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Buffalo chicken wings with blue cheese dressing

Time 1 hour
Yields Serves 4
Buffalo chicken wings with blue cheese dressing
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Buffalo wings work because of the way the aspects of the dish play off each other: crunchy fried wings, incendiary sauce, crisp celery and the almost incongruous sophisticated depth of the blue cheese. The published recipes for the original wings called for fried wings slathered with a happily toxic combination of Frank’s RedHot sauce (an old saloon staple), vinegar and butter. You can adjust the heat of the sauce by increasing — or decreasing — the proportion of hot sauce to melted butter. Make your own dressing with homemade mayonnaise, a farmstead or other high-quality blue cheese (Maytag blue is a classic), buttermilk and garlic, and combine them into something that can hold its own against a bowlful of wings.

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Classic mayonnaise

1

Whisk together the egg yolks, vinegar and mustard in a medium bowl until pale in color. Add the oil drop by drop, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken.

2

Continue whisking in the oil more steadily now, until all the oil is incorporated. Important note: If the mixture begins to break, you can add a few drops of water to bring it back together. Season with salt to taste. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use; keeps for two days. Makes 3 1/3 cups.

3

Food processor method: Combine the egg yolks, vinegar and mustard in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 30 seconds, then very slowly drizzle the oil a few drops at a time. After pouring in half a cup, drizzle the remaining oil in a thin stream. Season with salt to taste.

Blue cheese dressing

1

In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, blue cheese, sour cream, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Wings and assembly

1

Heat the oil in a deep, heavy (5- to 6-quart) pot until it reaches 375 degrees. Fry the wings, in batches, until golden, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

2

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the vinegar and hot sauce and stir until blended.

3

When all the wings are cooked, place the wings in a large bowl, pour the sauce over and toss to coat. Serve warm, with the blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

Adapted from a recipe by Teressa Bellissimo, of the Anchor Bar and Restaurant in Buffalo, N.Y.