Meat Life Style

Two of the top five meals I ate this year were at Earth at Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport, Maine, a Ken Oringer restaurant run by chef Justin Walker. It’s a seasonal restaurant, and they have a handful of pop-ups going on this winter that are listed at the bottom of this post. I ate about 20 different dishes during those two meals, and one of the real standouts was the squid ink chicken wing. As a jaded chicken wing eater, I always think I have seen it all before. But, these were really exciting. It’s basically a teriyaki recipe that uses squid ink instead of soy sauce. First, marinate the wings in beer, garlic, ginger, and chile paste. For many, the hardest part of this recipe will be finding the squid ink. I suggest just grabbing from Amazon, but if you are lucky like me you can also get fresh squid ink from a local Italian market . When the wings come out of the marinade, give them a very light dredge in rice flour. Then fry them until very crispy. Straight ...

Would it be bragging to say that I am fairly famous among my circle of friends for this amazing chicken? Would it be over the top to say that at least two vegetarians (ladies, you know who you are!) have ignored the tofu I had diligently fixed them when they saw this chicken presented to the rest of the guests? Vows were broken; chicken was devoured. I could go on, but I won’t. This marinated, butterflied chicken is so addictive that a friend affectionately referred to it as “ Heroin Chicken ,” and the name stuck. Everyone needs a signature go-to dish, one that you can prepare for family and friends and know you’re going to have a home run, and Heroin Chicken  is that dish. This is the dish I bring to the new mother for her much-deserved dinner, or to a weekend collaborative dinner party…and it’s always a hit. It’s the little black dress of my cooking repertoire. I originally saw this in a Nigella Lawson book–love her!–and although the recipe has evolved...