Shosh's Chicken Paprikash

pap-ri-kash.  paprikash.

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 (2 to 3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces (I used all thighs shredded)
• 1 bell pepper diced
• 3 diced garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 tbls cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup hot and sweet hungarian paprika
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2-1 cup sour cream (I used soy, came out great!)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and brown chicken on all sides. Season chicken with salt, paprika, cayenne pepper and pepper. Remove chicken and set aside.
2. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper to skillet. Cook just until tender, but not brown. Stir in most of paprika. Return chicken to skillet, turning to coat with paprika/onion mixture. Add wine and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and tender. (I cooked it in the oven at 300 for like 2 hours) Remove chicken and keep warm.
3. Boil skillet drippings until reduced to 1/2 cup liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream. Heat through. Serve chicken atop spaetzle (Hungarian egg noodles) or dumplings.

Ivria's Kugel

From epicurious...

Ingredients:
For noodles

• 1 pound dried wide egg noodles
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (1-pound) container sour cream
• 1 (1-pound) container small curd cottage cheese (4% fat)
• 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

For topping

• 2 cups cornflakes, coarsely crushed
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits

Prep:

Prepare kugel:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350°F. Butter a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.

Cook noodles in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well in a colander, then return to warm pot and add butter, tossing until noodles are coated.

Whisk together milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt until combined, then whisk in sour cream. Stir in cottage cheese and pineapple and add to noodles, stirring to coat well, then spoon into baking dish.

Make topping and bake kugel:
Stir together cornflakes, sugar, and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over noodles. Dot with butter and bake until kugel is set and edges are golden brown, about 1 hour. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Becky's Polish Pierogis

These have been a staple of the Murdock family for generations.

4 c flour
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
cup cold water
3-5 potatoes
sauerkraut
stick butter
1-2 chopped onions
salt and pepper

Make a well in the flour, add eggs and salt, slowly beat water in until flour is just taken in. Don't add all the water if you don't need to, it'll get too sticky.

On floured surface, knead dough.

Peel and chop potatoes, boil with salt. When done, pour off water. In a saucepan, heat butter and add onion. Add to potatoes and mash, leaving some chunks. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cut dough into even halves, roll out dough thinly. Cut into squares, about 3x3 inches. Put small scoop of potato mixture into middle of square. Fold diagonally and pinch corners to make triangles. Once finished with first dough portion, add sauerkraut to remaining potato mixture and stir. Roll out dough, and repeat with sauerkraut/potato mixture. Set pierogis out on a towel, not touching, to dry for at least 2 hours. Boil in batches for a few minutes, until floating for a minute or so. Scoop back out onto towel to drain. You can package them up at this point in a container with a little butter and onion. Otherwise, fry in a pan with some butter and onion. Serve with sour cream.

Becky's Shrimp and Gouda Grits

Creamy Grits with Shrimp Recipe

1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup milk or 1/2 and 1/2
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups hot stock (shrimp, chicken, or vegetable)
1/4 cup butter
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup stone-ground grits**
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped green or red bell pepper
some gouda or cheddar or other tasty cheese

** If using quick-cooking grits (not instant, reduce cream to 1/2 cup and reduce stock to 1 cup.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine cream water, and hot stock; bring to a gentle boil. Add butter salt, and pepper. Slowly add grits, stirring constantly (so that the grits do not settle to the bottom and scorch), until all are added; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally (be careful not to scorch mixture), or until the grits are tender.

NOTE: Grits should have absorbed all of the liquid and become soft and should have the same consistency as oatmeal (moist, not dry). If the grits become too thick, add warm stock or water to thin. remove from heat.

Sprinkle shrimp with lemon juice, salt, and pepper; set aside. In a pan, add onion, garlic, and green or red bell pepper; saute 10 minutes or until the onion is transparent. Add shrimp mixture; saute 5 to 7 minutes or until shrimp are opaque in center (cut to test). Remove from heat.

To serve, spoon hot grits onto individual serving plates and top with shrimp mixture and cheese, stir.

Makes 4 servings.

Becky's Beef Mole Recipe

A winner. This stuff is tasty.
Adapted from A Year of Crockpotting.

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs meat (I used frozen bottom round)
1/2 cup raw slivered almonds
1 dry red chili pod
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T chili powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp anise seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes (and juice)
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
1/4 cup tequila (or white wine or apple juice or rum)
2 oz unsweetened chocolate (I used leftover bittersweet chocolate with espresso beans in it)
1 cup water
salt to taste

Prep:
Use a 5-6 quart crockpot. Toast the almonds in a pan or toaster pan and set aside.

Put the meat your going to use into the crockpot. Cover with everything else.

Add the toasted nuts and cover up. Cook on low for about 8 hours. About 6 hours in, shred meat with forks. Salt to taste. Serve with rice or tortillas.

Abba Ofrane's Brisket

ABBA’S BRISKET

MEAT:

1 Brisket “Thin-Cut” (not too fatty) - Each 2 lb. piece yields about 10-12 slices

INGREDIENTS (for each brisket piece):

3 large onions
1½ packets of Lipton onion soup
Orange juice (enough to fill about 1 inch of the pan)
Cheap red cooking or sweet wine (the cheapest you can find – I use Goya)
½ cup almonds OR ½ cup of walnuts OR both (according to your taste)
½ cup prunes
12x18 Aluminum pan (about 2-3 in. deep) – can be found at the supermarket
Heavy duty aluminum foil

PREPARATION:

Slice & sautee the onions until brown
Rinse the meat thoroughly
Lay the meat (FAT-SIDE DOWN) in the pan (2 pieces in each pan)
Pour the sautéed onions on top of the meat
Pour the onion soup on the meat
Pour about 1 inch of wine and 1 inch of OJ on top of the meat in the pan
If the meat is not submerged in liquid, add OJ and wine until to the top of the meat)
Cover the pan TIGHTLY with a double layer of aluminum foil.
Put in the oven on the top rack on “BAKE” at 325 degrees (375 if it’s an old or electric oven)

WHILE THE MEAT IS COOKING:

If using almonds:
Pour them in water and boil; then peel (the skin comes off very easily).
Roast the peeled almonds for about 15 minutes (keep working while they’re roasting)

3 hours later:

Turn the meat over
Pour the almonds/walnuts around the meat
Cover the pan TIGHTLY again
Put in the oven for another 45 minutes
Take out, uncover, and let cool
Refrigerate
After a few hours, slice the meat AGAINST THE GRAIN

SERVING:

Put about 1 inch of water with the prunes into a pot and bring to a boil. Keep on boil for another 3 minutes
Pour abut ½ inch of gravy in a 2-inch cooking pan
Place the sliced meat in the pan
Pour the prunes (and the water) on top of the meat
Pour the peeled almonds/walnuts in the pan
Fill the rest of the pan with gravy
Cover (VERY TIGHTLY!) with 2 layers of heavy duty tin foil
Bake in oven at 250 for about 1 hour
After an hour, check to see if the meat is cooked and the prunes carmelized
If not, leave in the oven at 200 for another 15 minutes.

Noah & Tara's Turkey and Biscuits

Buttermilk Biscuits with Roasted Turkey and Gravy

Biscuit ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. baking powder (use one without aluminum)

1 tsp. kosher salt

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, very cold

3/4 cup buttermilk (approx.)

Directions (it can be done in a food processor, but I did it the old fashioned way):

1. Preheat oven to 450℉.

2. Combine dry ingredients.

3. Cut butter into chunks and cut into butter until it looks like a coarse meal.

4. Add buttermilk until JUST combined (if it looks dry add more buttermilk). VERY IMPORTANT: do not over work dough or you will have tough biscuits!

5. Put dough on floured board and GENTLY pat (not roll) dough until about 1/2" thick.

6. Use round cutter to cut biscuits (I used a glass).

7. You can reknead the scraps and make more, but they won't be as tender.

8. Place biscuits on cookie sheet about an inch apart.

9. Bake for 10--12 minutes until light golden brown.

10. Eat and eat.

As for the turkey and gravy, we just roasted a turkey with lots of butter and herbs on it. For the gravy, we collected the drippings from the turkey and added some stock and flour (very slowly) and cooked on the stovetop until it thickened.

We served it at SuppaClub as a dish with the biscuit opened under the turkey we had pulled from the bone and a spoonful or two of gravy. YUM!

Tara's Roast Beef and Cheddar Sandwiches

Homemade Roast Beef Sandwiches with Irish Cheddar and various apples and horseradish mayo... mmmm.

I bought nice rolls from a bakery in Queens, Irish Cheddar from Whole Foods, 3 different varieties of apples (I wish I could remember which) from the Union Square Greenmarket, mixed horseradish with Hellman's, but I made roast beef for the first time. And here is how:

Roast beef ingredients:

3-- 3.5 lb. boneless roast (I asked my butcher which cut was best, but I am not sure what it was)

Olive oil

10 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper

1. Start with the roast at room temp. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. With a sharp knife make 10 slits in the roast. Put a clove of garlic into each slit. Rub some olive oil all over the roast. Salt and pepper the roast.

3. Place the roast on the oven rack with the fatty side up. Put a pan on the rack underneath to catch any drippings.

4. Brown the roast for half an hour. Lower the heat to 225°F. Roast for between 2 and 3 hours then check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Inside temp. should be 135° and 140°F. Let roast rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

5. Eat and eat.