Bloodhounded - The Perfect Dozen

This is my buddy Kevin, aka Bloodhounded.  Not only is he a geocacher, but he is also a part time chef.  Last week he posted his recipe for his Buffalo Chicken Wings over on his blog CacheCrazy.  I decided to make them the other night and they were delicious!  Let's just say that this is my new way to make chicken wings from now on. 

12 geocaches in a series? 12 stages to the cache? One dozen of the best geocaches ever?  Sorry guys, not today. Todays DIY will show you how to make that perfect dozen of Buffalo Chicken Wings and unless you’re caching in Buffalo NY and you stop at the Anchor Bar, you’ll find none better.  So be ready to get hungry as I walk you through the very simple steps of "Bloodhoundeds Honey Garlic Wings".

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when chicken wings were relegated as scraps worthy only of the stock or soup pot. Nowadays, hot Buffalo wings are all the rage as appetizers and party fare.They come in all flavors and many different methods of cooking from baked to barbequed but nothing says, “Wings” like the good old fryer method. Oh sure, you’re not going to be reducing calories or cutting out the fat here but common, live a little!

I make these wings a few times per year. They are highly requested for our annual Super Bowl party and my family goes nuts at just the mention of “Dads Wings”.  Today I am going to share my secrets with you, but please, don’t tell anyone, ok?

The method I use insures a nice, crisp, fully cooked but juicy wing. There is absolutely nothing worse than biting into a wing and finding a bloody center! If this happens to you, immediately kick the cook in the crotch! No excuses for this! I learned that you can trim some prep time and get a fully cooked and juicy wing by par-boiling the wing first. A short dip in the bubbling pool of saltwater makes all the difference I assure you and it’s a little known secret amongst us foodies.

Here’s the setup:

Your goal is to make that perfect dozen so concentrate on 12 wings at a time. Even if you’re making 200 wings, they must be done 12 at a time with household cooking gear. Any less and you’re wasting time, any more and you are overloading the pot causing a quick temp drop and poor results. The magic number here is 12. In addition to the ingredients, have the following equipment setup and ready to roll. Once you start there is no time to be fiddling around with things.

•   Have a large pot of boiling salt water going the whole time
•  Heat a pot of canola oil to 375 or just below the smoke point
•   Have a colander ready at the sink
•  Have lots of paper towels handy to catch excess oil and to clean as you go (you want to eat wings too right? Clean as you go)
• Have a large baking dish, large container to hold the raw wings and one to hold the cooked wings
•  A long pair of tongs
•  A good non slip cutting board and a sharp chef’s knife

The wing cooking method:

First you’ll want to work through all of the wings and cut them up. Take the wing tip off and then cut between the drummy and the flat section of the wing. Once you are finished cutting them all, clean everything up with a antibacterial cleaner and wash your hands. The next time you touch a wing with your hand will be holding it up to your mouth!

Now, count out 12 wing sections and slowly place them in the boiling water with your tongs. Keep an eye on the clock because you won’t want to boil them any longer than 8 minutes. Remove them for the water with your tongs and let them drain in the colander. Now place 12 more wings in the boiling water and repeat these steps moving the wings in the colander to container. They should be fairly dry by now from being exposed to the air.

Once you get a few dozen ahead with the boiling you can start to drop the first 12 wings into the fry oil. Be careful as this is the time when most cooks get burned, when playing with hot oil. Nasty stuff so be careful. Your 12 wings will be done in 6 minutes or average 8 minutes for crispier depending how you like them. Have a few layers of paper towels ready and place your wings from the oil onto the paper towels. If you are making a lot of wings you may want to put them on a baking dish in a warm oven to hold them until serve.

That is really all there is to cooking nice juicy, fully cooked wings.

The sauce, OH, THE SAUCE:

Start by melting one half pound of butter in a sauce large sauce pan. Do not use margarine or try to cut calories here by using less. If you’re looking for a low fat meal, try this link instead. Once the butter is melted and bubbling add two medium size bottles of Frank’s hot sauce. Bring to a gentle boil and add your granulated garlic and your honey. Again, slowing bring to a boil. Taste your work now. You may like it a little sweeter or maybe a pinch more garlic. Get the flavors working at this stage.  Now add your two teaspoons of vinegar and you’ll know if it’s enough if you take a whiff of your sauce and it takes your breath away or tastes good or both! I like cornstarch as a thickening agent because it clarifies and holds on to the wings better and they look shinier.  Start with two tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with ½ cup of water and only add half. Bring to boil and add more as needed. It will only thicken at the boiling point and it should be the viscosity of homemade gravy, nice and thick.

Let's heat things up!

How hot is too hot? That is a matter of taste and opinion. If Big Al were eating these he would be basically setting the sauce on fire! My 10 year old daughter, not so much and me, I’m somewhere in the middle. Red Cayenne Pepper is no joke. It can make your sauce hot fast! I would separate my sauce at this point and then add the spices to only one. The sauce by itself is good for most. Start with a pinch of red and a pinch of white. Stir it up real good and taste it. Then add as needed but remember, too much heat will ruin the flavor for most. I place a shaker of red pepper flakes at the table so if someone wants to add heat they can and with flavor and good eye appeal.

Have two “shaker” containers available too, one for hot and one for mild. Place 12 wings into the container, add some sauce, place the lid on tight and shake her up to coat the wings fully. Serve with a quality blue cheese dressing like Margarita's Chunky Blue Cheese and slice up some celery.  Supply a lot of napkins and an abundance of your beverage of choice.

You too can build your own chicken wing legacy just like me, 12 wings at a time…..The perfect dozen, enjoy!

When I made these, we made pasta on the side and then just mixed the pasta, the sauce and the wings all together.  Talk about GOOD!!  Thanks Kevin!

A Special Guest Blog - Isabella's First Geocaching Adventure Part 2

This is part 2 of one of my favorite posts from Bloodhounded over at CacheCrazy.

Hello! My name is Isabella Pants On Fire Magpie, Izzy for short......

I’m 4 months old and I live with the nicest family in the whole world. They take very good care of me and they love me very much. I have a gigantic yard to play in with my brother, Otis and when Otis is crabby, I always have someone else to play with.

I love going for walks but the other day, mom, dad, and my sister, Andie, took me on a rather unusual walk. I was sitting in the yard and I saw dad putting my crate in the car. I was a little nervous because I thought I was going to the doctor again but then I heard Andie say something about going Geocaching. I had no idea what that meant but everyone else was eager to leave so I was excited to embark on this new adventure.

After we all climbed in the car, I saw that dad was holding a bag of treasures. Then I noticed dad was also holding a hand held devise which was evidently telling him where to go. I listened closely for clues as to where we were going. I heard dad say something about a place called Moosehead Lake. I hoped it wasn’t much further because I was too excited to sit in my crate any longer.

We finally arrived and mom let me out of my crate. I couldn’t wait to get going. Andie was kneeling down petting me when dad came over and smiled at me. “Are you ready Izzy?” he asked me, “This is a big day. We’re taking you on your very first Geocache!” he said proudly. Sometimes I wonder if they know I can’t respond to them but if I could, I would have asked dad to tell me more. I couldn’t handle the anticipation any longer.

We walked onto a nice trail in the woods and Andie started telling me I had to help her find the Geocache. She told me there are treasures in the Geocache and something called SWAG. Dad was still carrying that device he had in the car. Now he was looking at it very closely and he kept shouting out numbers. I was sure my family had gone crazy. Suddenly we stopped walking. “This is ground zero!” dad exclaimed. He kept saying we had to find this thing called Killing Time . It sounded scary to me but they weren’t afraid. They started looking everywhere! They dug around in logs and looked in trees and under rocks. “I found it!” I heard Andie yell and then something really strange happened. Andie started howling! Just like I do! Why did the container make her howl like that? What was in it? And why was it just sitting in the middle of the woods? I had so many questions but they were all forgotten when mom gave me a treat and everyone started taking pictures. I still wasn’t sure about this Geocache thing but I knew that I wanted to find another one!

My wish was granted when I heard mom ask dad how far until the next “cache”. Dad said it was half a mile away. I was ready to find it. On the way there I smelled that there had been other people and dogs on this trail. I wondered if they had been looking for the cache that dad called Moosehead Bound (GC395Y7) as well. Soon dad said we were at ground zero again and my bloodhound nose went to work! I sniffed around the ground and suddenly I smelled something unusual. I immediately knew it was the cache. I found it in a hollow stump! “Izzy! You found it!” dad said. He was so proud of me! Andie gave me a treat. Mom took my picture. This geocaching thing was great!

Dad said we had one more to find. This one was called Moosehead Lake (GC394F4). I was exhausted from all the walking but I didn’t even care because I was having so much fun! I wanted to find the last geocache and make dad proud again! We got to the spot where the cache was but there was no lake. I thought maybe the device lied to us until I smelled that unusual smell again. I found the last cache in seconds. This cache had that thing Andie told me about inside it. I think she called it SWAG. I thought maybe it had treats in it so I stuck my heads in the bag but they weren’t the kind of treats I could eat. Dad must have known I was disappointed because then he gave me a treat and patted my head.

We put all the treasures back in the box and started walking back to the car. The whole way back, dad kept calling me his little geodog. I could tell he was really proud of me. This geocaching thing wasn’t so bad and I was really good at it thanks to my nose. We finally got back to the car and I hopped into my crate and slept the entire way home.

When I got home, I curled up on the couch with my brother Otis. I dreamed about being the best geodog in the whole wide world. I hope we go geocaching again soon! I am so happy my family has made me the newest member of Team Bloodhounded. Who knows, maybe I’ll even meet some of you out on the trail! Keep on caching! –Izzy the Geodog.

I hope you all enjoyed Bloodhounded's guest post.  I sure did.  Personally, I'm looking forward to more guest posts by the adorable Isabella.

A Special Guest Blog - Isabella's First Geocaching Adventure Part 1

Please welcome my friend and fellow geocacher "Bloodhounded" as I re-post one of my favorite blog posts from over at CacheCrazy.  This is part 1 of a 2 part post.


Authored By: Bloodhounded

Guest Blog Authored By: Isabella  

Have I ever told you why my geocaching name is Bloodhounded?

Well you see it all started with a little Bloodhound puppy named Molly, a trip to New York City and the Westminster Dog Show. Molly was of noble breed and came to us by a breeder whom was showing at the Westminster. My wife and I drove down and met her there. It was love at first sight and we carried that little girl under my wife's coat down Madison Ave to where we were parked. Molly gave us great joy and love so when the breeder called me and said she had a displaced male, we were happy to also get Otis, our male Bloodhound.

I think I describe it best in my GC profile; "Bloodhounded is more than just a handle, it’s a way of life when you own two bloodhounds. For instance, when you let the dogs in before you go to work and out of nowhere they get you all slobbered up, you've been “Bloodhounded”! When a 120lb. dog thinks he’s a lap dog and totally immobilizes you, you've been “Bloodhounded”. You get the picture."

Molly passed away last summer and our hearts still ache from her loss. She loved to swim, take naps with her tongue hanging out and she loved to go for walks, particularly when everyone joined in and we were searching for local geocaches. Team Bloodhounded, est. 2009 and Molly was the founder.

Fast forward to last September 2011. Guess what? We found an awesome breeder with a noble breed of black and tans in NJ! Just a short drive from us ironically and what a wonderful gal. She is the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to Bloodhounds and her breeds have won many accolades in shows and in the field as trained K9 heroes. Jess, her female, was having puppies and guess what, one of then was going to be ours! Jess delivered three beautiful puppies. Two females and one male. We had our hopes set on a female and sure enough it was to be. Red Girl (as the breeder called her) was our little Izzy and we would pick her up just before Thanksgiving and welcome her to our home......

Izzy is a dream come true, a real live miracle and has brought so much joy to my family. I could go on and on about her but rest assured, she is carving her own love into our hearts. One look at her and you just melt. She has the look of an angel but she is actually a little devil. You know, typical puppy stuff but she is so smart and just loves to be loved and loved she is. I figured it was about time she go one her first geocaching adventure and my wife, Dawn and daughter, Andie said they wanted to go too so, off we went to Moosehead Lake to initiate Izzy into Team Bloodhounded. 

Since this was her first geocaching adventure, I'll let her tell the rest of the story from her point of view. So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a unique guest post from my geodog, Isabella Pants On Fire Magpie and her first geocaching adventure at Moosehead Lake.   


Ok, come back tomorrow to read the rest of the story.  I promise you won't be disappointed!

Bloodhounded - Geocacher of the Month Nominee

Let's hear a BIG round of applause for my good geocaching friend Kevin, aka, Bloodhounded.  Kevin has been nominated for the Geocacher of the Month Award!

Taken from the official geocaching blog page:  Every month, Lackeys at Groundspeak Headquarters have the chance to learn about the outstanding geocachers in our community. They are nominated by community members for “Featured Geocacher of the Month” because they exemplify innovation, creativity, respect for the environment, and helpfulness. Based off of these nominations and the votes on our blog, each month Groundspeak selects one “Featured Geocacher.” We continue to be stunned by the number of quality candidates as well as the number of geocachers who participate in this monthly process. 

Kevin, aka Bloodhounded, is the driving force behind my favorite geocaching blog (other than mine of course)  CacheCrazy.  I have the honor of being a frequent administrative author over there and I've gotten to know Kevin pretty well over the past year.  Let me tell you - he is one great guy.  But the thing I like the most about him is his dedication to spreading the word about geocaching, both through his blog and also through the geocaches he takes the time to create and place.  They are pretty ingenious.  Plus, he is very involved with scouting and has taken scouts on geocaching excursions to teach them the fun of the sport.

So, if you're a registered geocacher, please take the time to hop over to Geocacher of the Month and cast your vote for Bloodhounded.  The geocaching community will thank you!  I thank you!  And also go over to CacheCrazy and tell him congrats!

Way to go buddy!!!!

Please Welcome Bloodhounded from CacheCrazy

Please join me in a warm welcome to my blogger friend, Kevin, aka Bloodhounded, from over at CacheCrazy.  Without further ado, I'll let Kevin take it from here....

Hello, my name is Bloodhounded, aka Kevin, from CacheCrazy.Com.

Kim and I made a deal that if she wrote a guest blog for me, I would reciprocate. Let me start by telling you a little bit about our blog.

I started CacheCrazy.Com last September of 2010 and it got off to a great start. I never realized how demanding keeping fresh content on a blog can be. I applaud Kim for her work here at Snug Harbor Bay and being the solo author (except for Sunday’s when Tony does his excellent weekly tips) must keep her on her toes. I decided to take a different route. I enrolled a few excellent authors and challenged them to sign on as admin authors for a three month term. There is no pay, no benefits and no training but the work is very rewarding. I am blessed with a dedicated group and a fun bunch to work with. CacheCrazy.Com is comprised of five admin authors, 18 guest bloggers and some waiting to be featured. We receive about 7,000 hits per month and enjoy a fantastic group of followers, daily readers and quite honestly, friends. They fuel our fire and keep us going. Check us out when you have the time.

Today I want to discuss the future of Geocaching.

It is my opinion that Geocaching has yet to see its full potential. In the 11 years of its existence it has become a favored past time of millions of people worldwide however, if its growth rate continues, it will explode in the next five to seven years. If you talk to some of the cachers who started in the beginning, they will gladly tell you how the game has changed. From ammo cans to nanos and letterboxes to logbooks, they just don’t play the game the way they use to. And guess what? 11 years from now it will be different from today well alone 20 or 30 years in the future.

Join me now as we look into the digital log book of a Regular Geocache hidden as “Zelton” GC23000IGH623DF50001A entered by a geocacher named “Melbrain” in the summer of 2041.

“Wow, what a z’upper dynamic cache! I was trailing with Dembelton and saw this one come up on my encoded flash transponder. It looked Kool so we set out to find it. The heat sensory microchip was a real nice attachment from the cache guardian and we also enjoyed the lazar frequency scramblers as it made the find more challenging (how clever). Our geodynamicis where in high gear as we neared GZ and I had a feeling I knew where it was so I infrared the area and sure enough it came up on the screen. We viewed the histogram data of the cache and registered several traveling microbots after reviewing their missions and set them free. I traded the antique iPod Touch (still works much to my surprise) for a home Lasik kit that I tooled with the Melbrain 4D symbol etched into it.  TFHC!”

In all seriousness guys, the future of Geocaching lies in the hands of today’s young people and children. They are the next generation of geocachers and how we hide, maintain, and project the sport today is nothing more than the starting point for them to expound on for tomorrow.  This is why I often stress cache maintenance and keeping the “treasure” in the treasure hunt. When a kid opens a cache they are not only looking for the treasure it may hold, they are looking at the door to the future. No treasure, no future and 30 years from now someone will ask, “what WAS geocaching?”

Taking a kid caching is a foundation for the future to insure the longevity of our sport and it’s just downright FUN!

Thanks for reading and Kim thanks for having me!

 May the force be with you,

Bloodhounded

Thanks again to Kevin for a great post!  Please take time to stop over at CacheCrazy and check them out.