (not) watching the game. :)  We love buffalo wings here...and the hotter the better.  This is not a recipe for the faint of heart...they really are fiery...but you could easily tone down the heat by eliminating the cayenne, and adding less Tabasco.  The blue cheese dipping sauce is my friend Denise's recipe, and it's by far the best I've tried.  So, brave souls, I present to you, Nikki's Nuclear Wings:

buffalo wings

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken drummies 

2 tablespoons butter

4-5 cloves minced garlic (or powdered to taste)

1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper

 4-5 dried cayenne peppers

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 bottles Tabasco (the smaller sized jar, about 1/2 cup total)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375º.

Line a baking sheet with foil.

Spread chicken wings over baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, or until done.  Alternately, you could deep fry the chicken wings until cooked through.

While chicken is baking (or frying), prepare sauce.

Melt butter over medium heat and sautee garlic until golden.

Add cayenne pepper, vinegar and Tabasco and heat through.

Toss wings in sauce and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring to coat wings often.

Serve with celery sticks and Denise's Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 tablespoon crumbled blue cheese (I like the Dutch ones best...creamy and mild)

coarse ground black pepper to taste

onion powder to taste

garlic powder to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons powdered ranch dressing mix

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.

Refrigerate 30 minutes.