Quick Chicken Paella with Sugar Snap Peas

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika*
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 large chicken thighs with skin and bones, excess skin and fat trimmed (about 2 1/2 pounds)
  • 4 ounces 1/4-inch-thick slices fully cooked smoked Spanish chorizo**
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
  • 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
  • 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
  • 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers from jar
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed (about 8 ounces)

 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix white wine and saffron threads in small measuring cup; set aside. Combine salt, smoked paprika, and black pepper in small bowl; rub spice mixture all over chicken thighs. Heat heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chorizo and sauté until fat begins to render and sausage browns, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Transfer chorizo to large plate. Add olive oil to skillet. Add chicken thighs to skillet and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate with chorizo.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add long-grain rice and stir to coat. Add wine-saffron mixture and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of skillet. Add chicken broth, tomatoes with juice, and roasted red peppers. Bring to simmer. Stir in browned chorizo. Place chicken thighs, skin side up, atop mixture in skillet. Cover skillet tightly with foil, then cover skillet with lid. Bake paella until rice is almost tender, about 25 minutes.

Transfer chicken to plate. Stir rice; season to taste with salt and pepper. Scatter snap peas over. Return chicken to skillet, nestling into rice. Cover with foil and lid. Bake until snap peas are crisp-tender, rice is tender, and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes longer.

* Sometimes labeled Pimentón Dulce or Pimentón de La Vera Dulce; available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores, and from latienda.com.

** Spanish chorizo, a pork-link sausage flavored with garlic and spices, is milder than Mexican chorizo. It’s available at specialty foods stores and Spanish markets and from latienda.com.

Fancy Hot Dogs Recipe

You can use any kind of hot dog. Kosher hot dogs are good. If you want to take the recipe up a notch, try it with a mild bockwurst sausage.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp butter (more if needed)
  • 6 standard sized hot dogs (plan 1-2 per person, or fewer if you are serving kids), sliced into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick slices
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup of water
  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Method

1 Melt butter in a large skillet (cast iron works well for this purpose) on medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and sliced hot dogs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and the hot dogs are nicely browned, 5-10 minutes.

2 Add the sour cream and water, stir until creamy. Heat until steamy.

Serve with cooked egg noodles, elbow macaroni, or favorite pasta. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.

Serves 4.

Dublin Coddle Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 cups low sodium beef broth
  • 1 pound smoked sausages, cut into thin rounds
  • 1/2-pound thick-sliced good quality smoked bacon, chopped into cubes
  • 2 pounds russet potatoes (about 6 potatoes), peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
  • 2 yellow onions, sliced into thin rounds
  • 3 large carrots, sliced into thin rounds (about 1-1/2 cups of carrot rounds)
  • salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

 

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425F.
  2. In a large saucepan, combine beef broth, sliced sausages, and bacon; bring to a boil.
  3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
  4. Transfer sausages and bacon to a bowl and reserve the broth.
  5. Lightly grease a dutch oven or casserole dish with cooking spray.
  6. Spread one-third of the potatoes on the bottom of the casserole dish.
  7. Arrange 1/3 of the onions and carrots over the potatoes, and season with a little salt and pepper.
  8. Spread a layer of the previously prepared sausages and bacon over the layer of onions.
  9. Continue to layer ingredients two more times, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go along.
  10. Pour the reserved broth over the entire dish.
  11. Cover with a lid and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
  12. Remove cover and if mixture looks dry, add 1/2-cup water. Continue to bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
  13. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.
  14. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.
  15. Serve.