Super Bowl Monday

Ex-Pat Pat’s Fan means Super Bowl Monday instead of Super Bowl Sunday

The fact of the matter is that if the New England Patriots hadn’t been playing in the Super Bowl then I probably wouldn’t have pushed ahead with this crazy idea of finding a friend to host a get-together which started at 11 p.m. As devastating, gut-wrenching and heart being ripped out (and stomped and spit on) the night turned out to be, one thing that managed a complete pass was my sweet and sticky wings.

The journey of making these wings really showcased some fundamental differences between what's "typical" and "normal" in grocery stores here versus in the US.

From previous experience of making wings in the States, the typical thing to do is buy a hefty bag of chicken wings (usually of the 5 lb bag variety) to start your recipe off right. I didn’t really expect to find this in my local supermarket, but at least I'd find the not unusual 8-10 piece package.

So off I go, sporting my Boston Red Sox hat to start getting me excited for some good American sports watching. When I arrive at the chicken section, low and behold chicken wings only come in the organic variety (which ok, probably is a good thing and worth the extra money) but they also only come 4 per package. 4 dinkily winkily organic chicken wings per package. Utterly ridiculous.

Since there were only 2 packages on the shelf I had to ask for more. “How many more?” the guy asked. “Um, maybe 8 in total, so 6 more.” He said "Oh wow, you must be hungry!" Hardy har har buddy. Was it so unbelievably strange to think people might bring chicken wings to a party? Apparently so since the only package they were offering catered to a yuppie organic-loving party of 1.

Anyway, I didn't really care. I took my 8 packages of chicken wings to the til, alongside my organic yogurt, granola, and beet greens and paid.

These wings were gone (to quote Chuck Woolery) "in 2 and 2".

NOTE: The second image above would be displaying the fine attempt by some friends to make nachos. No, that Doritos bag did not randomly end up in the photo - they are the foundation for the delightful dish. Brits really need to work on their Mexican food.

Sweet and Sticky Chicken Wings
5-8 lbs chicken wings
1 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup apricot preserves
3/4 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbl chopped ginger
5 scallions sliced thinly
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup sesame seeds

2 large roasting pans

Place chicken wings in a large plastic container or ziploc bag.
Purée all ingredients except sesame seeds and pour mixture over wings.
Marinate overnight or for at least 8 hours.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Divide wings between 2 large pans, in a single layer.
Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of wings.
Bake wings in upper and lower thirds of oven 45 minutes.
Turn wings over, sprinkle sesame seeds again and switch position of pans in oven.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Wings should caramelise and almost look burnt.