Wacky Buffalo Hot Wings- Gluten Free, Meat free & Vegetarian

Wacky Buffalo Wings the whole family and all your friends can enjoy.. gluten free & vegetarian!

In high school one of my favorite teachers, Mr. Booth, played the  song ” Take These Broken Wings” , by Mr. Mister during my psychology class.  Mr. Booth was of the theory that everyone had a set of broken wings somewhere, it was our job as fellow human beings to help mend those broken wings and help others learn to fly.  Well, in my many years of being a human, my wings have been broken many times, broken to the point of no repair, so bad that I could not even remember how to fly anymore.  But then along came another fellow human being who cared enough to pick up my wings and teach me that life is really all in our experiences.  Falling to pieces is a blessing that is meant to enrich our souls, making us more sensitive to others when they are in a situation that you could have never understood unless you had been there…. anyone else feel that way?

So in the spirit of broken wings….

I present to you my version of PETA’s wings:)  You can find their version here @ Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Wings .

Wacky Buffalo Hot Wings (Gluten Free, Meat Free & Vegetarian)

• 225 ml 2% milk
• 15 ml cider vinegar
• 11 grams Namaste Gluten Free  Perfect Blend ( or your favorite gluten free flour with xanthan )
• 11 grams Bob’s Mill Potato Flour (not starch)
• 45 grams Bob’s Mill Brown Rice Flour
• 4 Bob’s Mill Sorghum Flour
• garlic paste to taste ( I like about a teaspoon of garlic paste)
• Sea salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• one head of cauliflower or bag of pre-cut cauliflower
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup hot sauce ( use your favorite hot sauce:)
• 1/2 cup Duke’s Mayonnaise (this mayonnaise is Gluten free:)
•  1 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon good bleu cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

I have to admit I bought the Cauliflower in the bag

1. Turn the oven to 450 F.
2. In a large bowl, place milk & vinegar, let it sit for about five to ten minutes.  Meanwhile, measure out the rest of the ingredients & cut the cauliflower ( if you did not chicken out and buy it already pre- cut..LOL- actually it was less expensive this way:).  During this time you can paste the garlic too..:)  No Chopped Garlic..LOL 🙂 Inside joke for Chef Susser:) Click on the words garlic paste to go to the link for the post for my Garlic Paste. Also prepare your sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.
3. After the milk & vinegar mixture has set for a little while it will start to get thicker, when this happens you are ready to add the rest of the batter ingredients.  Into the bowl with the milk/vinegar mixture add the flours, salt, pepper & garlic paste.  Stir until the ingredients are completely combined.  I like to taste the batter to make sure it doesn’t need salt/pepper or garlic:)  Add the needed items:)
4. Then gently, place the cauliflower pieces into the batter.  Make sure to completely coat each piece of cauliflower.  If you don’t completely coat each piece your final product will be something short of the desired buffalo wing:)

Gently tossing the cauliflower in the batter

5. Then place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure that none of the pieces are touching each other.  This way all the sides of the pieces will be nicely browned & it will be easier to turn the pieces:)  I love easier:)

Cauliflower coated & ready to be baked at 450 F

6. Then place the coated cauliflower in the oven at 450 F for 12 minutes.

Cute little cauliflower floret waiting to be transformed into a delicious gluten free delight:)

7.In a small saucepan, place the  hot sauce & butter on low until the butter is melted.  Don’t inhale this too deeply or it could really overwhelm you with the vinegar smell… and the peppers:)  LOL I know this from experience:)  Once the butter has melted set this mixture aside.

8. Then after 12 minutes the underside of the cauliflower should be nice and golden brown.  At this point turn them over.  You can use your fingers if you have no feeling left as you are an old Le Cordon Bleu grad or a criminal who decided to change their fingers and burn off all their finger prints, thus usually leaving them with no more feeling in their fingers… or if you are a normal person, just use a pair of tongs:)  LOL:) Anyway you decide to do it, make sure that you turn the pieces of cauliflower over:)

9. Then place the turned over cauliflower back into the oven for about 5 minutes, until it is golden brown, keep an eye on it after 4 or so minutes as each oven is different:)

Cauliflower after it has baked for 12 minutes, turn it over so the brown side is facing up, then back into the oven for another 5 minutes

9. Then in a large bowl, place half the hot sauce/butter mixure.  Very gently, remove the cauliflower from the sheet pan (keep the parchment on the sheet pan- you are going to use it in about a minute or two )and place into the sauce.  Once all the pieces of cauliflower are in the bowl, top with the remaining sauce.  Then very gently toss to coat, or if you are not too good at tossing without throwing the contents of the bowl everywhere (like me:) then gently stir the pieces so the cauliflower is completely coated with the sauce.

10.  Then once the cauliflower is completely coated with the sauce (Do NOT throw away any of the sauce left over- you are going to place this in the bleu cheese sauce- it is a nice perk up of the sauce!) , place it back on the parchment paper that you used to cook it on… and let it bake in the hot sauce & butter goodness for about 8 minutes, until the cauliflower looks like it has absorbed the sauce completely.

Gently tossed cauliflower with buffalo sauce, ready to go back into the oven for about 8 minutes to bake the buffalo sauce into the cauliflower

11. While the cauliflower is baking in the hot sauce goodness, make the buffalo dipping sauce.  In a medium bowl, mix the remaining sauce from tossing the cauliflower (the neat thing when you do this with cauliflower is that you can use the leftover sauce- as opposed to when you make real chicken wings it is not safe to use the sauce that you dip the wings in- gotta love vegetarianism:)  Duke’s Mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire  sauce and sea salt & pepper.  Mix well, then add the bleu cheese.  Stir well, but not so rough that you you eliminate the bleu cheese. You want a few chunks of bleu cheese.  Then taste to adjust the seasonings.  Personally, I like to add a little thinly sliced scallion… and keep a little for the garnish:)

12.  Then make a few carrot sticks and a few celery sticks.   Plate the carrot sticks & celery sticks.  Then place your bleu cheese dressing in a cute little bowl.  If you want to get fancy, place a little leaf from the celery & a little scallion flare and watch people ohhh and awww:)  LOL 🙂

13.  When the “wings” are done, after about 8 minutes, take them out and place on your prepared serving platter.  Serve them to even your pickiest guest and watch the ohhh and wow:)   I served these to the families at the Ronald McDonald House they loved them… I kept getting are you sure this is not fried AND vegetarian?  🙂 🙂 Gluten Free, Vegetarian & Just in time for Friday’s Happy Hour!

Wacky Hot Buffalo Wings that everyone in the house can enjoy!

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