Archive for March, 2007

Wings:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
20 chicken wing segments

- Prepare the chicken wings by boning wings into 3 segments. Get rid of the wing tip or use it for chicken stock. I try and trim as much fat/skin from the wings as I can (but seriously, there's no way in hell this any part of this meal can be considered healthy, so you can skip this step if you want)

- In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt, paprika, chili powder, and pepper.

- Coat chicken entirely in the flour mixture

- Deep-fry chicken, 8 – 10 pieces at a time, in 375F/190C degree oil for 10-12 minutes.

- Drain chicken on a wire cooling rack for 30 seconds, then immediately toss fried chicken in buffalo sauce mixture and remove with a slotted spoon.

- Repeat with remaining chicken.

Sauce:

4 Tbsp margarine
5 Tbsp Tabasco sauce
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

- Melt the margarine over medium heat in a heavy saucepan, add the hot sauce and the 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Stir well and remove from the flame immediately.

Blue Cheese dip:

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used Cornish Blue)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar or white vinegar

Mix everything together in a food processor. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Crepe Recipe

1 2/3 cups flour ( 250g plain flour)
1 tbsp caster sugar
3 eggs, plus 3 egg yolks
600ml milk
40g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra melted butter to brush,

Chocolate & Espresso filling

250g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
50g unsalted butter, chopped
150ml milk
100ml thickened cream
100ml strong black coffee (espresso)
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar

Mix flour, sugar, eggs, yolks and milk in a blender or food processor until smooth, then pour into a jug and stand for 30 minutes. Just before cooking, stir 40g (2 tbsp) melted butter through the batter. Heat pan and brush with extra butter, add enough batter to coat base, swirl to cover, tip off any excess. Cook for 45 seconds, then flip and cook for 30 seconds more or until golden. Repeat with butter and remaining batter till you get abt 20 crepes, stacking with baking paper in between.

For the filling, melt the chocolate in a bain marie. Stir in butter, milk, cream, coffee and sugar, then whisk until mixture is smooth and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for 20-30 minutes until mixture cools and thickens. Lightly grease an 18cm springfrom pan. Place a crepe in pan and spread with a little filling. Continue layering, finishing with a crepe. There should be 1/3 cup filling left. Cover cake with foil and chilll for 1 hour. When set, remove springform pan and pour remaining chocolate filling and top with cream.


I tried making this last weekend when we were at Katy's parents'. Two things: you really do need a good crepe pan because otherwise it's a PITA to get the crepes to come out nicely. I also made the ganache a bit too runny, so cut down on the amount of liquid for next time.

I had a look at my credit card statement online today and I found out that Natwest declined the transaction for the bastard webhost from hell. Initially, they told me over the phone that the transaction would have to clear first before they could initiate a chargeback but since the fucktards actually had our old address on file, Natwest refused the transaction. Interestingly, I've still not heard a peep from them regarding the declined transaction. I just hope that I get something that doesn't come from an automated system so that I can finally sent a vitriolic email to a flesh-and-bone human. ohpleaseohpleaseohplease :)