Dinner and a Book- Dracula by Bram Stoker

Last year I started a blog series on book clubs and matching your menu to the theme of the book.  Last October I hosted and we read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  Here is the link to my blog post on what we ate and the recipes: Dinner and a Book- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  This year I chose Dracula by Bram Stoker, which has a lot of Romanian food references making dinner choices easy (Transylvania is in Romania).

One of the main characters, Jonathan Hawker, the young lawyer that unknowingly aids Count Dracula's intent to have his diabolic ways in London, references "paprika hendl" early on in the book when he first arrives in Klausenburg at Hotel Royale before his fateful stay at Count Dracula's castle.

"I had for dinner, or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty.  I asked the waiter, and he said it was called "paprika hendl", and that, as it was a national dish, I should be able to get it anywhere along the Carpathians." Dracula, Chapter 1.

"Paprika hendl" is essentially chicken paprikash or  paprikáscsirke in Hungarian (also popular in Romania, which border Hungary). It’s typically served with egg noodles or dumplings.    Some versions include tomatoes but I find the paprika spice is more dominant without any tomato and probably was intended without.  Here is the version I made:


Paprika Chicken:
Serves 4-5
30 minutes

1/2 tablespoon grape seed or canola oil

2.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite sized pieces1/2 teaspoon each sea salt and ground black pepper  

2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, sliced
3 tablespoons of Hungarian sweet paprika*
2 tablespoons flour1 cup chicken stock

1 cup sour cream

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large flat skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken pieces, season with the salt and pepper and brown for 3-5 minutes. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a bowl or plate and set aside.

In the same pot, add the butter, onions, paprika, and flour. Stir together until the onions are translucent and soft and mixture is smooth (no lumps from the flour).

Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup of water and the chicken stock; then add back in the chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20–30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (if the mixture seems a little thick, whisk in more flour, a 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency).

Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream.  I served the chicken paprika over hot cooked wide egg noodles.

* I had a tough time finding Hungarian sweet paprika so I used regular paprika (it's still a sweet version) but I also replaced 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of the paprika with smoked paprika for a smoky layer of heat.  If you have Hungarian paprika I highly recommend you use it to keep it authentic.

"I had for breakfast more paprika, and a sort of porridge of maize flour which they said was "mamaliga" and egg-plant with forcemeat, a very excellent dish, which they call "impletata".  Dracula, Chapter 1.

I have think that "forcemeat" is ground sausage but one of my book club friends is a vegetarian so I adapted the "impletata" which is Romanian for "stuffed" to include quinoa instead of sausage.  We all agreed that it was delicious and a better complementary side dish to the heavier chicken dish.  Here is the recipe:

Eggplant Impletata (Quinoa Stuffed Eggplant):

Serves 4

1 hour 10 minutes

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained

2 eggplants, cut in half lengthwise

4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoono each sea salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the quinoa according to package directions.  Set aside.

Scoop out the middle of each eggplant half and cut into bite sized pieces.  Place the pieces in a mixing bowl and salt the pieces and the shells for 30 minutes.  Rinse the eggplant pieces and shells to remove excess salt.  

In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked quinoa with the eggplant pieces, the minced garlic, fresh basil, chopped tomato and salt and pepper.  Stuff the shells with the quinoa mixture, sprinkle the goat cheese evenly among the 4 shells and drizzle the olive oil evenly on top of each stuffed shell.

Place the stuffed eggplant halves on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for about 25-30 minutes until the eggplant pieces are tender.

Serve immediately.  If the quinoa stuffing seems dry you can drizzle a little olive oil, water or chicken broth on top to moisten it.  

I had leftover quinoa stuffing which i placed in a lightly oil baking dish.  I added in a can of white kidney beans, topped with the goat cheese and olive oil and baked along with the eggplant halves.  

A simple raw red cabbage slaw rounded out the meal.  I massaged the shredded cabbage with some olive oil, salt and pepper and coconut date sugar.  

My friend, Cindy K., brought a great in-theme drink she called "Dracula's Blood".  She mixed vodka, peach schnapps and cranberry juice together and spiked it with a little red food coloring.  We all loved it, as well as it was very fun to start the night with a themed drink.  During dinner we like to drink wine and I found this Apothic Dark red blend that made us feel we were drinking at Dracula's table!  

My friends provided desserts but if you want to keep in theme with sweets too here is a great place to find some traditional Romanian treats: Romanian Desserts.

I love Halloween and I love to read; needless to say I'll be hosting next October's book club:  The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?

A Slow Cooker Primer for the Start of Slow Cooker Season

Although I use my slow cooker year round Fall does seem to be the season we kick off all our stews, soups and braising.  What better time then to make sure you know how to maximize the use of your slow cooker for optimal results.

Here are my top tips for slow cooker perfection:

1.  Slow is the way to go: While I do on occasion crank my slow cooker to high (especially if it is early to mid afternoon and I need dinner done sooner rather than later) most dishes benefit from low gentle heat which is what you will get on the low setting.  Low heat for a long period of time really brings out the flavors of all the ingredients.  The best benefit, however, is that you can be out all day with no worries of overdoing it.

2. Cheap is good:  Slow cooking tougher meats really helps these cheaper, economical cuts- think briskets, chucks, shoulder, thighs- and when cooked this way they end up being the best bits of an animal.  For the vegetarians don't rule out inexpensive dried beans which do really well in a slow cooker and eliminate the high sodium and preservatives usually found in canned versions.

3. Effortless is Usually the Biggest Attraction:  The main reason many of us use a slow cooker is for its ease which starts with picking recipes that have minimal to no pre-prep.  Soups and stews fit into this category as the ingredients are thrown in all at once.  Sometimes you'll want to brown meats first as this caramelizes the crust giving it a nice color but it's not necessary.  Likewise, onions and garlic sometimes benefit from being cooked first prior to adding to a slow cooker but again not necessary.  It'll mainly be a taste preference.

4. Keep that lid on:  While it is very tempting to take a peak resist the urge as every time you open the slow cooker you increase the cook time.  You won't ruin your dish but the whole premise behind a slow cooker is to trap heat in and cook food for a long period of time.  Lift the lid and it'll take time to get the temperature back to where it was prior to your peeking.

5. Some Ingredients Need Later Rather Than Sooner:  Ideally it's best to have all ingredients put in at the same time but there are some recipes that have ingredients that do not do well with that long a cook time.  In most cases, rice, pasta, dairy and fresh herbs fit into this category.

6. Don't Be Gettin' All Liberal With Your Liquids: Because the lid will trap heat it also does not allow for any evaporation as well.  A standard recipe will need about 1/3 less when adapted for a slow cooker.  Liquids should ideally just cover your ingredients; don't have them swimming in them.

7. For All You Out-the-Door-Early Slow Cooker Users:  Take the time the night before and get your slow cooker insert ready to go and store in the fridge overnight.  The next morning when you shuffle downstairs for your coffee, take out the insert to bring it as close to room temperature as possible, get yourself ready for your day and pop the insert in the slow cooker, turn it on, and conquer your day.

Now that you know how to maximize a slow cooker for the yummiest meals, click on Consumer Report's Slow Cooker Buying Guide especially if you are new to buying or in the market for a new one.

And now you'll need some inspiration for your slow cooker.  Of course The Whole Meal is a great source for soups, stews, roasts and even desserts made effortlessly in your slow cooker.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs      

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Risotto

Slow Cooker Linguine with Clam Sauce

Slow Cooker Apple Cider Chicken and Vegetable Soup


I get a lot of inspiration from Stephanie O'dea's A Year of Slow Cooking, an entire site dedicated to all things slow cooking.  She's got some great Halloween recipes right now on the home page.

Slow Coor Butternut Squash Barley Risotto

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Barley Risotto