Bourbon Buffalo Mole "Chicken" Wings with Bleu "Cheese" Avocado Oil Aioli and Frisee Carrot and Celery Stick Slaw with Toasted Cumin Vinaigrette
Thank you all for being patient while I worked all the bugs out of my new layout. As much as I wish Queer Eye for the Straight Guy would've accepted my web design invitation, I feel like I did well enough adding a little flare and feng shui. The lack of balance was starting to haunt me in my sleep almost as badly as a sink full of unwashed dishes. There were some issues with the comment box, but I'm pretty sure it's working now. If you're having difficulties, shoot me an e-mail via the link in the now extremely stylin' left sidebar, and let me know :)
Before you think I'm crazy(er), enough on that topic...
In my small community of Youngstown, Ohio, Tuesday night was wing night. Meat hungry, hormone driven teenage boys would pile into their F150s and S10s, then make the trek across the state line to Sharon, Pennsylvania to a popular Nascar-themed chicken establishment for "All You Can Eat Wing Night". They would starve themselves for days, take enough bong rips to intensify their already inhuman hunger, then slam down as many chicken wings as their growing bodies could handle in hopes of be crowned Wing Eating Champ (Slob?). I'm not going to say this contributed to my lack of attraction to the male species, but let's just say that the combined aroma of B.O. and BBQ sauce wasn't exactly my idea of an aphrodisiac.
Although the aforementioned wing establishment wasn't located in our home town, my old stomping grounds had no shortage of restaurants where you could consume buckets of poultry appendages. It's nothing shy of disgusting how un-veggie and health food friendly many Midwesterners were, and it really hasn't improved much since I left. To put it nicely, on every corner in L.A. we have Starbucks, but in Ohio it's Old Country Buffet. I thank my lucky stars that Los Angeles lacks such high numbers of red-neck wing and beer restaurants.
In any event, no matter where you live, the summer months are pegged as "Barbecue Season". Company picnic, family reunion, and beach party invitations will flood our mail boxes and Facebook event pages, and 90% of them will require us to "BYOFSV" (Bring Your Own Food, Silly Vegan). Most of us have grown quite accustomed to whipping up a salad and buying a box of veggie burgers for our own peace of mind. We're also quite accustomed to the weird stares from everyone chowing down on t-bones, wings and potato salad.
Well, not anymore. Stand over those hot coals and grill with pride...and a little mischievous FU glint in your eyes. You'll feel the satisfaction of a job well done when your omni friends bite into a cruelty free chicken wing and jump in amazement at how delicious (and spicy!) vegan BBQ can really be.
with Vegan Bleu Cheese Avocado Oil Aioli
Bourbon Buffalo Mole "Chicken" Wings
- 2 batches Chicken Style Seitan, cut into "wing" shaped pieces
- 3 TBSP Vegan Margarine
- 1/2 large Shallot, finely diced
- 2 Garlic Cloves, minced or pressed
- 2 oz. Bourbon
- 3 TBSP Organic Light Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Agave Nectar
- 4 oz. Chili Sauce
- 4 oz. Barbecue Sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Hot Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper, to taste
For the "chicken wings"...
Grill Method:
Spray your grill rack or grill pan with non-stick spray, and get the grill or pan pre-heating.
Pour the Bourbon Buffalo Mole Sauce over the "wing" shaped pieces of chicken seitan. Toss well to coat. Insert some sucker sticks, popsicle sticks or bamboo skewers into the ends of each wing (optional).
Grill each wing for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned and warmed through.
Fry method:
Heat a good amount of oil (about 1-2 inches) in a deep, heavy skillet or deep-fryer. Fry the wings until golden brown. Remove the wings from the oil and drain. Insert some sucker sticks, popsicle sticks or bamboo skewers into the ends of each wing (optional), then pour the Bourbon Buffalo Mole Sauce over the wings and toss well to coat.
- 1/2 cup MimicCreme (or Soy Creamer)
- 1/2 cup Vegan Sour Cream
- 1/3 cup Vegan Mayo
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1 package Sunergia Soyfoods Soy Bleu Cheese
- 1/4 cup Avocado Oil
- 1 TBSP Fresh Dill
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Then add the remaining ingredients except the avocado oil to the blender or food processor, and turn the machine on high. While the machine is running, slowly pour in the avocado oil until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
with Toasted Garlic and Cumin Vinaigrette
- 2 medium Carrots
- 4 stalks Celery
- 1 small Red Onion
- 1/2 Corn Kernels
- 2 heads Frisee, torn into pieces
- 3 TBSP fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 1/2 TBSP Olive Oil
- 1 tsp ground Cumin
- 3 TBSP Brown Rice Vinegar
- 2 TBSP chopped fresh Cilantro Leaves
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cumin and cook for about 1 minute. Remove from heat, then whisk in vinegar and lemon juice. Add dressing and cilantro to veggie/frisee mixture and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.