Habanero Orange Wings

I never in my life thought I'd care about football. Yet here I am, planning my entire Sunday around the Steelers game.  It's funny how we care about the things that those we love care about.

 

Of course what I really care about is what we eat during the game. Last week we had these sweet and spicy chicken wings. Tomorrow, it's crispy sweet potato fries covered generously with blue cheese sauce.

 

And just so you know, this recipe is based on one by Diane Cu, who I had the pleasure of meeting in Nashville one year ago.  She and Todd have been an inspiration to me since I started doing food photography and I am eternally grateful to them.

 Habanero Orange Chicken Wings 

2 pounds chicken wings
2T all purpose flour
1/2t garlic powder
1t sweet (or smoked) paprika
1t kosher salt
cooking spray
1-2T habanero sauce (available at Trader Joe's), depending on how daring you feel
2 1/2T orange marmalade
2T unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Let chicken come to room temperature and pat dry with a paper towel. Toss chicken with flour, garlic powder, paprika and salt. Grease a cookie sheet and arrange chicken wings evenly. Coat wings with cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes, turning once.
Meanwhile, melt the butter and mix it with the habanero sauce and marmalade. Place wings into mixture and toss until each wing has a thick, beautiful, glossy layer of sauce on it, making sure not to let the bits of orange zest go to waste at the bottom of the bowl. 

P.S. Go Steelers!