Salmon Asparagus Muffins

99 out of 100 times, I'll choose salty over sweet.  But I also think baking is great fun.  One answer to this conundrum is the savory muffin.  My favorite is the Salmon-Asparagus Muffin.  I first made it in Copenhagen in 2004, when I experienced my first (and only, actually) Scandinavian winter, and sought solace from the dreariness by baking neurotically and keeping our humble abode "hyggeligt."  These are great and slightly evil little muffins that really should last longer than they do in our household.  I found the recipe in Muffins, Scones and Breads, but, like most recipes I encounter, have modified it to match what we want and what we've got stocked up already.

Basically, you take a bunch of asparagus (usually one of the bunches from the supermarket is good enough, but I think the recipe could handle twice as much for the asparagus nut), heat it (I like steaming it), and chop it up.  Chop up the lox or whatever other cooked salmon you may have.  Make a muffin base: 3 c. flour, 4 tsp. baking powder, 2 eggs, 1 c. buttermilk, about a stick of melted butter (it's fine to use less).  Another simple muffin base recipe is available here (this one doesn't use buttermilk and remember to omit the sugar).

Then add the mustard, asparagus, and salmon to the mix.  You really don't need that much salmon to give it flavor.  If you are using cooked salmon (as opposed to lox), mix the salmon and mustard together before putting in the mix.  I also like adding some ground pepper into the mix (as well as to the topping).

Once you have put the muffins in the form, add your favorite savory topping or some combination thereof (I usually go with sprinkled cheese and/or some herbs and spices).  

Yummers.

Chicken Paprikash

This dish makes me think of my best friend from childhood, Claire.  Her family happens to have Hungarian roots, which may or may not be why they made it all the time.  But they definitely had the dish perfected.  And I probably had the dish with them at least 20 times over the years.  It feels like that may be an exaggeration, but in all seriousness, I think it was around that many times.  I am by all means a paprikash amateur, and this did not come close to the paprikash wonders experienced at Claire's house over my formative years, but it didn't come out half bad, either.  I got the base for this recipe from Simply Recipes, but there are a ton of great paprikash recipes floating around out there, with all kinds of variations that I want to try.  I like to up the amount garlic and spices in a recipe, usually.  Almost as a rule.

You start with thinly sliced onions (2-3 depending on size).  Add a couple tablespoons of paprika, a dash of cayenne, a dash of salt, and some water (I put in about half a cup).  Mix it all up in a baking pan.

Add pieces of chicken to the onions in the baking pan.  Use about three pounds of chicken.  I used a chicken cut up into pieces (with skin and bones and all).  Next time I might try using chicken filets.  This was delicious, but it might be a little less fatty without the skin (but also less tasty).  If I need a shortcut in the future, I might try using leftover chicken (and just use chicken broth in the onion mix), since cold meat is easier and less painful to shred.

Prepare the chicken by rubbing garlic (one or two cloves) and butter over the pieces.  If using skin, rub it under the skin as well.

Once the chicken is on the bed of onions, stick it in the oven.  You can also cook it on the stovetop, but I prefer the oven.  Cook it at around 350-400 degrees for 40 min-1 hour (I just used a meat thermometer to check when it was done). 

Once the chicken is done, remove the pieces to a separate plate and cut it off the bone and into smaller pieces.  If you used a chicken with skin and bones, take the fat off from the top of the onion bed.  Then add some more water or stock to the onion bed (again, only a little bit).  Put the baking pan on the stove top and bring to a boil.  Add a little bit more salt, paprika.  Then add a couple tablespoons of sour cream.  Stir.

That's it.  Serve up the chicken and pour the sauce over it.  Voila, chicken paprikash.
I steamed up a head of broccoli (sprinkled with cheese) as a side dish. 

 

It made for a pretty dinner. 

 And plenty of leftovers for tomorrow!

 

Pear Galette

It has been raining all day and it is hard to deny that it's autumn now. I wanted to bake something today to make the house cozy (without resorting to the heater - then that's really admitting defeat). Our fruit and veggie box gave us four pears on Wednesday, so I decided a Pear Galette would do just the trick. After that was in the oven, Lars heated up some apple cider, sprucing it up with grated ginger and a shot of rum. Now we're ready for some Saturday afternoon indulgence. Check it out.




I adapted the recipe from one in "The Ultimate Cook Book" (UCB), but substituted the lemon with lime, since that's what we had.  It's basically what it looks like: a pie-like crust (with plenty of butter and shortening) and thin pear slices winding their way around the inside.  Sprinkle the pear with cinnamon, lime, and sugar (and some more butter), stick it in the oven and ta-da!  I probably could've made the remaining crust more beautisome, but am pretty proud of myself for getting through this one without too many hitches in the first place.



The house is, in fact, now cozy.