November 12 ALREADY!

-and I haven't posted here in almost two months! School is really kicking my tail- and I figure I'll be able to post late on my blog without any repercussions, but if I do my assignments late, I'll pay for it. Therefore, I've been neglecting my blogs. Anyway, we're getting ready for the football games, so I want to share what we're making for lunch- because almost all the Big 10 games are at noon.

We're making baked wings, which I normally don't like, because I don't like wings (or any meat, for that matter) that have been baked in a pan, sitting in a pool of grease. So, to resolve that problem, we put a couple of cooling racks over the huge jelly roll pan we have, and the grease drips off. Problem solved! I like hot wings, but FatCat doesn't, so for seasoning, we found a recipe for a dry rub that is perfect on just about any meat you cook. I first tried it back in the summer, and it made a great big batch that has lasted us until maybe a couple weeks ago. So I made some more this morning:

Hugh's Dry Rub

1/2 cup paprika

3 Tablespoons cayenne pepper

5 Tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

6 Tablespoons garlic powder

3 Tablespoons onion powder

6 Tablespoons salt

2 1/2 Tablespoons dried oregano

2 1/2 Tablespoons dried thyme

In a medium bowl, combine the paprika, cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, oregano, and thyme. Mix well, and store in a cool, dry place in an airtight container.

It came from allrecipes.com, and you can click anywhere on the recipe to be taken to the page where it is posted. Go read the reviews! This is one awesome rub- and like I said, you can use it on a variety of meats- or anything you season! I think a pinch of this in the yolks would make some delicious deviled eggs, though I haven't tried it yet. I did make a couple substitutions- and I've never made it exactly the way the recipe directs, so I don't know if my changes make it better, worse, or pretty much the same as the original. I've done this both times I've made this, so I guess I should document it here:

For the freshly ground black pepper, I used coarse-ground black pepper from a jar.

For the oregano, I used pre-mixed Italian seasoning.

For the thyme, I used a pre-mixed poultry seasoning.

This is very similar to the recipe for Emeril's Essence, which I have not tried. The ingredients are identical; the proportions are a little different.