Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing

Chicken wings are one of the most versatile ingredients and I have to be very truthful I don't use them enough.  They are the ultimate finger food... one little package of their very own ready to cook and dish without much fuss really...... so simple and so underrated.

This is one of our favourite dishes... Hot Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing.  Now there are many versions of this recipe.. so ours is not gospel or from the original recipe it's just one that we have stumbled across from many attempts - you know good old trial and error!!

Firstly lets get the definition right: From the United States origin a Buffalo wing or Buffalo chicken wing is a chicken wing section that is generally deep-fried, unbreaded, and coated in vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and butter.

Until you start googling..... then some recipes claim that deep frying the wings is the only way to go. Some spruke that one Hot Sauce is better than the other. Unbreaded or breaded both are delish.... Remove the tip or keep the tip and it simply just goes on and on...

We do not crumb our version however we do give the chicken pieces a light coating of seasoned flour.  We do not deep fry either we bake them in the oven.  We also cook them with the Hot Sauce on and not just pour it over when it's cooked.... 

Bottom line as I said that's how we like them... others may argue.....

Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing

Serves: 4

90 grams blue cheese

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 kilogram chicken wings or drumettes and wingettes

1/3 cup plain flour

salt

ground white pepper

cooking spray

1/4 cup Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce or hot sauce of your choice

20 grams butter, chopped

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Process the blue cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise in a food processor until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl, cover and set aside.

Place the chicken, flour, salt and pepper in a snap lock bag and seal.  Shake until chicken is completely covered.

Cover a baking tray with baking paper and spray with cooking spray.  Line the chicken in a single layer, shaking off excess flour as you remove from the snap lock bag.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes, turning once, until browned and cooked through.

Place hot sauce and butter in a bowl.  Microwave for one minute or until butter has melted.  Stir well.

Remove chicken from oven and drizzle with hot sauce.  Toss the chicken in tray to coat.  Ensure they are still in one single layer when done.

Return to the oven and cook for a further 5 - 10 minutes or until crispy.

Serve with Blue Cheese Dressing and any left over hot sauce.

 

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Pork with Caramalised Pear and Blue Cheese

Honestly I love blue cheese even though I know I shouldn't so the chance to serve it as a component of a dinner meal was too hard to resist especially as we had some Roquefort in the house.  I have refrained from eating it straight from the fridge so at least I had a little will power I guess.

Beurre Bosc pears are also becoming a favourite of mine especially when roasted. The soft buttery sweetness of roasted pears compliment pork beautifully.  These served pan fried pork and a simple green leaf salad scattered with crumbled blue cheese was a delicious and quick mid week dinner.

Pork with Caramalised Pear and Blue Cheese

(recipe adapted for www.Taste.com)

Serves: 4

ProPoints per serve: 10

cooking spray

4 Beurre Bosc pears, quartered

800 grams pork scotch fillet, sliced

green salad leaves

200 grams roquefort blue cheese or similar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Line a baking tray with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Place pears on tray and spray with cooking spray.  Bake in oven for 20 - 25 minutes, turning once, until caramalized and tender.  Remove and keep warm.

Meanwhile spray a frying pan with cooking spray.  Cook pork steaks for 3 - 5 minutes on each side or until cooked to your liking.  Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Divide salad pears and pork amongst serving plates and sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese. Drizzle pork with pan juices if desired.

(Click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Chicken with Prosciutto, Blue Cheese and Semi Dried Tomatoes

This very easy and quick dish is wonderful for not only a mid week dinner but would be an inpressive meal at any dinner party.

The flavours were powerful yet bordering on the rich side due to the combination of the stuffing of blue cheese and semi dried tomatoes topped with the chicken being wrapped in prosciutto.  The hint of basil provided a delicious underlying flavour.  The simple sauce enveloped the whole dish, which rounded of the meal.

Ideally I would ensure that you use small chicken fillets due to the richness but definitely worth trying, even if you are not a blue cheese lover.

Chicken with Prosciutto, Blue Cheese and Semi Dried Tomatoes
(recipe adapted from Weight Watchers Australia)

Serves: 4

ProPoints per serve: 9

4 small lean chicken breast

50 grams blue vein cheese

1/4 cup fresh basil

1/2 cup semi dried tomatoes, not in oil

4 slices prosciutto, fat trimmed

1 teaspoon chicken stock powder

4 tablespoons white wine

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket into each chicken breast. Place 2 basil leaves in each pocket, then share the cheese and tomatoes equally between them. Close the pockets and wrap each chicken breast in a slice of prosciutto.

Arrange in a shallow baking dish and add the stock and white wine. Season with some freshly ground black pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for a further 20 minutes.

Serve, garnished with extra basil leaves.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce

It was a beautiful day here in Melbourne today and of course we had a bbq for dinner.. not that we ever need an excuse to fire up the weber and cook steak over the coals!! Steak tastes magnificant cooked this way and in fact I cannot remember when we last used our actual bbq - it has been a long while that's for sure.

When we have steak we all love a nice sauce with it. Noel's favourite is creamy peppercorn sauce, I am quite partial to a mushroom sauce but we both love this one... creamy blue cheese sauce. Even Oliver is starting to enjoy this one also.

Before you get put off by the thought of "Blue Cheese" I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. This cheese sauce only has a hint of the blue and if you can use a really nice blue it makes such a difference to the flavour. We used gorgonzola which is somewhat strong but rich and creamy.

I have to admit this way is nice but if you cook your steak in a frying pan use the meat juices at the beginning of the recipe and this sauce is to die for. Saying this though it is perfectly yummy cooked as the recipe reads.

Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce

Serves: 8
ProPoints per serve: 3

cooking spray
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 tablespoons brandy
100 grams danish blue cheese, crumbled
375 ml can Carnation Light and Creamy Evaporated Milk
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 tablespoons water
freshly ground black pepper

Heat a medium non stick frying pan over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add spring onions and garlic, cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until softenened. Add brandy and swirl around pan for 30 seconds, scrapping the bottom with a wooden spoon to pick up any specks.

Add crumbled cheese and cook until softened, around 2 - 3 minutes.

Stir in the evaporated milk, stirring continuously. Combine cornflour with water, mix well and add to milk mixture. Continue stirring until sauce thickens. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.


(click here for a printable version of this recipe)