I never tire of chicken wings and have made them often during the great weather. I always keep some in the freezer. Sometimes I use drumsticks, or thighs, and they take a little longer to cook. There are so many great blue cheeses now. Keep an eye out for Bellingham Blue, Crozier Blue, which is made with sheeps milk, and Cashel Blue. All are excellent and very tasty. For the sauce, Highbank Orchard in Cuffesgrange outside Kilkenny make a great apple cider vinegar and apple syrup. I was delighted to visit Rod and Julie Calder-Potts last year on their farm. They have some great products.
I did this sausage roll recipe on a video recently and thank you for the great feedback. You can find it on my personal Instagram or on the MacNean Facebook page. I always make these in bulk and freeze some. The key is good Quality Assured sausage meat. Ready to roll pastry makes life easy. These sausage rolls are light, great with a salad, very moreish and children love them.
Happy cooking,
Neven
Crispy chicken wings with blue cheese dip
Serves four to six
For the wings:
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1.3kg chicken wings (at room temperature)
75g cornflour
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
4 celery sticks, trimmed and cut into thin sticks
For the dip:
100g blue cheese, crumbled
4 tbsp mayonnaise
4 tbsp sour cream
4 tbsp buttermilk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
For the sauce:
120ml hot pepper sauce (such as Frank’s)
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
50g butter, melted
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 To make the blue cheese dip, blend all the ingredients together except the parsley in a bowl with a hand blender, then stir in the parsley and season to taste. Cover with clingfilm, then chill until needed. This can be made up to two days in advance.2 Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 190°C (375°F) and put the oven on a low heat.3 Using a sharp knife, discard the wing tip and keep the little drum and wingette together.4 Place the cornflour in a bowl with the celery salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper.5 Mix well, then use to coat the chicken, shaking off any excess. Deep fry in batches for 10 to 12 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.6 Transfer to a wire rack on baking sheet and keep warm while you cook the remainder.7 To make the sauce, mix the hot sauce with the celery salt, garlic powder and cayenne, if using, then stir in the melted butter and vinegar. Pour the sauce into a small pan and allow to just warm through.8 Once all the chicken wings are cooked, toss them in enough of the warmed sauce to coat, allowing any excess to drain off.9 Serve at once, piled high in a bowl with the blue cheese dip and the celery sticks alongside. Have plenty of napkins for those sticky fingers!
Amelda’s perfect sausage rolls
Makes 16 small sausage rolls
500g good-quality sausage meat
1 small onion, finely chopped
50g sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
500g puff pastry, thawed if frozen (all butter, if possible)
plain flour, for dusting
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp sesame seeds
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C. To make the filling, mix the sausage meat in a bowl with the onion, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley and Parmesan. Season to taste.2 Cut the pastry in half and roll out one piece to make a long oblong shape, 35 x 17cm on a lightly floured work surface.3 Form half of the filling into a long log shape that will run the whole length of the pastry, approximately 5mm from the edge.4 Brush with some of beaten egg, then fold the pastry over to enclose the filling and press down to seal the edges, either crimping with your fingers or pressing down with a fork. Repeat with the rest of the pastry and filling.5 Cut into bite-size sausage rolls, trimming down and discarding the ends.6 Add some salt to the remainder of the beaten egg and then use to glaze the sausage rolls.7 Then sprinkle each one lightly with sesame seeds and arrange on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, well spaced apart.8 Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through and lightly golden. Arrange on plates or a large platter and serve hot or cold.
I never tire of chicken wings and have made them often during the great weather. I always keep some in the freezer. Sometimes I use drumsticks, or thighs, and they take a little longer to cook. There are so many great blue cheeses now. Keep an eye out for Bellingham Blue, Crozier Blue, which is made with sheeps milk, and Cashel Blue. All are excellent and very tasty. For the sauce, Highbank Orchard in Cuffesgrange outside Kilkenny make a great apple cider vinegar and apple syrup. I was delighted to visit Rod and Julie Calder-Potts last year on their farm. They have some great products.
I did this sausage roll recipe on a video recently and thank you for the great feedback. You can find it on my personal Instagram or on the MacNean Facebook page. I always make these in bulk and freeze some. The key is good Quality Assured sausage meat. Ready to roll pastry makes life easy. These sausage rolls are light, great with a salad, very moreish and children love them.
Happy cooking,
Neven
Crispy chicken wings with blue cheese dip
Serves four to six
For the wings:
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1.3kg chicken wings (at room temperature)
75g cornflour
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
4 celery sticks, trimmed and cut into thin sticks
For the dip:
100g blue cheese, crumbled
4 tbsp mayonnaise
4 tbsp sour cream
4 tbsp buttermilk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
For the sauce:
120ml hot pepper sauce (such as Frank’s)
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
50g butter, melted
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 To make the blue cheese dip, blend all the ingredients together except the parsley in a bowl with a hand blender, then stir in the parsley and season to taste. Cover with clingfilm, then chill until needed. This can be made up to two days in advance.2 Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 190°C (375°F) and put the oven on a low heat.3 Using a sharp knife, discard the wing tip and keep the little drum and wingette together.4 Place the cornflour in a bowl with the celery salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper.5 Mix well, then use to coat the chicken, shaking off any excess. Deep fry in batches for 10 to 12 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.6 Transfer to a wire rack on baking sheet and keep warm while you cook the remainder.7 To make the sauce, mix the hot sauce with the celery salt, garlic powder and cayenne, if using, then stir in the melted butter and vinegar. Pour the sauce into a small pan and allow to just warm through.8 Once all the chicken wings are cooked, toss them in enough of the warmed sauce to coat, allowing any excess to drain off.9 Serve at once, piled high in a bowl with the blue cheese dip and the celery sticks alongside. Have plenty of napkins for those sticky fingers!
Amelda’s perfect sausage rolls
Makes 16 small sausage rolls
500g good-quality sausage meat
1 small onion, finely chopped
50g sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and finely chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
500g puff pastry, thawed if frozen (all butter, if possible)
plain flour, for dusting
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp sesame seeds
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C. To make the filling, mix the sausage meat in a bowl with the onion, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley and Parmesan. Season to taste.2 Cut the pastry in half and roll out one piece to make a long oblong shape, 35 x 17cm on a lightly floured work surface.3 Form half of the filling into a long log shape that will run the whole length of the pastry, approximately 5mm from the edge.4 Brush with some of beaten egg, then fold the pastry over to enclose the filling and press down to seal the edges, either crimping with your fingers or pressing down with a fork. Repeat with the rest of the pastry and filling.5 Cut into bite-size sausage rolls, trimming down and discarding the ends.6 Add some salt to the remainder of the beaten egg and then use to glaze the sausage rolls.7 Then sprinkle each one lightly with sesame seeds and arrange on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, well spaced apart.8 Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through and lightly golden. Arrange on plates or a large platter and serve hot or cold.
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