Last Saturday night, for the first time since March of 2020, I had dinner inside a restaurant. My stepdaughter, who is bicoastal (spends two weeks in Boston and the other two at her home in San Francisco), drove down and we had dinner at the Water Street Café.
My friend Amy is chef-ing there while owner/chef Walter Houlihan rehabs from a broken leg, and Walter’s wife, Stephanie, is hostess-ing. Mike, one of my favorite waiters in the whole world, took care of the two of us. I teared up to see them again.
I have lots of friends, who will not eat inside a restaurant yet, and maybe never will. But I myself feel safe enough and want so much to help my restaurant owners and waitstaff friends. I am not sure any organization has suffered as financially during the pandemic.
For the next few weeks, though, it is back to cooking in my own kitchen. I looked through my pantry and freezer and remembered that my husband used to make chicken paprikash. I looked for his recipe among my columns but, alas, I’d never written about it.
I went onto the internet and found a recipe that looked just like his. While this one is for the slow-cooker, he used to make it in a big Le Creuset lidded pot. If you make it in the InstantPot, use the “sauté” button to sauté the chicken, onions and spices; add the broth and pressure cook it for about 20 minutes. Reduce the liquid at the end on “sauté.”
Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken Paprikash
Adapted from Tablespoon.com
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
4 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken breasts
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 medium onions, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne) or 1 habanero chile, seeded
1 ½ cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 cup sour cream
Spray large slow cooker with cooking spray.
Season chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper; in 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Place chicken skin-side down in skillet. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until brown on both sides. Transfer chicken to slow cooker.
In the skillet on medium heat, add onions and cook about 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic, paprika, red pepper and rest of the salt and pepper; continue to cook and stir for about 1 minute. Transfer to slow cooker. Add chicken broth to skillet, scraping any brown bits on bottom of skillet. Transfer to slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 5 to 6 hours or until juice of chicken is clear when thickest part is cut to the bone (at least 165 degrees). Transfer chicken to serving platter and keep warm. Increase slow cooker to high.
In a small bowl, beat cornstarch and water with whisk until smooth. Beat into cooking liquid in slow cooker. Cover; cook about 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Beat sour cream into cooking liquid with whisk. Cover; cook about 5 minutes, until hot.
Serve chicken and sauce over buttered noodles.
About the author: Lee White has been writing about restaurants and cooking since 1976 and has been extensively published in the Worcester (Mass.) Magazine, The Day, Norwich Bulletin, and Hartford Courant. She currently writes Nibbles and a cooking column called A La Carte for LymeLine.com and the Shore Publishing and the Times newspapers, both of which are owned by The Day. She was a resident of Old Lyme for many years, but now lives in Groton, Conn.