Buffalo wings are, hands down, one of the greatest dishes ever created. The combo of hot sauce and butter on a crispy chicken wing is sublime. Here’s the downside of these tasty things: Wing sauce is high in fat, chicken wings are high in fat, and the accompanying blue cheese dressing is high in fat. It all adds up to an astonishing 1,188 calories per serving. Here, the wings have been replaced with low-fat chicken tenders, the buffalo sauce with a great low-fat store-bought product, and regular blue cheese dressing with reduced-fat blue cheese dressing.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　1 cup whole-wheat flour

　　2 1/2 cups whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs, such as Ian’s All-Natural

　　4 large egg whites

　　12 ounces chicken tenders

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　Nonstick cooking spray

　　1/2 cup Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wings Sauce

　　1/2 cup 3-Grams-of-Fat Blue Cheese Dressing (page 201) or store-bought reduced-fat blue cheese dressing, such as Bolthouse Farms

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450˚F. Place a wire rack on a foil-lined baking sheet, and set it aside.

　　

Step 2

Put the flour in a shallow dish. Put the panko in another shallow dish. In a medium bowl, whip the egg whites with a whisk until they are extremely foamy but not quite holding peaks.

　　

Step 3

Working in batches, dredge the chicken tenders in the flour, shaking off any excess. Add the chicken to the egg whites and toss to coat them completely. Add the chicken, a few pieces at a time, to the bowl of panko and coat completely.

　　

Step 4

Spread the chicken out on the wire rack. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper, and spray it lightly with cooking spray. Bake the tenders until the breading is golden and crispy and the chicken is cooked through, about 14 minutes.

　　

Step 5

Using a pastry brush, brush the chicken fingers with the Buffalo sauce. Arrange the chicken fingers on a platter, and serve with the blue cheese dressing for dipping.

　　

nutrition information

Step 6

Fat: 132g (before), 7.5g (after)

　　

Step 7

Calories 1,188 (before), 308 (after)

　　

Step 8

Protein: 31g

　　

Step 9

Carbohydrates: 29g

　　

Step 10

Cholesterol: 59mg

　　

Step 11

Fiber: 4g

　　

Step 12

Sodium: 798mg

　　Now Eat This by Rocco DiSpirito. Copyright © 2010 by Rocco DiSpirito. Published by Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Hailed as the "Leading Chef of his Generation" by Gourmet magazine, Rocco DiSpirito received the James Beard Award for his first cookbook, Flavor. He went on to author Rocco's Italian-American (2004), Rocco's Five Minute Flavor (2005), Rocco's Real-Life Recipes (2007), and Rocco Gets Real (2009). DiSpirito also starred in the Food Network series Melting Pot, the NBC hit reality series The Restaurant, and the A&E series Rocco Gets Real.