Chicken Wing Week: Day 1 - Dre's Original Baked Wings

Welcome to a very exciting collaboration with one of my very best friends Margie (@margiefoodie) over at MargieFoodie.com! Today, May 3rd, through Saturday, May 9th, one of us will share a chicken wing recipe on either of our blogs. I’ll recap everything at the end of the week, in case you miss anything, but it is bound to be an amazing week.

First up today, I’m sharing a baked wing recipe that’s a great starting point for any of your chicken wing needs. I think it’s a great place to begin this flavorful week.

Dre’s Original Baked Wings

I typically make 6-8 wings per adult, so this recipe is tailored towards two adults. Multiply as needed.

Ingredients:

• 3 TB of avocado or olive oil

• 3 TB red wine vinegar

• 1 tsp dried parsley

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 12-14 traditional bone-in chicken wings (about 2 #)

• Helpful tools: wire rack that fits inside your baking sheet, tongs, cast iron grill pan, aluminum foil, and a meat thermometer.

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix your quick marinade of oil, vinegar, parsley, salt and pepper. Toss your wings in the marinade, making sure to coat every wing evenly. Set to rest while you heat your grill pan and prep your baking sheet. NOTE: Make sure you don’t let the wings sit in the marinade for too long (more than a couple minutes) because the acid from the vinegar will start to cook the chicken).

3. On the stove, heat a cast-iron pan (grill pan is preferred but not necessary), to medium-high heat. While you wait for it to warm up, cover your baking sheet with a layer of aluminum foil and place your wire rack on top. NOTE: If you don’t have a wire rack, that’s ok too! You’ll just need to flip your wings half way through the baking time. The wire rack allows for better air circulation and crispier, evenly cooked wings.

4. Once your cast iron pan is ready, use your tongs to place about half of your wings skin side down, into the pan. Hearing a sizzle is VERY important at this step. If you don’t hear a good sizzle, your pan isn’t warm enough yet and you won’t get a good sear to lock in the juices. It’s also important not to over crowd your pan because then you will steam your wings instead of searing them. Make sure they aren’t touching. You will most likely need to do this step in 2-3 batches depending on the size of your pan and amount of wings you are making.

5. Sear the chicken wings for about 3 minutes until golden brown, then flip and repeat on the other side. Once both sides are seared nicely, use your tongs to remove the wings and place on the wire rack, that is on top of your baking sheet.

6. Once all of your wings are seared, bake in the center rack of the oven for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F. If you don’t have the wire rack, make sure you flip the wings halfway through this 15 minute cooking time.

7. Remove the wings from the oven and turn the oven onto broil. This is the part that is magical for the crispy skin, but you must keep a close eye on it since everyone’s oven is different, and broiling happens quickly. In my oven, I broil for 2 minutes on each side, with the wings on the top rack. They should be close to the broiler but not touching ANY flames. Therefore, they broil for 4 minutes total.

8. It’s important to measure the temperature of your wings to make sure they are cooked throughout and at least 165 degrees F. Mikey prefers a drier wing, so sometimes I take them up to 175-180 degrees F. This part you can adapt to your preferences.

The rest is totally up to you! You can add your favorite wing sauce or eat them as is.

I hope you enjoy this wing recipe and stay tuned to the rest of CHICKEN WING WEEK! Head to Margie’s blog tomorrow <<click here>> for tomorrow’s chicken wing recipe!

Have a great start to your week,

Andrea

A Cookbook Gift Guide

Welcome back to gift guide week here at Andrea Fontana Beauty! Just in case you missed my two previous posts here are the links for them; The Skincare Nerd’s Gift Guide & The Makeup Lover’s Gift Guide.

Today we are talking…COOKBOOKS! One of my favorite kinds of books.

If you’ve been following me for awhile you probably know how obsessed I am with them. My collection is past 50 at this point so I thought I’d offer a few suggestions and describe who I think they would be best for.

The Traditional or Brand New Cook

If you have someone on your list who is new to cooking I highly recommend either ‘The Joy of Cooking’ cookbook or ‘The Fannie Farmer Cookbook’. I have both and refer to them often for classics. They would be a great staple for any college student, newlywed or even someone who has found a new love for cooking, because they are filled with basic recipes that everyone needs.

If your gift is for a cook who is unfamiliar in the kitchen, I highly recommend ‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking’ because it teaches you so much about what it takes to make a great meal. The Netflix series is also AMAZING and not to go off on a tangent but you should watch it ASAP.

The Gluten Free Cook

I’ve talked a lot about ‘True Roots: A Mindful Kitchen’ a lot, especially on my Instagram. I have made so many of the recipes and they are so amazing. If someone has dietary restrictions like gluten, dairy, or refined sugars, this would make a great gift.

The Fit Cook

I received ‘Bobby Flay Fit’ for Christmas last year and I’ve used it so much, there’s a burn mark on the cover from the coils of my stove. If the person you’re shopping for is into fitness and healthy eating, but doesn’t like sacrificing flavor, this is a great option! The recipes are easy and rely on using a lot of great spices to create clean and delicious meals.

The Pasta-Obsessed Cook

If the person you are shopping for likes pasta or noodles (I mean who doesn’t though…) these are two of my favorite cookbooks that I have actually used quite a bit in the last few years. ‘The Ultimate Pasta and Noodle Cookbook’ has recipes from all types of cuisines, not just Italian. It’s again a great reference book. My other recommendation would be for someone who LOVES Italian pasta and I’ve talked about it before on here. ‘250 True Italian Pasta Dishes’ is great for those who want to learn which types of pastas go with which sauces and how to choose veggies to add in. It has many great combinations and even a section with fast weeknight recipes.

The Beauty Loving Cook

I know I just mentioned this cookbook in my Skincare Gift Guide, but I have to mention it again in case you missed that post. If you are gifting to a lover of makeup, skincare or nutrition, ‘Eat Beautiful’ is an amazing collection of in season recipes to promote healthy skin and beauty.

The Italian Food Cook

Did you really think I wouldn’t include an Italian section. My pick for this year goes to a cookbook my boyfriend got me for my birthday one year because he wanted me to cook from it. ‘The Sopranos Family Cookbook’ is not only full of delicious traditional recipes, but it’s also really fun to look through.

The Cook Who Loves to Give Back

If you have a friend to gift this season that loves to give back, this would be a great option for them. The ‘America The Great Cookbook’ is a collection of signature dishes and family recipes from chefs all over the country. So not only is it a great collection of different types of cuisines, but the proceeds go towards helping ‘No Kid Hungry’ fight childhood hunger.

Now if you have a cookbook addiction like me or you’re shopping on a budget this holiday season, don’t forget that thrifted/used books are a great way to reuse and recycle books! I don’t know what I was doing before I started using Thriftbooks.com to order all of my books from. I have been buying from them from almost a year and have always had great luck with them. The customer service is also great if you have a question. I have found some of my favorite cookbooks for under $5 before! If you click this link, you can save 15% off your first purchase on Thriftbooks.com!

Do you have any favorite cookbooks? Be sure to comment below and let me know which ones you are obsessed with that I need to add to my collection.

Don’t forget to come back here tomorrow for Day 4 and my last day of Gift Guides on Andrea Fontana Beauty,

Have a great day,

Andrea

My 15 Trader Joe's Must-Haves

I freaking love Trader Joe’s. I unfortunately do not live close enough to one to shop on a regular basis there. There are three stores that are about an hour away from me and if I’m ever nearby one of them I always stop by and grab some goodies. I asked on Instagram (Click here to follow me) if you wanted to see the items I always stock up on when I’m near a Trader Joe’s and 100% of you said yes so here we are. I always get other items too depending on what I’m planning on making that week or if something looks really interesting to try. These are simply the items I always make sure to get!

My first tip for Trader Joe’s or just shopping at a grocery store that’s a little farther away from you, is to buy a reusable thermal bag to keep in your car so that you can safely take chilled items home without them spoiling. I bought mine at Trader Joe’s for under $9 and I love it because it zips and holds so much!

1. Red Lentil Pasta ($2.99):

I am gluten-free now so I love this red lentil pasta and always grab at least two bags. As an Italian I love my pasta al dente and my number one complaint about other gluten-free pastas is that they are too squishy and always fall apart. I think this pasta is the closest texture I’ve seen to regular gluten pasta and I love it. Plus it has more protein and fiber than normal pasta so that’s amazing.

2. ‘Everything But the Bagel’ seasoning ($1.99):

If you haven’t heard of this one you have to have been living under a rock because it has to be one of the most popular products Trader Joe’s sells. I use mine mostly for topping avocado toast and eggs, but it can be used in so many other ways! I am convinced there is nothing this isn’t good on.

3. Nutritional Yeast ($2.99):

I don’t always buy this one every time I am stocking up, because you actually get a lot of nutritional yeast for the $3. If you don’t already know, nutritional yeast is a common cheese replacement. I use it in place of parmesan or pecorino cheeses when I’m cutting back on dairy and have even used it to make a dairy-free ‘cacio e pepe’ that was delish!

4. Coconut Sugar ($3.99):

I LOVE this coconut sugar. The price is great and I use coconut sugar so much. I try to use it in place of brown sugar whenever I can, and even use it on my oatmeal every morning. I purposefully look for baking recipes that call for it instead of granulated or brown sugar because I love it so much and it’s so much better for you. Click here to visit a post I did about swapping it for brown or granulated sugar in your kitchen and why it’s beneficial.

5. Gluten Free Rolled Oats ($3.99):

I go back and forth between buying this bag of oats and the Bob’s Red Mill Quick Steel Cut Oats from Costco, but I love that these are gluten free and you get a HUGE bag for $4. It’s nuts! If you don’t follow me on IG you can go there and see my love affair with oatmeal that has been continuously blossoming for years.

6. Fruit Bars ($0.99 each):

I always keep bars in my backpack purse in case I am with a client, doing a wedding, or just out and needing a snack. My biggest thing with bars is making sure they are clean and not loaded with fillers. These have just two ingredients; the two kinds of fruit! Nothing else. They are super yummy and I don’t care that they have 20 g of sugar because it’s coming straight from fruit.

7. Green Tea ($2.49):

I always keep massive amounts of Green Tea on hand because I drink at least one cup a day, and sometimes more in the winter. You can’t beat this price for a tasty & classic big box of green tea bags.

8. Salsa Verde ($1.99):

My sister convinced me I needed this one time when I was shopping with her and I am so grateful she got me addicted to it. I love it for regular chips and salsa, but it’s especially great for pouring over a chicken breast in the slow cooker. When it’s dinner time, you shred the chicken and you have easy chicken tacos with lots of great flavor.

9. San Marzano Tomatoes ($3.99):

San Marzano tomatoes are simply the best. They make the most flavorful tomato sauce so I always make sure to have a can or two on hand for when I need to make a sauce for a special night.

10. Green Chiles ($0.89):

This is another can I keep on hand, but it’s for whenever I want to whip together a quick chili. I pretty much always have the ingredients on hand, which is extremely helpful for easy dinners in the winters and fall.

11. Proscuitto ($4.99):

This is the second time in a row I’ve not paid attention to the proscuitto and accidentally bought the German smoked version which I don’t like as much as regular proscuitto. I like to keep it on hand because I’m Italian and I really have no better reason than that. I’m addicted and it’s genetic.

12. Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour ($3.99):

You can pretty much use more GF All Purpose Flours interchangeably with a few recipe exceptions so I like to always have it on hand. The price of this one is pretty good compared to some of the ones out there.

13. Ginger Paste (~$2):

I already had a bunch of these tubes on hand so I didn’t actually see how much this one costs in the store. I always have this on hand because I LOVE cooking with fresh ginger. I absolutely hate buying a knob of it at the store however, and not using it up in time. I hate wasting food, so I love that it’s already in paste form and keeps well in my fridge. I flavor so many things with ginger.

14. Polenta Roll ($1.99):

I adore polenta and while it’s really cheap to keep the dry polenta flakes on hand, sometimes it’s really convenient to keep a log of polenta in your pantry so you can fry it up really quickly and serve it as your carb with chicken, mushrooms, veggies, etc.

15. Marinated Artichokes ($2.69):

I love having a jar of these in my pantry to quickly jazz up pastas, pizzas, salads, and more! The price is also really great compared to my usual grocery store. Extra tip: I like to use the marinated oil that the artichokes are packaged in, in place of regular olive or avocado oil for extra flavor.

There you have it! Those are my top 15 must haves from Trader Joe’s. Do you shop at TJ’s? Comment below with your favorite items to stock up on and let me know if any of these are your staples too!

Have a great start to your week,

Andrea