By Bill Milligan
For the Call

I never ate chicken wings as a child.
My mom just never made them. I never even heard of them.
I was introduced to them one evening at a bar in Cahokia, Ill., where they brought out a restaurant-style pan full of them and served them to patrons who waited in line for them. They were free, so I got in line just to see what all the fuss was about.
The wing experience was not a welcome one at first. People who were talking and laughing a few moments before in the bar were suddenly hunched over plates of wings, silently munching away, their fingers covered in this sauce that was served with the wings, fingers all messy with the stuff.
At first I was repulsed at the thought of gnawing on the wings because I feared choking on a chicken bone. I soon learned how to eat them without choking, and I wanted to learn how to make that delicious sauce. I’m still working on it.
Chicken Wing Sauce
1 cup maple syrup
16-ounce bottle
of your favorite hot sauce
1 head minced garlic
1 stick unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well.
Prepare the chicken any way you like. I broil my wings in this recipe, so if you like your chicken cooked in a different manner you needn’t read any further.
Preheat oven to 450 F. While you’re waiting for the oven to heat, wash your wings in the sink and place on paper towels to dry on your countertop.
Season the wings with the juice of one lemon, sea salt, ground black pepper and a healthy sprinkling of paprika.
Place your wings on an aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet, skin side down for 15 or 20 minutes per side until brown.
After broiling the first side of the wings, turn, baste with melted butter and cook the other side again for 15 to 20 minutes.
Place finished wings in the mixing bowl with your wing sauce, turning to adhere the sauce to your cooked wings. Place them back in the broiler for two minutes.
Serve with lime wedges, blue cheese or ranch dressing and celery stalks.