Wings and Rings

Ann wanted to eat "bad" so Monday night and so I rummaged around in my brain and found some good bar food to make for her: wings and onion rings.

Chipotle Wings

The wings are oven-roasted at 450F with the fan on, turned every 10 minutes, for a half an hour until the wings are super crispy. Then toss them in a sauce of chipotle salsa, agave nectar, and rice vinegar; sweet, tangy, smoky, and spicy.

Onion Rings

These onion rings are a direct result of eating the crappy rings at MELT Gourmet Cheeseburgers a few weeks ago. When I want an onion ring, I want an onion ring, not some overfried reconstituted onion paste in dubious batter. I want a light tempura-style ring made from real onions, the way onion rings are supposed to be made.

To make a great onion ring, you need large yellow onions, and definitely not the supersweet kind. Slice the onions into half-inch slabs and separate the slabs into rings. Place the rings in buttermilk to wet them and shake off the excess. Toss them in seasoned flour. Then into fairly thin beer batter (beer, flour, salt, touch of baking powder). Shake off the excess and into the fryer.