Chicken Paprikash

Since I’m half Hungarian, I’d like to pretend that I’ve been making this dish since birth. The truth is I’ve only been making it for a few years. While you can make it spicy with the addition of cayenne or hot paprika, I like the way the onions and paprika mellow into a slightly sweet and smoky dish. Some dishes don’t need to be spicy hot!

This version uses chicken on the bone (I generally use thighs because they are so good and relatively inexpensive), but you can substitute boneless meat. The volume of onions will seem huge, but they cook down pretty quickly. The longer the onions braise, the more they melt into the sauce.

If you’re making this for a party, transfer the browned meat and onions to a crockpot and cook on low for several hours. I prefer using cut-up boneless thighs if I’m making this for a party.

In a Curry

Confession: my idea of a relaxing Sunday afternoon involves chopping, grating, and mixing. When I making curry pastes, there is plenty of all those activities going on. Plus it’s an oddly fast activity, but that’s probably because I don’t hand-grind my spices in a molcajete, or large, rough-surfaced mortar and pestle.

(Of course, even as I type those words, I’m looking on Amazon for the perfect molcajete, because, well, every kitchen needs one!)

Curries are great for weeknight meals because, once you have the paste on hand, it’s a matter of simmering meats and vegetables in sauce and steaming some rice to sop up the delicious curry. My favorite curries have their roots in Indian and Thai cooking, meaning they have lots of flavor. Curries can be mixed with coconut milk, broths, or even water, making them that much more flexible. Continue reading “In a Curry”

Chicken Vindaloo

Vindaloo is a tangy, spicy curry with origins in Portugal — the vin in vindaloo stands for “vinha de alhos”, or wine vinegar. The spiciness comes from a mix of warm spices such as cumin and coriander, as supplemented by a bit of cayenne. My husband would probably eat this dish every day if he could.

If you have time, marinate your chicken — or lamb, beef, pork — in some of the curry paste before cooking. If not, no worries. I prefer chicken thighs over chicken breasts because they carry more flavor. If have breasts on hand, they’re a fine choice.

As with most curries, this recipe is naturally gluten free. The list of ingredients is long, but don’t let that daunt you. The whole thing comes together very quickly!

One of *Those* Weeks

Most of the time, my weekday life is boring and predictable. I like it that way. Get up, go to work, bang my head against my desk, go home. My meals are under control — if it’s not something I’ve made myself, then it’s likely a meal from a restaurant that I’ve vetted and trust.

There is great comfort in knowing your lunch won’t make you sick for the next week or two.

Sometimes, life is less controlled. Maybe I’m traveling. Maybe I’m attending a conference. Maybe I’m involved in a work situation that doesn’t allow the flexibility of my normal life. Whatever the circumstance, I can’t rely on my safe, gluten-free kitchen or familiar restaurants with familiar options, and bringing my own meals is challenging. Continue reading “One of *Those* Weeks”

Don’t Pay Good Money for That!

A few months ago, I decided to take the plunge: I was going to make a delicious-sounding chicken with olives and preserved lemons. Except, natch, not a preserved lemon (or fresh lemon, for that matter) to be found in the house.

Or at my local grocery store.

At this point, I had choices. I could devote my life to finding a nearby store that stocked preserved lemons, or I could accept the inevitable. I did the latter, ordering a small jar of preserved lemons from Amazon. Sure, it was pricey, but I was convinced the lemons were worth it. Continue reading “Don’t Pay Good Money for That!”

Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Green Olives

There are, by my count, a zillion ways to make this dish, but all are essentially braised chicken with preserved lemons and green olives…and a fantastic sauce to be soaked up by gluten-free pasta or rice. Modify the flavors as your mood strikes, adjusting spices to evoke dishes from Morocco to Spain.

Party Leftovers = Gluten-Free Ingredients

When it comes to feeding people at parties, my philosophy is along the lines of “too much isn’t nearly enough”. No matter how often I swear I won’t overdo it on the food, I still find myself making too much, buying too much, and wondering what to do with the leftovers.

When it comes to meats and vegetables, I try to get them packaged up and refrigerated as quickly as possible so they’ll be available for meals later in the week. Likewise for salads that can be served again — I don’t saved dressed green salads as they get mushy. Heck, I rarely serve green salads at parties for that very reason.

Also, between you and me, it turns out most of my guests opt for the less healthy options over the healthy options. I don’t blame them. I go straight for the chips, too! Continue reading “Party Leftovers = Gluten-Free Ingredients”