Tailgating is all about good friends, refreshing drinks and great food. It shouldn't be about a lot of time and effort preparing for it. The food should be simple, portable and easy to put together. Dips and wraps are perfect for this because they can be made in advance and thus require minimal effort in the parking lot. I'm a big fan of Buffalo wings, but they take a bit of time to prepare for tailgating. So, making a buffalo dip and buffalo wraps is the next best thing. You get the same flavors of buffalo wings but in a form that's easier to prepare and easier to eat.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
makes about 4 cups
Ingredients
1 Rotisserie Chicken, pre-cooked at you neighborhood grocery store
8 oz pkg Cream Cheese, softened at room temperature
1/4 cu Greek Yogurt
1/4 cu Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing
1/2 cu Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 cu Crumbled Blue Cheese
1/2 cu Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Celery Stalk, chopped, for garnish
1 additional TBL Louisiana Hot Sauce, for garnish
Cracker, Tortilla Chips, Celery or Carrot Sticks, for dipping
Method
Remove the meat from the carcass of the chicken. Remove and discard the skin. Chop the meat into 1/2" pieces. This will yield about 3 cups of chicken. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Stir together cream cheese, yogurt and blue cheese dressing in a large bowl. Mix until smooth and add hot sauce, chili powder and cumin. Place about 1/4 cup of chicken in a small bowl and set aside. Add remaining chicken to the cream cheese mixture along with the blue cheese and cheddar cheese. Stir until all ingredients are fully blended. Transfer mixture to a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. Remove form oven and stir. Mix together the reserved chicken, celery and tablespoon of hot sauce and garnish the top of the dish. Serve with your choice of crackers, tortilla chips, celery or carrot sticks.
For tailgating, place un-baked mixture in a disposable aluminum pan and cover with additional foil. Place covered pan on the grill until mixture is heated through. Carefully transfer the dip to a serving platter and garnish as above.
Buffalo Chicken Wraps
makes 4 large wraps which can be halved for smaller servings
Ingredients
2 cu Cooked Chicken cut in strips, store-bought rotisserie chicken works well
1/2 cu Louisiana Hot Sauce
1/4 cu Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing
3 cu Finely Shredded Lettuce
1/2 cu Crumbled Blue Cheese
1/2 cu Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cu Chopped Celery
4 lg Flour Tortillas or Other Packaged Wraps
Method
Toss the chicken with the hot sauce and set aside.
For each wrap, heat the tortilla in skillet over medium high heat for 10 seconds per side. Remove from the pan and spread about 1/4 of the blue cheese dressing in the center of the wrap. Top with 1/4 each of the chicken mixture, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, celery and lettuce. Fold a few inches of the sides over part of the mixture. Starting from one of the remaining open ends, roll the tortilla over the filling to form a tight wrap. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Roll each wrap in wax paper until ready to serve. When ready to serve, slice each wrap crosswise at an angle and arrange all 8 slices on a serving platter.
If you have any comments or questions, please send me an email at wayne@waynesweekend.com or follow me on Facebook or Twitter.
