Category: "The Joy of Cooking"

Chicken paprikash experiment 2

by Don  

This is a minor variation of the "chicken paprika" recipe from "The Joy of Cooking."

Ingredients

  • 2 large chicken breasts
  • 1.5 tbsp butter
  • 1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 cup finely chopped onions
  • 2 tbsp Szeged paprika
  • 2 cups of chicken broth
  • 2 tsp flour
  • 1 cup sour cream

Method

Cut chicken into largeish chunks. Heat butter and oil in pan. Add onions and paprika, fry till glossy and red. Add chicken and broth. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Simmer uncovered till liquid reduces a bit. Add flour to sourcream. Add sourcream to pan a bit at a time and stir it in. Don't bring to a boil, but let the sauce thicken.


2020-03-28: This was my first attempt. I'm pretty pleased with it. Definitely a repeater.

The original recipe called for a 2.5 pound fryer, but I just used chicken breasts. I wanted thighs, but the store was out of them thanks to the coronavirus lockdown. If find myself wondering whether it would be better just to simmer it uncovered. I'll try that next time.

Onion or leek pie

by Don  

Ingredients

  • 9-inch pie shell, cooled
  • 2.5 lbs of Bermuda onion, sweet onions, or leeks
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • (1 tbsp minced fresh herb or 1 tsp dill or celery seed)
  • 4 strips of fried bacon or crumbled, cooked sausage

Method

  • Preheat oven to 450°F.
  • Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the onions. Stir and cook over low heat until they are translucent. Cool them well.
  • Combine and heat slowly until blended the eggs, sour cream, salt, pepper, and herbs. Pour mixture into the pie shell. Bake the pie in a 450° oven for ten mintues.
  • Reduce the heat to 300° and bake until crust is light brown, about half an hour.

2020-10-28: Tonight I tried the recipe for the first time. I used the quick cornmeal crust from "Diet for a small planet." Poured in the onion mixture. I cooked it at 450° for ten minutes. The recipe said to add another 30 minutes at 300°, so I checked it at 25 minutes. Still too runny. I was cooking in a square Pyrex dish 8.5" by 8.5", which takes longer to heat, so I assumed I would have to adjust the cooking time. I added another 10 minutes. Still too runny. I added another 20 minutes. Still too runny. Added another 20 minutes. Still too runny. Added another 20 minutes. Okay, it's probably cooked now. Please, God, let me not kill me or my guests.

I put it in the fridge overnight. Ate it the next evening. Pretty good. Outside of slicing the onions, this is a quick and easy recipe.