I Want To Cook

If you’ve been wanting to add some pizazz to your kitchen playlist, then boy have I got a spice for you: paprika.

We know paprika as that red powder sold in little jars or tin cans and often associate it with Hungary, but beyond that, what is the stuff?

Paprika is just the powdered form of a variety of dried peppers or chilies, and ranges in flavor from sweet to spicy, depending on the nature of the pepper or chile from which it was derived.

And what does the country of Hungary have to do with it? Well, when Europeans brought peppers back to their homeland from America in the 1500s, it was the Hungarians who sun-dried and grinded them, thus making what we now know as paprika. While paprika is made all over, the best stuff is still thought to come from Hungary.

Paprika can be spicy, but it won’t burn your mouth off like cayenne powder. Rather, paprika offers a complex flavor and can act to literally warm your body (good to know for those cold winter months).

Great, so now that you have a short history lesson on paprika, how can you use the stuff aside from sprinkling it atop hummus or deviled eggs?

Well, one of my favorite ways is to use it with a heavy hand to build a vibrant tomato sauce that itself will help flavor chicken, pork, beef or even vegetables.

In this recipe, we’ll have paprika play a starring role in a hearty and healthful chicken entree whose sauce might just outshine the poultry itself.

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Hello and I’m glad you found I Want To Cook! If you’re looking for the how-to on making caramelized onions that was featured in today’s Orange County Register newspaper, you’ll find it right HERE.

Be sure to check out the site and try some other recipes, too!

Cheers,

Matt

I was making Jell-O the other day, but ended up with a serving of humble pie: Imagine my surprise when I opened the fridge hours later and realized the thing never set. Instead of having a delicious, jiggly dessert, I was confronted with a useless bowl of liquid that never formed into a mold.

What the heck was going on, I wondered. I mean, it’s Jell-O, not rocket science. Second doubts set in quick.

“Why had I ever gone to culinary school if I couldn’t pull off making something as simple as one of America’s favorite, no-brainer desserts?”

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Ah, barbecue. Was there ever a word in the culinary realm that had so many meanings, not to mention cause for so passionate of debates?

While most of us throw the word around as a verb, adjective and noun – as a cooking method, type of food eaten and the apparatus with which to cook said food, respectively – to others it’s cause for fiery remarks as to what is “real” barbecue when it comes style of both recipe and cooking method.

I’m not going to step into that hornet’s nest today. Instead I’m here to share a sauce. A barbecue sauce. A sauce that, no matter what position you take on all things barbecue, I think you’ll enjoy.

Of course, even the sauce used in food that is said to have been “barbecued” – the term so often used for grilling or charbroiling – is a candidate for debate. Many of us are familiar with a tomato-based sauce that is sweet, sour and spicy. Other parts of the U.S. of A enjoy theirs with a foundation of mustard, vinegar and even mayonnaise.

In my book, they’re all tasty. What follows here, though, is a tomato-based version (ketchup, actually, which is of course based on tomatoes). It’s so easy to make that gathering ingredients might just take longer than actually cooking it.

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I’m a fan of recipes whose results have family and friends think you’ve spent hours slaving away to create the delicious dinner they are so eagerly eating, but which in reality was a snap to make.

One such example are enchiladas, a Mexican dish that you can think of as burritos smothered in spicy sauce and then baked until soft and hot – a bubbly bit of cheese heaven. Like their tortilla-clothed brethren, enchiladas can be filled with any manner of goodies, from just cheese at their simplest to lobster at the other end of the spectrum.

But even making traditional enchiladas has its downsides, namely getting the tortillas pliable enough to roll in the first place, not to mention the messiness involved when it comes to rolling the things.

Enter the enchilada casserole. You get all the delicious benefits of a regular enchilada, but in an easier-to-make, easier-to-serve format. The dish is made by simply layering tortillas with cheese, sauce and your favorite ingredients (a perfect way to use leftover meat, chicken, veggies, etc.).

In addition to being affordable, the enchilada casserole is very quick to make: You can have this done in 20 minutes or less.

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Summer unofficially began this past Memorial Day weekend, and with it comes picnic season. That means loads of fried chicken, sandwiches and salads will be dished out on lawns near and far for the next few months.

Regarding the last of those picnic staples, potato salad and macaroni salad are the usual suspects, but did you know that you can bring so much better to the party than those mayonnaise-drenched excuses for side dishes so popular in supermarket delis?

One easy alternative is a corn-based salad.

While corn probably isn’t the first thing you think of when the subject is salad — after all, most of us eat corn slathered in butter on the cob or microwaved from a frozen state in a bag — this vegetable actually makes for a great salad base. It’s got crunch, it’s bright, it loves being covered in a simple dressing, and is a total team player when other ingredients want to join the fun.

Corn is also low in fat and provides a good dose of fiber. And, of course, it’s inexpensive. In fact, for the recipe below, I purchased most of the ingredients at my local 99 Cent Only store.

With my Corn Avocado Bacon Salad, the kernels will provide the foundation for other delicious and vibrant ingredients to build upon. Tomatoes, avocado, bacon bits and cilantro add some serious pizazz to this salad, which for a dressing uses a light and bright lime vinaigrette.

Still skeptical about this whole corn-as-salad thing? Try making the one here, and after one bite you’ll never go back to boring old potato salad.

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Parsley is perhaps the most overlooked component on plates in restaurants near and far.

Too often, the most attention it receives is a diner gingerly picking up the green, leafy herb, looking at it in bemusement, and then shoving it to a far corner of the plate or — if no one’s looking — tossing it on the ground.

Aww, what a plight parsley faces.

Here’s a newsflash: Parsley can be so much more than mere plate decoration. Used regularly in recipes, parsley can actually be a secret weapon in the kitchen of home cooks everywhere.

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There is nothing quite like the breakfast comfort food that is a big stack of pancakes. They stand triumphant before diners everywhere, a tower of fluffy goodness bathed in syrup and butter. Does it get any better than that?

Well it certainly can with additions such as chocolate chips, pecans, or my favorite – bananas.

While it’s easy and inexpensive to grab a box of Krusteaz or the premixed stuff from Aunt Jemima, making your own pancakes is even cheaper and tastes way better than that stuff that comes from a box or (gasp!) a jug. It really doesn’t take much longer to make ( we’re talking all of 10 to 15 minutes), and you can tailor it exactly to your tastes and nutritional needs, such as substituting all-purpose flour for whole-wheat flour.

Basic pancakes are made with just a few pantry and refrigerator staples, and are a magnificent way to begin the day. All it takes to make your own is combining ingredients, mixing them together and cooking on a nonstick griddle or skillet.

If you’ve never made your own pancakes from scratch, here’s your chance. Try this recipe and odds are that pre-made stuff will never taste the same.

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Hummus is one of those party favorites that’s hard not to dip into, but if you quiz the average person on how to make the stuff, they might respond with something like, “Hummus? Hmmmmm.”

Hummus has been a Mediterranean staple for eons, and its popularity here in the U.S. has exploded in recent years, to the joy of pita chip makers everywhere. It’s a creamy mixture that, in addition to being a dip, is also wonderful used as a spread on sandwiches in place of mayonnaise or dressing.

The stuff sells like wildfire at places like Trader Joe’s and Henry’s Farmers Markets, and is also commonly found in mainstream stores as well, usually costing several dollars for a small tub.

But here’s a secret: Hummus is actually a snap to make, and doing it yourself will only cost around a buck fifty. Heck, you don’t even need any cooking utensils (well, OK, a can opener, if that counts). The only device required is a blender or food processor.

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If you happened to go out for dinner last night, there’s a good chance the meal involved tacos, those meat-filled soft- or hard-shell wonders that are as popular in the United States as they are in Mexico. And if you were out celebrating Cinco de Mayo, I bet at some point between bites of your treat you thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to make these at home?”

Good news, amigos: Tacos are totally easy to make. More precisely, today we’ll conquer the ground meat filling, which in addition to being the main attraction in a tortilla or crunchy taco shell, can do double duty bulking up tostadas, nachos, burritos or even a salad.

Making your own taco meat is surprisingly simple and surprisingly cheap: Plan on serving a family of four with it for about $5. The filling can be made in under 30 minutes and tailored exactly to your liking, from mild to super spicy.

Ground beef is the ingredient of choice in many a taco, but I prefer ground turkey because it contains less fat and is even easier to cook since you don’t have to drain the grease that comes with beef. Add some zest with onions and peppers, along with tomatoes, corn and spices, and any night can be taco night at your casa.

Ready to get the fiesta started? Let’s make some tacos

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