David Matthews 2 is a freelance writer in Gainesville, Georgia. He is also the host of a weekly audio rant which you can hear at the main page.

My Favorite Recipes
Yes, I really do cook! I don't spend every night calling up Domino's or popping in microwave dinners.

Thermonuclear Death Wings

This recipe is based on the formula currently used by a certain franchise restaurant here in the South that makes hot wings. I have tried other wings, and found that the tried-and-true original methods are the best.

Ingredients:

• Chicken wings - You should shop around. Not every store has the right kind of chicken wings. You should make sure that the wings are big and thick. Don’t go for the parakeet-sized wings. The bigger the wings, the more the meat on them.

• Frank’s Hot Sauce - It used to go by the name Durkee’s Sauce. Now it’s Frank’s sauce. I usually go to Price-Costco to get the industrial-sized jug of hot sauce, but you can get the smaller bottles in the store. Be prepared to use at least one whole bottle (12 oz. - not the whole industrial-sized jug).

• One stick of butter

• Garlic - One crushed clove will do, but garlic powder will work just as well if you don’t want to deal with the real thing.

• Water - You’ll need the water to balance out the sauce for taste.

Equipment: cooking pot, tongs, plate with a paper towel, stirring spoon, tasting spoon, Fryer, holding pan, small saucepan for water, boning knife.

First, divide each of the wings into it’s three parts (drum, middle, tips) , then discard the tips. (No meat on those tips, not worth dealing with.) Heat up the fryer.

Melt one whole stick of butter into the cooking pot. When the butter is melted, add the hot sauce (1-1½ 10 ounce bottles will do) and the garlic. Bring the sauce to a boil. Once done, add enough water to bring the sauce to your tastes. (One suggestion - taste after it’s heated, not before.)

Let the sauce simmer and put the wings in the fryer. Depending on the size of the fryer, it should take 12-15 wings 15 minutes to cook. If the wings are still frozen when you put them in, add three more minutes to the cooking time.

When the wings are done, put them on the plate with a paper towel on the bottom to absorb any excess oils. Put the wings into the sauce and let them sit on medium heat for 10 minutes.

After ten minutes, put wings into a holding pan. Set up the next batch of wings and repeat the process until all wings are cooked. You may want to put the holding pan in the oven set at 200 degrees just to keep the wings warm while the rest of the batch is cooking.

Once done, enjoy! Oh, and be sure to bring plenty of napkins and drinks!

David 2’s Brutally Honest Chili
(2-time Cook-off winner!)

Unlike the Death Wings, this is a formula worked on from scratch. It came mostly from seeing my father make what he thinks is chili that turns into tomato soup. This is a real old-fashioned Firehouse chili recipe! This is a great meal to have when it's cold outside.

Ingredients:

• Ground beef
• Garlic powder
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 green/orange/red/yellow pepper, finely diced
• scallions
• chili powder
• Frank’s Hot Sauce (10 oz.)

Equipment: 1 cooking pot, large spoon, table spoon (for tasting), dicing knife, cutting board

Cook all items in the same pot. Brown the ground beef in the cooking pot. Add garlic powder for taste. Do this as the beef is browning, not after. Begin cutting the onion, pepper, and scallions into finely diced portions. Once the beef is thoroughly browned, add crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, scallions, pepper, and onions. Drain nothing!

Bring the chili to a boil and stir until contents boil down thickly. Add chili powder and hot sauce according to taste. It's best to add the hot sauce AFTER the pot has been brought to a boil.

Best served with boiled potatoes.

Spicy Chicken Italianne

This is a personal favorite. It's good because there's a minimal amount of preparation involved and the actual cooking takes less than thirty minutes. You can get the marinade done quickly in the morning and then it'll be ready at night.

Ingredients:

• 1 boneless chicken breast (1 per serving)
• Italian dressing (extra zesty or restaurant-style if possible)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Chili powder
• Water

Equipment: 1 glass tray, plastic wrap

In glass tray, mix in a thin layer of Italian dressing, olive oil, chili powder, and water. Should coat a quarter-inch on the bottom of the tray. Place the chicken breast on top of the mixture, and then on top add a thin layer of olive oil, dressing and chili powder. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinade for at least two hours. (If chicken is frozen, leave in refrigerator to defrost and marinade for at least six hours.)

Cook either in microwave on medium-to-high setting, rotating and flipping the chicken every five minutes until done, or grill on skillet until done. If grilling on the skillet, make sure the sauce is poured into the pan with the chicken.

Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Rice

This is one of my favorite side-dishes. I'll actually cook so much of it that I'll have it for two days.

Ingredients:

• 1 can Cream of Chicken soup
• ¼ stick butter
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 can sliced mushrooms (7oz)
• ½ cup water
• Rice
• Dash of salt

Equipment: Fork, saucepan

Add soup, butter, milk, water, and salt to saucepan. Open and drain the mushrooms of water, then add to saucepan. Bring to boil under medium heat, stirring occasionally, and making sure soup and butter are properly melted and mixed. (Note: milk will thicken and expand sauce when heated. Be careful not to boil over.)

Use the soup can to measure the amount of rice needed. There should be an equal amount of rice and soup in order to have an even mixture. 1½ cans of rice should be enough.

Remove from heat, stir in rice, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes, fluffing rice occasionally.

Makes four servings.