Blood Orange Chicken Wings

Hi friends! In just 30 minutes Helen and I are gonna hop on a plane to LA, and then we're off to sunny Mexico on a cruise with my 90-year-old granny and big brother Cameron! I'm excited.  I'm going to eat lots of food.  It'll be so weird to be away from the computer/internet/cell phone for a week but, aside from missing Andy, it'll be fun too!

A couple days ago I made these chicken wings for this week's food52 contest (of course).  The contest this week was über fun (umlaut!).  You were supposed to submit a dish featuring blood orange, feta, and mint.  Helen and I both eschewed the traditional blood orange salad and instead opted for very silly creations! Helen made a feta frozen yogurt! And I made chicken wings! I think they turned out 'right nice too.  They have a blood orange reduction as a glaze, that's sweet and tart and a little bit spicy from an addition of chile flakes.  Then I served them with a whipped feta with mint as a dip.  That dip was good too! If you make it, make sure you rinse your feta before you crumble it- otherwise it will be too salty.  The dip also firms up if you refrigerate it, but it's a great spread for crackers at that point!

So happy spring break friends! I'll miss you!

Blood Orange Glazed Chicken Wings with Minted Whipped Feta


For the Wings

• 2 pounds chicken wings
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3/4 cups juice from 3 blood oranges
• 1.5 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 tablespoon blood orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil, then with parchment paper.
3. Cut the chicken wings into thirds, and reserve the wing tips for stock. Pat dry thoroughly. Season with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, flipping the wings every 15 minutes.
4. While the wings are baking, make the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, mix the blood orange juice, zest, honey, and crushed red pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes, or until the glaze has reduced to about 1/4 of a cup. Remove from the heat and set aside.
5. After the wings have baked for 45 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and brush the wings all over with the glaze. Return to the oven to bake for 5 more minutes. Serve warm with Minted Whipped Feta (recipe follows).

For the Whipped Feta

• 3/4 pounds fresh feta, rinsed and crumbled
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1. Put the crumbled feta, olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper in a food processor and process until smooth. It should look a bit like hummus. Add the chopped mint and pulse a few times to incorporate.
2. Serve in a pretty bowl topped with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprig of mint.