George's Smackin' Wings

According to the National Chicken Council, Americans will consume 1.25 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Weekend. Somehow I get the feeling they all won't be prepared 'Buffalo' style. 

A classic Buffalo wing, which you know heralds from the city of the same name.. is tossed into a deep fryer, then tossed into melted butter and hot sauce or finished off in an infinite number of other side sauces and condiments. 

Now friends, my Smackin' Wings are a better wing for a couple reasons... First, it's grilled with benefits from the outdoor flavor of fire-n-smoke; and the sauce is sweet, allowing you to enjoy the chicken and still be able to taste other side dishes on your Gameday menu.

George's Smackin' Wings
Makes 32 pieces | From Grilling with Chef George Hirsch Cookbook

16 chicken wings
1/2 cup olive 
1/4 balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons cane syrup or dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cut off and discard wings tips. Cut remaining wings in half. Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl until well blended, add wings. Cover and marinade in refrigerator 1 hour.

Preheat grill to medium temperature.  

Place wings on grill. Grill 15 to 20 minutes over medium coals, turning frequently. As wings begin to brown continue slowly cooking on indirect heat, until completely cooked.

Bistro Night

What could be better on a cold Winter's night than a bistro themed spread: a French onion soup, quiche, and maybe tart tartin.

And, what would a French onion soup be without a toasted crouton, aka a sop? Sops are used for soaking up a warm liquid, broth or wine, and was the term used in days of yore. I guess it was only natural that the word soup derived from sop. 

In my Five Onion Soup, the mixture of five onions gives a nice character to the soup. But, no sweat if you have less than five, just use a sweet onion and you'll have a tasty version. The so called bar of success in making an onion soup is all the slow cooking and gradual 'caramelizing' of the onions. The natural sweetness from the onions adds the rich robust flavor and golden brown color, the prize in this soup. 

CREAMY FIVE ONION SOUP 
Makes 6-8 servings
chefgeorgehirsch.com | From George Hirsch Living it UP! TV series

This easy to prepare hearty soup for a cool night makes for a wonderful dinner or rustic appetizer. 

2 Tablespoons olive oil 
2 each sweet onions*, chopped 
3 cloves garlic, chopped 
6 each Chipolini onions, chopped 
1 each red onion, chopped 
1 green onion, chopped 
1 Tablespoon flour 
1/2 cup tomato sauce 
2 teaspoons dried thyme 
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup potatoes, peeled and chopped 
2 cups chicken broth 
2 cups beef broth 

Optional: 
1/2 cup half and half
French bread croutons
Parmesan, Emmental, or Gruyere cheese

Pre heat a large soup or saucepot to a medium heat. Add olive oil, sweet onions, garlic, chipolini onions, red onion and green onion. Cook for 10 minutes without stirring until you begin to see the onions in the bottom of the pot begin to brown, Stir, and allow the onions to continue to further brown. Stir and allow onions to cook for an additional five minutes. Total cooking time of onions will be about 20 minutes or more.

Season with thyme, bay leaves, pepper, add tomato sauce, flour and stir. Add white wine and cook for 5 minutes or until dry. Add chicken broth, beef broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer, cover and cook about 30 minutes. 

Remove bay leaves then, puree one half of soup in blender or food processor.

Return pureed soup back to soup pot. Bring soup back to a boil; reduce temperature down to a simmer. Add optional half and half. Serve with a toasted French bread crouton, top with grated Parmesan and melt Emmental or Gruyere cheese. 

*Note on onions: Soup may be made with any type sweet onions and garlic only. Or, you may use addition of any onion family such as leeks, chives, etc. 

For My Quiche Lorraine Recipe

For My Tarte Tatin

Happy 85th Hot Brown

A Hot Brown is a hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt in 1926. It was one of two signature sandwiches created by chefs at the Brown Hotel shortly after its founding in 1923. The Brown Hotel is a grand property, of distinctive English Renaissance design and is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

According to The Hot Brown 85 year legend, "In the 1920's, The Brown Hotel drew over 1,200 guests each evening for its dinner dance. In the wee hours of the morning, the guests would grow tired of dancing and retire to the restaurant for a bite to eat. Diners were growing rapidly bored with the traditional ham and eggs, so Chef Fred Schmidt set out to create something new to tempt his guests' palates. His unique creation was an open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon and a delicate Mornay sauce." 

The dish is a local specialty and favorite of the Louisville area, and is popular throughout Kentucky. Think fondue-like only more of a pub-ish lunch; ideal and comforting during cold weather. The Hot Brown is an open-faced sandwich w/ turkey and or bacon, covered in Mornay sauce and baked or broiled until the bread is crisp and the sauce begins to brown. Other varieties of Hot Browns may include ham with the turkey, and either pimentos or tomatoes over the sauce. 

Making The Sauce 

A béchamel or white sauce can be spiced up with a pinch of cayenne pepper, or hot sauce, 1/2 cup IPA (or another good ale), 1 teaspoon prepared English mustard, and pinch of paprika.

Finish the sauce off with 1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese. Whisk in and simmer just until the cheese is melted. Serve a couple tablespoons of sauce over a slice of good wheat toast. Serve as is, or you may want to place the 'Hot Brown' under a broiler for 30 seconds to brown lightly. Top with chopped chives or green onion. I've also topped this with a slice of good ripe tomato + sweet onion. Enjoy.

A Light Béchamel Recipe | ChefGeorgeHirsch.com
1 Tablespoon sweet butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 cup half & half (can use milk for a lighter version) 

In a small sauce pan over low heat add butter and flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. With a wire whisk add in milk and allow to simmer until slightly thickened.

If using béchamel for Hot Brown, continue adding ingredients as above and simmer for 5 minutes while continuing to stir. 

a Burns Night out

This week the Scots will again raise their forks to uniquely celebrate a way to wrap up the short days of January's chill. We can learn something here. Celebrate all + enjoy the moment - Spring is right around the corner. 

For 22 years, an estimated 6 million Americans of Scottish descent have had to celebrate Burns Night (I'll get to Burns in a moment) without an authentic haggis. Haggis was banned by US authorities in 1989 because they feared its main ingredient - minced sheep offal - could prove lethal, according to The Guardian. Update, good news for Scottish Americans, the haggis ban has been lifted. So now, get your haggis on.

Each year during the week of January 25th, Burns fans gather for suppers to celebrate the birth of Scottish bard Robert Burns, who was born Jan. 25, 1759. At what are referred to as Burns Suppers, like the one at St. Andrews, there are poetry readings, kilt wearing and Scotch whisky drinking. And of course, the main course of haggis consumption. 

painting of Robert BurnsRobert Burns (1759-1796) was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a "light" Scots dialect, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these pieces, his political or civil commentary is often at its most blunt. Also, Burns most notably penned the poem/song Auld Lang Syne.

To create your own Burns Supper. 

Visit Macsween of Edinburgh

Have fork in hand? Well, maybe not so fast. You should know that haggis is a dish containing sheep’s stomach stuffed with ‘pluck’ (heart liver and lungs) chopped with onion, oatmeal, suet or fat, salt and just the perfect seasoning blend of secret seasonings (that Colonel Sanders might envy), simmered in broth or water for 3-4 hours like a chitterling, savoury pudding or blood sausage.

Haggis is traditionally served with mashed rutabaga and potatoes during a Burns Supper, might I add with a few glasses of Scotch Whiskey. According to the Larousse Gastronomique, "Although its description is not immediately appealing, haggis has an excellent nutty texture and delicious savoury flavour". Hmm.