Boneless Buffalo Wings

oil for deep frying
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 egg
1 cup milk
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon butter


Directions
1. Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F.

2. Combine flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and paprika in a large bowl. Whisk together the egg and milk in a small bowl. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture, and then roll in the flour blend. Repeat so that each piece of chicken is double coated. Refrigerate breaded chicken for 20 minutes.

3. Fry chicken in the hot oil, in batches. Cook until the exterior is nicely browned, and the juices run clear, 5 to 6 minutes a batch.

4. Combine hot sauce and butter in a small bowl. Microwave sauce on High until melted, 20 to 30 seconds. Pour sauce over the cooked chicken; mix to coat.

Pico De Gallo

1/2 lb. tomatoes (this should be a couple of tomatoes)
1/4 chopped large onion (I like a 1015, or even a red onion, you want something mild)
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped fine
2 sprigs of Cilantro, chop fine
1/2 tsp. Salt (I like Kosher, they don’t use Kosher)
dash Black Pepper

Simply chop everything and combine. Stir to mix everything well, and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving. If you don’t like jalapenos, or if they are too hot for you, be sure to remove the seeds and the pith inside of the peppers before chopping them up, and using them in the mixture.

Hot Wings

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
4½ to 5 pounds chicken wings
Hooters’ Hot Wing Sauce

In a large mixing bowl, mix the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, paprika, and cayenne pepper together, and blend well. Cut the chicken wings into drumettes and flappers. Wash and drain the chicken. Coat the chicken in the flour mixture and refrigerate the wings for 90 minutes. Prepare the Hooters Hot Wing Sauce. When you’re ready to deep-fry the chicken wings, heat the oil to 375°F in a large pot or deep-fryer. Place the chicken pieces into the hot oil and do not crowd them. Fry the wings until they’re golden brown, then remove them from the oil and drain them on paper towels. When all the wings have been fried, place them in a large bowl. Add the Hooters’ Hot Wing Sauce and mix completely. Use a fork or tongs to place the chicken pieces on a serving platter.

Texas Caviar with Avocado

2 (15.5 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped jalapeno peppers
8 fluid ounces Italian dressing
cayenne pepper to taste
2 avocados - peeled, pitted, and chopped

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix black-eyed peas, tomatoes, sweet onion, jalapeno peppers, Italian dressing, and cayenne pepper. Stir in the avocados just before serving.

Guacamole

6 ripe California avocados
1 cup canned tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped, about 6 ounces
2 tablespoons bottled hot sauce like Pace Picante
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Remove avocados from peels and dice into large 1/2 inch chunks, and place avocado pieces into a medium sized bowl. Add tomatoes, hot sauce, lemon juice, salt, onion, and minced garlic, and stir well. Gently mash the guacamole until about half of the avocodo pieces are smooth, and the other half are still chunky. Stir mixture together well, so that all of the ingredients are incorporated into the guacamole. Serve immediately.

Nine Layer Dip

2 strips lean bacon
1 16 0z Can Refried Beans Plain
1/2 C. Sour Cream
1/2 tsp. Taco Seasoning
3/4 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
3/4 C. Guacamole (Frozen or Prepared is Fine)
1/3 C. Diced Tomatoes (about 1 Romano Tomato)
1 Tbsp. Fresh Cilantro Chopped Finely
2 Tbsp. Sliced Black Olives
2 Tbsp. Finely Sliced Green Onions

Fry diced bacon until done, add refried beans and cook slowly and stirrer frequently until the bacon and bacon drippings are mixed through about 15 minutes, remove from heat. Mix taco seasoning with sour cream and set aside.

To build 9 layer dip place ingredients in this order.
Place refried beans on serving platter spread out to 1 – 1 1/2 inches thick.
1/2 C. shredded cheese
1/2 C. prepared sour cream
3/4 C. guacamole
diced tomatoes
diced cilantro
black olives
sliced green onion
1/4 C. cheese for garnish

Serve with crisp corn chips

Serves 12

Artichoke Spinach Dip

1 (6.25 oz) Jar Marinated Artichokes (drained)
1 (10 oz.) Package Frozen Chopped Spinach (thawed and drained very well)
1/2 tsp. Minced Garlic
1/3 C. Freshly Grated Romano Cheese
1/4 C. Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 C. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/3 C. Cream or Half and Half
1/2 C. Sour Cream

In food processor blend artichokes, Romano cheese, garlic and parmesan cheese for about 1 – 1 1/2 minutes. Artichokes and cheeses should be minced, but should not be pasty.

In a mixing bowl add drained spinach, cream, sour cream, mozzarella, stir well. Spoon into mixing bowl mixture from food processor. Blend all ingredients. Mixture should have a medium thick consistency. Spray an oven proof shallow serving dish. Pour artichoke mixture into baking dish and bake for 20 – 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
Artichoke dip should be a little bubbly and cheese melted through. Remove from oven and serve with your favorite heated tortilla chips, sour cream and salsa and enjoy.

Bruschetta

4 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 sweet onion
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. fresh parsley
1 (1 lb.) loaf Italian bread or baquette, cut into 1 inch slices
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit
2. In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, olive oil, oregano, basil and parsley. Place bread on a baking sheet and top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 8 - 10 minutes or until bottom if bread is browned. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving.


Serves 12