Canmore, Canada – 11/5/2014

NOVEMBER 5, 2014 (Wednesday)

Pretty lazy day. We had our Vancouver Island Canadian friends over for dinner. When we were at their house in August, we discovered they were going to be in Banff/Canmore the same week as us so at that time we made plans to have dinner together. Jan and Caron have always been wonderful and made delicious meals for us, so we decided to finally make dinner for them. What we didn’t plan on was how small our Canmore “home” was. At one point we even reserved a two bedroom because we thought it would be a little bigger for the dinner. After calling down to the front desk, we were told the two bedroom has the same kitchen table size (but two more chairs), and only 50 square feet more. We canceled the reservation and decided to host the dinner in our small unit and just have fun, which we did.

Jan, Caron, and Jan’s baby sister Joan got to our “home” around 5:30 PM. We had just had a fire drill type thing go on in the unit. We were thinking maybe our cooking did it, but hope not. It was loud. While we were visiting and eating, it went off again for a few minutes. Hurt our ears it was so loud. We were sure on the second one that we didn’t cause it.  (Found out later that there was a water leak that caused the alarm to go off.)

Joan, Caron and Jan
Edie’s arm, Joan, Caron and Jan

 

 

Michael had made a delicious chicken paprika (our favorite), salad, and rolls.

Chicken, onions and garlic, sauteed and simmered for about an hour.
Chicken, onions and garlic, sauteed and simmered for about an hour.
Egg noodles.  The first on the plate to make a bed for the chicken and sauce.
Egg noodles. The first on the plate to make a bed for the chicken and sauce.

 

 

Pan drippings being reduced.  Then added about four cups low fat sour cream, totally takes on the flavor of the drippings.
Pan drippings being reduced. Then added about four cups low fat sour cream, totally takes on the flavor of the drippings.
Never really used a convection oven microwave combo before, it heated the rolls okay.
Never really used a convection oven microwave combo before, it heated the rolls okay.

Jan, Caron and Joan had brought some Nanaimo bars for dessert.

Chocolate graham crust, made solid with butter.  Then a custard topped with dark chocolate.  Pretty wonderful and very rich.
Chocolate graham crust, made solid with butter. Then a custard topped with dark chocolate. Pretty wonderful and very rich.

We, of course, had our wine and Jan, Caron and Joan had brought some really good orange brandy. We had never heard of the Nanaimo bars before. They looked delicious. We chowed down and visited, laughed and shared travel stories. So good to see our friends.

Pretty woman.
Pretty woman having fun.

They travel a lot and we get really good tips from them. Always have a good time with them. They just started their six month adventure and are heading to New Orleans, Texas, and then off to Europe. Jealous and excited for them.

That was our fun day. Hope yours was great!

 

CHICKEN PAPRIKA

Chicken Paprika from Ruth Gier 1987: six chicken breast, (Preferably boned and skinless and can be more), 1 med. Onion, 4-8 med. cloves of garlic, 8-12 tbs. olive oil, 4 cups sour cream (low-fat works really well). Sauté onions until nice and brown and the house smells wonderful (at medium-high heat) the onion (chopped) in 3-4 tbs. of olive oil and then remove from pan. Next, at low-medium heat, sauté` the garlic (chopped) in 2 tbs. of olive oil. (Garlic burns really easily, so it is very important to lower the heat and brown it till it takes on a brown color and a nutty smell) Remove the garlic from the pan, and then sauté the chicken at medium high heat. Add olive oil if necessary. When chicken is browned, pepper thoroughly both sides with paprika. Pile the onions and garlic over the chicken. Cover (best with a heavy lid) and let simmer over the lowest heat till very tender, about one hour. In order to have sufficient pan juices, make sure you use a pan with a heavy lid and do not open it very much during the hour. If you must check it, pull the lid slightly to the side and smell the steam coming out. If it has a burnt odor, turn the heat down, if it doesn’t then leave all alone. When done, remove chicken, onion, and garlic from pan (as best you can, you needn’t get every little piece). After you remove the chicken and onion then you can turn up heat and reduce any remaining juices until the pan juices are fairly thick (usually about 5 minutes). Turn off heat, let cool a little. Stir in sour cream 4 cups, then warm slowly, stirring often with a wire whisk for a smooth sauce. You have to be careful not to heat it too high or the sour cream will curdle. Doesn’t affect taste, but texture becomes weird. We like to lay a bed of small noodles, put a piece of chicken on them, making sure to get onions and garlic, and then laddle the sauce over chicken.

Our standard salad: Romaine lettuce, onion slices, avocado, and peeled, sliced cut up orange slices. We like a garlic cheese Italian dressing on it. We use Good Seasons Herb Garlic, mix it according to directions and add about 4-6 tbs. of Parmesan cheese.

Add your favorite wine, brown and serve sourdough rolls and you have one of our favorite meals.

Lastly, if the dinner absolutely has to be a success then: Invite to arrive at 5 pm. Tell them dinner will be ready at 6 pm, then serve at 10 pm. They will all think it is wonderful.