People are crazy about wings. Really crazy. At times, I felt left out somehow, as if I were missing out on something that I should implicitly understand. What was it about wings that caused people to go into fits of ecstasy? I mean, I loved buffalo sauce as much as the next guy, but what was all the fuss about?

It was only after I started making them myself that I understood: wings are the shortcut to the tastiest part of the bird. There are no choices to be made–shall I eat the thigh, or the breast? Dark meat or white meat? Skin or skinless? No, wings make those questions irrelevant; all choices lead to glorious, juicy dark meat with sinfully delicious skin. Whether fried or barbequed, roasted or baked, wings are very hard to screw up and almost always succulent.

I’m usually in the habit of double-frying my wings–the not-so-secret secret to the crispiness of Korean or Japanese wings. But since I’ve been trying to encourage healthier eating habits for the two of us recently, I’ve found that baking wings–with the right marinade, of course–can still produce something that satisfies without being terribly unhealthy.

I love this recipe because it requires no dishes–just measuring cups, spoons, and a resealable bag! Easy clean-up and a great way to plan meals a day in advance. I do advocate marinating the meat overnight–or throwing the wings into the marinade in the morning and baking them for dinner. If you can’t plan ahead, make sure to allocate at least three hours for the chicken to marinate and be generous with the amount of marinade you baste onto the wings right before baking. I know that ½ cup of sriracha sounds like a fire waiting to happen, but you’ll find that the honey mellows the fire considerably–leaving a nice, soft heat that compliments the garlic well.

I should warn you, however–the smell these wings produce while baking is utterly intoxicating. The bake time will seem agonizing toward the end! Enjoy!

This entry is linked to my Copycat Zuppa Toscana recipe. Don’t get me wrong–these breadsticks are delicious with just about anything. But man, are they good with this particular soup!

Bread is one of my absolute favorite things to bake, in no small part because of the transcendent aroma the wafts in the air while in the oven. I’ve joked many a time that I could easily subsist on bread & butter alone, if I weren’t so worried about carb intake all the dang time! So believe me when I say that these breadsticks are divine, and very forgiving. They are definitely more work than the frozen-ready stuff at your grocery, but when you smell them baking and bite into a piping-hot fresh stick–you will totally know it was worth the effort!

In the midst of following the recipe I found, I realized that these breadsticks are more or less mini-French bread loafs. I applied the techniques I usually utilize for French bread and found these breadsticks to be just like the Olive Garden breadsticks in consistency and rise–but with better flavor! (I promise, I’m not bluffing!) I try to keep the steps to recipes a little simple, but please follow the way I work with the dough closely to achieve the same result. It’s just a little nitpicky, but I believe the payoff is worth the trouble.

Also, I want to emphasize that you should take care to NOT OVERKNEAD THE BREAD. The breadsticks will end up kind of ugly and won’t rise as well, making them dense. Not that this happened to me, or anything…

If you want to use these for something other than Italian or don’t prefer garlic, just leave the garlic out of the final basting and you’ll be set. Also–you can store these in a sealed plastic bag for a few days at room temperature, or freeze them for up to 6 months and bake them at the same temperature listed below (except for a few minutes longer of course). If you want to freeze them for later or bake them fresh at a later time, I would suggest taking them out during the initial baking period a few minutes early–before they brown. This is par-baking–and will allow you to brown the bread to a crispier, less well-done consistency when you finally to bake and serve them.

This recipe yields 20 breadsticks–enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Readable Eatables.