Chicken Paprikas + Nokedli (Hungarian Spaetzle)

mmmm Chicken Paprikas... a Hungarian staple that requires only four main ingredients. Pairing it with anything other than the classic nokedli would be a sin.

Paprikas Csirke (Chicken Paprikash)

Serves 4

Chicken legs and thighs, bone in and skin on, about 8 total (don't use white meat - you'll be sacrificing flavor)

1/4 cup Hungarian Paprika

2-3 medium yellow or white onions, chopped

1 cup sour cream

Light colored oil (like canola or vegetable)

Salt to taste

In a deep pot, toss the onions in the oil over medium heat until translucent, take care not to caramelize or crisp them. Stir in the paprika. Be very careful not to burn the paprika; as the name suggests, this is the main flavor.. burnt paprika is bitter. Add the chicken and fill with water, about half way. The chicken should release some juice. Add salt to taste and let simmer until chicken is fully cooked. If your liquid level goes below the half-point, add more water. Stir in sour cream and serve with nokedli.

Nokedli

435 g (3 cups) flour

2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

240 ml (1 cup)  tepid water, plus more as needed (up to about 2 cups/480 ml)

Mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon until you get a stretchy, not sticky, very thick almost dough-like batter. (think suuuuper thick pancake batter or veeery loose bread dough). Do not over mix the batter. You will get rubbery nokedli. Let sit for 10 minutes. Using a spaetzle plane (can be purchased anywhere in Hungary or online), work dough into boiling water and cook for aprox. 2 min and scoop out with a sift. Repeat. Toss with butter and chopped parsley. 

The best way to have a beer... (in my wine-preferred opinion)

Oh. My. Gosh.  If you are gluten free I am SO sorry. Really, I am. This might even be worth the tummy ache...

I read that beer bread is amazing.. but I just don't think words can describe...

Flavor: think savory, sweet, and just a tad bitter... I prefer wine over beer but you don't have to be a beer lover to be in love with this bread.

Texture: crunch on top, dense and moist inside

Looks like: a drop biscuit in loaf form. beautiful golden crust

Smells like: heaven. Even if you are gluten free, please make this bread just for the smell. You know how some people don't drink coffee but love the smell of it.. yeah, its kind of like that.

and.. on top of it all... its the easiest thing to make - ever. Easier than any other quick bread. Way easier than cookies, cake, pie.. you name it.

I got this recipe from Gimme some Oven. Since I'm not much of a beer drinker, what do I know about the type of beer to use in a bread like this? So I read a few hundred comments and decided to go with a Belgian wheat beer.

Honey Beer Bread:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
• 4 Tbsp. (half stick) butter, melted (you can double this if you'd like, I didn't)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x 5x 3-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed. (I recommend popping your honey in the microwave for a few seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in!)

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. (Use a pastry brush to spread it around if you'd like.)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Super Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies!

These. Are. Gooood.

Don't really want a lot of fluff in this post. Just simply, the best chocolate chip cookies.

But in case you're wondering... My boyfriend requested something sweet (so glad he has a sweet tooth - major bonus to our relationship;) so I looked for a proven recipe and I based mine off two that swore up and down that they were the best chewy chocolate chip cookies ever...

Super Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Tips:

1. Add cornstarch for a chewy cookie - Google this. It works. I didn't have time to dive into the science of it.

2.  Use 2 + different type of chocolate chips - Not rocket science, once you think about. It is, after all, a chocolate chip cookie. ;)

3. Chill - Dough has to be chilled for at least 2 hours. Very important. Also, rinse the cookie sheet so that it is cool when you place new cookies on it after each batch so that your cookies don't start to melt before you put them in the oven.

2 cups + 3 tbs flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Pinch of nutmeg (my own addition)
1 tsp corn starch
12 tbs butter, melted, cooled (but not so that it re-solidifies)
1 cup packed, light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups total semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips and chunks (I used nestle)

1. Melt butter in microwave (until there are still some chunks - this took about 1 minute in my weak microwave - and stir until completely melted). Set aside to cool.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cornstarch and salt in a bowl and set aside.

3. In a cup, mix eggs and vanilla

4. Using a hand mixer or whisk, mix butter and sugars (they wont dissolve completely - texture will still be sandy)

5. Add in egg mixture until well combined

6. Using a spatula, fold in dry ingredients until just combined

7. Add chocolate chips (and any other mix ins - I think nuts would be a great addition!)

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop dough and plop onto saran wrap, wrapping each cookie dollop separately. Once wrapped, roll into ball and toss into fridge to chill. This seams like a lot of work - but its much easier than dealing with the tough dough after its chilled. Allow to chill for at least 2 hours to overnight.

Preheat to 325F. Bake cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet for 11-13 minutes depending on how big you made each cookie. Trust me, try one test cookie before you do an entire batch and save yourself any big mistakes.

Remove cookies from oven when they are still slightly under cooked and cool on pan for a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Cookies are even better the next day!!