By New Year. 2022. The number looks like progress. The number looks like twelve months closer to Rivera's. The savings account is at $72,000. The Manual is at 118 pages. The magazine column launches this month. The cooking program is expanding to its second phase of stations. The competition circuit resumes in March. The TV segment generated enough attention that a Phoenix food festival has invited me to do a cooking demonstration in April. The machine is building itself now — each piece feeding the next, each success creating the conditions for the next success.
Jessica and I did our annual New Year's planning session on the patio. The ritual: champagne, the spreadsheet, the goals. 2022 goals: 1) Save $20,000 more (target: $92,000 by December). 2) Write twelve magazine columns. 3) Complete The Manual. 4) Enter at least two competitions. 5) Begin formal location scouting with David Kim. 6) Start studying for the Battalion Chief exam.
The last goal is new. The department has been encouraging me to pursue Battalion Chief — the next rank, more administrative, fewer fires, better hours, significantly more pay. Jessica calculated: a Battalion Chief salary plus the pension at 28 years of service (2033) would give us enough to open the restaurant with a financial cushion that would survive the first year's losses (because, as David Kim warned, the first year always loses money). The Battalion Chief exam is not about leaving the fire. It is about building the ladder to the restaurant.
Roberto's response to the Battalion Chief news: "More desk work, less fire. I do not like it." Elena's response: "Less fire means he comes home safe. I like it." My response: both are right. The fire is where I live. The desk is where the future is built. The man at the grill and the man at the desk are the same man. The fire changes form. It does not go out.
Made black-eyed peas and cornbread for New Year's Day — the tradition. Luck and happiness. The beans simmer low. The cornbread rises golden. 2022. The year the plan becomes real. The year the fire moves from the backyard to the blueprint. Let us cook.
The black-eyed peas were already on the stove, low and steady, the way every good thing in 2022 was going to have to be built — patient, intentional, unhurried. While Jessica and I worked through the spreadsheet and the champagne on the patio, I wanted something alongside them that carried the same energy: something with heat, something with sweetness, something that rewarded you for letting it go at its own pace. These Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Wings were exactly that. The slow cooker does the work while you do yours — and on New Year’s Day, when the plan is the whole point, that kind of parallel cooking feels exactly right.
Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Wings
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 3 hrs 30 min | Total Time: 3 hrs 45 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken wings, tips removed, split at the joint
- 1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Celery sticks and ranch or blue cheese dressing, for serving
Instructions
- Pat and season. Pat the chicken wings thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season on all sides with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika.
- Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buffalo sauce, honey, melted butter, and Worcestershire sauce until fully combined. Taste and adjust heat or sweetness as needed.
- Load the slow cooker. Place the seasoned wings in the slow cooker in an even layer. Pour the honey buffalo sauce over the wings and toss to coat thoroughly.
- Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or on HIGH for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, until the wings are cooked through and tender. The internal temperature should reach 165°F.
- Broil for finish (recommended). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and arrange the cooked wings in a single layer. Broil on the top rack for 4 to 6 minutes, watching closely, until the skin crisps and the sauce caramelizes at the edges.
- Glaze and serve. Transfer wings to a large bowl and toss with a few spoonfuls of the remaining sauce from the slow cooker. Serve immediately alongside celery sticks and your choice of ranch or blue cheese dressing.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 335 | Protein: 25g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 16g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 710mg