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You know, living here in the Canaries has it’s advantages. (duh! lol)  I love the fresh local produce that abounds in the produce markets, and whatever the season, we’ve always got fresh oranges, lemons, avocados, pineapples, kiwis, tomatoes, zucchini, and a number of others.  One thing that hasn’t caught on so much here is the concept of fresh herbs (apart from parsley, cilantro and spearmint)…My neighborhood vendor normally has fresh basil and arugula (not so common around here!), but this week, the basil was looking a little sickly.  Bummer for me, because I have been seriously craving Caprese salad to accompany one of the many barbecues we’ve been having lately.  You see, my dear hubs is on vacation, and our regular schedule is a bit out of whack.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s completely awesome having him home instead of never seeing hide nor hair of him! lol  Just that we’ve been veering off of the beaten path of routine.  Alvaro *loves* grilling,  so we’ve been doing a lot of that while he’s home, and frankly, I haven’t pulled out the camera or food set-up stuff to share what’s been gracing our table very much.  Besides, Alvaro likes to hog the computer! LOL  ;)  So, anyway, back to the salad.  Yesterday we grilled some steaks and potatoes, and I was hell bent on having my Caprese salad.  I have to admit, the fresh basil is crucial.  It wasn’t as good with dried, even though I let it marinate for about an hour, but, even so, it was still good, so I’ll share it.  Vine ripened tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella really make the difference, too.  I’m thinking that the next time I make a Caprese, I’m going to really go wild and use vine ripened cherry tomatoes, and chop up the motz and shred some fresh basil…a wild and crazy chopped up Caprese.  Because that’s what this world needs.  Fo reelz.  Seriously, this is SUCH an easy salad for any meal, I wholly recommend it.  But get fresh basil.  I’m just sayin.

Ingredients:

1 large vine ripened tomato, sliced thick
1 small round of buffalo mozzarella (8 ounce/200 grams), sliced
cracked black pepper to taste
sea salt to taste
extra virgin olive oil (cold pressed is best)
red wine vinegar (I like tarragon flavor)
1 teaspoon dried basil (please, learn from my mistake and use fresh instead–I’d go with about 1 handful of basil leaves, sliced chiffonade or even just roughly chopped or torn)

Preparation:

Layer tomato and cheese slices on a plate (and fresh basil).
Season with remaining ingredients.
Allow to marinate for about 1 hour.
Serve.
See? Easy Peasy.

 So, um, HIIIIII!!!!!  Jeez I’ve missed you guys!  :D  My parents’ short visit is now over, and it’s time to get back to daily life.  We had a great time eating, drinking, swimming and generally playing around for the whole time they were here.  I have a couple of new recipes to share…stuff that I made up especially for Mom and Dad, and I can’t wait to share them with you.  This is one of those recipes. :)  Let’s start with the title: Fiery Buffalo Chicken Burgers….

According to the :

“Fiery:  Adjective: 

Consisting of or containing fire.
Burning or glowing.
Using or effected with fire.
Easily ignited; flammable.
Feverishly hot and flushed: fiery cheeks.
Being in an inflamed, usually painful condition: a fiery boil.”

Buffalo wings are one of our favorite party foods.  Hot and spicy, perfect with a beer.   Everybody loves Buffalo wings, right?  So I got to thinking…We love chicken burgers, why not try to make a Buffalo version?  Wonderfully delicious, tangy and spicy, with a little blue cheese and celery to cool it down just a touch…This particular recipe might burn the roof off of your mouth if you’re not that into nuclear holocaust hot, so keep that in mind if you do decide to try these. lol  The heat can easily be scaled back by using Frank’s rather than Tabasco, and leaving out the extra cayennes.  But why on Earth would you want to do that?  ;)

 

Ingredients:

2 pounds (1 kilo) ground chicken breast
1 egg
1/3 cup bread crumbs
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, minced
salt and pepper to taste
a generous splash of Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup flour (about)

1 cup mayo
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon ranch dressing powder
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
4 fresh cayennes, sliced
2 bottles Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
pepper to taste

8 buns, lightly toasted
celery to garnish

Preparation:

Prepare the burgers first…mix chicken, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, seasonings and Tabasco until thoroughly combined.
Carefully form 8 patties and dredge in flour.
Reserve on a plate.
Prepare the dipping sauce/dressing.
Combine mayo, vinegar, milk, ranch powder, blue cheese and pepper.
Cover and reserve in the refrigerator.
Now prepare the sauce.
Melt butter over medium heat, then add garlic and saute until golden.
Add cayennes and toss around a bit.
Remove from heat and add vinegar and Tabasco and stir to combine.
Reserve.
Heat a bit of olive oil or butter over medium heat and pan grill the patties. Depending on the size and thickness of your burgers, this should take about 5-6 minutes per side.
When burgers are cooked through and golden, add sauce to coat the patties. (You may want to add a little water so that the sauce coats the burgers well–not to cover the burgers, just so that the sauce is evenly distributed, then cook it down a little)
Serve burgers on toasted buns with blue cheese sauce and celery.
Be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand and lots of cool beverages! lol

Ok, so I’m not exactly what you’d call a football fan.  I don’t know a thing about it. *gasp*  But, I do know how to eat while (not) watching the game. :)  We love buffalo wings here…and the hotter the better.  This is not a recipe for the faint of heart…they really are fiery…but you could easily tone down the heat by eliminating the cayenne, and adding less Tabasco.  The blue cheese dipping sauce is my friend Denise’s recipe, and it’s by far the best I’ve tried.  So, brave souls, I present to you, Nikki’s Nuclear Wings:

Ingredients: 

2 pounds (800 grams) chicken drummies 
2 tablespoons butter
4-5 cloves minced garlic (or powdered to taste)
1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
4-5 dried cayenne peppers
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 bottles Tabasco (the smaller sized jar, about 1/2 cup total)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375ºF, 190ºC.
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Spread chicken wings over baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, or until done.  Alternately, you could deep fry the chicken wings until cooked through.
While chicken is baking (or frying), prepare sauce.
Melt butter over medium heat and sautee garlic until golden.
Add cayenne pepper, vinegar and Tabasco and heat through.
Toss wings in sauce and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring to coat wings often.
Serve with celery sticks and Denise’s Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 tablespoon crumbled blue cheese (I like the Dutch ones best…creamy and mild)
coarse ground black pepper to taste
onion powder to taste
garlic powder to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons powdered ranch dressing mix

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.
Refrigerate 30 minutes.