Bobby Flay’s Ultimate Grilled Chicken Wings

Yet another genius summer grilling recipe, something different to go with the usual steaks and burgers. A big fan of Food Network star Chef Bobby Flay – and his creative blend of accessible, popular food with gourmet twists – Tina found this an especially interesting and delicious take on the ubiquitous buffalo wing, dressed up with spicy chipotle hot sauce and blue cheese-yogurt dipping sauce. Oh hell ya.

Just about all the ingredients can be found at Costco. Enjoy with a cold Stella Artois or two and plenty of summer breeze.

Ingredients

• 46 chicken wings
• Vegetable oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Chipotle Hot Sauce, recipe follows
• Blue Cheese-Yogurt Dip, recipe follows

Directions

Heat grill to high. Toss wings in a few tablespoons of oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the grill in single layers and grill until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Chipotle Hot Sauce:

• 1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chipotle pepper puree (depending on how spicy you like it)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder

Whisk together the vinegar, Dijon mustard, chipotle puree, honey and oil in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Melt butter in a large skillet or a large pot on the grates of the grill. Add the hot sauce mixture and bring to a boil.

Whisk in the ancho chile powder and season with salt, to taste. Add the wings and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with Blue Cheese-Yogurt Dip,

Blue Cheese-Yogurt Dip:

• 1 pint thick Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup crumbled domestic blue cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
• 3 tablespoons finely sliced scallions
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Center photo courtesy of Grillgrrrl.com. Right photo from Stella Artois.

Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip

Here’s a quick-hit recipe that’s great for snacking with chips or as an appetizer. It’s easy – only 10 minutes prep time and 30 minutes cooking – and makes about 4 cups. Great for taking along on picnics as a side dish - and far better than any store-bought dip. Enjoy in a shady spot in the great outdoors or in front of your flat-screen. Courtesy of the Food Network’s Paula Deen. Cheers.

• 2 (13 3/4 oz.) cans artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 cup grated pepper jack cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish with nonstick spray.

Heat the spinach in a microwave on high for 5 minutes and squeeze dry. Drain the artichoke hearts and coarsely chop in a food processor.

Combine all the ingredients except the jack cheese in a large bowl. Stir well.

Scrape into the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle the jack cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Transfer to a chafing dish. You can keep it warm over a low flame if you'd like. Serve with bagel chips, or whatever you prefer.

Dining Out at Costco: Morton's Steak and Stolichnaya

Friday before Fathers Day seemed like a good time to hit up the local Costco, and the sample lineup, as well as the coupon specials, did not disappoint. Catering to Dads everywhere, the alcohol coupon hand-outs included $10 off 18-year-old Chivas Regal and $4 off a 1.75-liter bottle of Stolichnaya, which we took advantage of – it brought the price down to only $17.49. How could we resist?

But the star of the show was the $12.99 six pack of White Apron 7 oz. apple-wood bacon-wrapped sirloin steaks – a perfect compliment to the $6.99 jumbo lobster tails we got the night before at Ralphs. Tina correctly guessed that the steaks might be in stock on this particular Friday in anticipation of Dad’s Day barbeques. We also went home with a pack of Jamba Juice mixes -- 10 eight-oz. smooties in individual packets, less than $7 with coupon.

Regarding our previous post on Apple iPods, we confirmed that Costco no longer carries them. Some of the outlets, and Costco.com, are selling off inventory, but the Los Feliz warehouse has run out. Anyway, we’re going back soon to use leftover gift money to pick up the Vizio surround-sound bar ($89.99), $10 less than regular retail and a great add-on to the 46-inch Sony Bravia LED HDTV we scored at Best Buy last September (and the amazing Sony Blu-Ray player we bought on sale at Costco for only $119).

Moving on to the free samples, the highlight was Morton’s tri-tip, juicy and tender. The most popular offering was clearly the French bread pizza, followed by a deep-dish version. Total feeding frenzy and mayhem around the generous free sample lady, who insisted on giving me two samples since my first bite was much smaller than the others, the sad last piece on the tray after the swarm of ravenous Costco shoppers finished feasting.

The fresh second sample of the deep dish pepperoni was large and delicious. Tina also got two samples. Which brings to mind another Costco Commandment: Two samples at the same station are always permitted when two types of samples are being offered.

Here’s the rest of the lineup, rated a strong overall B in our book:

 Chocolate peanuts
 Pink salmon
 Edammis hummus and pita bread
 Ling Lang potstickers
 Santa Barbara Bay spread, seafood and spinach, on crackers
 Waffles
 Starbucks Mocha Frappacino Ice Cream Bars
 Mozzarella spinach ravioli
 Jamba Juice strawberry smoothies
 Varieties of Special Roadshow artisan breads (we bought a loaf of the black pepper and bleu cheese)

Photo courtesy of Morton's Steakhouse.

Tropical Chicken and Avocado Salad

Another great warm weather recipe from Costco Connection, light and citrusy, a perfect pairing with dry white wine or maybe ice cold Korbel Brut champagne. Again, you can thank Tina for sharing this. She typed it up while I was working.

Enjoy, and stay tuned for a Costco update. We’re going on a free sample safari this afternoon. Gotta love getting a day off on Friday!

1 fully ripe Haas Avocado
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups of mixed salad green
2 grilled and sliced Kirkland boneless chicken breasts
4 slices fresh pineapple
1 large tomato, cut into thin wedges
½ cup of thinly sliced red onion

Cut avocado in half lengthwise around pit, twist to separate halves. With spoon, scoop out the flesh and slice.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Divide greens among 4 plates. Top with avocado, chicken, pineapple, tomato and onion.

Drizzle with half the dressing.

Serve salads with remaining dressing on the side. Serves 4, or if you wish this is a perfect dish for 2 as a main dish salad.

Photo courtesy of Lumdimsum.com.

Costco: Taking a Bite of Apple iPod

There were reports late last year that Costco was going to stop carrying Apple iPods, but on our last visit we saw a huge selection of iPod Nanos starting at around $149 and the more advanced
64GB Touch 4th Generation iPods, currently offered on Costco.com for a very reasonable $349.99. We’re planning a trip later this week and will try to get the scoop on the iPod situation. More details to follow.

Image courtesy of Apple.

Summer Dream: Grand Parisian Salad with Grilled Beef Sirloin

Here's another genius summer grilling/picnic recipe Tina found in Costco Connection -- steak and salad, perfect for the great outdoors. Tina added her own touch to it: grilled onions and peppers, which are always extra delicious cooked over hot coals with mesquite wood chips.

Can't wait to try it out, paired with a couple of watermelon mojitos at our favorite woodsy park.

¼ cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Juice of 1 lemon
1 pinch salt and pepper
1 pound beef sirloin steak
1 16-oz. bag Ready Pac Grand Parisian Salad
Optional
1 medium green bell pepper sliced
½ medium red onion sliced.

Combine shallots, soy sauce, oil, vinegar, thyme, lemon juice, salt and pepperin a bowl or zipper-lock bag. Add sirloin and marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Grill sirloin to desired doneness.

Place salad ingredients in a bowl and toss.

Cut sirloin into thin slices and serve over salad

Optional: grill or cook pepper and onion and serve with salad.

Tip: Ready Pac Grand Parisian Salad can also be served with your favorite grilled fish or poultry.

Guy Fieri's Bloody Mary Flank Steak

Here’s a recipe from the June issue of Costco Connection that caught Tina’s eye – and we’re going to try it out soon. It’s an original creation from Food Network star Guy Fieri – who’s featured on the cover of the magazine, dedicated this month, appropriately enough, to grilling recipes from famous chefs.

The delicious flank steak takes quite a bit of prep (well worth it), but requires only about 20 minutes cooking time. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable juice (recommended: V-8)
1/2 cup vodka
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
¼ cup olive oil
1 pound flank steak
Small celery stalks and leaves and grilled tomatoes, for garnish (optional)

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix all the ingredients except for the flank steak and. garnish. Pour half of the marinade in a 1 gallon zip-lock bag.

Add the flank steak. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 and up to 24 hours.

Pour the remaining marinade into a saucepan over medium-high heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes until it is reduced by half, Season to taste.

Preheat the grill to high or heat a skillet over high heat. Remove the flank steak from the marinade and wipe the excess liquid off with paper towels.(Discard the meat’s marinade) Grill or pan sear both sides, then lower heat to medium and cook to medium rare (135 degrees), 8 to 10 minutes..

Let the steak rest, covered with foil, for 5 to 10 minutes. Cut on the bias across the grain and serve with the reduced marinade. If desired garnish with celery and tomatoes.

Photos courtesy of Costco Connection and the Food Network