Poulet au Paprika

It's always such a pleasure when I discover that a negative prejudice I have about food is wrong. I've never had anything against paprika, but it always seemed like an afterthought kind of seasoning that I often wondered what it's use was. That is, until I tried Laura's Poulet au Paprika. It creates such a smooth blend of flavours, all couched in this noticeable taste of paprika. I strongly recommend exploring different types of paprika each time you make this recipe. And I'm fairly confident that you will want to make it again and again.

The original recipe required only chicken thighs, but the cooking instructions are the same as cooking a whole chicken in pieces that I just did that, and it turned out wonderfully.

1 whole chicken cut in 6 to 8 pieces

1 pinch salt and pepper

1 Tbsp bacon drippings or oil

1 red pepper, julienned

1 onion, sliced

half of a small fennel bulb, finely chopped

1 Tbsp hot or sweet Hungarian paprika (or try with other types of paprika)

1 clove garlic, minced

1⁄2 cup white wine

1 tomato (6 to 7oz) roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsps crème fraîche

garnish with a wedge of lemon

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the fat in a sauté pan and, working in batches, brown the meat on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
2. Drain off all but a tablespoon of fat from the pan.
3. Lower the heat and add the julienned pepper, onion, fennel, and paprika. Cook until soft, but not coloured, about 12 minutes, adding the garlic for the final minute.
4. Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add the tomatoes and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Put the chicken back in. Cover the pan, and cook, turning the meat occasionally, until tender, about 30 minutes or until breasts register 165°F on a meat thermometre.
6. Remove the chicken to a serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
7. Turn up the heat under the sauce and boil down to sauce consistency. Turn off the heat, stir through the cream, check the seasonings (including the paprika, adding more if you like), then pour over the chicken, and serve with wedge of lemon. Squeeze lemon before eating if desired.

Frosting to improve hips - Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Yes, a butter frosting. Usually for this type of recipe an unsalted butter is recommended, but I like to use salted - I always find that salt improves flavour, even when it's a sweet. Although I have made this by hand, I prefer to use an electric mixer to cream the butter. All I'm saying is that, in a pinch, you can beat the butter with a wooden spoon by hand; it may in fact offset a bit the calories...

NOTE: you can choose how sweet you want your frosting by playing with the quantity of icing sugar. Two cups may be a bit skimpy and create a bitter-sweet chocolate frosting, but I find four cups way too sweet. I recommend you start at 2 cups and add to taste after that.

ANOTHER NOTE: It's best to sift light powders like cocoa and icing sugar after measuring - the measuring process can compact it again and cause it to lump.

YET ANOTHER NOTE: Notice that the darkness of the chocolate frosting will lighten depending on two things: 1) how much sugar you use and 2) how long and how vigorously you beat the mixture (especially if you use an electric mixer).

1 cup (8oz/228gr) softened salted butter

1⁄3 cup crème fraîche

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 cup Dutch processed or de-bittered cocoa powder, sifted after measuring

2 to 4 cups icing sugar, sifted after measuring

1. Beat butter until creamy (it will become pale, almost white).
2. Blend in crème fraîche and vanilla; beat until very smooth.
3. Add the cocoa and icing sugar.
4. Beat on high until smooth, no longer than 45 seconds or depending on the colour you want.

Home made chocolate cake store bought mix

What I like most about experimenting with food is trying recipes that seem insane but turn out really well. I discovered this chocolate cake recipe on what used to be Recipezaar.com but is now called Food.com. When I first made it, the batter which is very runny made me nervous. But it turned out wonderfully moist and rich, and is terribly simple to make. In fact, it reminds me so much of those instant cake mixes we used when I was a child, although the flavor is infinitely better. Definitely not a low-cal dessert, especially with the frosting I recommend. The original has been altered since I prefer a little less sweet with my chocolate and I love the taste of vanilla. I think it's the perfect classic home-made chocolate cake for birthdays.

NOTE: I use dutch process or de-bittered cocoa powder for this recipe. The flavor is smoother and more pleasant.

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3⁄4 cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder (sift after measuring to remove any small lumps)

2 tsps baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1⁄2 tsp salt

1⁄2 tsp cinnamon

2 large eggs

2 Tbsps vanilla

1 cup strong coffee, cooled

1 cup cream (any liquid will do but I like the richness)

1⁄2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsps white vinegar

1. Set oven to 350°F.
2. Generously grease two 8 inch cake rounds. The batter does tend to stick, so you may elect to cut out some parchment paper circles to lay at the bottom of your pan (grease the pan first, lay the parchment paper over the surface and press to make it stick - this will prevent batter from leaking under the parchment paper. Then grease the surface of the parchment paper).
3. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour with sugar, sifted cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
4. Add in eggs, cooled coffee, vanilla, cream oil and vinegar; mix until blended and smooth. Remember, the batter will be thin. Ta-da, all in one bowl!
5. Pour into prepared baking pan.
6. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until cake tests done.
7. Cool completely before frosting.

Edible Breakfast Dishes - Ham and Eggs Cups

This is really delicious and simple and cool looking. I still have to figure out the right time for baking because my first couple of attempts were overcooked, so that the yolk, while not rock hard, was definitely solid. It's a great breakfast item that easily serves for dinner. This is one version of many possibilities. Try it with crème fraîche instead of cheese, ratatouille instead of mushrooms, etc.

½ lb mushrooms, chopped into cubes

1 finely chopped shallot

1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter

Pinch of fresh or dried thyme

Splash white wine

6 Cherry tomatoes

12 slices cured ham

6 large eggs

Parmigiano, grated

Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cook mushrooms and shallot in butter over moderately high heat until mushrooms are tender and liquid they give off is evaporated. Add white wine and allow to evaporate.
3. Assemble and bake:
4. Fit 2 slices of ham into each oiled ramekins. Divide mushrooms among cups, portion out thyme into each cup and crack 1 egg into each. Pop in a cherry tomato in each ramekin, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake in middle of oven until whites are cooked but yolks are still runny, less than 15 minutes (I turn on the broiler for the last minute. Season eggs with salt and pepper and remove (with ham) from muffin cups carefully, using 2 spoons.
5. Eat with baguette or crusty bread.

Shaved Vegetable Salad

Oh, I can make this in so many different ways, it really depends on what you want to put in your salad. This is originally from Laura Calder and what I've indicated below is one of my variations. Really, the recipe is just to slice veggies paper-thin so that they develop a texture very similar to raw lettuce. Unless you're preternaturally skilled with a knife, a fine mandolin is essential to pull this off. The texture is so delightfully and surprisingly light and fresh this will soon become a favorite.

Carrots

Fennel bulb

Radishes

Beets

Lemon juice

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Fresh dill (optional)

1. Using a very fine mandolin, shave any hard, firm vegetable you like into paper-thin slices, reserving beets for last and keeping them to the side (their colour will bleed and stain the other veggies unless, of course, they are golden or white beets).
2. Toss veg (except for beets) and dill (if using) with olive oil to cover and properly separate them. Add lemon juice and arrange in bowls. While arranging in bowls, insert beet slices so that they are evenly distributed throughout. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

Sunshine in a bowl - Golden Onion Soup

I had the opportunity to perfect this recipe over a couple of years. It's simple and flavourful, and the little bit of chili gives it a nice-but-not-overpowering kick. The garnish is not just to make the soup look pretty - although the rounded, delicate leaves of the cilantro are beautiful floating on the golden broth of the soup - it contributes to the delight of the soup's flavour. There are two elements to be particularily mindful of: slice the onion thinly (if not using a mandolin to do this, the onion should be as thin (or thinner) as if you were using one), and be sure to allow the onion to cook slowly enough to not burn, but at a good enough temperature that the onion's sweat (the liquid that forms while cooking) and the onion pieces start to brown; a lot of the richness of the soup comes from this process.

3 large Spanish onion or 4 yellow onions, finely sliced

3 cloves garlic, finely sliced

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter

1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

1 tsp. mild chilli powder

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

8 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 tsp salt

pepper

1/3 cup couscous (optional but it lends a lovely texture to the soup)

Fresh cilantro

1. Heat oil and butter until the butter started to foam and crackle. Add the onion and reduce the temperature to medium-medium high and cook until nicely browned, about 15-30 minutes.
2. Stir in chopped chili and spices, cook for 1-2 minutes over low heat, to avoid burning the delicate spices. Add stock, salt and pepper and birng to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. At the end of 20 minutes, stir in couscous (if using). With or without couscous, simmer another 10 minutes. Taste test and season to taste.
4. Garnish with cilantro, chopped or whole leaf, and serve.