Wings and a Prayer

Prayer and Potlucks are common events in church circles. I decided to borrow the potluck idea and use it for a get-together with our friends. Of course, I couldn't just do any plain old potluck. I needed a theme. Pizza and wings were our cravings, and I felt that combo would make a great potluck party. We kept the "rules" simple. Bring pizza OR wings, what ever you wanted to drink, and the attitude to have a good time. I prayed for the best and vowed to go with the flow of whatever came through my door.

I thought that pizza offered so many options: supreme, pepperoni, gourmet pizzas, veggie pizzas created on crescent rolls, dessert pizzas with cookie crusts, take-out, or frozen, just to name a few. A friend makes combustible hot wings, and with me making Hubby's favorite Teriyaki ones, we would have variety there, too. We aren't that fussy, though. Anything makes us happy when we can get together with friends and have a good time. I hoped that people would feel comfortable to bring their favorites and that everyone would just enjoy the evening.

As the host, I broke the rules just a bit and prepared more than just 1 pizza or wings. I felt that I needed to provide a little "seed" to start the food rolling in. After much debate and searching through my recipe options, I went with some tried and true options and whipped up a Buffalo Chicken Pizza, a Garlic Chicken Pizza, and the Teriyaki Wings. As people arrived, there was a strong showing of dessert pizzas on our potluck buffet. Several brought sweet offerings that were a great ending for our meal (and a balance to extinguish the heat on our palates after the hot wings). I had hoped that someone would seize the moment and bring a cardboard Totino's to share, but I guess that I will have to satisfy that guilty craving with my next trip to the grocery store. Hubby was hoping for supreme take-out pizza from a little place a couple of towns over. That didn't materialize, either. We didn't go hungry, though. In addition to my pizzas and wings, we filled out plates with veggie pizzas, mini pizzas and a couple of varieties of hot wings. It was a great potluck spread and a really fun evening.

Several claimed to enjoy my wings. I am not a Teriyaki fan, but Hubby loves them. I find it too sweet and prefer hot wings. Still, I think that the milder flavor of the Teriyaki Wings was a good balance to the heat of the Inferno Wings. The sweet marinade helped to answer the prayers of those wishing to extinguish the fire burning in their mouths from the hot, hot wings.

Teriyaki Wings

1 cup water
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
½ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ginger
3-4 pounds cleaned chicken wings

Mix all marinade ingredients together.
Pour over wings in a Ziploc bag. (I have even done this with frozen wings and let them marinate as they defrosted.)
Refrigerate overnight.
Arrange wings on foil-lined baking sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.