recipe #3: chicken wings.

good wings are hard to find. i have even been recommended an iphone app for this plight by a caring and similarly wing-conscious friend. so! instead of continuing this trial and error, this year i made my own brand of wings to slop all over myself while watching the super bowl.
Chicken Wings
Time: 1.5 hours
The Soundtrack: Prince's Purple Rain (since i think we can all agree that that he was the best halftime performer we're ever going to get)
Ingredients: 20 chicken wings (or in this case, drumsticks since i couldn't find any wings at the store. sigh.), 1 cup frank's red hot, 1 cup soy sauce, 2 TBS melted butter, garlic powder and pepper. 
The plan: mix red hot, soy sauce and butter in a bowl until consistent and marinate wings (or drums) with mixture for at least an hour, leaving 1/4 cup of the marinade for later. wrap in aluminum foil and cook at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn wings, douse in more marinade and cook for another 10 minutes. Then turn heat down to 400 and cook for another 10-15 minutes until cooked through, constantly turning to make sure they don't burn. 
remove from oven and sprinkle both sides lightly with garlic powder and pepper. let cool then enjoy, while wistfully thinking about a time when the patriots were good enough to be in the super bowl and we get a bonus round of ogling tom brady.
Things I learned: to not to wait until the last minute to buy chicken wings for the super bowl, because they will be sold out and you will have to use drumsticks instead. i also learned that when friends are drinking and the wings are good, you can get dangerously close to consuming a drink called a "wing bomb."