Try Chicken Wings Without a Flap

The holidays mean entertaining, and entertaining means hors d’oeuvres, and hors d’oeuvres mean a lot of fuss and feathers, time and expense. Right?

Not necessarily, says Ed Mitchell, executive chef of the Center Club in Costa Mesa.

He says you can impress your guests with elegant hors d’oeuvres done both on the cheap and well ahead of time so that you can be an omnipresent host or hostess.

His best example: Not one, but two hors d’oeuvres made from a single chicken wing. One part is scrunched up to resemble a Tootsie Pop, and the other is boned and stuffed with anything from cheese to shrimp to spinach.

They have become so popular at the club that Mitchell includes them in the cooking classes he conducts regularly for members.

The wings can be prepared a day or two before a party and cook quickly, so they can be shifted from the refrigerator to the oven to the serving dish in just a few minutes.

Oriental in nature, they reflect Mitchell’s personal preference in cuisine, although his tastes don’t dominate the menu at the club. “Because this is a private club, we listen closely to what the members want,” he said, “so we have a fairly eclectic menu. I like Chinese and Japanese foods, so there’s some of that. Our manager likes Italian food, so there’s some of that too.”

Mitchell, who received his formal training at the Culinary Institute in New Haven, Conn., has been a chef for more than 20 years, and his resume includes stints at high-end French restaurants in Colorado, Florida and Texas before he joined the Club Corp. of America, which operates the Center Club, about 15 years ago.

His first function at Club Corp. was opening various facilities around the country, preparing menus and getting them off the ground. “Each club is different in both design and food,” he says, “and depends largely on regional tastes, so there is no dictatorial direction from corporate headquarters; each club is free to do whatever is necessary to accommodate its individual members.”

Mitchell took a liking to Orange County when he helped launch the Center Club seven years ago. A year later, he returned to take the kitchen reins.

MAHOGANY

CHICKEN WINGS

4 pounds chicken wings

1 1/4 cups hoisin sauce

3/4 cups plum sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup dry sherry

1/4 cup honey

6 green onions, minced

6 cloves garlic, minced

Cut off and discard wing tips. Separate wing at joint. At the drumstick joint, separate bones with small knife and push meat to tip. Remove smaller bone and discard. Mix all other ingredients in large bowl. Add chicken and coat well. After refrigerating coated chicken for at least 24 hours, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pan with foil and place rack over foil, first coating rack with cooking spray. Drain chicken, reserving liquid. Place chicken on rack and roast for 30 minutes. Baste, turn wings and return to oven for an additional 30 minutes.