More Kitchen Adventures

Like any food lover/cook, I can never settle with only making the recipes I know I like and come out successfully. How boring would that be? I am always finding new ideas and recipes that I want to try and i mix them in with my standbys.

One thing I decided to try to learn to cook recently is steak. Around Valentine's Day I saw lots of recipes for romantic steak dinners for two. And even though I'm just a one, I studied them and thought- "I could do this."

Next trip to Costco, I found a 4-pack of Filet Mignon for $21.49. That is just $0.50 more than the small Victoria's Filet at Outback, which I will admit I have ordered for delivery when I was really craving a steak dinner.

So I thought, I have 4 tries to cook this steak correctly and it is equal to the price of eating just one steak at a relatively inexpensive steakhouse (by NYC standards at least).

Attempt number 1 didn't go very well. I combined about 4 different recipes and had a plan to make the meat and some sauce. Well...the meat didn't cook enough and the sauce smoked up really badly and basically evaporated in the pan. But lessons learned; more cooking time, no sauce.

Attempt number 2 was better.....but the meat turned out a bit overcooked. I like a medium rare steak and I think after the frustration of having to keep cooking the meat after my sides were ready the first time, I was generous in cooking time. It was also a slightly thinner filet.

Attempt number 3 should have been a success; in theory, all I had to do was combine the lessons learned from 1 and 2. Yeah....still ended up with slightly undercooked meat. And this time, I felt like it was under seasoned as well.

So, the infamous 4th filet is in my freezer and I'm torn. Do I aim to make the perfect steak OR do I try an awesome sounding beef wellington with Gorgonzola cheese recipe? And even more importantly, do I buy more steak on my next Costco trip or do I regale it to restaurant-only food? (and yes, I actually do have "restaurant-only" foods like hamburgers and buffalo wings).

I Did Something New...

I finally overcame my fear of cooking with jalapenos tonight! After realizing I am one of the last people on earth to chop up a fresh hot pepper, I decided it was time to just go for it. So...super carefully, I chopped up the jalapeno and tossed it in my crock-pot chili about 15/20 minutes before serving it.

It added the perfect little kick and I survived the slicing without any serious injury. Literally, I was scarred of injury since I've heard of people accidentally getting pepper in their eyes.

Now...I can't wait to find other ways to work this kicker into my cooking since I've overcome my fear. And I think this was my best pot of chili ever!

New Recipe Weekend

After three fun-filled weekends in a row (visitor, visitor, skiing) I was really looking forward to the long weekend. I wanted to try out some new recipes, read the magazines that have been piling up, clean my apartment etc. I tried 5 recipes over the weekend; 4 were brand new and 1 was from a friend. Overall, I'd say it was a success and 3 out of the 5 are repeaters.  Unfortunately, I tried 2 recipes for dinner Sunday night and one was OK, the other, didn't work at all. So...back to the drawing board there. And I am seriously going to keep trying to get it right (saving the details for a blog post down the line!) But the other three, delicious!

First success was Pork Tenderloin with Pears and Shallots. Recipe courtesy of Epicurious here. However, I modified it a bit when I couldn't find pear nectar and realized it would be easier to just make my own gravy with a brown gravy mix and the drippings in the pan. It was fabulous and I'm definitely going to make it the "proper" way, though I've looked at 4 different stores and can't find pear nectar, so I think I'll be subbing in a different fruit juice....

The next success = raspberry swirl cheesecake cups. My swirl didn't turn out very well, but they still taste delicious and are individually wrapped in the freezer for a decadent dessert, anytime. Because the swirling was tricky, they aren't super pretty on top, but I promise, they taste great. This was a recipe with a lot of steps and paying attention - however, it was worth it!

And finally, to top the weekend off, Cappuccino Cookies! Recipe here. I've always admired this blog and finally got around to trying one of the recipes, despite bookmarking several of them. These taste like a buttery sugar cookie with a hint of burnt coffee (but in a good way) and little bursts of creamy white chocolate. Yum! There is a lot of butter in them and I worked really hard to cream it with the sugars, but I wish I had beat a little more at that stage. Next time...

SuperBowl!

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I consider Super Bowl Sunday an actual holiday. The combination of the food and the commercials with a little football thrown in is perfect. And I always make a point to celebrate it- including having a party in the dorm one year where my best dish being served was pizza bagels cooked in the micro portion of the micro-fridge.

This year, for the first time in years, I'm not hosting a party but I am bringing lots of food to my friend's place. Of course I'm making the famous buffalo chicken dip and I have another dip to add to the mix: Popper Spread/Dip. Basically, it tastes like a Jalapeno Popper and you can put the dip on bread, crackers, tortilla chips- pretty much anything and it tastes delicious.

Popper Dip/Spread


2 small cans diced jalapenos (or one jar of rings, drain and chop)
1 small can diced green chilies
2 blocks cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1tsp garlic powder
1 cup of cheese (jalapeno jack, cheddar, Mexican blend, cheddar....really anything works)
Bread crumbs - I recommend panko
Optional: 5 pieces crumbled bacon, I haven't added when I've made this

Combine first 6 ingredients (and bacon if you're using) in a bowl. Spread in a casserole dish, top with breadcrumbs, spray top of breadcrumbs with Pam.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 min until bubbly and browned on top. Serve with toasted baguette, tortilla chips, or other cracker/chip.
 
And then my other new favorite party food is what I like to call Deluxe Pigs in a Blanket. (I'm probably not making this for Sunday, but I may just make it for myself next week)
 
First step is to make a spread/sauce. Mix 4 ounces cream cheese (softened) with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard and 1 1/2 teaspoons horseradish. Cut each crescent roll into thirds, spread the cream cheese mix on part of the crescent and then wrap the dog in pastry. Cook per directions on crescent roll package. Basically, these taste great because the dipping sauce is already built in and the cream cheese helps to keep it thick, not drippy.
 
Sorry- even though deep down I'd love to be a food blogger, I'm not quite there yet, so no pictures to accompany the recipes this time! Enjoy the game, the food, and the commercials!

Food Memories

I'm reading The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake right now and it's about a girl who can taste the emotions of the person preparing the food. Like a sad lemon cake or an angry chocolate chip cookie or a sandwich that screams "love me". It's an interesting concept and I'm flying through the book which is always nice in the summer.

But it got me thinking about how certain foods have certain memories forever attached to them. Here are a few of my food associations:

Peach Cobbler- makes me think of my mom (she taught us how to make it) and weeknights, because it is a simple dessert that we would have on weeknights. Also makes me think of Sara because she LOVES peach cobbler. She also once thought going to a cobbler had something to do with peaches and/or pie. Gotta love her. I think my peach cobbler tastes of love and simplicity, no stress.

Tapioca Pudding- makes me think of my dad because this is one of just a few things I remember him making when we kids. Again, Sara had a certain affinity for it but we all enjoyed the pudding. When I first moved into my apartment, I bought a double boiler pan and he made a comment kind of like, "well of course you need a double boiler to make vanilla and tapioca puddings" - who doesn't love a man who appreciates the need for a double boiler? I haven't made this pudding but I think if I did, it would taste like pride but also probably a little bit of nervousness because double boilers are tricky business.

Hmm, these foods all seem to have ties to my family, now I feel like I need to find a food that reminds me of everyone...

Chicken Enchiladas- though these make me think of Anna, I also associate these with girl power. As in, don't make these enchiladas for a husband/boyfriend, make them for yourself. Anna and I both had less than favorable reactions from the men so now, I make those enchiladas and share them with my girlfriends or eat the whole pan alone. I think now they taste like strength but still mixed with a little heartbreak.

Pound Cake- this reminds me of college and when I first made this cake. I think that was the point when I discovered therapeutic baking. It was a stressful time, I imagine near midterms, and I got up early on a Sunday to bake. This cake has a lot of sugar and butter and they need to be beaten very well- I did it all with my hand mixer so it was a labor of love. I also remember not being on great terms with the roomies at that point and not wanting to share the cake because I didn't think they'd appreciate the effort put into a cake made from scratch, we were normally box mix girls in those days. I think then this cake tasted like stress and resentment but now I think it would taste like comfort and success.

Chili- The first time I made this recipe, I was in high school (I think we were sophomores so we didn't drive, didn't have too much going on) and it was a weekend in January. I invited my friends over and made the recipe for the first time and I even remember someone saying, "This is really good, glad I don't have to just say so just to be polite". This was probably technically my first dinner party. I've had many more since and I do still try out recipes on my friends (and I'm sure there have been moments where they were faking their pleasure) but I also still make this chili for friends, usually for the Super Bowl or other football games. I think this chili would taste like being a teenager.

I'm going to start paying attention now to what memories certain foods bring back and also to how I feel when I cook certain things, it's an interesting concept, that you are the food you prepare.

Mmm Pie!

I consistently make 3 pies a year: apple in October after my annual apple picking trip, pumpkin for Thanksgiving, and then blueberry in the summer.

The last couple of blueberry pies I've made had been really juicy. Never overflowing in the oven juicy, but like super soggy crust and lots of sweet syrup juicy.

This year's pie though may be as close to perfect as I can get! The crust held together, the pie didn't overflow or burn. But...it wasn't quite juicy enough. You see these pieces below, how there is nothing leaking from the pie, just a couple of stray berries? I wanted just a little bit more juice to mix into my ice cream and oooze around in the bowl for the ultimate summer dessert.

Oh well....maybe next year.

Summer Sunday Supper

This past weekend I decided that I was going to ignore the heat wave and prepare a nice dinner with dessert and invite some friends over. The original idea was to make a blueberry pie and then do cheese, crackers, and other snacky food. But then I thought that wasn't much of an offer for friends coming over, including one girl coming in from Brooklyn.

So I decided to add a Spanish twist and make sangria and gazpacho. I christened my Cuisinart Food Processor with the gazpacho. I bought this probably in late April as a treat to myself. I had originally flagged a food processor as a wedding registry item. As in, something I don't need bad enough so I can wait and get it as a wedding present (someday). But since I'm not getting married anytime soon (but again, someday) and when the Bloomingdale's home sale had the 11 cup for $99, it was a done deal.

I continued my Spanish theme with some sangria. Sometimes sangria can be too boozy and potent but I have found a mild recipe I like a lot. I'm thinking of calling it Sunday Sangria, as in, you can drink it Sunday night and still make it to work bright eyed and bushy tailed on Monday.

Sunday Sangria:
1 bottle Chardonnay
3/4 cup peach schnapps
6 tablespoons frozen lemonade
1 nectarine, sliced
1 granny smith apple, sliced

Mix all together in pitcher, let sit for a few hours, serve over ice. We like to top each glass with some champagne as well.

Mmm Cake

You may have noticed that lately, I haven’t really blogged about food or cooking. I know food isn’t the feature of this blog, but I like sharing my triumphs (and defeats) a few times a month. There’s a reason for this and I hope to be able to share the full story in about a week. Sorry, I know that’s annoying, but now that I’ve planted the seed, I promise to follow through.

However, I have to share about my two favorite pans in my kitchen: the springform and the bundt. Seriously, only good things come out of these pans. I can’t imagine not baking with them.

Yesterday I made a lovely spring/summer cake in my trusty springform pan. I’ve decided that summer cakes (like the nectarine cake and the cherry claflouti) are awesome. The two keys are to keep them simple and bake on a day that isn’t too hot or you’ll die (either from the heat or the electric bill after running the AC). I’ve also found that I like the fruit theme in these cakes, not that I don’t like chocolate in summer, but it’s not as appealing as it is in say February.

Here’s the recipe for my latest summer cake. It's from Smitten Kitchen who I love! I put some in the freezer hoping it’ll hold up nicely since I don't need a whole cake to eat in a week. And it really needs a sauce. I made a raspberry because I had some frozen and the fresh ones were on sale (pureed the frozen and added the fresh for a nice touch) but I’m sure any fruit or sauce would do. My plan for later in the week is to try sliced sugared strawberries and a touch of whipped cream.

Snow Day Lenten Soup

I was prepared to blog today about how Fridays in Lent are tough for me because even though I eat meat-free about 2/3 of the week, Fridays are extra tough because by the end of the week, my meal plan is usually done and I just eat the leftovers in the fridge. However, they are usually not meat-free leftovers. I really try to observe, but I don't want to waste food either. How can I get myself to have leftover salmon or spinach ravioli in the fridge Friday instead of taco meat and a frozen pepperoni stromboli?

But...as luck would have it, today we had a snow day and I got to try a recipe I've wanted to make for a Friday in Lent but didn't think I would have enough time after work. It is Basque Cabbage Soup, the recipe from Woolgrowers, one of the best Basque restaurants in Bakersfield. The Basque culture is an area right on the borders of France and Spain and for some reason, when people immigrated, most of the settlers came to Bakersfield.

The recipe (at bottom of page) suggests serving the soup with beans, salsa and french bread. This is how it is done at Woolgrowers so I did the same.

Result: Delicious!

(lots of chopping veggies, but that could be done the night before to make this a Fri night after-work Lent soup)

Plain soup:

With Salsa and Beans

Recipe:
3 carrots, sliced
1 tbls chopped garlic
2 large potatoes, peeled, chopped into cubes
2 leeks, cut 5 inches from the bottom, rinsed and chopped
1 small head cabbage, chopped or sliced [mine was sliced pretty thin, I think that helped it cook faster]
1 small can tomato sauce (not paste)
1 tsp thyme
1 cup onion, chopped
1 tbls chicken base (better than bullion)
10 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
pinto beans
salsa

Bring water to a boil in large soup pot, add chicken base
Saute chopped onion and carrot in oil until softened
Add cabbage, leeks, potatoes and cooked carrot and onion to boiling water. Stir in tomato sauce, thyme, salt and pepper
Cook on low heat for 2 hours [I did a little less and it was fine], check for taste halfway, adding more salt and pepper if needed [I felt it was under salted but was cautious because of the salsa topper to come, however, I'd be generous on the salt while cooking]
Top with beans and salsa* right before eating

*I used Tostitos Thick and Chunky salsa and didn't love it, might try Pace Picante Sauce next time, but they didn't have it at my store.

Fresh Fall Apples

About three weeks ago, some friends and I trekked out to the suburbs to go apple picking! This was my third annual trip and I really like the fall tradition we have going. Though the first year when we went, I was actually surprised that you got to pick the apples right off the tree. I thought it was more about visiting the farm/orchard and then buying a bag to take home.

I now depend on these trips to get a nice crop of apples to munch on and cook with in the fall. So, this year, I picked 14.5 pounds! But aren't they gorgeous.

I finally got around to making something with my apples and made dumplings. I'd never made apple dumplings before and the recipe looked simple enough. I thought these would end up looking pretty sloppy because I didn't fold the pastry as nicely as I should have, but once the dough browns, they looked great.

Taste wise, I didn't love them. I think the filling was too simple. It was just cinnamon and sugar dropped into a peeled, cored apple. I think if I try these again, I'd add a little butter and maybe some nuts and brown sugar too.

Until then, I'm enjoying an apple a day and some homemade applesauce.

Nectarine Cake

I promise I am not trying to make this a food blog. However, I am a big fan of trying new recipes and figure, if they are a success, it is nice to share. If they are a flop, I'm always good to laugh about it.

Also, when things get hectic and stressful at work, I like to cook to keep myself balanced. It is very true what some people say that when things feel out of control, having a recipe work out makes everything feel like it is back on track.

One of my favorite food bloggers made this nectarine cake from Gourmet magazine and it looked super easy. All I needed were nectarines and I was good to make tonight. I got 4 of them for $2 on the street from one of the little vendors; they were perfect, a little tart but not too hard and not too juicy or mushy. I bought 4 just in case they weren't good, weren't the right size, etc. I also passed up doing laundry to make cake, but I don't think I'll regret that decision.

When it came out of the oven, my kitchen smelled like a donut shop I remember from childhood, with memories of pink frosted and sprinkled cake donuts that came in pink boxes tied with string.

It tastes a little big like a dry version of peach cobbler. The fruit is sweet and cooked perfectly to be tender and the cake is a little bit like a pound cake and has a definite "crust" to it, browned a little on the bottom and sides. A little whipped cream or ice cream would be great to soften this a bit. The one improvement I'd make is that I used slices of nectarines and though they cooked perfectly in the cake, eating it, I ended up not being able to sever the slice with my fork, so I just pulled it out. Diced nectarines would distribute better I think, so that you get fruit with nearly every bite.

Assembly and baking took about an hour, then about 20 minutes for cooling.

Here is is! (recipe is below)

Nectarine Golden Cake from Gourmet Magazine, September 2009 and The Amateur Gourmet
Serves 8
1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

Rounded 1/4 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, soft

3/4 cup plus 1/2 Tbs sugar, divided

2 large eggs1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/8 tsp pure almond extract (I omitted and just did a smidge extra Vanilla)

2 nectarines, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges (see note above about dicing)

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg (I omitted, didn't have)

Equipment: a 9-inch springform pan

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F with rack in middle. Lightly butter springform pan.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in extracts. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined.
4. Spread batter evenly in pan, then scatter nectarines over top. Stir together nutmeg and remaining 1/2 Tbsp sugar and sprinkle over top. Bake until cake is golden-brown and top is firm but tender when lightly touched (cake will rise over fruit), 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove side of pan and cool to warm.

Cooking streak: good/bad

I was on a bad cooking streak last week. I made a pasta dish on Tue that didn't turn out very well and wasn't any better leftover, though I still packed it for lunch.

Then, on Friday, I tried to do a Sandra Lee-esque Semi-Homemade style BBQ in the crock pot, combining a recipe from a friend of mine with one of my mom's recipes. Well, that didn't work out at all. It burned badly and I spent Friday night soaking and scrubbing the crock pot and eating Papa John's pizza.

Saturday morning, I tried to use the leftover ricotta cheese from the not-so-nice pasta to make ricotta blueberry pancakes. However, when I took out the Bisquick to use, it had a bug in it. Ewww!!! That is not good.

So I totally improvised a recipe for the pancakes, in part because I had already mixed the cheese with the eggs and I was super hungry. It was a success!!

I won't probably make again (in part because I don't remember exactly how I did it) but they were edible both Sat and Sun morning for breakfast.

And then I made my mom's real recipe for BBQ in the crock pot and it turned out perfectly. Paired with boxed brownies, and I'm back in the cooking business- happy and confident again.

But, I am taking a break on trying new recipes, sticking to the tried and true for a little bit.

Here's the crock pot barbecue recipe:
Saucy Barbecued Beef - from Southern Living Cookbook
2 lbs. stew beef
1 - 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 - 10 1/2 oz. can beef consomme, undiluted
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 c. ketchup
1/8 c. cider vinegar
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. chili sauce
2 T. chopped fresh parsley (or 1 T. dried)
2 T. frozen orange juice concentrate, undiluted
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 t. paprika
2 t. chili powder
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/8 t. garlic salt
dash of hot sauce (like Tabasco)

Place all ingredients in crock pot. Cook 8 hrs. on low. Use a slotted spoon to remove meat, shred in a bowl, put back in crock pot with sauce. Serve on rolls.

French Cooking on a Tue Night? Yes!

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine had us over for dinner and dessert, saying she wanted to make a cherry dessert for us all. I will admit, I was not super excited about the dessert because I thought, what a waste of good cherries; when they are in season, you can just eat them, you don't need to bake them with anything.

Well, that was until I had tried Cherry Clafoutis. I've been pronouncing it ka-flute-y but dictionary.com says klah-foo-tee. You all know that reading for pronunciation is not my strong suit. But anyway, it is a super simple French dessert.

And after having it at Diane's I became sort of obsessed. I wanted to make it again, especially as I continued to see beautiful fresh cherries in the store. Diane used The Joy of Cooking recipe, surprisingly a cook book I don't own, but as I googled the recipes, I realized this is a heavily blogged about, talked about dessert.

Basically, the clafoutis it is cherries baked with a slightly sweetened egg batter. Very easy to make, tastes delicious and isn't too sweet; I found it to be a perfect breakfast dish, more so than a dessert.

The most time consuming part of this dish was slicing and pitting the cherries. Traditional French recipes call for them to stay with the pits so that when it bakes, you get the pit flavor (or something like that) but I though it would be easier to eat to pit them. My hands are still a bit stained, but it was worth it.

Here are some pictures and then the recipe I used is all the way at the bottom.

Gorgeous fresh cherries, pitted by hand.

Hot out of the oven and all puffed up.

After it has cooled and sunk down a bit.

Recipe (from The Joy of Cooking via a cool new food blog I just found)

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh cherries
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon spiced rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
1. Slice and Pit Cherries
2. Place pitted cherries in greased pie plate or shallow casserole pan
3. Blend together the eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes until they’re frothy
4. Add the milk, rum and vanilla. Blend that together and then add the flour and salt
5. Pour the batter over the cherries
6. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350, bake another 35 minutes Let cool at least 15 minutes

Breakfast in Bed

I have a lovely little tradition on weekends watching old 90210 episodes while enjoying breakfast and coffee in bed. The funny thing is, I've been doing this for about 2 years and then SoapNet started marketing their reruns on Sat and Sun mornings as "breakfast in bed" with SoapNet.

Sometimes breakfast is pretty sad, like a lone yogurt left in the fridge, but other times I make something rivaling breakfast out.

I made this coffee cake recently and it was fantastic; perfect way to start a weekend!

It was super simple and yet another throw-back to childhood recipe; this time, the coffee cake recipe from the Bisquick box. When we were kids, I remember making it early Saturday morning, usually before Mom and Dad were even up.

Bunny Bread

When we were little, my mom used to make Bunny Bread for Easter. I remember getting up Easter morning and have hard boiled, dyed eggs and bunny bread for breakfast before church. I think one year we tied ribbons on the bunnies and I'm sure some were given as gifts. So, this year, feeling a little Easter-y, I made my own bunny bread.

And...the memory is definitely better than the actual product. My bunnies aren't as pretty as I remembered them to be and I had some trouble keeping all the raisin eyes intact, but they were fun to make and I have about half that are gift-worthy that I can take to Easter dinner with friends tomorrow.

The other thing is, I'm a little scared to work with yeast, so this was my first foray into bread baking. Considering that, I'm pleased they rose and came out okay.

Pictures below are before, after, and one of the cuter bunnies.

The obsession continues!

So the famous dip that I've continued to rave about since I tried it in December had a big weekend this past weekend. I know that it was served for at least 5 Superbowl parties, including my own.


And I've heard, there was some dip envy.


You know, people bring their famous dip that everyone loves and usually the first one gone to the party, then this year, the Buffalo dip became the favorite and was eaten fastest. It is really just so tasty, and of course, better when it is hot and fresh out of the oven.


I do also love that Jenna (one of the five who made it this past weekend) calls it the white trash dip, which is a pretty good name for it, when you think about the ingredients.

My other favorite dip story (and yes, I am truly obsessed, if I have stories about this dip) is that my nephew who is a year and a half licked the pan clean of dip when my sister made it. And she did the full cup of hot sauce. Wow, that kid loves condiments.

Now all I have to do is find another occasion or sporting event to make the dip, or cut down the recipe and make an individual portion for dinner some night.

PS- I think the link at the top on "dip" should link back to my prior post...if it doesn't, I tried and will hopefully figure out how to link correctly in the future.

Football Food

With playoff games today, I have to admit that my favorite part about football is the food. Especially when the teams you are rooting for (or the local teams, if they are different) are out of the race, it is time to focus on the extras.

I am obsessed with this dip, a co-worker shared the recipe with me and I love it so much I'm sharing with everyone. I gave it such a strong word of mouth campaign over the holidays, the dip became the Christmas joke. But, the family enjoyed and said they'd probably make it again.

And yes, it will be served at my Superbowl party, regardless of which teams make it all the way.

Buffalo Wing Dip

1 block cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup diced celery
1 cup ranch dressing (out of the bottle is fine)
1 cup Frank's Hot Sauce
***many people feel 1 cup is too much heat, so if you are not a hot and spicy lover, try it with 3/4 cup Franks
2 cups chicken (I do shredded, but you can do diced as well)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, pour into baking pan, top with additional shredded cheddar. Bake at 375 for 35 min or until bubbly on top.
Serve with Tostios scoops and celery sticks.

It isn't the most beautiful dip, but it basically tastes just like a buffalo wing dipped in blue cheese, except your fingers stay much cleaner.

Have a great game day!