My column normally covers culinary skills and ingredients to inspire people to cook, because recipes based on a certain ingredient lie just a click away on the internet, or in thousands of pages of cook-books available at your local library.

That said, I have been asked many times about preparing the perfect hot wings, and thus I am giving in and sharing my personal favourite.

Superbowl Sunday is just around the corner. Chicken wings are a popular appetizer, and the price of those already "flavoured and cooked" is drastic. Half the fun is creating something from scratch, and nothing is more satisfying than hearing someone say, "Wow, have you tried these wings? They're incredible!"

The other half of the fun is in all the money you will save.

The only ingredient that may seem foreign to you is "sambal oelek," a crushed, liquid/paste chili product usually be found in any major grocery store's Asian food aisle.

HONEY GARLIC HOT WINGS

Recipe created by Chef Dez/Gordon Desormeaux - www.chefdez.com "The best of both worlds - Honey Garlic Wings and Hot Wings all in one. Make sure you serve these with napkins!"

YOU'LL NEED:

1 cup liquid honey

1 head of garlic (8-10 cloves), crushed

3 to 4 tbsp sambal oelek

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cinnamon

Zest from 2 limes, chopped fine Juice from 2 limes

Dash of ground cloves

Dash of ground nutmeg

Salt & pepper

2 kg chicken wings

1 to 2 tbsp cornstarch

Mix all ingredients together (except wings and cornstarch) in a bowl. Put the raw chicken wings in a large freezer bag and pour in the mixture. Seal the bag and distribute the marinade around the wings thoroughly. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2-4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Lay the wings in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Pour the remaining marinade into a pot.

Bake the wings approximately 25-30 minutes until cooked through. While the wings are baking, bring the marinade to a full boil over medium-high heat and let boil for approximately one minute, stirring constantly.

After the wings have baked, drain the excess liquid from the baking sheet into the marinade in the pot, while keeping the wings on the baking sheet.

Mix the cornstarch with a few tablespoons of water until completely dissolved. Stir this cornstarch mixture into the hot marinade. Bring this back to a boil, stirring constantly, and it should transform into a thick sauce, almost resembling a paste.

Distribute this thickened sauce onto the wings evenly. Return the wings to the oven, and broil until the sauce has browned slightly and caramelized onto the wings.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Chef Dez is a food columnist and culinary instructor in the Fraser Valley. Visit him at www.chefdez.com. Send questions to dez@chefdez.com or to P.O. Box 2674, Abbotsford, B.C. V2T 6R4