Weekend Cooking: My Visit to The Chew and Daphne Oz's "Blow Your Mind" Baked Chicken Wings"

And now for something completely different on this blog:

This is actually the ticket they give you for your turn to enter the studio,
not my ticket to get in to see the show (I lost that)

On the the morning of April 5th, I went on an adventure. I hopped on the downtown then crosstown buses and arrived at the ABC studio on West 67th Street pretty early for a taping of The Chew. I work at home now and watch The Chew most days while I eat my lunch. And I've gotten some wonderful recipes from it. I should mention that even with a ticket, getting in is first come, first served, so if you ever go, get there early.

After standing on line outside for about an hour, we were led through the security check, and into a holding room where there were free water and chips for people, and, naturally, Chew merchandise to purchase. We sat there for a long time and I discovered that there are people who regularly attend tapings of all the NYC TV programs. And they even come from far away to do it.

On line to go into the studio

Eventually, we were led into the studio, and along the way, we passed tall storage cabinets that contain all the cooking and eating paraphernalia you would need in a kitchen, pantry, dining room, or backyard picnic. 

I sat off to the side (not in front of the tasting table), but in the front row. Surprisingly, it was very difficult to see much of where the chefs work because of all the cameras, even though it looks so clear on TV when they show the audience. And picture taking was very limited, none allowed when the stars are on the set, there wasn't much time between segments, and then they darkened the set in between taping, as you can see in the one below:  

When I was there, they were taping several "beginnings" and "endings" and nothing in-between. For the first taping, everyone was there - Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Clinton Kelly, Carla Hall, and Daphne Oz. Before they began, Daphne came and shook hands with everyone in the first rows, the others pretty much ignored the audience except for the people who were participating in segments - not cause they were being mean, but it was clear it was the only way to get things done in a timely way.

The whole time I sat there, there is someone telling you when to clap or laugh, how loudly or softly to do it, and who made all kinds of jokes in between segments - there was a lot of down time for us.  I can't remember all the segments we were the audience for - but Daphne was only in the first one. And I do know they are going to air in late June and early July. 

I left the studio around 2:30 PM and was home by 3:30. It was a lot of fun and part of my new plan to do things in NYC I never do because I live here and actually have an occasional Wednesday free - next up, the Circle Line.

We use a lot of the same recipes from The Chew over and over, and one of our very favorites is Daphne Oz's "Blow Your Mind" Baked Chicken Wings (I snuck three chicken legs into this batch that was made last Sunday and they were delicious):

"BLOW YOUR MIND" BAKED CHICKEN WINGS

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons coconut oil

3 garlic cloves (minced)

1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger

3 scallions (sliced, whites & greens separated)

1/4 Cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 Cup honey

2 limes (juiced)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons chili flakes

2 pounds chicken wings (separated at joint, tips removed)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

step-by-step directions

In a small bowl make a slurry by stirring together he cornstarch and a tablespoon of water. Set aside.

Heat a few tablespoons of coconut oil in a sauté pan. Toss in the garlic, ginger and scallion whites, cooking for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Stir in the soy sauce, honey, lime juice, sesame oil and chili flakes. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes, until sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Season chicken wings with salt and pepper, place in a rimmed baking dish. and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and carefully pour the sauce over the wings. Return the dish to the oven for 20 minutes, or until wings are cooked through and sauce is sticky.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Garnish with reserved scallion greens.

Tip: The sauce can be made a few hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator.  

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. As always Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads