Sweet and Spicy Ginger Oven Wings + Advice For Guys

All you husbands, boyfriends, guys-who-have-a-certain-girl-in-mind, I have some beer for you. Nope, nope, that wasn’t right. Apparently, my computer would like to talk about beer (stupid autocorrect!)… Lets try this again. Husbands, boyfriends, etc. I have some advice for you. Since we’re doing wings perhaps there might be more guys reading today? Or maybe that’s just stereotyping, but Charlie likes wings so I’m going to go with it and assume this is a good time to get this stuff out there. Then maybe we can talk about beer, wings, and football.

[bctt tweet=”sweet, spicy sticky, perfectly crisp, oven wings, a must have #recipe “]

Some things you should really know about women: 

We really hate it when… 

• You look at our texts, but don’t text back RIGHT AWAY. It makes us feel unimportant. And yes, we can tell when you do that. You know little message opened thing you get? Yeah, we get em’ too… and pay a lot more attention to them then you do. iPhone kinda ruined this one for you here guys. (Even worse: when you start typing, delete the message, and send nothing.)
• Related: we also hate it when you don’t answer us during the football game/while playing video games/ at work/ etc; or answer in a really distracted way. Yep, we know whatever your doing is important. But, we want to be MORE important. (Even if that isn’t 100% reasonable.)  
• You address us as brah, bro, dude, or chief. 
• When we put on a cute outfit, get dressed up, do our hair and make up  for you and you don’t notice. Compliments are a good idea here guys. 
• We always have to make all the plans. It means a lot to us when you plan something once and a while, even spur of the moment. 

All that talking and feelings stuff.

• We really truly do appreciate it when you fix our cars, take out the trash, cook for us, go on a boring shopping trip with us, clean something for us, or give the kids a bath. We also love spending time with you doing fun things or just hanging out. But, nothing, I mean nothing, makes a woman happier then talking with you. (FYI that mean you have to say actual words back to us to qualify as talking.) It’s our love language. It makes us feel close and connected to you. It probably seems completely bizarre to you guys sometimes, but it’s just how we’re wired. 
• Sometimes when we are frustrated we just want to tell you about it. Let us vent, don’t disagree with us or try to give us perspective. Take our side!
• On a similar note, we women understand that you have a built in urge to fix things. So, when we tell you about a problem we have you naturally want to come up with a solution for us. We appreciate this, but the thing is… we aren’t always looking for a solution. No insult meant, it’s just that we want to feel like you understand what we are going through, get us, and maybe get some sympathy from the person we feel closest to. (Thats YOU.)
• We know you can’t read our minds. But… sometimes we feel like if you loved us you would know why we’re mad/worried/etc. No, that totally isn’t fair of us, at all, but it’s also totally true. Good news: there’s a get our jail free card for this one. Look us right in the eyes and say, “Hey, talk to me love. I know your mad (upset, worried). I love you, and want to fix it.” This will help the situation immediately. No seriously it works, try it. 
• Blanket statements like  relax, or it will be ok, don’t really help. Do you relax when we say things like, “You shouldn’t be stressed about X Y Z at work, let it go.”? Nope didn’t think so, doesn’t work for us either. 
• A lot of us are just a little bit insecure and need a little reassurance. Tell us you love us, tell us we’re beautiful, tell us we’re brilliant. We think you’re an awesome catch, and want to know you still feel the same way about us.
• When we repeat the same thing over and over we actually think we are saying something different, but with more nuisance. We do this because it helps us work things out. Or, you guys haven’t given us an answer we feel totally satisfied with, so we think we just haven’t explained ourselves properly yet.
• Ditto when we ask you the same question over and over. Your answer probably does not contain enough words, so we ask again hopefully prompting you to say more, or give us a more in depth answer.

Have you figured out that…

• No, we don’t really like football/Star Wars/comic books/pool…. We just want to make you happy, so we watch/play it with you anyway. Be appreciative, and return the favor once and a while. Watching a chick flick really won’t kill you. (I just know I’m going to get comments from someone saying, “But I love football or (shudder) Star Wars”. So, I will just go ahead and clarify before that happens. I, in fact, like playing pool. Some women really love football. I even concede some women may actually have enjoyed Star Wars. Obviously, the items listed here are not universal. The real point here is we all do things, that aren’t our thing, to make the one we love happy, right?)
• Ditto for waxing/shaving/plucking/painting our nails/and really high heels. These things are all a pain in our behinds. We just want you to think we are gorgeous. 
• We over analyze everything. It’s built in. We can’t help it. Heck, sometimes we wish we could turn ourselves off. 
• You probably already know, “Do I look fat in this?” is a trick question and the only right answer is, “Absolutely not!” Cliched, but still true. Side note, don’t be offended if we still ask 3 other people if those jeans look fat. We know, you’ll always tell us no, and still want to make sure we aren’t wearing some uuugllly jeans. We’re pretty sure you’d tell us we look amazing in a trash bag and we love you for it. But we still don’t want to run around dressed in an actual trash bag. Again, we can sometimes be a little bit insecure.
• We don’t snore… (and don’t ever tell us that we do!) If anything, we make cute girl sounds. 

And that is about that, at least for now. Do any ladies out there have any advice to add? Or guys, any brilliant insights you’ve figured out about us women? Leave a comment and share!

And now we can talk about football, beer, and wings! Who’s ready for the Superbowl? Anyone having a party? Have you bought beer? (J/K)

I think we’re doing the chill at home and watch on Charlie’s new TV thing. Well, my guys will be watching, and I’ll hang with them and read something. Because no, I’m really not that into football. Though of course, I am rooting for my Broncos. Because a girl’s still gotta love her team even if she isn’t really into watching football. 

I am also quite sure I will be making these wings, because wings+ ????= ❤️❤️❤️. And, I’m kinda thinking you need to make these wings too. In case you are doubtful you should know: 

1. They don’t require frying. (I personally really hate frying stuff. It’s messy and makes the house smell odd.)
2. Yet, they are amazingly gorgeously crispy. (Thank you Cooks Illustrated method!)
3. They are super quick to prep/cook, so you can go enjoy the game (or your book).
4. Uh, hello, yummy, ooey gooey, sweet spicy lots-a ginger wings. 
5. Also, Charlie says they are awesome. And you should listen to him because he is very wise, not only in the in the ways of women but also in the ways of tasty eats. So, obviously you should make these wings. (In case you were wondering, he totally helped me come up with some of the ideas on this advice list.) 

So, anyway, go make these wings already. 

Sweet and Spicy Ginger Oven Wings- Serves 4-6. Rub adapted from Smitten Kitchen, cooking method adapted from i am a food blog/Cooks Illustrated, sauce adapted from Recipe Tin Eats.

• 2 and 1/2lbs. chicken wings
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons honey 
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar 
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper

1. Mix together the baking powder salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and ginger together in a large bowl or ziplock bag. Add the wings to the bowl or bag and toss to coat the wings in the baking powder/spice mixture. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay the wings on the parchment paper, fat side up. 
2. Bake the wings at 250* on the lowest rack for 30 minutes. Then move the baking sheet to the top rack and increase the heat to 425*. Bake for an additional 40-50 minutes until crispy, with a nice brown color. 
3. While the wings are baking mix together the soy sauce, honey, garlic, and 1/8th teaspoon of red pepper in a small bowl. Mix well and taste. Add additional red pepper if desired. 
4. When the wings have finished cooking dunk them in the sauce mixture and return to the baking tray to let the sauce set slightly. Serve hot. Serve any remaining sauce alongside the wings if desired. 

 

P.S. Before anyone leaves me any angry comments (because apparently articles like this make people angry), or tells me I’m stereotyping: a. This is written in humor. Chill. b. Yes some of these things are ‘stereotypical’ or broad generalizations. And no they obviously don’t apply to everyone. c. Yet, a lot of these statements are true about a lot of us. That’s why they are funny.