chicken paprikash

so, tonight for dinner I made one of mike's favorite dishes from his childhood, chicken paprikash.  the recipe may not have been very authentic, but it was lighter and in my opinion, very good!

1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup lard (or vegetable oil)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 Tbs. sweet paprika
1 3-lb. chicken, cut into four pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 large tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sour cream, plus more to serve with

1. put the bouillon cube in 1/2 cup water and begin to dissolve.
2. heat the lard in a deep skillet or sauté pan large enough to hold the chicken pieces snugly. add the onion; cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown, 6 to 8 min. it should be well colored but not burned. reduce the heat slightly, add the paprika, and stir for a few minutes to develop the flavor.
3. season the chicken pieces well with salt and pepper and add them to the pan, skin side down. brown them well over medium high, about 7 min. on each side. add the bouillon cube and water to the pan and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. turn the heat to low, cover the pan, and let it simmer about 15 min. add the green pepper and tomato. replace the lid and simmer until the chicken is very tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 min. longer, turning the pieces once during cooking.
4. transfer the chicken pieces to a dish and keep them warm while you finish the sauce. using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until smooth. bring the sauce to a boil and boil for a few minutes to concentrate the flavors even more. stir the flour into the sour cream with a fork or whisk and then whisk this into the sauce. simmer for about 4 min. to cook away any floury taste and to bring the flavors together; taste and adjust the salt and pepper if necessary. return the chicken pieces to the pan to reheat and coat them with the sauce.
5. serve over spaetzle and with additional sour cream, if desired.

orange marmalade chicken

This is one of those easy meals for when you just do not have it in you to cook, but you want something great (you can skip the chilling step if you don’t have the time).  The flavor combination may sound odd, but give it a try, it’s really great!  We usually serve this over rice, but it’s also great over angel hair pasta.  Serves 4.

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons orange marmalade
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1½ cups whipping cream
4 skinned and boned chicken breast halves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
¼ cup sliced almonds

1. Place chicken between two-sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap and flatten using meat mallet or rolling pin.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Whisk together first 4 ingredients. Place in a shallow dish, reserving 1/4 cup mixture. Add chicken to dish; cover and chill 1 hour (optional). Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade.
3. Cook chicken in 1 teaspoon hot oil in a skillet over medium-high heat 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove chicken, reserving drippings in skillet.
4. Add reserved 1/4 cup marinade mixture and chicken broth, stirring to remove bits from bottom of skillet. Stir together cornstarch and water; add to broth mixture. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
5. Stir in marmalade and next 4 ingredients. Return chicken to skillet; spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with almonds and cook 8 minutes until sauce thickens.

chicken bellini

for those of you who don't know me, I hate to throw out food. most of the times that I come up with new recipes, it is just to keep from having to throw out something.  well, this recipe is no different.  I realized this morning that I had a little bit of champagne left from new years eve.  it had been in the fridge unopened since then, so it wasn't good for drinking anymore.  I came up with this recipe to use the rest of the champagne, and it was wonderful!  we had it with some whole-wheat couscous and the blue cheese vinagrette salad again.  it was actually a pretty healthy meal without really meaning to be, and it tasted amazing!

chicken bellini

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 bone-in chicken breasts
2 cups champagne
2 cups frozen peach slices

1. pre-heat oven to 350.  in an oven proof pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes.  add in the chicken to the pan and brown on all sides.
2. pour the champagne in the pan and add-in the frozen peach slices.
3. cover and bake in the pre-heated oven for 90 minutes.  remove from oven and serve. see, wasn't that easy!
   

chicken fricassee and dumplings

one of my twitter friends asked for a chicken and dumplings recipe this morning.  so I decided to share my mom's chicken and dumplings recipe.  I think I will make this for dinner tonight, it's great this time of year!

 

 

1 cut up chicken (sometimes I will get the package of just drumsticks and use that)
1/4 cup flour, plus more if needed
3 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup onions, chopped
3 tablespoons margarine
1 cup milk, plus more if needed

1. place chicken in a large ziploc bag and sprinkle with flour.  seal bag and shake to coat chicken with flour
2. heat oil over medium heat in a wide skillet.  add chicken and brown on all sides
3. once chicken in browned on all sides, remove chicken from pan
4. add onions to pan and brown
5. put chicken back in the pan with 1 cup water and reduce heat to low
6. simmer for 45 minutes
7. remove chicken from pan
8. add margarine and remaining flour to the pan to make a roux, once roux is lightly brown, stir in milk (adding more flour it is too runny or milk if is too dry)
9. put chicken back in the pan adding more milk if needed for the liquid to cover chicken.  follow the recipe below to make the dumplings and finish cooking the chicken.
   

dumplings

3 T shortening
1 ½ cups flour
2 t baking powder
¾ t salt
¾ cup milk

1. cut shortening into flour, baking powder, and salt
2. mix in milk
3. drop onto chicken and cook uncovered 10 minutes (gravy barely simmering)
4. cook covered 20 minutes

captian crunch chicken

as promised in my 24 hours of great eating post, here is my captain crunch chicken recipe.  my brother-in-law also makes this with fish and says it is wonderful!

this is the closest we have come to duplicating the captain crunch chicken at jax grill in houston(it’s great, go if you ever get the chance).  this recipe is some work, but well worth it!!

3½ cups captain crunch (crushed)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 pounds chicken breast (either make the whole breasts and bake them or cut them into strips and pan fry)

1. beat egg with milk in a shallow dish (I use a pie dish) and set aside.
2. stir together the flour, sugar, onion and garlic powders, and black pepper in a shallow dish and set aside.
3. place the crushed cereal in a gallon ziploc freezer bag.
   
4. dip the chicken pieces into the seasoned flour.  move around to coat well, then shake off the excess flour.
5. dip into the egg wash, coating well, then place them in the ziploc bag with the crushed cereal.
6. shake the chicken strips in the ziploc bag to coat well.
7. heat oil in a large heavy skillet to 325. drop coated chicken tenders carefully into the hot oil and cook until golden brown and fully cooked, 3 to 5 minutes depending on size.
8. drain and serve immediately with honey mustard sauce.
9. when I baked mine instead of frying I made them breasts and baked at 325 for one hour.  it's better when deep fried, but I like to cut out the fat!

honey mustard sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
½ teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
combine all ingredients and mix well.

24 hours of great eating

as I have said before, some days the food gods just smile on me, and the past 24 hours have been one of those times.  

on the way back from the family reunion we stopped for dessert at ooh la la in katy. ed, my youngest has really enjoyed telling EVERYONE that we went to OOH LA LA!  I got marble cheesecake that was really good. mike got red velvet cake that he said was also excellent.  ed raved on his cupcake, but he really only ate the icing.

since we were in katy already, we decided to go to swampy's for dinner.  swampy's is a cajun seafood restaurant that has really good food in a laid back atmosphere.  I had a wonderful drink that was a mix of a margarita and a hurricane (I can't remember the name of it, but it was good!) and fried shrimp.  mike had a cajun bloody mary to drink that was seriously spicy.  mike ordered shrimp half and half, which is shrimp etouffe and fried shrimp.  as a side, he got fried cheese grits.  I tried them, and let me tell you, they were really good. you know I love anything fried, especially with cheese!

for breakfast, my mother made her wonderful beignets, or "square doughnuts," as my boys call them.  as I have said previously, we have not had much luck making beignets. so, I got my mom's recipe, and now my fry daddy (michael) can make beignets for me anytime.  they are not as good as cafe du mondes, but they are a very close second!  I will share the recipe with you in a future post.

my favorite restaurant in houston is jax grill in the heights.  we went there for lunch on our way back to waco.  everything that I have ever tried at jax has been wonderful.  although, truth be told, I do not vary much from my standard captain crunch chicken.  I will share my recipe for this in a future post as well, but I have to admit that mine is not as good as jax's.  there is just something better about eating at jax, even the fountain coke tastes better there to me than anywhere else.

we stopped to do some shopping in college station on our way home, so we had wings at the gas station for dinner in college station.  yes, for those of you that follow me on twitter, that is twice in one weekend that I had wings at the gas station.  many of you will not be surprised by that.  one of the things that mike has taught me as a fellow foodie is that sometimes the best food is in the hole in the wall places.  that's why we love diners, drive-ins, and dives.  actually the wings 'n more in the gas station that we stop at is part of a chain, and all the other locations are actual restaurants.  for that matter, this wings location is moving and will be in an actual restaurant the next time we go through college station.  we just like stopping at the gas station one because it is quick and easy to get in and out.  did I mention, the food is really good!!

our favorites from vegas!!

walking back from dinner last night, mike and I were talking about the best things that we ate while we were in vegas. here are our favorites from the vegas trip:

favorite breakfast:
caryn, the terrace pointe cafe at the wynn, especially the breakfast appetizer of blue cheese chips
mike, corned beef hash with poached eggs and hollandaise at terrace pointe cafe

favorite lunch:
caryn, coconut chicken at trader vics
mike, mezze sampler at neiman marcus cafe

dinner:
caryn, zucchini chips at planet hollywood
mike, blue corn pancake with barbecued duck and habanero sauce and chorizo and goat cheese tamale at mesa grill

drink:
caryn, south beach at neiman marcus cafe
mike, prickly pear margarita at mesa grill

dessert:
caryn and mike, crepes from jean phillpe at the bellagio, so good, we had them two nights in a row

we chose wisely -- eating in Vegas, day 4

I walked over to paris this morning for breakfast (I just think it's so cool to say that) and I got a chocolate croissant and a coke and ate them back at the bellagio while I enjoyed my last few hours of internet. the croissant was really good; flaky and sweet.

before I talk about our lunch, I should tell you this; michael is a much more adventuresome eater than I am. for lunch, we had decided on going to noodles in the bellagio. when I was walking back from paris, I noticed trader vics at the miracle mile shops. after looking at trader vics menu, I decided that I would rather go there (noodles was just a little to adventuresome for my taste).

I started off my lunch at trader vics with a bahia cocktail (light rum with coconut and pineapple juice). it was really good, but very strong. to eat, I had the coconut chicken with pineapple sauce. coconut chicken is one of my favorite dishes (once I saw that on the menu at trader vics, I knew this was were I wanted to go), and this one was really good. not as good as the coconut chicken at jd's art cafe (a local restaurant in waco that closed down a few years ago, and I still miss it), but it was a close second. michael had wok hay shu which was a stir-fry of asian veggies with tofu and served with rice. he said it was really good and he would definitely eat here again, which means I made a good choice on lunch, yeah me!

we wanted to eat a nice steak dinner one night while we were in vegas and after looking at the menus for all the steakhouses that we were recommended, we settled on the steakhouse at treasure island (they had an interactive touch screen menu outside the restaurant and we just thought that was too cool, we are easily amused). we made reservations, but once we got there for dinner, we realized we didn't really need them. they weren't crowded, but it was early on a tuesday night. I decided not to read too much into it. they started off the meal by serving us their "world-famous" loaded potato rolls, which did not do much for me. mike and I split their endive salad which was really good, with blue cheese, candied walnuts, and bacon slabs. we were BIG fans of the large pieces of bacon. we decided on the filet mingon with hollandaise horseradish sauce and I got macaroni and cheese and michael got grilled asparagus. the steak was a little overdone for mike's taste (which meant it was about perfect for my taste), but the hollandaise horseradish had nice texture and taste. the sides were not that great, but they weren't really bad either, they were just kind of average. I think that we have gotten spoiled with 135prime (a great steakhouse here in waco).

we went back to jean phillipe's for dessert again tonight, yes, it was that good. we even had the same crepes as last night. would it be obsessive for me to go there again for breakfast in the morning?

sometimes the food gods smile on me -- eating in Vegas, day 1

some people plan out what they want to see when they travel, but we plan out where we want to eat. so expect some great posts these next few days. here is what we had today:

driving to the airport, we stopped at geriks in west (a small czech community just north of waco). we have not had good luck lately at the kolache bakery we usually go to in west, so we decided to try geriks (it was recommended to me by a co-worker who lives in west). they had a crowd already at about 7 am (which is always a good sign). I was very glad to see their large variety of kolaches and everything looked very good. mike and I both got sausage kolaches and while they weren't the best we have ever had, they were the best we've found in west. I also had an apricot roll which was out of this world. so, all in all, a good stop and we will definitely be stopping there again.

we got to the bellagio and realized that it was about 3 pm texas time and we had not really had anything to eat since breakfast from geriks. we wanted something quick to eat before we headed out to see the sites. we decided to try snacks, one of the restaurants here in the bellagio, and I am really glad we did. we split a cheeseburger and cheese fries and the were both really good. we may have just been really hungry, but the food was amazing!

after lunch and unpacking, we headed out to the forum shops for some shopping. we decided on planet hollywood for dinner (mike had never eaten there and he NEEDED to try their captain crunch chicken), since we had a late dinner, we decided to just get a couple of appetizers and drinks. I had already decided on the captain crunch chicken, but to my surprise, I also saw zucchini chips on their appetizer menu. the captain crunch chicken was not as good as I remembered (jax's in houston is still better) and the dipping sauce that came with it was not sweet enough for me, but, the zucchini chips made up for all of that, they were amazing. they were thinly sliced and fried and served with a lemon aioli. the only way the zucchini chips could have been better was if they had parmesan on them and a horseradish dipping sauce. but for a meal of two of my favorite things that I didn't have to cook, dinner was really great!

once we got back from our shopping, we treated ourselves to the chocolate treats that we got from ethels in the las vegas airport. I had two chocolate covered strawberries and they were really good, my only complaint is that the chocolate was too soft for my taste, but they had great flavor.

well, that's just day one, keep checking back, like I said, we have some great meals planned out while we are here!!

ultimate comfort food -- fried chicken with rice and gravy

to me, the ultimate comfort food is fried chicken with rice and gravy. this is probably the dish that I remember my mom making the most when I was growing up. when my parents got married, they had differing views on the correct side dish to serve with fried chicken. both of my grandfathers were rice farmers, but they felt very differently about eating rice. my mom's father did not want to see or eat rice when he came in from the fields, but my dad's father, wanted my grandmother to use rice in everything she could. well, you can tell who won that argument. comment and let me know if you want me to post the recipe, I just don't have time tonight.

chicken tortilla soup

I have my friend julie to thank for introducing my to chicken tortilla soup. you see, I am a very picky eater (that's why I cook so much) and I would have never tried chicken tortilla soup, but we were at julie's house for dinner one night and she made chicken tortilla soup and I didn't want to be rude so I tried it and it was love at first bite. since then, I have been perfecting my chicken tortilla soup recipe.

when I make chicken and matzo ball soup, which is quite often, I always have a lot of the chicken broth and cooked chicken leftover and this is my favorite thing to make with the leftovers. if you live in waco, jessies tortilla factory on 13th and webster is the best place to get fresh tortillas

chicken tortilla soup

1 ½ cups cooked chicken
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup diced onion
¼ cup seeded and diced red bell pepper
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup peeled and diced carrot
½ tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon cayenne
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes (I like Hunt’s fire-roasted)
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels
10 corn tortillas, torn into ½ inch pieces
¼ cup cheese whiz or velveta
½ cup heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
tortilla chips
sour cream

1. pour the olive oil into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and set over medium heat. add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrots and sauté for about 4 minutes, stirring often until the vegetables are soft and the onion is translucent.

2. add the garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, chili powder, oregano, and cayenne and sauté, while stirring, for about 2 minutes. add the tomatoes, chicken stock, and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil.

3. turn down the heat to low and add the frozen corn kernels and 5 of the torn tortillas. let the soup simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until; the tortillas have disintegrated and the soup has thickened.

4. add the chicken, cheese, cream, and the remaining 5 torn tortillas. season with salt and pepper. simmer for 15 to 30 minutes longer until ready to serve.

5. to serve, ladle the soup into soup bowls. top with tortilla chips and sour cream if desired.

jewish comfort food

my ultimate comfort food is chicken and matzo ball soup, even though I never had this as a kid, it is very comforting to me. this is what I always cook for anyone in my family whenever they are sick and it is what I always crave when I am sick. the problem is that my recipe is an evolution from the neiman marcus chicken stock and I had not bothered to write it down until recently. I took the time to write it down a few months ago, so my hubby would not have an excuse not to make it for me when I am sick. well, my allergies are really bothering me and my sweet hubby made this for me today, so I will share the recipe with you.

Homemade Chicken Soup

usually when I take the time to put down a recipe, it is for someone else’s benefit, but this one is for mine. my chicken and matzo ball soup is the best thing to cure you no matter what ailes you. the only problem is that I am the only one that can make it. so, now that I have the receipe down mike has no excuse not to make it for me the next time that I am sick.

2 to 3 pounds cut up chicken
1 cup coarsely chopped celery
½ cup peeled and chopped carrots
1 cup onion wedges
4 garlic cloves, mashed
5 black peppercorns
1 dried bay leaf
3 fresh thyme sprigs
3 fresh sage leaves
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 chicken bouillon cubes, crushed
1 tablespoon kosher salt

1. rinse chicken pieces under cold running water and place in a heavy-bottomed stockpot. add the remaining ingredients and add about 1 gallon cold water or enough to cover the ingredients by about 2 inches.
2. bring to a boil over medium-high heat. turn down heat to medium-low and let simmer for 3 to 4 hours, skimming the surface occasionally to remove fat. partially cover the pot with a lid, but do not let cook above a slow simmer; this ensures a clean soup.
3. pass the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean saucepan and skim again. ladle the warm broth into soup bowls.

timeline for caryn’s chicken and matzo ball soup

(this takes about 4 hours from start to finish)
1. start chicken soup
2. wait one hour
3. mix together matzo balls and place in fridge to chill
4. wait one hour
5. remove chicken from soup and set aside to keep warm
6. put chicken bones back in soup
7. wait one hour
8. strain soup
9. make matzo balls and place into soup

Matzo Balls

These in my chicken soup is the ultimate comfort food. these matzo balls are what are called “floaters” they will float to the top of the soup when they are done.

1 egg
2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
3 tablespoons water or soup stock
½ cup matzo meal
pinch of salt
grind of pepper (white pepper if you have it, if not, black pepper will work just fine)

1. whisk the eggs in a bowl and then whisk in the melted butter or margarine. continue to whisk as you add in the water or soup stock.
2. stir in the matzo meal, salt, and pepper. stir until you have a thick paste (adding more water or matzo meal if needed).
3. cover and put in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
4. remove from the refrigerator and shape into about 20 walnut-sized balls (or smaller if you want to, they will almost double in size as they cook).
5. drop the balls into boiling salted water or directly into the soup stock. let the balls cook for about 20 minutes or until they rise to the surface.