grill chicken wings and baby back ribs

A spontaneous dinner with friends always makes for an entertaining evening. We ran into a couple of friends today at Windsor's Art In the Park and threw together a menu that was perfect for drinking Corona splits and wine!

Menu:

• Guacamole and salsa
• Zwiebacks with butter
• Jay's favourite chicken wings
• Aunt Shelley's baby back ribs
• Tossed salad with shredded mozzarella

Zwiebacks are a crispy, sweetened bread. Our friend picked up a dozen from the United Mennonite Educational Institute Community Festival in Leamington, Ontario. We popped them in the oven for a few minutes to warm them up, split them open and smothered them in butter. If something this good was available at the local grocery store, I would be in real trouble; they were that fabulous!
Jay's favourite chicken wings are typically made by placing split chicken wings on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle them with a garlic and roasted red pepper spice medley. Bake them at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. When the chicken is cooked, place the wings in a bowl and toss with Frank's Red Hot Sauce and a little celery salt. If you want to increase the authenticity of these Buffalo-inspired wings, include some melted butter when you toss. Tonight, the oven was full, so we barbecued the wings instead of baking.
Aunt Shelley used to make baby back ribs at least once a month for me. Her recipe is simple and foolproof. Put the ribs in a roasting pan, cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours. Remove from the oven, brush with your favourite barbecue sauce and grill them on the barbecue for about 5 minutes per side. Surprisingly, they are really tender and always a hit!The nice thing about this meal is that it's really hard to screw up so it's good for relaxing with old friends on a summer night.