July 29th is National Chicken Wing Day.

There’s a recipe for America’s favorite chicken wing preparation, below. Wings have become a favorite American snack since their unintentional creation in 1964. We have a number of chicken wing recipes below. But first, a bit of food history.
 
 
1. THE HISTORY OF CHICKEN

Mankind has been eating chicken wings since the first chicken was caught.

Chickens were domesticated from the Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus), possibly crossed with the Grey Junglefowl. Both are members of the pheasant family.

Back in the day before man settled down to farming and animal husbandry, some 13,000 to 10,000 years ago, our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate what they caught.
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The modern domesticated chicken is the subspecies Gallus gallus domesticus. So thanks to everyone who helped to domesticate the chicken. Where would we be without it?

Wild chickens were domesticated in Asia, possibly as far back as 7000 B.C.E. Certainly, the Chinese had domesticated them by about 5000 B.C.E., as had East Asia neighbors such as Thailand and Vietnam.

India, home to such delicious chicken dishes, didn’t domesticate the fowl until about 3000 B.C.E.

Here’s more chicken history.

 
2. BUFFALO WINGS HISTORY

Buffalo wings, America’s favorite wing recipe, were invented in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo. Today’s a good day to enjoy a plate.

Co-owner Teressa Bellissimo fried the wings—a typical preparation. But then, she covered them in her homemade hot sauce and served them with a side of blue cheese and celery—because that’s what she had on hand. Here’s more of the story.

Many popular dishes, including the Caesar salad and the Cobb salad, were invented because “that’s what was in the fridge.”

So the next time you’re faced with putting a dish on the table with a diverse group of ingredients but no recipe: Create it and give it a name.

 
3. MORE CHICKEN WINGS RECIPES

 
Plus:

[2] Asian Chicken Wings (photo © L’Adresse | NYC).

[3] Get creative with a Buffalo Wings Parfait (photo © Hungry Girl).

[2] Stonefire makes delicious naan in a variety of flavors (photo courtesy Stonefire).

[3] A summer panzanella with peaches, tomatoes and prosciutto. Here’s the recipe from Good Eggs.

Most people add these “salad ingredients” to a green salad, but we suggest a different type of salad: panzanella (pon-zon-ELLA), a Tuscan bread salad.

Panzanella isn’t as popular in the U.S. as it should be, and we don’t understand why. It’s easy to make and a great use for day-old or two-day-old bread.

Restaurants, take note: You should have plenty of yesterday’s bread, along with customers eager for some panzanella.

The bread doesn’t have to be stale. You can lightly toast fresh bread, which is what is done in the recipe below.

Panzanella has long been an easy way to make a meal from whatever is in the kitchen or garden. A peasant food, it has crossed over as a treat for foodies. Here’s the history of panzanella.

Panzanella can be a first course or a main, vegetarian or topped with proteins. Here are some of the recipes we’ve enjoyed in prior seasons:

 
 
TODAY’S RECIPE: FUSION PANZANELLA

Our colleague Hannah Kaminsky has given panzanella the Indian-Middle Eastern fusion treatment, incorporating garlic-flavored naan (available in many supermarkets) and curry powder from India, and chickpeas and tahini from the Middle East (photo #1).

“Salads aren’t just leafy greens and mix-ins like carrots and celery, most commonly associated with the word.

“Once you peel back that initial concept, ‘salad’ is a stunningly diverse universe of culinary possibilities.

“Salads are most frequently thought of as chilled or room-temperature dishes, but they can also be served warm [check out this Caesar salad with grilled romaine; here’s how to char vegetables].

It was only a matter of time before I used one of my favorite breads, garlic naan (photo #2), into a flavorful bread salad that I shoveled into my mouth by the forkful.

“Lightly toasting it to a crisp exterior and bestowing it with a golden curry dressing, this is a combination I could eat on repeat all summer long, and well beyond.

“Feel free to expand upon the vegetable inclusions based on what you have available, or go crazy with your own creative addendum. As we’ve established, a salad is anything you want it to be, if you just believe in it.”

This recipe is vegetarian. You can make add your favorite protein: grilled chicken, fish or tofu; prosciutto or salame; shrimp; or a combination.

Some leftover lamb roast worked great for us, as did some fresh basil from our window herb garden.

The recipe also takes a slight twist. Panzanella originated so the vinaigrette could soften stale bread. Here, the naan is toasted to be crisp, like croutons.
 

Ingredients For 2 Entree Salads Or 4 First Courses

Preparation

1. TOSS the sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with half of the salt. Set aside for about 15 minutes to draw out some of the excess liquid. Drain the extra water they’ve given off. Meanwhile…

2. COMBINE the sliced naan with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and spread the pieces out in an even layer on a baking sheet. Run under the broiler in set to high for 10 to 15 minutes, until toasted golden brown and crisp. (Editor’s note: We used our toaster oven. The consistency is different, but it works.)

3. WHISK together the remaining oil, lime juice, tahini, curry powder, black pepper, and remaining salt to create the dressing. Toss everything into a large bowl, including the drained vegetables, toasted bread, dressing, chickpeas, and cilantro, and mix well to combine. Serve immediately before the naan can get soggy.

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*These are the long, slender cucumbers. You can substitute two kirbys.

July 25th is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day (November 11th is National Sundae Day).

How to celebrate? With a DIY hot fudge sundae bar!

Every ice cream flavor works well with fudge sauce, so you can stick with vanilla or offer as many flavors as you like.

You don’t need sundae dishes, although anything glass shows off the dessert better than ceramic bowls.

If you don’t have enough bowls, see if you can borrow some. The bowls can be mixed designs; in fact, trendy restaurants often use mismatched plates, bowls and glasses.

If you don’t have pretty bowls, consider wine glasses. The easiest option is 9-ounce hard plastic party cups.
 
 
The difference between hot fudge and chocolate sauce:

 
> The history of the ice cream sundae.
 
 
HOT FUDGE SUNDAE BAR INGREDIENTS

 
Plus:
 
Garnishes Of Choice

 
Preparation

1. SET out the ingredients plus scoops, spoons, napkins and service plates (to catch drips).

2. SET the fudge sauce over a tea candle or other burner to keep warm and pourable.

3. GET ready to Instagram!
 
 
YOU CAN DO THE SAME THING WITH A WAFFLE BAR

Buy Belgian waffles and set them out on the buffet.

Guests can build their sundaes atop a waffle…or add waffle chunks to their sundae bowls.

[2] Pretty bowls work fine (photo © The Wholesome Junk Food Cookbook).

[3] Chocolate on chocolate (photo © Viktor Hanacek | Pic Jumbo).

[2] We use San Pellegrino’s Aranciata Rossa, a sparkling blood orange soft drink (photo courtesy San Pellegrino).

We’re at the height of stone fruit season, so what’s with the apples and pears?

Make a stone fruit sangria, and make it even more summery with rosé as the base wine.

What are stone fruits? Here’s the scoop; some of the most popular are apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches and plums.

The stone fruits season is in the summer. Enjoy them while you can!
 
 
RECIPE: ROSE SANGRIA WITH STONE FRUITS

We adapted this recipe from Saveur. You start by making a spiced syrup to sweeten the drink.

Here’s the history of sangria, a recipe much older than you might guess.
  

It’s easy to scoop out ice cream or frozen yogurt for a quick dessert. But it’s almost as easy to turn that frozen pint into a dazzling pie (photo #1).

It’s as easy as buying a cookie crust and a couple of pints of your frozen dessert of choice.

In the recipe below, we provide a simple way to make your own crust: It’s just cookies and butter.

If you want to make your own ice cream or frozen yogurt, we applaud you. We haven’t yet dragged our ice cream maker out of the closet.

National Ice Cream Pie Day is August 18th. National Ice Cream Day is the third Sunday in July. National pie day is January 23rd.
 
> The history of ice cream.

> The history of pie.
 
 
ICE CREAM PIE VARIATIONS

What makes this frozen pie special is the garnish of berries. You can use stone fruits (nectarines, peaches, etc.) but the berries provide more color and easier slicing.

 
 
RECIPE: ICE CREAM OR FROZEN YOGURT PIE

Ingredients For The Crust

 
For The Filling

 
For The Garnish

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the crust. Crush the graham crackers or other cookies in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. Mix the crumbs with the melted butter and press onto the bottom of the pie plate.

[2] Our favorite graham crackers are from Trader Joe’s. They’re so superior in flavor to supermarket brands. One bite will convince you (photo © The New Lighter Life).

[3] A bounty of juicy summer berries (photo © Green Giant Fresh).

3. SPREAD the ice cream/yogurt with a spatula into the pie crust. If using two different flavors, let the bottom layer harden in the freezer for 10 minutes or more. It will prevent the top flavor from “swirling in” when you add it.

4. ADD the nut rim. Use a dinner knife blade or a small spoon to place the nuts evenly.

5. ADD the fruit to freeze with the pie; or reserve it until you are ready to serve, for a fresh fruit garnish. Either way, freeze the pie until ready to serve.
 
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*Unsalted butter is the norm, but you can use salted butter if you like the sweet-and-salty flavor profile.