April 14
Sarah Michelle Gellar's Birthday
 
 
Some actresses become so defined by a character that they play  that are often perceived as that character by generations of fans. So it has been with Sarah Michelle Gellar and her character of Buffy Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The 90s TV series and has been included in many "best of" lists, including being ranked #41 on the list of TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, #2 on Empire's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, voted #3 in TV Guide's Top 25 Cult TV Shows of All Time and listed in Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-Time "

Sarah's acting career began when she was of four, and was spotted by an agent in a New York restaurant. Two weeks later, she auditioned  or and won a part f in a TV movie, An Invasion of Privacy. She subsequently attracted national attention in a controversial television commercial for Burger King, in which her character criticized McDonald's and claimed to eat only at Burger King. This led to a lawsuit by McDonald's.

Sarah's first major break came in 1992 at age  eighteen, when she was  cast as Kendall Hart, Erica Kane's long-lost daughter in the soap opera All My Children. In 1995, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series for the role. Sarah left All My Children in 1995 soon landed her iconic role as as Buffy Summers.

As Buffy matured, so did the show's content. The Parents Television Council complained of efforts to "deluge their young viewing audiences with adult themes. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), however, rejected the Council's indecency complaint concerning the violent sex scene between Buffy and the British vampire Spike in one of the episodes. The BBC, however, chose to censor some of the more controversial sexual content when it was shown on the 6:45pm slot.

Sarah's film career includes starring roles in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Cruel Intentions (1999), Scooby-Doo (2002), and The Grudge (2004). Many of her fans were surprised when she played an ex-porn star in Southland Tales (2007). But much of the porn industry is run by bloodsuckers, so it may not be so surprising after all.

So in memory of her iconic role as Buffy Summers, we recommended making a batch of Bat Wings and renting a DVD of any of the Buffy TV episodes.

Bat Wings
 
Wings Ingredients
 
Sauce Ingredients
 
20 chicken wings (3&1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tsp grated fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp five spice powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
8-oz dairy sour cream
3 TB coarse ground mustard
Chives for garnish



 


Instructions
 
  1. Place wings in a plastic bag set in a shallow dish.
  2. In a small bowl stir together soy sauce, ginger, crushed red pepper, five spice powder and garlic. Pour over wings. Close bag and toss to coat. Chill in refrigerator several hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally.
  3. Remove wings from bag, reserving marinade. Place wings on a foil-lined 15-by-10-by-1-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 450° F oven for 10 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade (discard remaining marinade).
  4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until chicken is tender and no longer pink.

Serves 4

© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes