Chicken Wings

They say chicken wings are the ultimate party food. Provided, of course, that you're not the one frying them. Standing over a pot of boiling-hot oil and yelping at guests not to come too close might be dramatic, but it's just not as hospitable as pulling a sizzling pan of wings from the oven. If you bake your wings instead of frying them, the skin crisps up and the meat stays juicy. The final toss in sauce takes just a second, leaving you free to hang out with your friends.

You could go for the classic, a mix of melted butter, hot sauce, and vinegar, but wings can be a delicious blank canvas for a range of flavorings. A combo of peanut butter, brown sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice equals instant Indonesia. A spoonful of harissa paste and a bit of cumin, coriander, and parsley delivers Moroccan-style flavor. Maple syrup gives sweetness to smoky chipotle. And for the die-hard chile fiends, make a batch spiked with a mix of habanero hot sauce, butter, and thinly sliced jalapenos.

Deep fried, baked, broiled or grilled; chicken wings are the ultimate champion of game night foods, no matter how you cook them. Before they were popularized in North America, chicken wings were considered the least desirable part of the chicken. People would often eat the thighs and breasts but throw out the chicken wings.

By far the most popular chicken wings in North America are Buffalo Wings. Buffalo wings were invented in Buffalo, New York, where Tesessa Bellissmo came up with the idea to deep-fry chicken wings at her restaurant, Anchor Bar.