MY FAVORITE PLATTER, BY DESIGNCRAFT: With Half & Half Party Wings (Recipe)

Break out the disco ball and feather your bangs – because today I’m featuring my favorite platter, circa 1970′s.   This serving dish was a gift from my friend Kathy‘s mother (who my children affectionately called “Grandma Beck”).    I remember just how I felt as the recipient back in 1976.  As a young homemaker, I sensed that I had truly “arrived.”  This platter, afterall, was nothing a childish teenage girl would want.  No, this platter, with the quintessential vegetable design, represented grown up meals and entertaining!

Over the years, as I’ve looked around for matching pieces, I have found various Designcraft platters of the same size and style, but none with the distinctly 70′s mustard-gold color and vegetable theme.

I loved my platter then, and it remains my favorite:  Number one, because it is from “Grandma Beck,” who was such a dear, fun  and wonderful part of my life.  Number two, because the color and design is sooooo nostalgic  (do you like my harvest gold table cloth, too?) And number three, because it is a fabulous size for serving up large portions in an attractive manner.  It is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots.  Hors d’oeuvres for a crowd fit well on this dish and I’ve even found it useful for a dinner of Huevos Californios.

This weekend I, again pulled out my beloved Designcraft.  Sunday evening we were all nestled on our couch to watch the NBA All-Star basketball game  (mind you, we rarely eat a meal in front of the tv AND our cable service exists only for the purpose of watching sports).  Anyway, our meal would consist of a pile of chicken party wings and oven fries, so I needed a substantial serving utensil.  My favorite platter filled the bill.

Speaking of party wings, I did find myself in a dilemma.  With such an age difference in my children, it was difficult to decide which flavor of  chicken to make.  My 18 year old son goes for the spicy hot wings, while my six year olds cannot tolerate the heat.  Then, I thought, why not make both?  And I did.
Maybe you’ll find yourself in a similar situation, so here’s my recipe for “half & half” party wings:  Half hot and spicy, half garlic parmesan.  The beauty of this recipe is that both flavors can be baked on the same pan.  The hot wings part of the  recipe is  courtesy of my daughter, Kerri.  (She is a fabulous cook and is a ready reference for yummy food.)

HALF & HALF  PARTY  WINGS  RECIPE

Ingredients

4  Lbs. Chicken Party Wings (Wingettes and Drummettes)

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Butter, Melted

1 Tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 Tsp. Onion Salt

Salt & Pepper

Parmesan Cheese, Grated (at Least One Cup)

2 Envelopes Italian Dressing Mix**

1 Cup Hot Sauce (Such as Frank’s Red Hot Original Pepper Sauce)

1/4 Cup Lemon Juice

1 Tsp. Dried Basil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Divide wings into two equal portions.

Coat half of the wings with olive oil and place on large, rimmed baking pan (jelly roll pan).

Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Coat other half of the wings with dry Italian dressing (OR bottled dressing – see notes below) and place on same baking pan.

Bake wings for 35 minutes.

While wings bake, combine hot sauce, lemon juice  and dried basil in bowl.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter (or melt in microwave) and then stir in garlic powder and onion salt.  Set aside.

Once the wings have baked for 35 minutes, turn oven down to 350 degrees.

Keep the olive oil/salt & pepper wings on pan.

Toss Italian dressing-coated wings in hot sauce mixture and return to baking pan.

Bake an additional 30 mintues (at 350 degrees).

When baking is complete, transfer wings to serving dish.

Hot wings are complete.

Drizzle melted butter mixture over remaining half of wings, then sprinkle them  liberally with Parmesan cheese.

Serve warm.

Notes

**In stead of dry Italian mix, 1/2 cup bottled Italian dressing may be used.  However, the wings will not be as flavorful.

Good when served with oven fries.

Homemade Ranch dressing makes a fun dipping sauce for the hot wings.

I’ve enjoyed sharing this with:

Adorned From Above Blog Hop:

 

Six Sisters’ Stuff

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think!