Buffalo Chicken Alfredo

Buffalo Chicken Alfredo, as the name suggests, consists of buffalo sauce, chicken...and you guessed it...alfredo.  Each component individually  is delicious but how does it stack up when combined?  Well I'm here to tell you that it is indeed....delicious.  I personally thought that the cheese-spice balance was perfect, although Casey thought it was a tad spicy(this is Kevin writing btw).  For this recipe we used original Frank's Red Hot sauce which is one of my favorites.  If you don't like as much heat you could try buying Frank's wing sauce which isn't as spicy, or make your own buffalo wing sauce by melting in some butter with original Frank's(fun fact: this is how the original buffalo sauce was made).  We used smaller chicken tender cutlets to get a higher breading to chicken ratio which worked out very nicely with the pasta.  This was a pretty easy recipe to make, and well worth the investment of time.  Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients
1 lb fettuccine pasta
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 lb chicken tenders
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons milk
1 ½ cup Italian style bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup half and half
3 oz Mascarpone cheese
½ cup buffalo wing sauce
½ cup Parmesan cheese
salt, pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, combine egg and milk in a bowl. Add breadcrumbs to a separate bowl.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Dredge chicken in egg mixture, followed by bread crumbs. Cook in skillet until evenly browned, about 6-8 minute per side, depending on the thickness of your chicken. Set chicken aside and keep warm.

Melt butter in the same skillet, slowly pour in half and half and stir in mascarpone cheese until it is fully incorporated. Whisk in Parmesan cheese and buffalo wing sauce. Let sauce cook for at least 1 minute to thicken.

When pasta is ready, drain and combine with buffalo sauce. Serve with chicken tenders.

Buffalo Oven “Fried” Goat Cheese

Happy Friday everyone! Hopefully it is the end of the work week for you and you get to enjoy your weekend! We have a busy weekend going to the city and I have brunch with the ladies on Sunday, followed by Colts football! Hectic, but we spent last weekend hiking and it’s so amazing to have a good balance of the two! Speaking of Colts football, are you going to any tailgates or having a football party? If the answer is yes, you must make this appetizer! I love buffalo wings, but the thought of eating meat off the bone has always disgusted me. I don’t care when other people do it, but I just can’t bring myself to. That being said, I loved finding this recipe that had nothing to do with any meat on bones. This appetizer was just fabulous! The sauce tasted very similar to the mild sauce at Hooter’s. It was good enough to make by itself and use if you were doing buffalo wings. The goat cheese really complimented the sauce well too. It was almost like your ranch to your buffalo wings. Kev isn’t a huge goat cheese fan and he even said it was pretty good. It made the goat cheese have a milder flavor. You may notice that the ingredients are a little vague. I absolutely hate wasting food so I started off with one egg and one cup panko and it was enough for my eight ounces of goat cheese. Depending on the amount of goat cheese you may need more, but I would start off with less if you can. If you are looking for a new buffalo sauce recipe to try or don’t like meat, you should try this recipe this weekend! Enjoy!

Buffalo Oven “Fried” Goat Cheese
Ingredients
8-10 ounce goat cheese log, keep very cold1-2 whole eggs, beaten
1-2 cups panko breadcrumbs

Sauce

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cups Franks Red Hot
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or aluminum foil.

Cut your goat cheese into pieces. I ended up with 16 from an 8 ounce log. You cut the log in half and then the half in half, etc. until you have the amount of pieces you desire. Using your hands roll the cheese pieces into approximately 16-24 balls and place on prepared baking sheet.

Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl. Fill a plate or shallow bowl with the panko. Dip the goat cheese balls in the beaten egg first, roll them around so they are completely covered. Then drop them into the panko. Toss the breadcrumbs onto the ball and gently roll to coat, patting slightly. Place back on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all the goat cheese balls are coated.

Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and crisp. Allow the balls to set for 10 minutes before tossing in the buffalo sauce.

While the goat cheese balls are resting from coming out of the oven, make the buffalo sauce. Combine in a medium size bowl all the ingredients for the sauce. Whisk with a fork until combined.

Once you have let the goat cheese balls sit for 10 minutes, use a fork and dip each ball in the buffalo sauce, covering completely. Drip off any excess buffalo sauce and place back on the baking sheet. Once all balls have been tossed with the buffalo sauce, place them back in the oven for 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit again for 10 minutes. You don't want them to crumble. Remove the balls from the pan and serve alongside the extra sauce you have for dipping.