Buffalo Chicken Dip

I love chicken wings, and I typically love them fried, baked, or grilled, and probably in that order. Links can be found (here, here, and here). I will also admit that I love hot wing sauce, and blue cheese. Something about the combination of a blue cheese and hot sauce really gets my flavor buds excited. So this past weekend I had family over and wanted to actually fry up some chicken wings, but it was just too darn hot to do any deep frying. I really had hot wings on my mind, so I decided to twist it up a bit and make what I call a buffalo chicken dip.

This dip takes on the standard flavors of a great hot wing, along with the sauce and blue cheese, but converted into an excellent dip.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz package of cream cheese, brought to room temperature
• 1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese
• 1/2 cup of shredded jack cheese
• 1/2 cup of chicken wing hot sauce (I like Frank’s Redhot)
• 1/2 cup of blue cheese dressing
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of corn starch
• 1 cup of canola oil
• 1/2 loaf of french bread, cut into bite sized slices
• 1 clove of garlic

Begin by warming your oil on medium to high heat. During this time mix the flour and cornstarch and mix well. Toss in the cubed chicken pieces and lightly coat. Once the oil is ready, add in the chicken pieces, being careful not to overcrowd, and cook until you they are a light golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on a paper towel. Repeat.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place your french bread slices on a baking sheet.

To a large bowl, add the cream cheese, blue cheese, dressing, pepper, and hot sauce, and jack cheese, the fried chicken cubes, and mix well. Place in a few ramekins if you have them, otherwise a small casserole dish. Place the filled ramekins on another baking sheet. Place both baking sheets in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is nice and bubbly and the bread is a light golden brown.

Remove from the oven, and quickly rub each bread slice with the clove of garlic.

Serve the warm dip on a serving platter with the bread surround the dip.

Everything you ever wanted from a great hot wing, and more. This one is a bit addicting, so be careful. It’s rich and delightful, and was a great appetizer.

Enjoy.