Salmon and root Vegetables in Creme sauce

So sorry I didn't get a photo of this: it was delicious.

We have church from 2 to 5.  We usually get home about 6 or 6:30.  It is so nice to have dinner ready and hot.  But today's dinner was going to be salmon and I didn't want the fish overcooked.  

So, I cut up potatoes, peeled carrots and peeled sweet potatoes. I put them all in a bread pan and added 2 T olive oil, and some broth made with Knorr Delikatess Bruhe, a soup base made from all veggies and herbs.  I baked those covered with foil for one hour at 170 degrees C. 

Then I cut the salmon in half, laid it on the veggies, put some onion slices on top and replaced the foil.  This I put in the warm oven, but TURNED OFF THE HEAT.  And we went to church.
Upon arriving home, we found the salmon was perfectly cooked all the way through, not raw but flaky.  And really nice and moist.  I thickened the soup/sauce with  Saucenbinder (für Helle Saucen)  Gravy (for Light sauces), which is similar to cornstarch, but I don't think it is corn.  After it thickened, I removed it from the heat and stirred in 2 heaping T of Creme Fraiche.  Oh, my goodness. 

We are definitely having this again.

Sam's Hash Browns

While making these pancakes, I suggested to Sam that he cook up some raw potatoes we had that wouldn't fit in the roast we ate earlier in the week. I told him he could do whatever he wanted since I wasn't going to eat them anyway. Here's what he did:

Cook some bacon and keep all the grease in the pan.
Dice some small red potatoes into 1/4 inch cubes.
Reheat the grease and put the potatoes in. Salt and pepper generously.
Cook them for a little while (3 minutes?) and decide they're not going quickly enough. Cover with a pan lid and cook until tender and crispy, stirring occasionally.

Needless to say, these taste like the best french fry you'll ever eat. I ate at least 1/3 of them.

Roasted Veggies

My new favorite way to eat vegetables is to roast them. I've used this method with sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, zucchini, and asparagus. I really like it with broccoli and asparagus. It's like eating green french fries.

1) Preheat the oven to 400-425 (lower for green veggies, higher for starchy ones)
2)Chop up your veggies or trim the ends off the asparagus stalks
3) Drizzle with olive oil
4) Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and minced fresh garlic (1-4 cloves, depending on the volume of veggies you're working with)
5) Toss it all together till it's well coated
6) Place in oven for 10-20 minutes until veggies are browned and a little crispy, turning once or twice while cooking

Last night I made broiled steaks (see previous recipe) and just put the asparagus on the broiler pan with the steak. Even at the higher heat, they did just fine. Experiment with all your veggies! Make thin slices of sweet potato for home-made fries. Try sprinkling with some parmesan cheese or lemon rind/juice after cooking.

Chicken Paprikas and Quick Potato Dumplings

[This recipe is taken from June Meyer's website: http://homepage.interaccess.com/~june4/hunchicpaprikas.html and the picture is from some flikr account.]

June Meyer's Authentic Hungarian Chicken Paprikas
(Csirkepaprikas)

Every country household had a yard full of chickens. Chicken dishes that could be slow cooked on the stove for supper were plentiful and cheap to make. Paprikas was a weekly dish for supper. A pot of potato dumplings, and perhaps a platter of pickled hungarian peppers and a loaf of crusty home baked bread was all that was need for ones well being. Every meal was eaten with gusto.

Regards, June Meyer.

* 2 onions chopped
* 4 Tbsp. shortening, corn oil or lard
* 3 Tbsp. Hungarian paprika
* 1/8 Tsp. black pepper or whole pepper corns
* 2 Tsp. salt
* 4 to 5 lbs. chicken disjointed, use legs, thighs, breast and back for best flavor
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 1/2 pt. sour cream

Brown onions in shortening. Add seasonings and chicken, brown 10 minutes. Add water, cover and let simmer slowly until it is tender. It will smell wonderful!
Remove chicken, add sour cream to drippings in pan and mix well. To thicken gravy, mix into a paste 1 Tbl. soft butter with 1 Tbl.of flour and stir into drippings.
Add dumplings and arrange chicken on top. Heat through,but do not boil, and serve.

Modern Potato Dumplings
Yes, I know this is not traditional. But it is easy, fast and delicious.

* 1 cup of instant potato flakes
* 1 egg
* 1cup of flour
* 1cup of water

Mix in a small bowl.
Drop by spoonfuls into salted boiling water. cook until dumplings look done when cut in half, about 5 or 6 minutes. Drain and place into sour-cream gravy and serve. Serves 6 to 8.

June's Note: If you do not like dumplings, you can serve this with some cooked wide egg noodles.

[Steve's note: We cut the recipe in half and ended up with about four full servings. It took an hour to make, but could probably be streamlined from how we did it. Also, we served it with a frozen cauliflower/carrot/broccoli mix that added a lot of color. It was a easy recipe and very tasty, sort of like a kissing cousin to beef stroganoff.]