Before I left on vacation, I had promised some cousins to get together and watch a couple of movies, laugh, eat some nibblies and courtesy of one of my cousins, do a round of “card reading” and…laugh some more!
This was a movie night where I wanted to be sitting in the den with my cousins, not tied up in the kitchen. For those wondering, I chose to show the movies Mediterraneo and The Party (featuring Peter Sellers). I picked “make ahead” dishes that could be stored in the fridge or baked as they are needed.
One of the offerings I had were chicken wings, using mainly Mediterranean ingredients. This dish was inspired by Giada’s Balsamic Chicken Drumettes. I’ve found her version to be a little sweet and I’ve tweaked this dish to satisfy my tastes. Her chicken is quite sweet. I’ve made my version with chicken wings and made it “xino/gliko” or sweet & sour.
If you want sweet, try hers but if you want something more savory…give Pete’s a go!
Xino/Gliko Chicken Wings
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Mavrodaphne (Greek fortified wine)
1/4 cup soy sauce
5 sprigs of rosemary, bruised
5 cloves of garlic, minced
50 chicken wings
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
- Combine the balsamic, ginger, honey, Mavrodaphne, soy, rosemary, garlic, in a large re-sealable bag or a large bowl that can hold the marinade and wings.
- Add the chicken wings and seal/cover the bag/bowl and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours,
- Preheat the oven to 450F. Place the wings on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy cleaning) and bake until the skin has caramelized and very dark (35-40 minutes).
- Meanwhile, pour the remaining marinade (minus the rosemary) into a saucepan and reduce uncovered for about 20 minutes or until reduced to about 3/4 to 1 cup (it should be almost syrupy). Reserve.
- When the wings are done, pour the reduced marinade over the wings and toss the wings with a spoon to coat the wings throughly with your sauce.
- Place and sprinkle sesame seeds over your wings.
Hey Peter! I too was intrigued with Giada’s drumettes. But I am not a big fan of soy sauce so I did a bit of tweaking myself! Hope you had a wonderful movie night! Those are some of the best times!
Jenn, I hear ya on Soy but not all soy sauces were born equal…the good quality soys are less salty, NO MSG and a delight to cook with (Kikkomon).
mmmm, i loves me some my mavrodaphne and my chicken wings – i’ll have to try this one.
yummy chicken wings and oven baked too :) My mom does hers deep fry. It’s not so healthy but so delicious too.
OOO! Those look so good. I’m a sucker for sticky chickeny things, but I hate it when they are too sweet. Those sound just perfect.
Those sound pretty tasty though I have never tried Mavrodaphne. I will have to look for it the next time I am at the LCBO.
I like when people serve food like this at movie night instead of the chips and dip and popcorn (lol)
I agree..this sounds way better than popcorn and chips for a movie night. I would probably give PETERS SAVORY VERSION a try. I’m more of a sweet & sour kind of a gal!