I’m not quite sure why we Americans have such a love affair with chicken wings. Maybe it’s because the chicken wing can take on so many different flavors and has a convenient built-in handle. Or possibly our inner children still love to make a mess while we eat and there are fewer finger foods that have such a mess-making potential as the chicken wing. And then there’s the near ubiquitous pairing of sports and chicken wings. A big game watching party is just missing a bit of something if there aren’t chicken wings about.

While I’m a fan of the traditional Buffalo wing with it’s buttery pepper sauce, and I’m not going to turn down a chicken wing bathed in BBQ sauce, I’m always on the lookout for fun twists on wings recipes so I can offer a bit of the unexpected on my game watching party table.

Sriracha-Glazed Chicken Wings from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine embody that twist. Sriracha, a traditional Thai condiment featuring chiles and garlic, add spice and heat to the wings while soy sauce gives some depth of flavor. Fresh ginger offers nice back-of-the-throat burn that’s different but complimenatry to the heat from the Sriracha and honey adds a bit of sweetness to balance it all out. These wings are baked instead of fried making them less-messy and just a little better for you than a traditional fried wing.

Save Yourself Heartburn, Prep Ahead

While it only takes a few minutes to whip the Sriracha glaze together for these wings, and they technically only need 30 minutes of marinading time, you can do the whipping and marinating much further in advance to give you one less thing to do just before the game starts.

• Toss the wings with the sauce the morning before the party, cover, and let sit in the fridge until you’re ready to bake them. Pull the wings out at the same time you preheat the oven so they can shake the chill a bit, then bake as directed.
• Freeze the wings in the marinade in a heavy duty zip-top bag for up to a month. The night before the party move the bag to the fridge so the wings can thaw safely overnight. Set the wings out on the counter while the oven preheats and bake away.

Burn Baby, Burn

Even though the name implies that these wings might be extra spicy, a single tablespoon of Sriracha really doesn’t bring that much heat to the party, particularly when spread over a pound and a half of wings. You can easily double the Sriracha or if your guests have varying levels of heat tolerance, serve some Sriracha on the side so those who so desire can turn up the heat all they want.

Make Extra, It’s Easy

Besides being quick and easy to put together, this recipe is easy to double or triple to serve a bigger crowd. Just be sure to use a big enough baking dish so the wings aren’t crowded while they bake or you’ll risk soggy, undercooked wings. You can keep extra wings warm in a crock pot on low so fans can nosh (or possibly stress eat) throughout the game.

As preparation for making a strong return to cooking at home, I’ve reminded myself this week of my top three reasons for making eating out a treat instead of a regular occurrence:

• Eating out is not budget friendly. If you want reasonable food for a family you have to (and should) pay for it. Spending $50 – $70 every now and again is okay, but not on any sort of a regular basis. And inexpensive fast food is not an option with the exception of an occasional trip to Chick-Fil-A.
• Restaurant food isn’t generally waistline friendly. Research regularly shows that restaurant meals are full of fat and salt, largely because that’s what we all love so that’s what chefs give us. And while there may be dishes on the meal that are marked as “light” or seem light, because I’m not preparing the food I don’t actually know how many calories I’m consuming.
• Family dinner time just isn’t the same at a restaurant. I’m a big proponent of the importance of family dinners. And while I’ll take family dinner time at a restaurant over no family dinner time at all, which we had to do just this past week, the value of family dinner is the strongest when we enjoy it in our own home.

As I’ve planned my menu this week I’ve returning to my tried and true approaches to making the males I plan actually happen:

• KISS (Keep it Super Simple). Because I’m a food blogger I tend to want to make every meal a production, thinking about how I can use what I’ve learned on the blog. I have to remember to set that aspiration aside and instead aspire to cook a good meal for my family that we can enjoy together. That means returning to simple recipes that come together quickly.
• Prep ahead whenever possible. After a fully day of running, work, and playing mom’s taxi service I’m often just too tired to contemplate making dinner. if I can do some prep work the night before (before I sit down – once I sit down it’s all over), I’m that much closer to dinner the next night.
• Have a contingency plan. Even the best menu plan goes the way of mice and men, so I’ve added a couple of frozen pizzas to my freezer stash. While not an idea solution, a pizza is still a budget-friendly option and when accompanied by a quick salad I can stay more-or-less waistline friendly.
• Plan and shop ahead. My new job at Whole Foods has thrown me out of my planning and shopping routine. Instead of stocking up at the store for a full week, I kept telling myself “I’ll just run by the store on the way home.” The reality is that when I’m done with work I just want to go home and then we don’t have groceries with which to make dinner. I’ve moved back to a once-weekly shopping trip and will keep a quick trip to the store on the way to the car in reserve for ingredient emergencies only.

This Week’s Plan

I’m finishing some recipe testing for the blog so we’ll be having some big game food for dinner this week. I’m pretty sure the family won’t complain and the recipes are all fast and easy. I’m also running a 1/2 marathon on Sunday so Saturday will be a carb-load day and Sunday will feature brunch and  an easy dinner.

• Monday: Buffalo chicken sliders, veggies and dip
  I’m working on a recipe that turns the traditional chicken wing into a slider and I’m testing the latest version this week. In homage to the traditional chicken wing accouterments, we’ll have fresh veggies and dip as a side.
• Tuesday: Pasta with sausage and broccoli
  This dish has been a family favorite for a few years now and it comes together quickly. I’ll also prep the meatballs for Wednesday’s dinner before I’m done in the kitchen so I’ll have a head start.
• Wednesday: Meatball sliders, salad
  Can you tell I’m working on a sliders blog post? We’ll use up our extra slider buns and I’ll have leftover meatballs to put into the freezer stash.
• Thursday: Chick-Fil-A
  Speaking of the occasional trip to Chick-Fil-A, we’ll have to make one this weekend because there simply won’t be time around activities to have dinner at home. I’m working on some ideas for portable dinners but for now I can be okay with eating out as long as I’ve planned it.
• Friday: Fajitas, fixin’s, rice, beans
  I’ll take advantage of the pre-seasoned meat from the meat counter downstairs to save myself from prep time on this Friday dinner. Pre-sliced onions and peppers will also be time savers to make this Friday night dinner something I can pull off no matter how tired I am.
• Saturday: Gnocchi with Prosciutto and Parmesan, roasted vegetables
  For my pre-race carb load I’m going to replace pasta with potato dumplings in this simple yet hearty dish. Roasted vegetables will be easy on the stomach and round out the meal.
• Sunday: Tuscan Lamb and Chicken Skewers, naan, tomato and cucumber salad
  I’ll round out my blog post cooking by converting another family favorite recipe into kebabs perfect for game-day noshing. I’ll put the meat into marinate on Saturday night so dinner will come together quickly after my post-race nap.

How do you fight the desire to let someone else do the cooking when you’re tired? Do you have special tis and tricks for sticking to your menu plan? Please share them in the comments. I need all the help I can get!

Resources for Menu Planning

While Rachel Ray would have us believe the meals in 30 minutes are the bomb, it’s possible to get dinner on the table in 15 minutes or less, as all of these recipe collections show.

• My Recipes 15 Minute Meals Collection
• Martha Stewart’s 15 Minutes or Less Main Dish Recipes
• Real Simple Dinner in 15 Minutes Flat
• Steamy Kitchen’s 15 Minute Asian Light Meals
• The Kitchn’s 10 Meals to Make in 15 Minutes or Less

This Week’s Plan

Last week not-so-gently reminded me that our regular schedule is not to be reckoned with. By the time Friday rolled around I was “stick a fork in me” done. With a little bit of R&R this weekend though I’ll be ready to tackle next week with some new easy recipes and even some fun football fare over the weekend. The kiddo does have a basketball game to cheer at so that’s one less meal I’ll be cooking.

Do you have any favorite recipes that take 15 minutes or less to prepare? Please share them in the comments!

I just finished putting our holiday decorations away which always makes me a little melancholy. It seems like just yesterday I was stringing lights and decking the halls (as it were). Still, with the turning of the year comes all sorts of possibilities so I’m choosing to focus on starting the year with a bang (or at least a solid thump).

Menu planning during the holidays becomes the epitome of a juggling act, making school year men planning look like a walk in the park. There are visitors, parties, holiday to-dos, and so much more to plan around, and the mix of “big meals” and quick on-the go dinners is almost dizzying to consider. Frankly, I’m happy to be back in a normal menu planing routine – or at least as normal as any thing can ever really be around here.

Menu Planning Resources: Pinterest Boards

As a new addition this year to my menu planning posts I thought I would add a section on menu planning resources and tools. Some weeks this might just be my own tips and tricks, learned thanks to trial by fire as the family menu planer, and others it might be great sites, cookbooks, or articles I come across. I thought I’d kick this new feature off by linking to some Pinterest boards focused on easy and weeknight-friendly recipe finds.

• Lara Liles Weeknight Meals board includes family-friendly dishes like pizza casserole as well as some more grown-up dishes like easy crab cakes in a muffin pan.
• Amanda Perez Weeknight Dinners board includes lower-fat options as well as links to recipes for mini versions of meatloaves, tarts, and chile rellenos which are just plain fun.
• Viktoria Berkes Fast for Dinner Recipes board will make you rethink sandwiches (in a good way).
• Amanda Landau’s Weeknight Dinner board has links to several recipe collections and some great crock pot options.
• Gaby Dalkin’s Savory board isn’t dedicated to easy recipes in specific but she’s a busy woman with great taste so most of her recipes are easy yet just a little on the gourmet side.
• Alli Worthington’s Cooking This One Day board is full of family-friendly and weeknight-ready recipes because Allie lives a crazy busy life and has a rollicking family so she’s in the know about what sorts of recipes are going to be tasty and easy.
• Cooking Light’s No-Cook Recipes board is a quick way to find some of the best easy recipes on their site in one place.
• My Easy Weeknight Dinners board is where I keep the recipes I want to try for fast yet healthy and tasty dinners.

To find your own boards full of weeknight options try these search terms (and remember to search for boards, not pins or people):

• Weeknight dinners
• Weeknight recipes
• Easy recipes
• Fast recipes
• Kid friendly recipes

What is this Pinterest of which I speak? Oh my friend, if you haven’t discovered Pinterest you’re missing out. This beautiful site is the home of thousands of virtual pin boards where community members keep track of everything from recipes they want to try to great outfits and beautiful hair styles and even inspirational photos. I wrote about it earlier this year and it’s one of the fastest growing social networks out there, and for good reason. A warning though, pinning can be a bit addictive, so be ready to loose yourself in it a bit, particularly when you first start pinning. Over time you’ll find a healthy balance, or at least that’s what people tell me.

This Week’s Plan

We’ll of course hit the ground running this week with practices and classes in full swing. To top it off the kiddo is headed out of town this weekend which means a night out for the adults and a chance to try a new fish dish.

• Monday: Make Your Own Pizza, the Meatless Monday version, and a side salad
  For a fun and easy dinner the first day back to school and work we’ll have pizza night but the one rule will be no meat on the pizzas. I’m working on having more meatless meals in our world without causing rebellion in the house and pizza is a good way to start.
• Tuesday: Pineapple Chicken Satay, steamed rice,  and sauteed broccoli
  Who doesn’t like food on sticks? The whole family can help put this easy dish together and leftovers will be great for lunch. I’ll make extra rice for fried rice later in the week.
• Wednesday: Cincinnati Chili, pasta, and fixin’s
  This family favorite dish isn’t your typical chili. We serve it over angel hair pasta with grated cheddar cheese and it’s pretty fantastic. I hope to get my act together and share my recipe before chili season is over.
• Thursday: Almost Classic Pork Fried Rice
  Leftover rice will help this one-dish dinner come together quickly. I’ll buy pre-cut veggies to save on prep time.
• Friday: Parents’ Night Out
  With the kiddo winging her way to visit her grandparents for the weekend the adults can go out for happy hour drinks and dinner on a Friday night. If you don’t mind making a dinner out of appetizers, happy hours are a great way to have a wonderful dinner without breaking the bank. Of course I have to run 20 miles on Saturday morning so I won’t be taking advantage of the drink specials (well, maybe just one glass).
• Saturday: Lemony Halibut en Papillotes, roasted root vegetables
  I love to cook in parchment paper because it’s easy and relatively mess-free. We’ll be trying this new recipe for healthy halibut for a romantic dinner for two at home on Saturday night.
• Sunday: Five Spice Baby Back Ribs, green beans, corn cakes
  I’m going to let the crock-pot do the heavy lifting on these ribs because I have to work a trip to the airport into my typically busy Sunday. I’ll make extra green beans to have for lunch next week.

Are you pinning fun and easy recipes on Pinterest? Share the link with me in the comments so I can follow you!

Gnocchi is one of my favorite dishes and it’s so difficult to get right. At Regal they make their gnocchi with sweet potatoes, giving it just a hint of sweetness that nicely balanced out the slight acidity of the marinara sauce.

Probably to balance out all of the carby goodness we were enjoying, the chef sent out some crisp cool green bean salad. But this isn’t your grandmother’s green bean salad. Interestingly enough the other ingredients in the mix were apples, blue cheese, tomatoes, and lentils. Yes, lentils. I wasn’t sure how it would all play together but it was really good. The mix of textures worked well together and the flavors were well balanced.

Before the day was out we tried most of their other pastas and sauced and there wasn’t a disappointing one among the bunch. I think the green chile and turnip green ravioli is still my favorite simply because it is so unexpected. But for a more traditional take on stuffed pasta the cheese ravioli with meat sauce can’t be beat.

If you haven’t found your way to Regal Ravioli I’d highly recommend you add it to your “to try” list, particularly now that the weather is cooler and a good batch of pasta will warm the heart as well as the stomach.

It’s a trick caterers and others have used for years upon years: display food at different heights on a table for a more visually interesting landscape. In fact, those very same caterers have whole piles of props designed specifically to elevate their food (to the naked eye at least). For those of us who only cater our own small gatherings at home, having a collection of pillars and other hight-giving apparatuses often isn’t practical from either a budget or storage standpoint. While I do have a small collection of tiered trays and stackable pedestal servers, but I’m always looking for new ways to make my tablescapes fun, interesting, and well, taller.

Who knew that pumpkins were an option?

Indeed it turns out that pumpkins can be a great way to raise platters of food up off of the table and contribute to the overall aesthetic of the table at the same time. They are also compostable (or carvable) so you don’t have to store them season after season. When selecting pumpkins to act as pedestals on your fall table keep a couple of things in mind:

• Selet wider more squat pumpkins so you have more surface area to work with. “Cinderella” pumpkins, like the ones in my photo, seem to be the perfect variety for this particular application.
• Look for symmetrical pumpkins so you don’t end up with the leaning tower of pumpkin on your table. You should be able to see if a pumpkin is particularly unbalanced and you can always use a paper bag to help you judge how flat a platter would sit on the pumpkin.

Finally, choose your serving platter wisely. A heavier platter grounds itself nicely on to the pumpkin so you avoid accidental tipping.

Pumpkins as pedestals were such a fun way to mix up my fall table this year and my guests really enjoyed the touch of whimsy they brought to the table. I’m expecting they’ll reappear on my table next fall…as if by magic.

As Thanksgiving rolls around the big bird and the plethora of sides and desserts we assemble to accompany it get all of the love, leaving little room for the lowly appetizer. This is truly a shame because heaven knows there’s always more time between when guests arrive and when we sit down to the Thanksgiving table than any of our stomachs would truly like. We load up our plates with grumbly bellies and low blood sugar which can lead not only to excessive overindulgence but crankiness with our fellow diners (which may happen even with full bellies and robust blood sugar so it doesn’t need any further assistance).

I submit that a properly sized and timed pre-dinner nibble bursting with fall flavors is just the primer your guests’ palates need to prepare them properly for the dinner you’ve so lovingly created.

Wow – someone pushed my alliteration button tonight.

I also submit that the Butternut Squash, Ricotta, and Sage Crostini from the October Bon Appetite is that properly sized palate primer. It is substantial enough that one or two will quell any niggling appetites and each creamy yet crunchy bite looks and tastes like fall. I initially worried that the creamy ricotta and the soft roasted squash wouldn’t have enough texture difference and the dish would be mostly mushy, but their textures are just different enough that they worked well together, particularly when combined with the crunchy crostini. Lemon zest in the ricotta brings just enough brightness to each bite that it doesn’t feel heavy.

And, as icing on the cake (or sage on the crostini), all of the elements of this nibble can be made the day before so you don’t have to add one more thing to an already busy day. It takes about 15 minutes total to assemble the finished crostini and plate them, which you can do while you enjoy a relaxing glass of bubbly (or possibly a shot if that’s more your style) in the last quiet minutes before your guests arrive.

So go ahead, buck tradition and make an appetizer for your next big Thanksgiving dinner. But not just any appetizer, this appetizer.

I saw these beautiful pomegranates while wandering a Whole Foods store in Dallas. They just evoke the very essence of the “holidays” to me. What foods make you really feel the season?

What to do? What to do?

The chefs’ trick to solve this problem is to place a damp paper towel between the cutting board and the counter, reducing friction and keeping the board right where you meant for it to be. This is all well and good until the towel dries out, which can easily happen if you’re having a marathon cooking spree. Instead I’d like to offer up the idea of non-adhseive rubber shelf liner as your cutting board stability system.

I’ve been a lover of shelf liner turned cutting board non-skid holder for several years now and after much testing in my own kitchen. I’ve found it far superior to a damp paper towel for a host of reasons including:

• Shelf liners will tow the line, or hold the line really, for as long as you need it to. You won’t have to worry about it drying out and the board suddenly shooting out from under your knife at an inopportune moment.
• You can cut rolls of shelf liner to whatever size you need. I have three different sizes to work with different size cutting boards, but even a smallish piece of liner that covers about 1/2 – 2/3 of the surface of the cutting board will get you by. Heck, if you’re using the liner elsewhere in your kitchen just lop of an extra piece for your cutting board.
• Rubber shelf liner washes quickly and easily with soap and warm water so you don’t have to fret over it harboring germs from raw meat or other bacteria it might come into contact with while you’re cooking.
• You don’t have to throw it away when you are done, but instead you reuse the same piece over and over again. The ones I have now I’ve had for four years and counting. This is a much more earth-friendly option than an endless parade of damp paper towels.
• It comes in all sorts of different colors which is just plain fun.

A 10 ft. roll of liner is about $8, so it’s not pricy at all. Obviously you don’t need 10 feet of cutting board traction in your kitchen, so go in on a roll with friends or gift some to other cooks you know. Tie it up with a pretty bow for a neat conversation piece. The recipient will thank you later. And while a paper towel costs much less than $8, you’ll spend way more than that $8 on the many paper towels you use to keep your cutting board on the counter over the long haul. So in the end shelf liner saves not only your appendages but your wallet. It’s a regular kitchen hero.

This Week’s Plan

This week I’ll be taking a bit of a tour of my part of Texas. I have to drive to Dallas and back for work and then I’ll be on my way to San Antonio for the weekend to run a half marathon. I’ve been training for this race since July 4 and I’m feeling great. My dad (the former track and cross country coach) is flying in to town to make the trip with me which makes the race extra special. Between these two trips my opportunities to cook will be few and far between so I’m just accepting that we’ll rely on a few more outside sources for dinner than we might otherwise. Here’s how I think it’s all going to shake out:

• Monday: At the football game
  The last game of the middle school football season is this week and on a Monday instead of the regular Tuesday. I’ll eat my last Chick-fil-a sandwich for a while. At least until basketball season starts.
• Tuesday: Everyone on their own
  I’ll be in Dallas so the kiddo and her dad are on their own. I expect they’ll be having leftover chili but it wouldn’t surprise me if they order a pizza.
• Wednesday: Sushi at our local sushi spot
  I’m driving back from Dallas on Wednesday and have to play mom’s taxi service for the kiddo to get to an appointment. I’d be kidding myself if I expect to cook that night. We’ll stop for sushi at our neighborhood restaurant and take advantage of their awesome happy hour specials on rolls and appetizers.
• Thursday: Ravioli with marinara, brussels sprouts
  This is our only “regular” night this week and so I’m determined to cook even though I know I’ll still be a bit tired from travel and a bit distracted by my upcoming race. Pre-made ravioli from the store below my office along with high-quality jarred sauce and some fresh Parmesan will make a lovely fall dinner.
• Friday: Fajitas, fixin’s
  Friday night will be all about preparations for our trip to San Antonio. I’ll buy pre-seasoned fajitas and pre-prepped toppings, salsa, and guacamole so all I have to do is grill the meat and warm the tortillas. It will be nice to have a family dinner before we head to San Antonio.
• Saturday: Pre-race carb loading at Tre Trattoria
  Yep, I carb load and it’s always fun. I’m a big fan of this restaurant’s chef so I’m really looking forward to this pre-race dinner.
• Sunday: Frito pie, salad
  After a half marathon and a drive back to Austin I’ll want dinner to be as easy as possible. This weekend’s chili will become Sunday’s fun Frito pie dinner and will come together in a snap.

How do you handle menu planning when your entire schedule is off? Share your tips in the comments – I think we’ll all be needing them before the holiday is over.