Grilled Honey-Lime-Sriracha Wings

It's nearly summer here in L.A. and we've been firing up the grill at our house. These wings are the perfect thing for a casual dinner on a warm evening or for a backyard barbecue. Dump all the ingredients for the marinade in a bag, add in the chicken, and forget about them. When you're ready to eat, just toss them on the grill until they get nice and charred and then pile them onto a platter. The sticky spicy-sweet sauce turns into a light glaze on the wings and adds tons of flavor. They'll be a huge hit with all your family and friends.


Grilled Honey-Lime-Sriracha Wings:

• Whisk together the juice of 2 limes, 4 tbsp. Sriracha hot sauce, 3 tbsp. honey, 3 tbsp. canola oil, and 2 minced garlic cloves in a bowl.
• Season 1 1/2 lb. chicken wings* with salt and place in a large resealable bag.
• Pour in the marinade and massage into the wings. Seal the bag, squeezing out any excess air.
• Marinate wings in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Thirty minutes before you're ready to cook, heat your grill to high and take the wings out of the fridge.
• Grill wings for 7-8 minutes, then flip and cook for another 7-8 minutes, or until charred in some places and cooked through.
• Let rest for a few minutes, then dig in.

Serves two (entree)

Serves four (appetizer)

*I like to use the drummettes only since they have more meat.

Breakfast Tacos

I'm a huge fan of Mexican food for breakfast (like these huevos rancheros or chilaquiles) and recently threw together some breakfast tacos with ingredients I had around the house. The nice thing about this dish is it can really be customized to whatever you have on hand or personal preference. This version has crispy bacon, a spicy potato and pepper filling, and scrambled eggs. You could easily make these vegetarian by omitting the pork and adding avocado or black beans. It's also a fun brunch dish - just set out all the toppings and let guests customize theirs with a make-your-own breakfast taco bar.


Breakfast Tacos:

• Place 2 Yukon Gold potatoes into a pot of cold water, bring to a boil, and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until tender.
• Drain potatoes, let cool slightly, and dice into cubes.*
• Meanwhile, dice 4 slices of bacon and cook in a hot skillet until crispy and fat has rendered, about 5 minutes.
• Remove bacon and keep fat in the pan.
• Add in 1 diced onion, 1 diced bell pepper, 1 diced jalapeno, a pinch of salt, and pepper. 
• Cook over medium heat for 7-10 minutes, or until soft and translucent.
• Increase the heat to high and add in the diced potato. Cook, without turning, for 5 minutes, or until brown.
• Flip and cook potatoes for a few more minutes, or until crispy.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. butter in a pan and scramble 3 eggs until your desired doneness.
• To assemble, sprinkle warm tortillas with some grated Monterey Jack cheese, spoon over some of the scrambled eggs and some of the potato mixture, and top with some of the bacon.
• Serve with salsa or hot sauce and enjoy.

Serves two-three

*Can be done a day in advance, cooled, and kept in the fridge.

Crispy Roasted Baby Artichokes

One of the farmers markets I go to has beautiful baby purple artichokes (seen here) and I usually can't resist buying a basket or two. I was thrilled when I saw April Bloomfield's recipe for crispy pan roasted baby artichokes in last month's Bon Appetit and it did not disappoint. You do need to trim and peel a fair amount of the leaves and tough outer stem off of the artichokes, so buy more than you think you'll need to start off. The prep goes pretty quickly (especially if you can convince your fiance to help you out and create an assembly line) and is so worth the effort. Enjoy the artichokes as a simple side dish, or toss with some more herbs and burrata for a lovely salad.


Crispy Roasted Baby Artichokes:

• Tear all of the tough outer leaves off of 2 lbs. of baby artichokes and slice off their tops.
• Trim the ends off of the stems, leaving as much stem as possible, and use a knife to scrape off the stems tough outer layer.
• Place finished artichokes in a bowl of cold water that has the juice of 1 lemon in it.*
• Drain artichokes, stem side up, on paper towels for a few minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 3 tbsp. olive oil in a small heavy pot.
• Add the artichokes, stem side up, in one layer in the pot and sprinkle with salt.
• Scatter 3 thinly sliced garlic cloves on top and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until brown.
• Add in 1/2 c. white wine, reduce to a simmer, and cover the pot with a lid.
• Cook for 20 minutes, or until artichokes are tender, then uncover the lid and allow the remaining wine to evaporate.
• Sprinkle with 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley and serve.

Serves three-four (side dish)

*The lemon will keep the artichokes from browning.