Wing It

For those of you that are sports-impaired, I'm here to let you know that the Superbowl is this Sunday. And so, it seemed the ideal time for VittlesVamp to pay loving homage to the Buffalo Wing.

According to the Atlas of Popular Culture, there are four circulating legends surrounding the mythical creation of these hot spicy suckers, sided by blue cheese dressing and celery sticks. But, most folks are partial to this one:

Teressa and Frank Bellisimo owned the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY. In this version, she invented Buffalo chicken wings in 1964 when her son Dominic and his friends came to the bar looking for a quick late night snack. "Mother Teressa" (Buffalonians take their wings very seriously) was preparing to make chicken stock with a bunch of wings and, improvising, stuck them under the broiler (later they switched to deep frying), sprinkled them with a hot sauce she concocted from a commercially available base (Frank's), took some celery sticks off the antipasto dishes, put some blue cheese dressing (the house dressing) in a small bowl and served them.

But no matter how Buffalo Wings came into being, they sure enough are a Superbowl staple, right along with pizza, burgers and potato chips - not to mention beer. And, for those of you that wish to "park it" in your own couch and watch the big game on your own boob tube (that name takes on a whole new meaning after seeing Janet Jackson during the half-time show last year), here's a link to celebrity chef Sara Moulton's Buffalo Wing recipe. (Frankly, I think they're meant as "going out" bar food, but do as you please.)