Cooking . . . It's a Family Thing!

All I can say is "oh my goodness!" The Caribbean Chicken Wings were a huge hit. I fixed enough wings so that we could have 6 each. I had 4, Richard ate 6 and guess who ate the rest. . . Katie. The Mango & Avocado Salad was delicious to me but not to the rest of my family. Katie did eat some and Richard tried it. He was ok until he got a bite of the avocado (he didn't like) and he didn't like the onion in it. But to me it was perfect. I will change one thing next time I make it. I will use white balsamic vinegar instead of the dark. Also, if you're feeding kids you might want to omit the habanero pepper. The heat was perfect for us combined with all the other ingredients but might be a bit much for kids. Now don't freak out when you see all of the ingredients. It really doesn't take anytime to throw them all into a food processor or a blender. I actually had all of the spices in my cabinet. The marinade can be made the night before so the wings can soak up all that flavor. Ok, it's almost time for church so here you go! I found this recipe on Food Network!

CARIBBEAN CHICKEN WINGS

Ingredients:
1 habanero, seeded & chopped (feel free to substitute any pepper or just leave it out)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T sugar
2 t fennel seed (this spice has a licorice flavor leave it out if you don't think your family will like it)
2 t cayenne pepper
2 t allspice
2 t dried thyme
1 t ground ginger
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
7 lbs chicken wings (this is a lot) I used wing pieces & cooked 18 pcs

Throw all the ingredients into a food processor or blender except wings and blend until smooth. Reserve 1 cup of the marinade. Place wings into a large zip lock bag and pour remaining marinade over them. Seal and marinate in the refrigerator 4-6 hours or overnight as I did. Preheat oven to 350. Line your sheet pan with parchment paper (be sure to do this or you'll never clean your pan). Remove chicken from marinade and place on baking sheet. Discard zip lock & marinade. Bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan bring reserved marinade to a boil. Reduce by 1/3 until it thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Once the wings have cooked for 20 minutes remove wings from oven and brush with the glaze (marinade you've reduced). Raise the heat to 400 and cook chicken through, another 20 minutes. Delicious!

MANGO & AVOCADO SALAD

Ingredients:
1 T balsamic vinegar (I would use the white)
1 T lime juice
2 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 Mangos, peeled & cubed
2 Avocados, peeled & diced
1/2 small red onion, diced or cut into strips
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large serving bowl, whisk together vinegar, lime juice, salt & pepper to taste. Slowly whisk in oil. Toss in mangoes, avocado & red onion to coat. Serve immediately. I actually squeezed more lime juice over the top after I mixed it together. This was my favorite. Leaves a really good taste in your mouth.

Hope you enjoy!