How to Bake Crispy Chicken Wings

 Lately, I've been in the mood for chicken wings. But, as you know with the pandemic, going into bars or restaurants can be -- tricky. Also, honestly, I don't want to be in an enclosed room next to others. So, I did what I've been doing all pandemic long. I learned to make them.  :)

However, I've learned that there's a special ingredient to get the skin super crispy while oven-baking your wings -- baking powder. 

You're reading that right, baking powder. There's some chemistry involved, but basically it helps to break-down the fat attached to the skin, helping to remove the moisture and making the wings just as crispy as a deep fryer. Fortunately, the inside of the wings stay very juicy and tender. 

What you'll need:

• A wire rack
• A cookie sheet/tray
• 2 lbs. Raw chicken wings ("Party Wings" are pre-separated wings, and easier to use)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
  
• 2 tsp. your favorite chicken seasoning  
  
• Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing for dipping
  
• Celery or carrots

Recipe: Foodie's Summer Pasta Salad

Enjoy this recipe for a cold pasta salad during the heat of summer.

When the heat of summer finally comes, my meal choices get a bit lighter, and where summer meals are concerned, this is one of my favorites. This salad helps to capture the flavors of a backyard garden by incorporating ripe tomatoes and fresh basil. Lastly, to make it a bit more filling, feel free to add some grilled chicken breast!

What you'll need:

• 12 ounces favorite pasta (I recommend bowtie, rotelle or penne)
• 2 lbs of multicolored tomatoes (I used the small pre-packaged tomatoes, but heirloom will also work)
• 1/4 cup of fresh basil (plus a little extra to garnish)
• 4 oz chopped fresh mozzarella (1/2 large mozzarella ball)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup ricotta
• 1/4 cup Parmesan (plus extra for topping)
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Sourdough Bread

Here are some easy directions for making a delicious and gorgeous loaf of sourdough bread. Do you want to learn how to make sourdough from somebody who isn't a professional? Then you've found the right blog.

Why I Started Making Sourdough Bread

When #COVID first hit, my local store was out of a LOT of things. There were few fruits/veggies. The fresh meat section was empty. Milk was non existent. The bread aisle was decimated, and the baking aisle was COMPLETELY out of Instant Rise Yeast.

It was at this point that I realized I'd begin working on a Sourdough Starter. It took me a couple of months to try, but after a week, I had an active starter that was ready for bread.

All Four Attempts

Then the baking learning curve would begin. And as this image shows, it took FOUR attempts and two different recipes before I got something that both looked and tasted delicious.

What You'll Need To Make Sourdough Bread

• Two bowls, large and medium for mixing
• A large (3-4 quart) oven-safe pot or dutch oven.
• 3 2/3 cups (518g) Unbleached Flour plus extra for kneading. I recommend a bread flour if possible. But, since my store is STILL out of it 3 months later, All Purpose will do. So far, my best result has been with King Arthur All Purpose Flour. It's got a LOT of protein which makes amazing gluten.
• 3/4 teaspoons salt (10g)
• 1 1/2 cups plus 4 teaspoons (356g) water, room temperature
• 1/3 cup (85g) mature sourdough starter

Ok, now that you've got all that together, let's start making some bread.

What to do With Discarded Sourdough Starter

In my previous blog post I discussed making a sourdough starter. And when you make and keep maintaining a sourdough starter, you'll have to discard a LOT of it. Literally pouring potential bread down the drain. 😭

If you're like me, you find this very wasteful.

So, what should you do with all that discarded dough? Here's my answer: fry it up!

How to Make an Easy Sourdough Starter

My Sourdough Starter.
Named Stanley. :)

Twice during quarantine I ran out of bread. Since I was trying to minimize my visits to the store, I was able to use instant yeast to make some bread and hamburger rolls. But as I tried to purchase more yeast, I realized that the stores were completely out.

So, what does a Foodie do when confronted with this dilemma? The only obvious answer was to make my own sourdough starter, of course!

Here's the deal, a sourdough starter has a LOT natural yeast in it -- that's how you get the bread to rise. Fortunately, yeast is everywhere -- it's even in the flour we cook with and the air we breathe! But to get a starter going, you need to get all that yeast concentrated into one place. And to do that you'll need about a week (or more), and a lot of flour, which is the food for your yeast.

What you'll need:
Flour: Try for unbleached bread flour. If you can't find any, just get unbleached all-purpose flour. The unbleached flour options have more naturally occurring yeast.
Water: Cold/luke-warm tap-water will be fine. But chlorine free/pure water is best.
A container: I recommend a .75 liter glass container. You can purchase one, but I'm using one from a pasta sauce that I bought at the store.

A Name: My sourdough starter is named Stanley.

Continue for directions

Who has the best Lake Norman Pizza? Week 3 Results:

Week 3 has come to a close. Here are the results from this week's #LKNFoodiePizzaContest including Facebook and Twitter votes:

Brixx Pizza (Huntersville) :  FB: 3 + T: 3 = 6 votes vs.
Slice House Pizza: FB: 17 + T:7 = 24 votes (WINNER!)
And
Geppettos's Pizza (Denver, NC): FB: 2 + T: 1 = 3 votes vs.
Joey's Pizza: FB:19 + T: 5 = 24 votes (WINNER!)

Next week we'll see Mama's Pizza Express vs. Proscuitto's and Brooklyn South Pizzeria vs. DiMaggiosPizzeria

Voting begins on Monday!

Here's the updated bracket.

Week 2 Results are In!

Since March Maddness is canceled, this is the ONLY worthwhile March bracket contest!😆  Here are the results from the Week 2 competition including Facebook and Twitter votes:

Davidson Pizza: FB 12 + T 1 =  13 votes  (WINNER) vs
Davino's Pizza: FB 4 + T 1 = 5 votes

Pie in the Sky: FB 50 + T 18 = 68 votes  vs.
Turn 4 Pizza: FB 33 + T 0 = 33 votes (WINNER)

The updated bracket is below.

Next week we'll feature Brixx Pizza vs. Slice House on Monday. Then on Wednesday it will be  Geppetto's Pizza vs. Joey's Pizza

Don't forget to vote on https://www.facebook.com/lakenormanfoodie/ and https://twitter.com/lknfoodie

The First Results Are In!!

Here are the results from this week's competition including Facebook and Twitter votes:
Pellegrino's Trattoria FB 28 + T 41 =  69 votes  (WINNER) vs
Sebastiano's FB 3 = T 10 = 13 votes

Brooklyn Boys FB 8 + T 6 = 14 votes  vs.
Tony's Big Pizza FB 14 + T 3 = 17 votes (WINNER)

The updated bracket is below.

Next week we'll feature Davidson Pizza Company vs. Davinos pizza on Monday. Then on Wednesday it will be Pie In The Sky Pizza vs. Turn 4 Pizza.

Don't forget to vote on https://www.facebook.com/lakenormanfoodie/ and https://twitter.com/lknfoodie