By Luc home from LSU, Colette in nursing school, Rémy still in high school. Last holiday where everyone is still under the same roof. Tommy doesn't know it's the last. He makes gumbo.
Tommy is 43. Luc (19) at LSU studying engineering. Colette (17) in high school, painting. Rémy (14) in school, cooking and fishing. Mama (69) in the cottage, slowing but cooking The week was marked by this moment — Last Christmas with all three kids at home — and the food was made to match the moment, because in this family, every moment has a dish and every dish has a moment and the two are inseparable, the way the roux is inseparable from the gumbo, the way the Beaumonts are inseparable from the bayou.
Made turtle soup because the week demanded it and the kitchen answered and the stove held steady and the family gathered and the food was good. The door is open.
There’s no replacing turtle soup at the center of that table — that dish was the whole week in a pot — but a meal like that one needs something to open with, something loud and shared and passed hand to hand before anybody sits down. These Cranberry Buffalo Wings were exactly that: tart from the cranberry, hot enough to wake you up, the kind of thing that gets everybody in the kitchen at once, reaching over each other, nobody waiting to be served. That’s the dish that belongs beside a last Christmas you didn’t know was the last.
Cranberry Buffalo Wings
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 50 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken wings, split at the joint, tips removed
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce (canned or homemade)
- 1/3 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Celery sticks and blue cheese dressing, for serving
Instructions
- Prep the wings. Pat wings completely dry with paper towels. In a large bowl, toss wings with baking powder, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until evenly coated. Spread in a single layer on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight, to dry out the skin.
- Roast. Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake wings on the rack for 25 minutes, then flip and bake another 20–25 minutes until golden and the skin is crisp.
- Make the cranberry buffalo sauce. While wings roast, combine cranberry sauce, hot sauce, butter, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and smoked paprika in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until butter melts and sauce is smooth and slightly reduced, about 8 minutes. Taste and adjust heat or sweetness.
- Toss and glaze. Transfer hot wings to a large bowl. Pour cranberry buffalo sauce over wings and toss well to coat. Return sauced wings to the rack and bake an additional 5 minutes to set the glaze.
- Serve. Arrange on a platter with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing alongside. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 780mg