We knew we'd only be nibbling on small amounts of each of the appetizer type foods, so we also made delicious chicken salad sandwiches. For a sweet twist, the chicken salad was made with vidalia onion mustard instead of standard yellow or spicy brown. Topping off the sandwich is lettuce, tomato, and bacon.
We're always trying to make fun new meals at home that mimic or rival restaurant quality dishes, and pasta has always been a staple for us. Recently we tried a fantastic dish that bakes ricotta in the oven, along with a mixture of other cheeses and spices.
Once the beautiful Ricotta sculpture comes out of the oven, it can then either be dug into as a dip, or mashed up and used as a topping on pasta with a tomato sauce. The texture is a perfect mixture of smooth and substantial and the cheese flavor is to die for!
One day while browsing through the meat department at the local store we found a package of clearance chicken wings that needed to be used that day. Inspiration struck, and we decided to try out our own buffalo wings. To get things started we coated the wings in flour, garlic powder, and Hungarian paprika.
After sitting in the fridge for half an hour to let all the flavors mingle, the wings were then fried in oil. After coming out of the oil pan, they are cooked further in a skillet with buffalo wing sauce, butter, spices, and hot sauce. You can get really creative here and throw in just about any sauce or seasoning you like. Since making these we've also started using the same basic concept but using barbecue sauce instead of buffalo, as well as switching to drumsticks for a heartier meal.
If fried food isn't your thing, these are equally good baked instead of cooked in oil if you use drumsticks or even thighs. To bake, coat them in the seasonings in the same way and start cooking them in the oven. Pull them out after about 15 minutes and coat with your sauce/butter mixture. Cook another 10 or so and then flip over and re-coat to finish cooking.
Megan and I have been making our own homemade pizzas since we first started dating years ago, and it's a tradition that's continued on now nearly six years into our marriage. When her brothers are around we don't always want all the same toppings or types of pizzas, which led to us to start making our own personal sized pizzas. Below you can see the before and after cooking shots for several different kids of pizzas in a variety of shapes: including a hearty veggie supreme, a mushroom and olive, and a meat-friendly pie with pepperoni and bacon.
