When my wife and I first started dating the very first meal she made for me was her Chicken Paprikash. Being of Hungarian descent (her Dad’s family escaped Hungary in the 1950′s) this was a dish she was very familiar with and felt confident serving to her chef boyfriend (me). Of course, I loved it (and would have never told her otherwise if I hadn’t) and it has been a staple in our house since then as we both consider this comfort food of the highest order. I mean, what’s not to love; chicken slowly simmered in a sauce of onions and paprika, all finished with a healthy (and when I say healthy I really mean unhealthy!) dose of sour cream and served over egg noodles or better yet thick, chewy homemade dumplings-another item my wife excels at!

Up until earlier this year, Paprikash always meant chicken, for us, but earlier this summer we had some pork that we needed to use up so my wife used that instead of the normal chicken. We fell in love with the dish all over again and now seem to make it more with pork than with chicken.

Like with many family recipes handed down from generation to generation, my wife learned how to cook this one by “eye.” Until today I don’t think she ever measured any of the ingredients that went into the pot. It was kind of eye opening to see how much onion and how much paprika this dish actually uses! Talking of paprika, this dish requires good, “fresh” paprika. If the stuff you have sitting in your cupboard is over 6 months old please trash it and buy new stuff for this recipe as it plays a significant role in not only coloring but flavoring the dish.

Pork Paprikash
serves 8-10

3 1/2 pounds pork shoulder (or other tougher cut of pork)
6 cups onion, peeled and diced (small dice)
3 Tbl. vegetable oil
1 Tbl. salt
5 bay leaves
1/4 cup paprika
2 cups water
2 Tbl. corn starch
8oz sour cream

Dice pork into 1″ cubes. Heat a large pot over high heat and add the oil. Add pork and cook until lightly browned on all sides. Remove from pot and add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes until starting to turn translucent. Return the pork to the pot and add the salt, bay leaves, paprika, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook at a slow simmer for about 3 hours or until the pork is tender and the onions have mostly disintgrated.Dissolve the corn starch in a bit of cold water and add, a bit at a time until thickened to your liking (it should be the consistency of a loose stew). Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Serve over egg noodles or homemade dumplings.

I realize that I have been kind of lack in posting recently. I had all intentions of posting well before this, but things happen. On Friday, I confess, I just wasn’t in the mood to sit in front of the computer and write. On Saturday we threw a little party here. Nothing crazy; ribs, baked beans, cole slaw, etc. The problem lay in the fact that on that day I was introduced to Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea Vodka. Mixed with lemonade it tastes just like an “Arnold Palmer” and you don’t realize just how much booze you have consumed until it is too late. So even if I wanted to post on Saturday be very thankful that I didn’t as I’m sure that anything I would have written would have been total gibberish!!! And well, Sunday…let’s just say I didn’t have a whole lot of motivation on Sunday and leave it at that. That brings me to today, and now I am guiltily posting what should have been posted days ago.

In our CSA box (now 1 1/2 weeks ago) we received another bunch of spinach. Now I know there are all sorts of novel things to do with spinach, but I have fond memories of Wilted Spinach Salad as a kid. It was the only way I would eat spinach. I wouldn’t touch the canned or frozen stuff if my life depended on it. Even today the thought of canned spinach makes me gag and while I do often use frozen spinach I only use it if it is an ingredient in a recipe. If I am sauteing spinach it has to be fresh or forget it. But as I kid I was even more prejudiced against spinach and Wilted Spinach Salads were the only way I’d eat the stuff. I’ve long gotten over my fear of fresh spinach, but still, every summer when fresh spinach is in season my favorite way to eat the stuff is loaded with bacon, onion and hard boiled eggs, all dressed in a sweet, smoky, warm dressing.

The key to a good Wilted Spinach Salad is to get just the right amount of wilt to it. Some people add so much hot dressing and end up literally cooking the spinach completely, while others I’ve had have been barely dressed with lukewarm dressing. I found the trick is to dress the salad a bit at a time, tossing between each addition. This way you control the amount of dressing and how much the salad will wilt. As for how hot the dressing should be. Once the dressing boils and the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and as soon as the dressing stops bubbling, start drizzling it over the greens but again, go slow or you will end up cooking your spinach which is not the goal here.

You will also notice I use 2 kinds of onions, both red onion and those canned fried onions. I love onion and those fried things are one of my secret indulgences. If you don’t like onions as much as I do you can leave one, or both, of those ingredients out.

Wilted Spinach Salad
serves 4 as a side salad or 2 as a main course salad

3 slices bacon (preferably thick cut) cut into 1/4″ strips
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup malt vinegar (you can use any variety of vinegar, but I prefer malt, sherry, or cider vinegar for this dressing)
1/2 cup salad oil
1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil (optional)
1 pound fresh spinach leaves, stems removed
1/4 red onion, thinly julienned
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced*
1/3 cup canned fried onion rings (Durkee is the most popular brand)

In an nonreactive skillet fry the bacon until brown and crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan, leaving the bacon fat behind, in the pan. Add the sugar, vinegar and both oils. Stir constantly and allow the dressing to come to an easy boil. Remove from heat. Place spinach, both onions, sliced eggs and reserved bacon pieces in a large metal bowl. Drizzle a bit of the hot dressing over the salad and toss gently. Repeat drizzling and tossing until salad is dressed as you like it. You will probably have a bit of dressing left over. Divide among 2 or 4 plates and serve immediately.

*To get the perfect hard boiled egg. Start the eggs in cool water. Bring to a gentle boil and boil for exactly 13 minutes. Remove from heat and cool immediately in cold, running water.

I came to a conclusion this weekend. I am terrible at keeping friends. It’s not that I am a mean or vile person. I am very personable and make friends quite easily, but I am terrible at keeping long term friendships alive. I have moved around alot in my life, both somewhat as a kid and more so as an adult and I have come to the realization that I tend to close out chapters of my life, when I move, to the point of letting old friendships fade away. You psychologist types out there would probably tell me that I do this to protect myself from the pain of leaving friends and loved ones behind as I move on with my life, and you’d probably be right. It’s a coping mechanism that has suited me well, in the short term, but I am now realizing that, in the long run, it wasn’t such a great thing.

So what has brought about this epiphany? Well, this weekend we got together with a couple of my old friends from culinary school, who are now married to each other. It was a fun time, hanging out, at the park, grilling out for Father’s Day, and enjoying the company of old friends, but as conversation turned to others we went to school with I realized I had pretty much lost touch with everyone and only knew about their lives by what they posted on Facebook. I then realized that it was the same with many other chapters in my life. I had made many wonderful friends, but, with a few exceptions, had allowed all those relationships to fade away.

Thanks to Facebook, I now have the chance to try and reestablish some of those friendships, but I wonder if that is even possible. I’m not the same person I was years ago and neither are they. We’ve had so many years to grow in different directions I wonder if there would even be any common ground any more. But even more importantly, I hope I have learned my lesson, and will not follow the same path as I have in the past.

But enough of my maudlin, introspective mood. That’s not what you came here for. You can to check out the new dishes I have created and the recipes I have come up with. Well, the next few posts will revolve around some of the food I prepared for our Father’s Day picnic/cook out.

These skewers that I am sharing with you today are pretty simple but require a little work the night before which leaves you with more time the day you are preparing them. Make sure, if you are using bamboo skewers that you start soaking them the night before you plan on cooking. If you don’t they will go up in flames and your skewers will fall part during cooking which is a pain!

Onion Balsamic Glaze
1 onion, large
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar

Peel and slice the onion. Place in a sauce pot along with the oil and saute until just starting to brown. Add the water and cook until almost all of the water has evaporated. Add the vinegar and sugar and cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly then blend until almost smooth. Chill.

Beef and Mushroom Skewers with Onion Balsamic Glaze
makes 16 skewers-serves 6-8
3 pounds sirloin roast, trimmed of all fat and silver skin
24 cremini mushrooms, large
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
5 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced and lightly crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
salt
Onion Balsamic Glaze
16 skewers (I use bamboo, but if you have metal skewers they can be used also)

Cut beef into cubes approximately 1-1 1/2″ square. You should end up with about 48 cubes. Place beef, rosemary, garlic, and olive oil in a zip lock bag. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste and close bag. Gently massage bag to evenly distribute oil and seasonings over beef. Place in fridge and marinate overnight. Soak skewers, overnight, in water.

The following day, cut mushrooms in half. Make skewers using 3 pieces of beef and 3 mushroom halves, starting with a mushroom half and alternating with the beef. The mushrooms will have a tendency to split apart when being skewered. To avoid this press them gently, but firmly down on the skewer while roating the skewer. This will prevent most of the mushrooms from splitting. Season with salt and more pepper, if desired and grill over medium high heat, trying to keep the bottom, exposed, part of the skewer from sitting directly over the coals.

Grill for 3-4 minutes then flip the skewers over to cook the other side. After 3-4 minutes longer brush with glaze and cook 2-3 minutes longer. Longer than that and the sugar in the glaze will have a tendency to burn. If you like your meat a little more done, cook longer before adding the glaze. When done remove from grill and allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

I am often reminded how wonderful the simple things can be. This past Sunday was beautiful, with lots of sunshine and temperatures in the low 60s. The day begged for firing up the grill so that’s exactly what I did. It was nothing fancy or complicated, just bratwursts and a hobo pack filled with potatoes, bacon, onions and garlic. It was a simple affair for me, my wife, and my daughter, who ate some potatoes but has yet to develop a taste for any sausage type food beyond hot dogs and breakfast sausages. Yes, I know….it’s something I need to work on. Especially living here in Wisconsin. Most people up here are born with an instinctual love for the almighty brat!

Hobo packs are a camper’s and griller’s best friend; packets of aluminum foil filled with all sorts of goodies left to cook over an open fire. Add a good amount of oil and butter and the vegetables both steam and fry creating a great side dish to any grilled meat, or even taking the place of the meat all together. Hobo packs can be simple and straight forward, or they can be filled with exotic vegetables and spices. Most start with a base of some starchy vegetable, usually potato, yams, taro, turnips, carrots, or any other root vegetable. Other vegetables, aromatics, herbs and spices are added to taste and the whole thing is wrapped in a few layer of foil and allowed to cook over an open fire.

This recipe is for a very simple hobo pack, made with ingredients almost everyone has lying around the kitchen most of the time. This makes this a great recipe for last minute meals or an “on the fly” cookout. Feel free to add any touches and flourishes you wish.

A word about cooking hobo packs. First don’t make your packet too thick or it will take forever for it to cook through. I usually spread the ingredients out so that they aren’t more than 2 inches deep. It is best to use a covered grill as you can then cook by indirect heat (placing the coals on 1 side of the grill and placing the packet on the other side. This way you only need to flip the packet about every 10 minutes. If you don’t have a covered grill you will need to cook the packet over direct heat, which will require you to flip the packet every 4-5 minutes to ensure that nothing burns.

Potato Hobo Packs
serves 4

3 slices bacon, thick cut, chopped
4 medium potatoes, skin on
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp. butter
Salt
Pepper

Light your charcoal and let it burn down until covered with white ash. Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp.

Remove from skillet and drain, reserving 1 Tbsp. of the rendered fat. Mix the butter, bacon fat, and garlic in a small pot and heat until the butter is melted. While the bacon is rendering slice the potatoes about 1/4″ thick. Slice the onions also.

Take 2 18″ pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil and lay them on the counter, one lengthwise the other one on top and perpendicular to the first one. Lay half the potatoes on top, along with half the onions. Season liberally with salt and pepper and drizzle with half of the butter, bacon fat mixture. Place the cooked bacon over this, then repeat with the remaining potatoes, onions, and butter mixture, again seasoning liberally. Tightly fold the top piece of foil then the bottom piece of foil to make a secure packet. Take another piece of foil and laying the packet seam side down, wrap the foil around it. This seems like a lot of foil, but I often use this much to make sure I have no blow outs, which can send potatoes pouring all over your grill. You can get away with just 2 sheets, but you need to be extra careful when flipping the packets. Spread the coals out on 1 side of the grill and place the hobo pack on the other side. Cover the grill and cook for 30-40 minutes, flipping the packet over every 10 minutes. Insert a knife into the packet to test the doneness of the potatoes. When they have just the slightest amount of resistance remove from grill and allow to finish cooking, off the heat for 8 minutes longer. Unwrap and serve.

French Onion Soup is one of those dishes I have pretty much stopped ordering at restaurants unless I am familiar with the place and know they make it properly. It’s not that most places have bad French Onion Soup, it’s just not that good. That’s too bad because good French Onion Soup is not difficult to make, it just takes a little time and patience. French Onion soup gets its extraordinary depth of flavor in the long, slow cooking process of caramelizing the onions. Rush this step and that is the difference between a good onion soup and an okay one. Onion soup should also be made with homemade beef stock, but not many people keep beef stock around like they do chicken stock. If you don’t have beef broth around then at least buy canned beef broth. Whatever you do stay away from the bouillon cubes or packets as they tend to be overly salty and taste way too artificial.

The first recipe is a standard recipe for French Onion Soup. The second recipe is for a Creamy Onion Soup with Blue Cheese. It starts just like the French Onion Soup, but then thickened and finished with half and half and blue cheese. It is one of my favorite variations on Onion soup

French Onion Soup

2 Tbsp. Butter
4 pounds Yellow Onions
1 cup Red Wine**
2 1/2 qts. Beef Broth
1 each Bay Leaf
3 sprigs Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Gruyere or Swiss Cheese
1/2 thick croutons cut from a Baguette, toasted

Peel and julienne the onions. In a large pot, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and slowly caramelize the onions. Over medium heat this should take about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir regularly to keep the onions from burning. This is important in the later stages as the onions start to caramelize It is this long, slow caramelization process that really builds the deep flavor of this soup so don’t rush it. When the onions are dark brown raise heat to medium high and deglaze the pan with the red wine. Add the bay leaf and thyme. Reduce the wine until almost dry then add the beef broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. To serve ladle into soup crocks top with a crouton then the cheese. Place under a broiler until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned in spots. (continue reading…)

I have to admit, I am not much of a baker. Sure, I took all the required baking classes in culinary school, and as a chef I have done my fair share of baking and pastries, but it is not a skill that I particularly enjoyed and thus didn’t really work on developing. I was always more about the rush and the instant gratification of line work as opposed to the more methodical, slower pace of the bakery. Recently though, I have had a desire to flex those old, rusty baking skills. Some experiments have turned out great, some….well….let’s just say I’m beginning to believe in the old adage, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.” Well, I have not lost it, more like just misplaced it temporarily. One of my more recent successes has been with the focaccia recipe from “Baking with Julia.” I’ve taken her ingredients but have altered her technique a little to suit my tastes. Her recipe creates a focaccia that is just a little too thin for my tastes, but I knew I also didn’t want one of those 3 inch thick sponges that grace the shelves of supermarkets across America. Taking Julia’s recipe and tweaking it gave me something in between and exactly what I was looking for. I hope you feel the same way also. As for the toppings, I really like this onion and sage topping but feel free to top it however you like. I imagine I will change up the toppings quite regularly.

Onion Sage Focaccia

2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups Water, slightly warm
2 Tbsp. Dry Active Yeast
1/4 cup Olive Oil
6 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour (unbleached if possible)
4 tsp. Salt
1/3 cup +1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 small Onion, peeled and thinly julienned
2-3 Tbsp. Fresh Sage, chiffonade (fine julienne)
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt

In the mixing bowl of a mixer combine 1/2 cup of the warm water and the yeast. Allow 5 minutes for the yeast to active then add the remaining water and olive oil. Stir to combine. Mix together the salt and flour then add to the liquid. Stir just to combine. Place mixing bowl on mixer and, using the dough hook, mix the ingredients on medium speed. Turn speed to high and knead for 10 minutes or until dough can pass the window pane test (when you can stretch a small amount of dough to the point where you can almost see through it). Place dough in a bowl rubbed with olive oil and coat dough completely with a light coat of oil. Cover and allow to rise until double (1-1 1/2 hours). Gently punch down and allow to double in size again. Punch down again, cover bowl tightly and place in refrigerator for 24-36 hours.

The next day pull dough out 1 1/2 hours before you want to bake it. Preheat oven to 425. Place 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a saute pan, over medium heat and add the onions. Cook without coloring until onions are half done. Add the fresh sage, toss until wilted then remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temp. Pour 1/2 of the remaining 1/3 cup of olive oil into a 12×17 baking pan or jelly roll pan. Add dough, coat both sides with the oil and gently spread the dough out. Be gentle as you don’t want to knock out all the bubbles you created overnight. You probably won’t be able to completely stretch it all at once, so allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes then finish stretching it to almost fill the pan. Allow another 10 minute rest then dimple the surface of the dough with your fingers. Sprinkle on the onion-sage mixture, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and finally sprinkle with the sea or kosher salt. Place in the oven and bake for 18-25 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking tray so that it can absorb all the olive oil around the edges.

If you are asking yourself what a Runza is, well, you are not alone. Up until about 1 1/2 years ago I had never heard of them either. At the time, I was helping a couple of guys develop the menu for a sports bar. A gentleman came in hoping to book one of the viewing areas, for his group of Nebraska Huskers alumni, to watch the the Nebraska football games. He also wanted to know if we would be willing to menu Runzas during the games. I had never heard of them before, but I figured with a little research I could come up with the answer and a recipe. A quick search of the Internet provided me with plenty of information and a number of recipes from which I could create my own version of this “sandwich.” I found out that the Runza is dish consisting of dough that is stuffed with a ground meat and cabbage filling and then baked. This stuffing is usually made of beef and cabbage and a good dose of onion for flavoring, but it can also be made with pork and/or sauerkraut. It is of German-Russian origins and is very similar to the many meat stuffed doughs and dumplings of the area. It was brought here to Midwest by German immigrants and has slowly disappeared in most areas. It has remained popular in Nebraska, especially around the University of Nebraska, mostly thanks to a chain of restaurants called “Runza.” Runzas are one of those foods that people seem to become fanatical about and now alumni groups, from Nebraska, spread across the country make their own Runzas to serve during game time. In fact, many alumni view hosting a football viewing party and not serving Runzas as something akin to sacrilege.

I, personally, am not quite so enamoured by Runzas as some alumni are, though I do really like them. There’s just something about baked dough filled with meat that makes my mouth water. It must be my German heritage or something. One of the great things about these is that they freeze beautifully so go ahead and double or triple this recipe. Once made and before the rise and baking, freeze them. To do this I usually freeze them on a cookie tray lined with wax paper. After they are frozen I wrap individually in plastic wrap and stack them in the freezer. To cook them from frozen, remove them from the freezer, allow to come to room temperature and then follow the instructions for rising and baking.

One note about the recipe below: the garlic and the Worcestershire sauce are not traditionally part of the recipe. I find most recipes make a Runza that is a little bland for my taste so I’ve added these ingredients to up the flavor a little bit. If you want something more traditional do without.

Runzas
Makes 8-10

1 pound Ground Beef
1/2 head Cabbage, shredded or grated
1 each Onion, finely diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
Salt
Pepper
2 loaves Frozen Bread Dough

Allow bread dough to come to room temperature. Meanwhile make the filling by browning the ground beef along with the garlic and the onions. Season with salt and pepper. When done, drain off the fat and add the cabbage and Worcestershire. Cook until the cabbage is tender and all the liquid has evaporated. Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed. Chill thoroughly before moving to next step. Roll out each bread dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut out rectangles of 4″x8″. Place about 1/2 cup of filling in the middle of each dough then fold over the short sides followed by the long sides totally enclosing the filling. Place on a greased tray, seam side down, and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 and bake the runza for approximately 20 minutes or until brown. Allow to cool and rest 5 minutes before serving.