Grilled Wings Appetizer

Last fall, when I spoke at a women's retreat in Fort Wayne, Ryan and I stayed with some friends from the WBCL days. (They lived just a stone's throw from the retreat location, so it was practically like staying on-site!)

They spoiled us well. Comfy accommodations, snack basket, and some pretty delicious meals.

One such meal was so good, in fact, that when we came home, Ryan asked if I could get the recipe so we could recreate it at our leisure. I always start to sweat when I have to ask for a recipe, because knowing my luck, it'll be the deeply guarded secret of some great-great-grandmother and the only way to get it is to sign away your life and vital organs.

Fortunately this was not that recipe, and Cindy handed it over to me quite easily. We've made it a couple of times since, and it seems to be the perfect football food. Easy to make, easy to use as a meal or appetizer, and the most important part: delicious.

Want to see how easy it is?

Grilled Wings Appetizer
* 1 bag frozen chicken wings/legs
* 1 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
* 1 cup white vinegar
* 1 cup water
* 1 large chopped onion
* 1 Tablespoon garlic powder

Arrange the bag of wings in a single layer on the bottom of 2 glass 9x13 dishes. In a separate bowl, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, and water. Pour half the mixture in each of the dishes. Sprinkle half the onion in each of the dishes and sprinkle half of the garlic powder in each of the dishes. Cover and refrigerate several hours or even up to a day. Flip the wings in the marinade at least once during that time. Grill until cooked through, and serve warm.

A Few Tips

* As you can see, this does involve a marinade, so you will want to plan ahead to make this to fully appreciate maximum flavorful capacity. This isn't a dish you can whip up 30 minutes before mealtime, but if you can just remember to start early, the actual prep takes next to no time AT ALL.

* With the three liquid items, you can adjust the amounts to suit your own tastes. If soy sauce is a little strong for you, you can increase the water and decrease the soy. Same with the vinegar.

* You could use another kind of vinegar if you prefer. You could use balsamic or apple cider or whatever you like. White vinegar happens to be our favorite for cooking.

* Discard the marinade (and you'll lose most of the onions with it) after transferring the wings onto the grill.

* You probably could use a large zip plastic bag to marinate if you don't have the dishes, but I'm always afraid of springing a hole in the thing, so we just use the 9x13 dishes.