Photo by J. Kenji López-Alt at SeriousEats.com

I insist on keeping certain American traditions alive while I’m here in Trieste. However, it’s not so easy given several factors; (1) that it’s impossible to watch any American “Live” TV event, as it airs here any time between midnight and 3am which, try as I might, is WAAAAAY past my bedtime. (2) That preparing any traditional American food specialties require some thoughtful planning — certain things that we take for granted in the US  — HOME DELIVERY of INDUSTRIAL QUANTITIES of JUNK FOOD  (for example) — are just not available here and, to be fair, Italian Pizza doesn’t qualify! So you have to MAKE most it yourself. (3) It’s hard to get your Italian friends on board with any of this.

So much to my family’s joyful surprise, I am teaching myself how to make certain “American staples” like: St. Louis Style Ribs, Pulled pork, Coleslaw, Bagels, Egg rolls, Stir-frys, Lo Meins, Duck Sauce, Teriyaki sauce (Hey, what is MORE American than Chinese take-out on a Friday night?) fried buttermilk chicken, New England Clam Chowder, Ranch, Caesar Salad & Blue Cheese Dressings, the list goes on…

So, in honor of Super Bowl Sunday (Sun-daay, Sun-DAAAAAAAY **echo effect**) I will make Serious Eats’ version of OVEN FRIED BUFFALO WINGS.

I could give you a complete rundown of the recipe and quaint anecdotes of my process (like using eyebrow tweezers (now a permanent Kitchen staple) to pluck errant feathers still on the bird) but I think it is best to simply direct  you to their website which has proven to be a GREAT RESOURCE for those of us missing the flavors of home.

You can refer to my SURVIVAL GUIDE on ETHNIC FOODS to find out where to find certain necessary ingredients. I will say that with a good stock of herbs and spices you CAN recreate almost any sauce.

So Good Luck! Enjoy! And may the best team win (NOT the PATS! )