Updated recipe, from the recipe archive, first posted in 2007. Check out the comments section for some great ideas on other things to cook with smoked paprika! ~Elise

I first experienced smoked paprika on a trip to New Zealand several years ago in a sweet potato soup. My host laughed as my eyes lit up with “Wow, what’s in this?!” At the time, smoked paprika could only be found in specialty stores or Penzeys. Soon after though, McCormick started selling it and promoting it as a spice, so it’s much easier to come by, and we are always looking for an excuse to cook with it. If you’ve never used it, smoked paprika is to regular paprika what chipotle powder is to red chile powder. I like to think of it as the flavor of my favorite barbecued potato chips. The following recipe we’ve adapted from one in a free magazine by our local Raley’s grocery store. The flavor of this chicken is terrific, well worth seeking out this spice if you don’t already have some. Do you use smoked paprika in your cooking? If so, please let us know your favorite uses for it in the comments.

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Today is Dijous Gras – Shrove Thursday (don’t know if I got the good translation) and I nearly run…



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Magdalenas are our Spanish Muffins, although I see some differences between Magdalenas and Muffins….



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Have you ever noticed how crowded restaurants are on Valentine’s Day? Every table is a two-top, the menus are often fixed, and the staff frantically busy. After several misfires over the last few years, I’ve given up with going out that night, and instead focus on lovely dishes we can make at home. Here is a classic date night meal—filet mignon in a red wine reduction.

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Have you ever noticed how crowded restaurants are on Valentine’s Day? Every table is a two-top, the menus are often fixed, and the staff frantically busy. After several misfires over the last few years, I’ve given up with going out that night, and instead focus on lovely dishes we can make at home. Here is a classic date night meal—filet mignon in a red wine reduction.

Continue reading “Filet Mignon with Red Wine Sauce” »

This is one of those veal’s pieces that are sold in a special market shop. The meat shop where I…



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The day I was born, a heavy snow storm whitened Barcelona. That was many years ago, and yesterday…



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These are some of the cookies I prepared during the Xmas Holidays. I wanted to try a new dessert…



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“Now this is how oxtails should taste,” my father declared after taking a bite of these glazed oxtails. I couldn’t agree more. We have a thing for oxtails in our family. Oxtail stew was a favorite winter dish my mom prepared when we were growing up. If you are unfamiliar with oxtails, they are tails of steers, typically sold cut into segments. Most of what you buy is bone, and the meat is well exercised and fatty, so oxtail preparations lend themselves to slow cooking. Much like short-ribs, but in my opinion, even better. Think of the best pulled pork imaginable, but with beef. In this recipe the oxtails are first browned, then slow cooked with red wine and stock. Then the segments are removed so you can strip the meat off of them and the liquid is reduced to a glaze. It’s actually pretty easy to make, most of the cooking time is hands-off while the oxtails are simmering.

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