Ain't No Thang But a Chicken Wing.

Matt's mom is from Buffalo, and every year on Thanksgiving they'd make the trip back north to visit family, and on the day after Thanksgiving they would order pizza and wings (mind you, this is BUFFALO) and Matt would eat approximately 789 wings.  Everyone would watch in awe.  When he got a little older, he went on a pilgrimage to the Anchor Bar, the home of the original Buffalo wing.  He cried a little, and proceeded to eat his weight in chicken wings.*

I can wax nostalgic about this topic, too, because for three years during college I worked at Buffalo Wild Wings, slinging beer and meat about.  I actually didn't eat wings when I started working there, but I've never really been one to turn down free food, so it wasn't too long before I was hiding in the back of the kitchen, gnawing on chicken bones with wing sauce all over my face.  Just like the lady I am.

You can imagine, then, how easy it was to woo Matt.  All I had to do was show up at his door with a bucket of 50 or 100 leftover wings from work at 2:30 a.m. (after he'd been playing beer pong all night), and immediately I rocketed up to super girlfriend status.  (But let's be honest--I was pretty much already as high as one could reach on the super girlfriend scale.)

And tonight Matt got to cross something off of his bucket list, because we made wings.  Really really really delicious wings.  What was extra cool was that they were easy, albeit time-consuming.

If you're a wing lover like we are, or if you're looking to wow people at a Super Bowl party in the near future, give these a try. 

Ingredients
Chicken wings, room temperature
Frank's Wing Sauce (or whatever wing sauce you prefer)
Vegetable Oil

Directions
1. Fill a deep pan (we used the dutch oven) with 2 inches of oil.  Heat oil on medium heat (don't get all impatient and turn it up to high or you'll end up burning your wings) until it reaches 350 degrees.

2.  With tongs, place--don't drop!--wings in the oil in a single layer.  (Be careful not to cook too many at once.)  Cook wings until they float.  We like our really crispy, so we let them cook for almost ten minutes after they began to float.

3.  Remove wings from oil and transfer to a large bowl.  Toss in sauce. 

4.  (optional)  Place sauced wings on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 350 for about five minutes. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go wipe some sauce off my face.

*That was a lie.  Matt didn't cry.  I've never seen him cry because he's dead inside.

What to Buy for a Boy

It's hard to buy stuff for boys.  But you know what?  You're probably overthinking it.

I don't know what the boy you're buying stuff for is like, but I've learned some things about gift giving in the eight (!) years that I've been buying presents for Matt.  Obviously, not all boys are the same, so these guidelines are for the Matt type of guy.  Matt is an avid reader, and doesn't give a rat's ass about clothes.  He loves to be entertained and he hates unnecessary crap. 

Here are the things I've learned about buying gifts for Matt (and for my brother, and for a handful of guy friends), and you could probably apply these same lessons to gift-giving for some of the boys in your life.

1. Don't buy him stuff with beer logos all over it.  Boys like beer, sure, but do not need to decorate their home and their bodies with beer paraphernalia.  If you find yourself tempted to buy him a matching hat and tshirt with some logo on it, stop yourself, and instead just buy him some beer. (Or some bourbon if you want to get really fancy.)

2. He loves to read, but he's probably already read the thing you were thinking of buying him.  There's no shame in a gift card to Barnes and Noble.  (But if you must buy him a book, here are some great authors: Chuck Klosterman, Bill Bryson, Stephen King, Bill Simmons, Malcolm Gladwell.)

3. Seasons of shows make fantastic gifts for the guy who loves entertainment.  If I had to buy a guy a gift right now, this is what it'd probably be.  Among the best choices right now are: The Wire, Mad Men, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad and Battlestar Galactica.  This is also a super fun gift because if it's something that you are also interested in, then the two of you have a fun activity.  (Also, Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared if he's a Judd Apatow fan.)

4. If you really want to buy him clothes, go for comfort before fashion.  A tshirt or a hoodie with his favorite team can be cool, and some man slippers can be welcome, too, as long as he doesn't already have a pair.  (Now, if you can secretly slip in fashion that's also comfortable, then you win.)  Oh, and buying yourself clothing for his favorite team is stupid.  He thinks so, too, even if he's not telling you.

5. If you've got the funds, he's going to be thrilled to have that latest electronic thing: ipod, TV, game system, etc.  You'll never go wrong with this, but you might not always have the money for it (in fact, we usually put a $50 limit on gifts to each other, so big fancy surprise gifts basically never happen).

6. Tickets to things make awesome gifts.  Whether it's to a concert or a sporting event or to see David Sedaris speak (he's coming here in April!), tickets can be wildly fun (and maybe even self-serving, too, because you can be the plus one). 

7. And, finally, don't get too cutesy or sentimental.  That what gifts to your girlfriends are for.  He doesn't want anything that you crafted, or painted, or knit.  If you want to be sentimental, then include a nice note with a big-screen TV.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.  Obviously, these guidelines would not work for every guy, and maybe there are guys out there who like to receive crafts as gifts (though I seriously doubt it). 

Any great gift ideas (or things to definitely NOT buy) for a guy that I've overlooked?