Like any Winter ensconced fish-belly white New Englander we enjoy the occassional foray into spicy, south of anywhere, foodstuffs. This weekend it was Buffalo Wings. Not very southerly as recipes go but the ingredients made up for the geographic transgression. Instead of buying Tobasco or some other vinegar based and adjective laced hot sauce I go with good old Tapatio's, which is cheap and hot...just what you need.

If you haven't made Buffalo style wings here's a quick primer:

Throw a stick of butter in a pan along with a quarter cup of hot sauce. I kid you not. I don't know how people come up with things like this, but butter and hot sauce it is. Heat until butter is melted, mix well and set aside.

In another pan put an inch of frying oil (we use Canola) and proceed to fry a whole pile of wing pieces (temp around 300-375). Fry for about 10-15 minutes each for frozen wings.

Drain the wings well on paper towels or using your George Forman kitchen centrifuge. Dip each wing in the butter hot sauce mixture, coat well.

During all of this have someone else get out the Mayonaisse, sour cream, blue cheese, and a little lemon juice. Mix a half cup of the mayo and sour cream together, add a little lemon juice, some more hot sauce, and plenty of crumbled blue cheese. Wash and cut up some celery sticks. BTW, celery sticks are used as mini fire extinquishers.

Curl up in front of the TV with wings, dip, celery sticks, napkins, and plenty of cool beverage. Once you start on the wings you have to keep going or the hot sauce catches up.

I once worked with a fellow in Bangor Maine that loved spicy foods. His favorite saying was that it wasn't really hot unless it burned in both directions. I'll let you fill in the specifics and make your own mental image. These wings pass the test.

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