My Thanksgiving Turkey

As usual, I totally forgot to take a picture pre-carving. But, regardless, it was very tasty and juicy, and I'm very pleased with it. I followed, this year too, Nigella's recipe for "Spiced and Super-Juicy Turkey" from Feast. Worked out great! I've made a few changes in the brining ingredients, but it doesn't make much of a difference. My turkey weighed 3.800 g.

Spiced and Super-Juicy Turkey
Adapted from "Feast" by Nigella Lawson

5-6 litres of water
125 g salt
3 tbsp black peppercorns
100g sugar
2 onions, peeled and quartered
1 x 5cm piece of ginger, cut into 6 slices
3 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1 tbsp cloves
2 tbsp allspice berries
2 star anise
1 orange, quartered
4 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp runny honey

For the basting
75g butter
3 tbsp maple syrup

Put all the brine ingredients - except water - in a bowl. Add 1 litre of water, and stir until it's dissolved. Pour this, into a very large pot or bucket, add the turkey and top up with the rest of the water. The turkey should be submerged. I had to cover it with a heavy ceramic dish to keep it from bobbing up.

Cover with plastic and place in a cool place for a day or two. I don't have room for a huge bucket in my fridge - who does? - but I placed it on my glassed-in balcony and that worked well.

Bring it inside and pat it very dry about an hour before it goes in the oven. I baked mine for 2½ hours, and that was perfect. Start by basting it with the mixture of butter and maple syrup, and give it half an hour in a really warm oven - 225°C. After that, cover it with foil to prevent burning, and lower the heat to 175° for two hours. Remove and cover with foil, and let it rest for half an hour before carving.

If your bird is bigger or smaller, you need to adjust the time, obviously. And if you have the time and energy, and a baster - do baste the bird periodically with the juices collecting in the pan. I'm sure that will help keep it moist.

The best bread - Honey Saffron Loaf

I noticed this bread on Nic's blog Bakingsheet a while ago, and I immediately put it on my long "to-try list". As I wrote, I had Thanksgiving dinner for my family on Sunday, Nov. 27. This also coincided with the Swedish occasion "Första Advent". (First Sunday of Advent - followed by second, third and fourth, and then finally christmas.) It's very traditional to get together for that and drink glögg (warmed spiced wine with almonds and raisins) and eat "Lussekatter", saffron buns. You can read more about this at A Cat in the Kitchen who had a far more traditional Advent than I did. Anyway.

I decided to skip stuffing this year - it wasn't a huge hit last year, and frankly, I don't really "get it". So, I decided to make another bread instead. This was my choice - the saffron made it very season-perfect in my eyes, and it sounded easy and fast. And boy, am I glad I made it! It was definitely the biggest hit on the table (everyone - and I do mean everyone - wanted the recipe.) - and I loved it. So much I'll be making another loaf today. It's incredibly tasty, moist and fluffy with a chewy crust, and perfect eat both with food and as it is, for breakfast. I especially liked it toasted with a thick slice of sharp English cheddar. Yum!

I'll re-publish the recipe here for my own convenience - I don't ever want to lose track of it. It's that good. And I'm dying to try more of Hollywood's recipes! I've changed the measurements into what we use in Sweden, and I used a bit less honey than in the original recipe since my honey jar was pretty solid. I dug out about three large tablespoons full, and that seemed to do the trick. Runny honey is of course easier to measure properly.

Honey Saffron Loaf
makes 1 loaf
adapted from 100 great breads by Paul Hollywood


3,75 - 5 dl regular white flour
3,75 dl whole wheat flour
1 packet active dry yeast
3,75 dl warm water, divided
1 tbsp salt
0,8 dl honey, or about 3-4 large tablespoons
0,5 g saffron (1 packet)


In a large bowl, combine 2,5 dl whole wheat flour, 1,8 dl bread flour, all the yeast and 3,1 dl of water. Stir well and let stand, covered, for 4 hours.

Warm remaining 0.65 dl water and dissolve the saffron in it. Add to flour mixture, along with remaining whole wheat flour, salt and honey. Gradually add the remaining bread flour, mixing until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Turn bread out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until elastic and smooth, 4-5 minutes. Add more flour as you need it, it shouldn't be too sticky. Place bread in a clean bowl to rise, covered, for an additional 30 minutes.

Shape dough into a ball and place on a lined baking sheet. Dust with flour, cover with a clean dish towel and let rise for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200°C.

Slash loaf with a sharp blade and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the loaf is a dark gold and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.

Let cool completely before slicing. I actually made the bread the day before serving, keeping it wrapped in plastic overnight and then giving it another short burst in the hot oven to help crisp up the crust. Worked perfectly.

Spectacular Spaghetti Carbonara

Thanksgiving is over! Well, for several days for most of you, but for me, I had my Thanksgiving party yesterday. It was a fairly big deal - we were 12 plus my brother's 3 month old baby, and I cooked up a storm with some help from my 15-year old niece. I'll write more in detail later! We spent most of Saturday cleaning and decorating our apartment, so we had to have some comforting dinner. This was it.

Spaghetti Carbonara is not a very sophisticated dish, but it's a favorite with many Swedes. Essentially, we're talking spaghetti, parmesan, bacon (or pancetta, sure), egg yolks and lots of freshly ground black pepper. So how many ways can you mess it up? Many.

I used to get the best Spaghetti Carbonara ever when I worked in my sister's little store. It had a pizza place next door that also did some pasta, and I'd call in and order. They'd rush over with a plate of hot, steaming pasta.. and it was the best I ever had. Until, possibly, tonight! I just threw together what I believe was the most successful Carbonara ever! Sure, I did have *five* egg yolks sitting in the fridge.. and a pat of butter.. and a dash of cream. I didn't say this was going to be low-fat, right?! It certainly isn't. But after a full day of cleaning and re-decorating the entire apartment, who cares?

Spectacular Spaghetti Carbonara
Serves 2, generously

Enough spaghetti to feed two
140 g bacon, diced
1 onion, sliced into thin half moons
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4-5 egg yolks
2 large handfuls of parmesan (or grana padano, it works very well here)
1 pat of butter
1 tbsp cream
freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta as you usually do, in salted water. Meanwhile, fry the bacon, add the onion and garlic when it starts to get some color. Fry for a couple of minutes, remove from heat and add the butter. Drain the pasta, but reserve some of the water! Add the pasta to the bacon, toss. Add the parmesan, the egg yolks and a couple of spoons of the pasta water. Mix very well. Add the cream, and more pasta water as you need it. Finish with a good amount of freshly ground black pepper.

Trash: The MeMe

Yeah, so no pictures today. (Of MY kitchen, that is.) That would just be too embarrassing. A few days ago, I got an e-mail from Joanna. Very nosy girl, she is! She wants to know how I handle my trash. Huh.

Well. Like about 98% of all Swedes, I have a regular little open trash can which I line with bags from the grocery store. This is placed in the cabinet underneath my sink. Everything goes in there. The apartment complex which I live in actually has a recycling room, but the only thing we care to recycle is paper, glass and soda bottles/cans. We could, in theory, recycle milk cartons, jars and aluminum cans.. but we don't. Lazy? Yeah, probably. It just doesn't feel very urgent, and frankly, we don't produce all that much trash. Yet. Maybe when we expand our family, we'll get a lot more.

Anyway. I would, however, like a free-standing large trashcan, maybe something from here. Large, sturdy, attractive.. yes, please! Sadly, no room for it in my current kitchen. Maybe in the next.

Looking forward to see what everyone else does for their trash though! Bring it on!

Weekend Cat Blogging #25 - Kelly and Edith

"Oh mommy, flowers? Just for us? THANK you. Eat them? No, I will not touch them. Of course not! How can you distrust me so??!"

Kelly, looking so innocent. Notice her pink bottom lip which makes her look like she's always sticking out her toungue. Meanwhile, Edith is busy exploring the lovely bouquet Therese and Dan got me when they were here for dinner a few days ago.



No longer able to resist, Kelly is moving in for the kill. Edith, meanwhile, is taking a hearty bite.

So, yeah, no. I don't have any flowers or plants in my home. At least not for very long at a time.

Check out more food bloggers' cats at Clare Eats!

IMBB/SHF - Cookie Swap: Twice As Good Macaroons

That time of month - and that time of year. The creators of, respectively, Is My Blog Burning and Sugar High Fridays have joint together to create a virtual Cookie Swap!

This was the theme for November's IMBB last year, and for that, I made Pepparkakor. (Swedish gingerbread cookies.) While delicious, I couldn't very well make that again, so I had to think of something else. Luckily, my trusty Buffé magazine (from Ica stores) arrived in the mail, and they had a cookie called "Twice as good". Twice as good as what, you might ask? Well. In essence, this is a hazelnut-almond macaroon with a coffee-buttercream filling. Yum! Given my previous experience with macaroons, my hopes weren't very high, but it actually went a lot better this time. The key? Don't overbeat the eggs! And don't even TRY to pipe them out unless your piping skill are way good. I used a teaspoon this time, and it worked a lot better. They're still rather flat compared to Pierre Hermé's - but who's comparing?

These keep very well in the freezer and just need a few minutes to de-frost. Recipe made about 30.

Twice As Good Macaroons

100 g hazelnuts
100 g almonds
4 dl powdered sugar (1.6 cups)
4 egg whites

Filling:
1 tbsp cornstarch
100 ml cold strong coffee (I used espresso)
1 egg yolk
125 g butter, softened
½ dl powdered sugar (3½ tbsp)
1 tsp vanilla sugar

Preheat the oven to 175 °C (about 350F). Grind the nuts and almonds in a food processor until very fine. Add the powdered sugar and blitz for another couple of seconds until well combined. Beat the egg whites until very stiff but not TOO stiff, and fold in the nut mixture. Form small rounds on a cookie sheet - either pipe them out, or just use a teaspoon. Make sure not to place them too closely. You should have about 60. Bake for 10-12 minutes, and let cool on the cookie sheet before you try to remove them.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Cream the butter with the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Pour the espresso into a small saucepan and whisk in the cornstarch. Heat and simmer until thickened, whisking all the time. Remove from heat and let cool a little bit, then whisk in the egg yolk.

Combine the coffee cream with the buttercream, and mix until smooth and uniform. Then it's time to assemble the macaroons. Take one cookie, place a little dollop of filling on the underside of it, and cover with another cookie, of similar size.


I also created a little movie about this... my second vlog entry! Click the image below to watch it! (Sorry, you need to have Quicktime installed.)



Thank you Alberto and Jennifer! Can't wait to read the round-up! And, if you REALLY can't wait, go read last year's cookie swap round-up, there are some really tasty-sounding cookies in there!

All I want for christmas...

... can be found on my wishlist, right-hand column. No, just kidding. But some ideas are there, indeed.

I just found the mug above at one of my favorite home design blogs, Husmusen (sorry, in Swedish!), and I had to talk about it. Because how cool is that? It's a mug.. with a built-in cubby hole for cookies! Wow! Intelligent! It's smart. And I love it. And I'm not getting any, because as far as I know, they're not sold in Sweden. But they are sold at MochaHome Shop if any UK readers are interested! They come in several different colors, too - white, chocolate brown, lilac, mint green, black...



Another really smart thing is the FoodLoop. God, I love this. I'm a real klutz with string and toothpicks, and my neatly rolled things always fall apart. I need these! I do! So, someone, please start shipping these to Sweden, ok? If I had a store, I'd import them in a second. I found this via 101 cookbooks Holiday Gift Guide - a very nice posting with a lot of fun things to wish for. But the FoodLoop was the best, in my opinion! (Although it does look like hot pink rubber worms, yes. It sure does.)

And just a reminder - it's IMBB and SHF all together this weekend, in one big cookie swap! Get baking!

The Cookbook Café

I’ve been meaning to pop into the Cookbook Café for years. Ever since it started, really. I’ve read about it, and it seemed like such a wonderful place.. yet I never really found myself in that part of town. Until recently, that is. I stopped by for a quick espresso and something to eat before a work meeting. It’s a very cute little place, inspired by “Books for Cooks” in London. It has a lovely book section, with lots of fun cookbooks for sale. There are also some very comfortable-looking arm chairs, and I’m sure you could sit down and browse for quite a while.

However, most people seemed to be there for the food. I didn’t have time for lunch, but I grabbed a cake that had banana, chocolate and coconut. Very nice, and not too sweet. It was perfect with my espresso.

The Cookbook Café is run by two sisters, and I had the chance to talk a little bit to one of them. They have just finished their first cookbook, Två Systrars Söta (Two sisters’ sweet), which has tons of recipes for great cakes, cookies and other sweet things. It’s on my Christmas wishlist for sure! The sister I talked to – I’m sorry, I don’t know which one it was – told me that they were going to be on television in a few days, and that they were excited but a bit nervous. She seemed very sweet and friendly. I really look forward to my next visit – and I hope I have time to try the food!

The Cookbook Café
Birger Jarlsgatan 76
114 20 Stockholm
Tel: 08-20 63 08

Farro with roasted vegetables

This is originally from Jamie Oliver's new book, Jamie's Italy. I posted about this recipe, but at that time, I didn't have farro so I substituted bulgur, per the recipe's suggestions. Didn't like it very much - it was mushy and boring. But, as I happened to get my hands on some farro, I decided to try again. Also, I used vegetables I actually like rather than the ones suggested by Jamie Oliver (aubergine, not for me, thanks.) and everything turned out a lot better. So now I'll definitely recommend it!

I served it with Lamb Kebabs and Raitziki. Delicious!

Farro with roasted vegetables
serves 4

200 g farro
1 zucchini
2 bellpeppers, 1 red and 1 yellow for maximum color payoff
200 g mushrooms
1 large yellow onion
1 bulb of fennel
2 parsnips
4 cloves of garlic
herbs - parsley, basil, coriander...
lemon salt or Maldon sea salt
pepper
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
white vinegar (balsamic or herb)

Start with the vegetables. Slice everything into chunks, no need for precision. Mix in a large roasting tray, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. I use Falksalt's delicious lemon salt, but if you can't get that, use regular flakey sea salt.

Roast in the oven at 175°C / 350°F for about half an hour. The veggies should be soft, but still retain some crunch. Remove from the oven, and splash over some tasty white vinegar. I prefer balsamic white, but use whatever you like. Let cool completely.

Soak the farro for 20 minutes in cold water, and drain well. Put in a large saucepan, add some salt, and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes. Watch closely, you don't want the farro to get mushy! Drain completely.

Chop the cooled vegetables finely, and tip onto a large plate. Add the herbs, chopped. Add the farro. Dress with olive oil and the juice of a lemon, and mix everything up.

A surprise from Tallinn!

I had the best surprise the other day! As some of you may or may not know, my father's family is originally from Estonia. I've grown up with some Estonian customs and food, but I really don't know that much about the culture. I was therefor absolutely delighted to find Nami Nami, Pille's blog. See, Pille is Estonian, although she now lives in Edinburgh. I love reading about her cooking, and especially her Estonian cooking. She kept mentioning Kama, so I had to ask if she could hook me up with some. No problems, was her sweet reply, and the other day I got a note from the post office to pick up a package. I had no idea what it was, but when I saw the sticker with "Eesti Post" I got an idea.

Pille had asked her wonderful parents to send me Kama - so I got a very large bag of Kama, and two pieces of "Kamatahvel" - Kama-flavored chocolate! And a gorgeous postcard from Tallinn, too. Lovely! I showed this to my dad, and he was delighted to see something that he remembered so well from his childhood. I'm not sure what to make with it just yet, but I'm leaning towards either an appetizer or dessert to serve at our Estonian christmas family gathering, which we have every year on Dec. 26.

Many, many thanks to Pille and her parents!

1848 White Chocolate with Hazelnuts

I know, I know. White chocolate isn’t really chocolate, yadda yadda yadda, who cares? It’s sweet, creamy and comforting, and what more could a girl want? Well, nuts maybe? Just listen to this: "Blanc Noisettes à la crème de nougat et nougatine." Poetry! This chocolate bar was delicious. It has whole roasted hazelnuts, AND small pieces of crunchy nougat. I wish I had taken a picture of the actual bar, because it had small specks of the nougat all over. It was very pretty. And very tasty, so it went down quickly. Sorry. I’ll buy it again.

What I had for breakfast MeMe

Sunday Breakfast. Special. Always. Breakfasts usually are very quick these days, I normally just down a piece of bread and some tea or juice in five minutes, then leave for work. Or even have a yogurt at my desk at work, if I'm really rushed. But not on the weekend, oh no. We eat a lot of breakfast, and we take our sweet time with it. We generally don't eat lunch on Sundays, so breakfast is very hearty.

Weekends, and holidays, have always always always meant that breakfast will include a boiled egg. It's been like that for as long as I can remember. My parents still do it, and so do we. So, boiled egg (medium thanks, liquid yolk and set white) it is. I like plain salt on mine, Per likes Kalle's Kaviar, a very Swedish thing that's not really caviar, but some kind of salty fish egg product. You can see the tube in the picture, that blue thing next to the candle.

And speaking of candles, yes, we do have a lit candle almost every morning now when it's so dark outside. It's cosy. And yes, we eat at our coffee table, in front of the tv. Almost always. Yes. I know. But we don't have a proper table, or more exactly, nowhere to put one. So this is our solution.

So. We have my latte mug (vanilla/cinnamon syrups in a double shot of espresso and a wee bit of steamed milk, yum), my egg, the candle, Per's kaviar, my salt, Per's tea mug (hiding his egg from view), Per's very unadorned sandwiches and in front, my sandwich platter.

We like to eat bake-up bread in the weekends. You buy it ready made, almost, and just give it 7-8 minutes in the oven. Voila! Freshly baked bread, totally without the effort. Perfect.

Left to right, there's liver paste (see the v-log entry for why this is so necessary, Hamlet lives on this stuff), there's sharp cheese and tangy orange marmalade, and there's cream cheese and homemade raspberry/currant preserves. I don't always have the same toppings of course, but these are some of my favorites.

So, Hamlet gets a bite of the liver paste (or several licks, he doesn't like the bread much) and Kelly also has breakfast privileges. See, she completely loves boiled egg. It's her favorite thing in the whole world, and I just can't deny her anything. She's my little princess... We have boiled her an entire egg sometimes (complete with Kaviar, thank you.) but usually she just gets to eat some off my spoon.

Finally a short word on Swedish breakfasts in general. Swedes don't normally eat cooked breakafast. (Pancakes, sausages, bacon, eggs...) And they don't usually eat sweet things, either. (Or at least not very sweet.) Sandwiches, tea or coffee.. porridge for some.. and yogurt or buttermilk/kefir for some. That's about the variation we have.

This MeMe was called upon by Andrew from SpittoonExtra. Thanks for a fun little theme Andrew! :)

My first vlog post!

I was at a really fun workshop yesterday, teaching me how to vlog. (Video-log.) Here's my very first entry... it's just a tiny little thing showing Hamlet the Cat having his usual breakfast sandwich with liver paste.

See, when Hamlet was a baby, he first lived with my parents for two weeks. They spoiled him rotten, and let him eat off their sandwiches if he wanted to. And he did want to. He has never managed to kick this - in some people's eyes fairly disgusting - habit. So we just indulge him. He's probably the cat who gets the least around here, since the girls are so pushy. Anyway - here's the movie! No sound this time, and I really need to learn how to edit properly, but enjoy anyway! :)

Weekend Cat Blogging #24 - Kelly

Ok, so last week I showed you kittens. Their mom, Kelly, kindly asked to be included this time, she felt a little left out. Kelly is our darling longhaired princess. As you can see in the picture, she's in dire need of a bath, but that's such an exciting adventure that we're saving it for a... special day. Umm, yeah.

Technically, I should blog about Glinda, again, but I've shown her so much.. however, she has her first birthday today! Hooray for Glinda!

Clare is now back and will host Weekend Cat Blogging - head over to her at Eat Stuff to see more lovely cats and discover yummy new food blogs!

Bloggforum 3

In about an hour, I'm off to Bloggforum 3! It's a conference for bloggers, and there will be many interesting seminars and panel debates. The theme will be the end of the blogs as we know them, and what comes next? I'mn going to a seminar on v-logging, hey, maybe you'll actually SEE me cook soon? You never know...

I'm a bit nervous - after all, I don't know anyone there.. but I do read some of the blogs of the people that will be there, so it will be fun to see them in real life. And maybe someone reads my blog, too? If you're attending Bloggforum, please come up and say hi! :)

Café Brulé

Ok, is this a great idea or what? I got it from Jennifer over at Taste Everything Once. Apparently, a cool coffee shop she frequents serves this. For a gadget-laden girl like myself, it sounded perfect. And what better way to try out my cool Turboflame?

Unfortunately, I didn't have the right kind of sugar at hand the first time, and had to use damp brown sugar where I would have preferred larger brown crystals. It was still delicious! So, what to do? Brew yourself a cup of espresso, or regular strong coffee if you prefer that. Steam milk - an espresso machine comes in REAL handy here, but you could use a microwave or a stove and a very good whisk - into a fairly stiff foam. Pour over the coffee, sprinkle the sugar crystals over the foam and blitz away with your tiny torch! Yeah!


Oh, can't resist posting a close-up.. isn't it pretty?

Eating out: Dionysos

I don’t eat out much, so you seldom see any restaurant reviews here. Also, when I do eat out, I rarely remember to take out my camera. I know, bad food blogger! Anyway. We recently ate with Lena, Nico and Micke at Dionysos, a charming greek restaurant on Södermalm, the “South Side” of Stockholm City.

It was freezing cold outside, and most places were full, including the one we had originally aimed for. Table reservations you say? No, sorry. Spur of the moment thing. So I consulted my handy Palm Pilot and my list of “restaurants to try” and realised that Dionysos should be just around the corner. We went up there and it looked very crowded. Nonetheless, we were cold and hungry, so we decided to ask. And yeah, sure, they could fit us in! The restaurant was very cosy, and looked warm and inviting.

Dionysos had a marvellous menu. Everything – and I mean everything – sounded great. In the end, three of us opted for a fixed menu, and Nico and Micke ordered a large mixed platter of different meats.



Appetizer – grilled halloumi with salad. Very tasty, I do love halloumi. I liked the presentation, too.



Main course – lamb tenderloin in a tarragon cream sauce. Absolutely spectacular, my favorite part of the meal. Yum, yum, yum!



Dessert – a chocolate cake thingy that was a bit like the Chocolate Oblivion Cake I’ve made, but frankly not as good. Really good, however, were the grapes, swimming in a light cinnamon syrup. Mm! Definitely something to try at home.

We had a nice greek red wine to go with the meal. All in all, it was a great experience, and I’d be happy to go back. I don’t remember the exact prices, but it was very reasonable. I think we ended up paying about 300 SEK per person, including the wine.

Dionysos
Bondegatan 56, Södermalm
08- 641 91 13

Lamb Stew

I love lamb - such a tasty meat! I recently made a really nice and simple lamb stew, for dinner with mom and dad.

Lamb Stew
serves 4

600 g lamb, boneless, cut into large dice
200 g small onions or shallots, peeled
1 tbsp olive oil
500 g crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
4-5 small carrots, in large pieces
salt, pepper, sugar

Serve with gremolata.

Brown the meat in the olive oil, on all sides. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and the bay leaves. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the carrots and the onions, and if you need it, some water. Continue to simmer for 20 minutes, or until the carrots are nice and soft. By this time, the lamb should be soft and tender. Correct seasoning with salt, pepper and maybe a pinch of sugar.

Bulgur Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Ta-da! Here's the first thing I've cooked from my new Jamie Oliver cookbook - Jamie's Italy. It's a warm salad with oven-roasted vegetables, and bulgur. Actually, I was supposed to use farro, but could absolutely not find it. I hope it makes it better though, because this one was a bit too mushy for me. I'll try it again - with farro, which I did find and now have in my cupboard - and if it turns out better, I'll tell you more. :)

Blue Cheese Cauliflower Pie

I'm not a huge fan of pies, but Per is, so I do make them occasionally. This one was really nice, and it helped me use up half a head of cauliflower that was just sitting around. I threw in some broccoli florets for good measure, too. Yum! We ate this with sauteed garlicky mushrooms, and a salad.



Blue Cheese Cauliflower Pie
Serves 4

For the dough:
75 g margarine
3 dl flour (1 cup + 3 tbsp)
pinch of salt
1-2 tsp water

For the filling:

250 g blue cheese (I used a lovely ecological Danish blue cheese)
3 eggs
300 ml milk
1/2 head cauliflower, in small florets
200 g broccoli, in small florets
salt, pepper

Mix the dough in a food processor, and let it rest for half an hour or more in the fridge. Pat it into a pie dish, and bake blind for 10 minutes at 200 degrees C. (~400 F)

Blanch your vegetables for about five minutes. They shouldn't be soft all the way through, but not raw either. Place in the pre-baked pie shell.

For the filling, beat the eggs and milk. Crumble in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper, and mix until smooth. Pour over the veggies in the pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes or until the filling sets and you get some golden color to it. It takes different times, depending on how large/deep your pie dish is.

Caramel Apple Pie

This is totally cheating, because it's the same recipe as the Caramel Rhubarb Tart. Well, sans the rhubarb, and plus apples, of course. However, it's very very delicious this way too, so definitely do try it out for an awesome autumnal treat!

Caramel Apple Pie
Serves 4-6

4-5 apples, peeled and sliced into wedges
1 tbsp sugar
cinnamon - optional

150 g butter
1/2 dl golden syrup
1 dl cream (half and half works well, doesn't need to be full fat)

2 dl rolled oats
2 dl sugar
2 dl flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Put the apples in a deep oven-proof dish, and preheat oven to 175 degrees C / 350 F. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar, and cinnamon if you want it.

Mix the oats, sugar, flour and baking powder in a bowl. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the syrup and the cream, and take off the heat. Add the mixed dry ingredients, stir well. Pour this on top of the apples, and bake for 25-30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or custard.

Weekend Cat Blogging #23 - kittens

"Have some candy, Clare! Or I'll be happy to eat it for you..."

Today is a special weekend cat blogging, in order to cheer up Clare who's in the hospital after a horrible accident. Clare invented Weekend Cat Blogging, which is a fun way for food bloggers to show off their furry darlings once a week (and you can discover some great new food blogs, too!) and usually hosts, but this week's host is Boo from Masak-Masak.

Well, how to best cheer Clare up? Why, with kittens of course! Here are some pictures of our latest litter, born last March. The We're hoping for more kittens soon, but it doesn't look like it'll happen until spring. Ywette has been to see two gorgeous boys, but she's howling like a banshee right now so we don't think she's pregnant. Oh well, that happens.

These pictures are of Harissa and Habanero, during a fight-training lesson. Habanero is also the one above, going hard for the candy bowl. He now lives with Lena, and has been blogged about several times before. Here's the post from when they were born!


"Watch out, here I come!"


"I'm going to hit you if you don't move!"


"Ha! Got you! Right in the eye, too!"


Click here for this week's round-up! Clare and Kiri - we're all thinking about you here in Sweden!

Entertain me with napkins and pom-poms!

A while ago, Jennifer from Taste Everything Once asked for help to spend a gift certificate. She wanted something for entertaining - and I had no idea what to recommend. But this morning, albeit quite late for the actual deadline, it hit me. What do I really like having? Real, linen napkins. It's a real treat, and I love it. It feels so luxurious - a lot better than paper, no matter how cute the designs might be. And the plainer the better.

I have a lot of large, white linen ones, inherited from Per's late grandmother along with an equally huge stack of never used linen kitchen towels. The napkin rings - I've made them myself, and the cats loved helping me. Lots of pretty pearls on a wire? Yeay! So that explains why I only have two. But they're cute, aren't they?



I also have the ones above, in a natural linen color. I only have two, so they're not so much for entertaining a crowd as for having an intimate dinner with your darling, but I still love them. My mother gave them to me, along with the napkin rings.



For something else entirely, if Jennifer happens to have a couple of dollars left - buy something whimsical and fun. These pom-pom coctail sticks are adorable - and so much more fun than just regular toothpicks for small bites of food. I have a feeling I picked these up at IKEA, and I don't have a lot left - but I hope I can find something similar soon again. They're fun to have around! Have fun shopping, Jennifer - I'm sure you'll find something great!

Tagged with EntertainMeMe

A day at the food fair

Today is the first day of Det Goda Köket, Stockholm's yearly food fair. (Name means The Good Kitchen, by the way.) Always an exciting event, and definitely a must for me. Per and I both had the day off work, which was nice. Friday is the best day to visit the fair, since it's a lot less people than on the weekend. But, by all means, do go even if it's the weekend, just be prepared for a crowd.

It wasn't very crowded at all when we were there, but it was fairly early. We had a nice stroll around all the vendors, and tried food here and there. There was plenty of parmesan, mustard and various jams offered - as always. Some chocolate, too. Very little cooked food this year! I did try a nice spicy pork dish from Allt Om Mat, where I also met Alice! Yeay! We decided to get together soon for more chat on food and cats - two interests we have in common!

We didn't buy alcohol tickets this year, so we didn't try any wine. However, I couldn't resist trying a special rum from Gotland, flavored with pistachios. Delicious!! The maker is Träkumla Rom. It's right on my to-buy list, as soon as I manage to finish another bottle of something from my over-filled liquer-cabinet.

So, what did I buy? Glad you asked! First and foremost, a Turboflame Arc Lighter!


(Ignore the coke-can, it's just there as a size comparison.)

This is so cool. It's a lighter that lights even upside down, no more burning your fingertips while trying to reach those pesky tea lights! And, it also does all the cool things that a small torch does, meaning you can easily finish your brulêes or merengue. And besides, it looks really good. Doesn't it?



When handing over the cash for the Turboflame, my eye caught the white knives on the counter. Hey, could those be..? Yeah, they were ceramic Kyoceras. Oh, I've been wanting to try those.. they had a couple of ripe tomatoes, onions and potatoes there for you slice - and it was love at first slice. What an incredible sharpness! I immediately got a very lusty look in my eyes and Per said "let's buy it!". So we did.

I also got this small black sieve, perfect for decorating cakes or muffins with powdered sugar. I only had a large sieve before, and that makes quite a mess.

Ummm, no food? Of course! I bought the most delicious bread in the world, a loaf of Karlsö-limpa. Incredibly tasty - we're having it for dinner tonight with a steaming bowl of onion soup. And we bought chips - really cool ones made from Blue Kongo potatoes, Fingerling potatoes and all kinds of root vegetables. More pics of those as we open the bags.

So, that was our day at the fair! If you're in Stockholm, do have a look! It's open the whole weekend. For last year's post on the same subject, click here!

Red Wine Risotto

I generally use white wine in my risottos, but I came across an interesting sounding recipe for a red wine risotto in a cookbook that I found at the library: Karin Franssons Örtamat. It's out of print - too bad, I'd really like a copy. It has some really fun recipes, ranging from very basic to quite advanced. This was, like all risottos, fast and simple. Perfect with a nice piece of sirloin!

I'm not re-printing the entire recipe - it wasn't all that exciting, the main difference from my other risottos (links on the right!) was that you stirred in the wine at the end, instead of in the beginning, like I normally do. This gives a slightly boozier taste, but I still think I prefer the results I usually get from my other technique.

Hey, it's soon Thanksgiving! Obviously this isn't a Swedish holiday, but that doesn't stop me from celebrating with my family. It's a new tradition for us, and this will be our second year. Last year's dinner - well, you can read about that here. What should I cook this year? I want some ideas - please share if you have any fun favorites! Turkey is of course a given, but that's about it. I'm totally stumped for what else to cook... so what's everyone else cooking?

Crispy Pork Chops

I'm sure I'm not the only food blogger who has little post-it tag thingies sticking out of my cookbooks, marking recipes I want to try. One book with many tags is Nigella's Forever Summer. I've been wanting to make this particular recipe for a very long time, and I finally got around to it! However, I didn't find any decent lamb chops, so I opted for pork instead. And I found some nice, thin ones off the bone - very convenient. I used panko rather than regular breadcrumbs, and way more parmesan than Nigella suggests... but the idea was still hers.

Crispy Pork Chops
serves 2

4 thin pork chops, de-boned
panko - japanese breadcrumbs, or regular ones
100 g grated Parmesan
1 egg, beaten with salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying

Layer the chops between two sheets of plastic wrap, and beat them vigorously with a mallet or rolling pin so that they are flattened a little.

Then, in a wide, shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan, and put the seasoned eggs in another bowl. Dip the chops first in the eggy mixture and then press them well in the cheese and bread crumbs before frying them in the hot oil.

It'll be fast, just cook for a few minutes on each side. Delicious!

Gremolata

Gremolata is a very simple thing to make, but a great condiment to stews and heavy meat dishes. It tastes particularly good with lamb, in my opinion! Especially this kind, which I like to make with a little bit of rosemary. Yum!

Gremolata

a bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
the peel of a lemon, finely shredded
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
a tbsp of rosemary leaves, finely chopped

Mix everything up - by hand - and there you go!

Roast Beef Baguette with Bresse Bleu

I rarely cook much when I'm home alone, and last time Per was away, I made this for dinner. It's a simple sandwich made with my favorite baguette bread, creamy Bresse Bleu cheese, cold thinly sliced roast beef, sliced cherry tomatoes and teared up basil leaves. Aaaaaah.

Booo!

Swedes don't really celebrate Halloween, but in the extent that we do - there's a large confusion on WHEN to do it. Yesterday was All Hallows Eve, making today All Hallows Day, but this is not the same as Halloween. Still, it seems like a good time to celebrate. Hey, who needs a reason to party?

Many people had parties last weekend, and some have them tonight - we're going to Lena for a party. I made some spooky sablés - ghosts, scary cats and.. um, cobwebs. Or at least that's what the cookie cutter looked like. (Recipe here.)

Weekend Cat Blogging #22 - Edith, 2

Time for another Weekend Cat Blogging! I have a really hard time deciding who to blog about each week - and I don't think I'm very fair in my rotation. That's the hard part about having five furry darlings.

Anyway. This week's special kitty is my darling Edith. She had a birthday on Wednesday, and is now two years old. There really is something special about kittens you have raised yourself. Edith is the first one of our own that we decided to keep. She's just adorable - I haven't regretted our decision for a second.

She's a smoke-colored British Shorthair, for those who might be curious. That's an old picture - but my very, very favorite - so she's about fifteen months there. You can click here for a very new one, and here for one of her as a tiny baby, two weeks old.

See more lovely cats at Masak-Masak!

Cinnamon Tosca Squares

This is a very yummy treat that I first encountered when I was studying at university. My dear friend Kristin made this for, I think, a birthday party, and it was love at first bite. I begged her for the recipe, and I've had that hidden away in my "make-soon"-stash ever since. Embarrassingly enough, I recently found it and made it myself - for the first time. What kept me so long? These are great!

I modified her recipe just a bit - I made half of the bottom (so feel free to double my measurements) but all of the topping, as I really like the chewy, crispy coconot crunch. And I added cinnamon to the topping, very yummy! These freeze very well, and are indeed great to munch on straight from the freezer. Dangerous!

Cinnamon Tosca Squares

Bottom:
2 eggs
3 dl sugar (1 cup + 3 tbsp)
1,5 dl flour (1/2 cup + rougly 2 tbsp)
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar
pinch of salt
90 g butter, melted

Topping:

75 g butter
2 dl sugar
150 ml cream (low-fat is fine)
100 ml golden syrup
200 g shredded coconut
1 tbsp cinnamon

Start with the bottom. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (~400F). Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add all the other ingredients - I sift everything to avoid lumps - and stir until smooth. Pour into a lined roasting pan, and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping. It's very easy - mix everything in a saucepan, let the butter melt and stir. Bring to a boil. Then, when the cake is done, just smear this over the top, and bake for another 10 minutes. It might look a little liquid when you take it out, don't worry - it will firm up.

Let it cool, and cut into squares.

Chocolate Festival #2 - the tasting

Lena and I also went to an awesome chocolate-alcohol testing. It was arranged by Betsy Sandberg Choklad and was led by Christer Hedwall and Maria Ryman. We got to try four pieces of chocolate, and three different alcoholic drinks to pair them with. It was quite unusual, and provided some real exciting taste sensations!

First out was 12-year old Chivas Regal, paired with a white chocolate and lime truffle. Unexpected! Neither Lena nor I thought this was great, the chocolate in particular wasn't all that good. It was too bland, and didn't taste much like lime at all. The whiskey, on the other hand, wasn't great either. It had a wonderful scent, but.. nah, just too strong for my tastes.

Next was my absolute favorite, Havana Club Añejo Reserva with a hand-made marzipan covered in chocolate. Ah, what a perfect combination! This I will definitely try out at home. Betsy Sandberg makes a very good marzipan, with more almonds than what's usual. (About 65%)

Then we got to try a special truffle, flavored with Pernod, that Betsy Sandberg had created especially for the festival. It was really nice, with a strong licorice flavor. We were also given the recipe - I might make this for christmas.

Last one was a very good port, Sandemans Invalid Port, paired with an Almond Praline Truffle. Surprisingly, I wasn't very fond of this combo, and as with the first tasting, I found the chocolate lacking. The port was great, and I think it would have benefited from a slightly less sweet chocolate.

Say hello to my little friend

After furiously researching espresso machines for a while, I ended up with the Gaggia Espresso. Fairly basic, stable and high quality - I'm very happy. Yeah, it's not as pretty as I would have liked. And as you can plainly see, it's not red. But sometimes function should go before fashion, I suppose.

Now I just need to perfect my technique. And possibly, upgrade my grinder. We got a small grinder as a wedding present, and while it makes excellent coffee for my regular drip brewer, it's not very good at espresso grinding. Anyone has a good - but reasonably priced - grinder to recommend?

And if anyone has a Gaggia Perfect Crema Device - that little rubber disc thingie - I need one! It seems really hard to find here, for some reason. And since I don't have a perfect grinder, I have a feeling that device would be quite helpful. Cheating, maybe, but who cares?

On a side note - Anthony Bourdain is in town!!

Cauliflower Tabbouleh

I had a really hard time naming this dish. I really don't know what it is - but let's go with Cauliflower Tabbouleh, it's at least vaguely descriptive. It started with me writing down ingredients for.. something.. a while ago, in my PalmPilot. The list read like this: bulgur, endives, cauliflower, fennel, pomegranate, parsley, roasted walnuts, lemon, olive oil. Couldn't find endives in my shop, but I had most of the other stuff at home.

Ok. No instructions. So, I just kind of went with it, and ended up with an absolutely delicious - and very addictive - dish. I was sceptical - until I took the first bite and couldn't shove the rest in my mouth quick enough. There's something about this.. ah.

Cauliflower Tabbouleh
Serves 3-4

150 ml (0.6 cups) bulgur
300 ml (1.2 cups) water
salt
1 head of fennel, sliced very thinly
1 red onion, sliced into thin half moons
1/2 head of cauliflower, separated into tiny florets
sea salt - preferrably Falksalt's Lemon Salt
1 bunch of parsley, chopped
handful of roasted walnuts
1 lemon
1 pomegranate
olive oil

Get the bulgur going - combine bulgur and water, and a bit of salt, bring to a boil, cover and let sit for fifteen minutes. Heat a pan, add the olive oil. Fry the cauliflower florets and the red onion on high heat. Add the lemon salt, or just the sea salt if you can't find lemon salt. (And I bet most of you can't.) A generous pinch!

Then it's just a matter of combining. Dump the bulgur on a large plate or in a salad bowl. Add the parsley. Add the fennel. Add the onion and the cauliflower. Drizzle lemon all over it. Add the walnuts. Finish by sprinkling on the pomegranate seeds and squeezing out the juice.