Family favorite

Some say good cooks are born, as though there's some sort of cooking gene, and I happen to believe it.

My father's mother, Elizabeth Boros Gage, was the daughter of Hungarian immigrants, and probably the best home cook I ever met. She grew up in a neighborhood heavy with immigrants of all nationalities on the southside of Columbus, Ohio, and began cooking for her family as a young teenager after her mother suffered a debilitating stroke.

I am fortunate that her recipes were recorded in a small cookbook compiled by her church's women's guild, and I love reading the old recipes in which green bell peppers are referred to as "mangos" and directions suggest that you measure "two juice glasses of flour."

One of my family's favorite dishes from her collection of recipes is the classic Hungarian dish, chicken paprikas (pronounced paprikash.) The tender braised chicken pieces, sauced with sour cream and served over dumplings, are great supper fare.

Though my parents generally use chicken breasts and thighs when preparing the dish, I use just skinless thighs, because they remain tender and moist despite the long cooking time. Removing the skin is easy and takes only a few minutes.

You could serve this dish over egg noodles, but I've included my grandmother's recipe for Hungarian dumplings because in my family nothing else will do.

ELIZABETH'S CHICKEN PAPRIKAS

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

11/2-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 large onion, chopped

1 small green bell pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

3/4 cup water in all

1/4 cup flour

11/2 cups regular or low-fat sour cream

Heat the vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika and salt. Add the chicken thighs and brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Cut the bell pepper in half and remove seeds. Add 1/4 cup of the water, along with half of the bell pepper (reserve other half for another use) cover and simmer on medium-low. After 45 minutes, remove chicken and bell pepper half from the pan. Discard the bell pepper. Whisk the flour, 1/2 cup water and sour cream together in a small bowl. Add to the pan, stirring well. Return chicken to pan and serve over Hungarian dumplings or egg noodles.

Makes: 4-6 servings.

HUNGARIAN DUMPLINGS

2 cups flour

1/2 cup water

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients, beating until well combined. When water is boiling, drop batter by teaspoons into the water, stirring so they do not stick to the bottom. Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon when they rise to the top. Continue until all batter is used.

Makes: 4-6 servings.

Note: The dumplings can be made ahead, drizzled with melted butter and warmed in a 300-degree oven for 10 minutes.

COOKING 101

I highly recommend using imported Hungarian or Spanish paprika in the recipe rather than the nearly flavorless American paprika. Most supermarkets carry Hungarian paprika in the spice aisle.

GROCERY LIST

For the chicken:

11/2-2 pounds chicken thighs

Sour cream (11/2 cups)

1 large onion

1 small green bell pepper

Hungarian or Spanish paprika (1 tablespoon)

Pantry: Vegetable oil (1 tablespoon), salt, black pepper, flour

For the dumplings:

3 large eggs

Pantry: Flour (2 cups), salt

Reach Karin Calloway at karin.calloway@comcast.net. See her prepare the recipe at noon Tuesday on television station WJBF (Channel 6). Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/karincalloway.