Name: Grilled Basque Wings
Yield: Serves 4 to 6 as an appetizer
Ingredients: 3 large garlic cloves, chopped; 8 tablespoons lemon juice (about 2 lemons); 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil; 5 to 15 dashes of Tabasco sauce, depending on your taste; 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (whatever you've got: basil, parsley, sage, thyme, oregano, or rosemary); 20 chicken wings (you can usually get a pack of wings at the market very cheap); Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

These wings are great to gnaw on while you're diligently grilling the main course and sipping a cold one, as my Basque friend Juan Riesco often demonstrated to me. The level of heat is up to you—the Tabasco is your fuel.

Serving Suggestions:
These are excellent "tapas"-style appetizers. Serve them at a large cocktail party along with some other Mediterranean-inspired appetizers.

Kitchen Tip:

When separating chicken wings, at first you will probably want to use a cleaver. With a little practice, however, you will easily find the weak spot in the joint every time and can graduate to using a sharp knife.

Recipe notes

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