YumSugar

The Buffalo Guys Say Give Buffalo a Chance

partysugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:50:15 -0700

When I first heard that buffalo meat was leaner than chicken, I thought the joke was on me. However, it's true: Due to the fact that buffalo is a wild animal, it has less body fat than its domestic counterpart. Take a look at the buffalo steaks and you'll notice that it lacks the fatty marblization found in beef. Recently, I was invited to an event hosted by the Buffalo Guys, an odd couple who raise free-range organic buffalo. They turn the meat into a variety of products, from hot dogs to steaks.

Being a buffalo virgin, I was incredibly surprised at how good it tasted. The steaks were pink, moist, and meaty. I falsely assumed that buffalo would be gamy or more like lamb. If I hadn't known it was buffalo, I would have guessed the steaks were a lean cut of beef. It's extremely important to properly cook the meat because it can dry out quickly. Generally a buffalo steak cooks a few minutes less than a beef steak.

Check out my photos below and tell me: have you eaten buffalo? What did you think of it?

View 9 Photos ›

Happy (Repeal Day) Hour: Le Coup de Jarnac

partysugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:07:08 -0800

Listen up, party people: Today is a big day in the world of drinking. It's the 75th anniversary of the repeal of the 18th amendment. On this day in 1933, the 21st amendment was ratified and the celebratory right of drinking was given back to Americans. To commemorate the occasion, I worked with my favorite drinking website, Nirvino, and one of San Francisco's most adorable bartenders, Buffalo, at the Alembic, to bring you this amazing cocktail recipe. Buffalo originally created the concoction for Nirvino's monthly cocktail competition, which I attended at Level III in San Francisco. The drink is made with Canton, apple brandy, and lavender honey. The honey adds subtle body without making it overly sweet. To get the recipe of the le coup de jarnac - which won the people's choice award at the contest - and check out a video of the beloved Buffalo making it, read more.

Le Coup de Jarnac from Nirvino on Vimeo.

Le Coup de Jarnac
From Buffalo of the Alembic in San Francisco

Ingredients

3/4 oz. Domain de Canton Ginger Liqueur
1 1⁄2 oz. Calvados (apple brandy)
1⁄2 oz. Sweet Vermouth (recommended: Carpano Antica)
teaspoon of Lavender Honey
Few drops of Allspice Dram
Twist of Lemon

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a pint glass. Add ice 3⁄4 of the way to the top.
Stir for 10 seconds.
Strain into an ice-filled low ball glass. Finish it off with a twist of lemon.

Makes 1 cocktail.

Print recipe with images | without images

Source

Happy Hour: Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale

YumSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:15:11 -0700

These days, my street isn't the only thing covered with pumpkins; so is my kitchen. I've been using the gourds in everything from moist pumpkin bread to chicken pumpkin stew, and so I decided it was high time I enjoyed it in ale form, too. Although it's believed early American icons like George Washington and Ben Franklin enjoyed pumpkin ales, one Bay Area craft brewhouse, Buffalo Bill's, brought the beer back into vogue when it became known for its special blend in the 1980s.The whisky-colored amber ale ($7.99 for six), which is brewed with fresh roasted pumpkins and malted barley, possesses only a delicate squash flavor, but has lingering pumpkin pie spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg that become more prominent as the beer warms. Because it doesn't have a malty flavor or the bitter taste of hops, Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin a great find for people who aren't that into traditional beer. What's your favorite Fall ale?

Super Bowl Fans' Feathers Ruffled Over Buffalo Wing Shortage

YumSugar — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:15:47 -0800

Super Bowl XLIII is less than a week away, but this year, lovers of the chicken wing - game day's unofficial snack - will be enjoying their poultry on a wing and a prayer. Since few Super Bowl parties are without chicken wings, consumer demand, as it generally is during football season, is sky-high. Unfortunately, the supply for chicken wings is way down. Major wing supplier Pilgrim's Pride of Pittsburgh, TX, recently filed Chapter 11 company reorganization. As a result, the price of wings is soaring nationwide, and in some cases, up to 30 percent in the past three months.

Consumers, restaurants, and distributors are handling the crisis in different ways. Some are setting aside vast quantities of wings for the big game. Other restaurants, feeling the pinch, have doubled the prices of wings on their menu.

In turn, customers, like the wing lovers of Buffalo, NY, the birthplace of the spicy chicken wing, are so fed up with astronomical prices that they've called for a wing boycott. This year I'll be serving buffalo chicken fingers or buffalo chicken cheese dip instead of wings.

Have you noticed an increase in price? Would you be willing to pay more simply to have chicken wings at your Super Bowl celebration?

Source

Mac Attack! Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

YumSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:00:35 -0700

From classic stovetop shells to leek-and-cheddar penne, I've never met a mac and cheese I don't like. But the recipe I'd been craving most of all was one that, up until recently, only lived in my imagination: buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese.

My fantasy finally became reality one weekend when I put together all the elements I'd dreamed about. Al dente elbows of pasta, coated in creamy, sharp cheese sauce, topped with hot pepper sauce and crispy chicken.

It only occurred to me after sinking my teeth into the first bite that I could improve upon it even more by dotting the top with blue cheese crumbles and diced celery squares. That's why I can't wait to make it again! The epitome of indulgence, after the break.

Fast & Easy Dinner: Buffalo Chicken Pizzas

partysugar — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:01:18 -0700

Ever since I went to dinner with my gal pal Casey, I've been craving buffalo wings (her fave food) like mad. So imagine how I felt when I found a recipe that combines her favorite food with my favorite food - pizza! - for a speedy and scrumptious dinner. Pita is substituted for pizza dough and blue cheese dressing for tomato sauce. Celery adds some much needed crunch on this simple pizza dish. Serve with a green salad for dinner, or slice up and offer as an appetizer at your next shindig. Get the recipe now, read more

Buffalo Chicken Pizzas
From Better Homes & Garden magazine

4 pita bread rounds
1/4 cup bottled blue cheese salad dressing
1 9-oz. pkg. refrigerated Southwest-flavor cooked chicken breast strips
3/4 cup thinly sliced celery
Blue cheese crumbles (optional)
Bottled hot pepper sauce or buffalo wing sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Place pita rounds on baking sheet. Brush with blue cheese dressing.
Scatter chicken strips and celery on dressing.
Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until heated through and pitas are crisp.
Transfer to plates. Sprinkle with blue cheese. Pass hot pepper sauce.

Serves 4.

Print recipe with images | without images

Not Your Regular Nachos: Buffalo Nachos

partysugar — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:32:48 -0700

After stuffing myself silly with ~~Mexican food~~ nachos on Cinco de Mayo, I just couldn't bear to have another plate of tortilla chips covered in cheese. That's why I started thinking about other types of chips and toppings. Before I knew it, I was in my kitchen crazily making these buffalo - as in wings not mozzarella - nachos.In this insanely tasty dish, sour cream and onion potato chips are topped with diced buffalo chicken and a blue-cheese sauce. The dish is baked and topped with fresh chopped parsley, green onions, and celery. To see how I made this surprisingly delicious snack, read more.

Buffalo Nachos
Original recipe by PartySugar

Ingredients

3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup grated or finely crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 bag sour cream and onion potato chips (recommended: Kettle Chips yogurt and green onion variation)
1 large chicken finger, diced
2-3 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce (recommended: Crystal)
1/4 cup finely grated smoked Gouda
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 green onions, dark greens removed, minced
1 celery stalk, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Make the blue cheese sauce. Warm the milk in a small saucepan over low heat. Do not boil.
Meanwhile in a larger saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour to make a roux, whisking to combine for 1 minute.

Pour the warmed milk into the butter flour mixture whisking to combine. Heat, bringing to an almost boil until thick.
Remove from heat and whisk in the blue and Parmesan cheeses. Set aside.
Spread a thin layer of chips on a baking sheet or other oven vessel.

In a small bowl, combine the diced chicken with the hot sauce being careful to fully coat all of the chicken with the sauce.
Scatter a layer of chicken on top of the chips. Spoon three tablespoons of the cheese sauce over the chips and chicken.
Top with another layer of chips and the remaining chicken. Pour the rest of the sauce over the entire dish. Sprinkle half of the parsley and green onions over the top. Dust with the smoked Gouda.

Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and melted, the chips are crisp, and the chicken is cooked through.
Remove and top with remaining parsley, green onions, and the fresh celery. Enjoy immediately.

Serves 2.

Print recipe with images | without images

View 17 Photos ›

This Football Season, It'll Be Harder to Score Chicken Wings

YumSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:50:34 -0800

St. Louis Rams fans: if you think a winning touchdown has been impossible this season, just wait until you try to score some buffalo chicken wings.

Wing demand is on the rise, but due to this year's waning need for chicken breast, poultry producers have cut chicken production for the first time in 36 years. Broiler chicken production is forecast to be down 3.5 percent this year - and, with only two wings per chicken, wholesale wing costs are poised to increase dramatically.

So, much like Super Bowl Sunday last year, on game day other spicy chicken dishes will just have to fly. Since what I really want to eat is buffalo chicken cheese dip, that's fine with me. Will you miss this year's wings? Or are you willing to pay a higher price for them?

The Buffalo Guys Buffalo Tasting

partysugar — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:55:31 -0700

View Slideshow ›

Photo Gallery: Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

YumSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:00:41 -0700

View Slideshow ›