Berlin in May?

We've just booked a trip to Berlin in May - any tips about what to see, eat or do are extremely appriciated! We're bringing Titus who will be one year old, so we're not planning on any late nights or fancy dining.

Akvavit, and how you can become a master of the Smorgasbord

Smorgasbord, as well as Akvavit, are prominent features of Swedish holidays. You'll find both at Christmas, Easter and Midsummer - subtle differences, but a lot of things are the same. Akvavit and snaps are not the same, despite what some might think. Both are flavored vodka, but akvavit always has dill and/or caraway. Snaps can have any flavor - ranging from herby and medicinal to... anything, really. Dagmar made snaps for our crawfish party in August - those are the bottles you see above - and flavored them with gooseberry, cherry and various other things from her garden.

I'm not really a consumer myself - too strong for my liking! However, it's quite popular, and I got an e-mail from a PR contact working for Reimersholms saying they even had a sommelier doing pairings with akvavit/food. The same PR contact offered me to give away a cookbook to one of my readers, and as it's a really cool cookbook, I'm happy to do it. It's called Swedish Smorgasbord, and it's written by Gert Klötzke and Niclas Wahlström. The recipes are all from Fjaderholmarnas krog, where they serve a massive and very good smorgasbord. I was there for Christmas 2008, and blogged about it. If you're interested in Swedish holiday food, this one has it all!

The book is in English and can be shipped anywhere in the world. All you have to do to enter is to leave a comment, and tell me if you've tried snaps or akvavit, and if so, what you think of it! Do you like it?

edit: I'll draw a random winner on Thursday, so comment before then!

Food for Easter

I rarely cook a whole lot of food for Easter, since we're usually away visiting family. And the same goes for this year. However, I've gotten a few e-mails asking about Swedish Easter food so I thought I'd give you a few links to appropriate dishes.

Now, most Swedes approach Easter eating as they would Christmas or Midsummer: with a Smorgasbord. You'd see several small dishes, beginning with cold ones and then moving on to warmer. Cold dishes always include several sorts of sill, usually gravlax, sometimes smoked salmon or other fish. Always boiled potatoes, and sauces. Some of my recipes are Caviar Sill, Lemon Sill, and a great Dill-Mustard sauce for the gravlax. Also usually present are one of my favorites - hard-boiled egg halves, topped with mayonnaise and boiled shrimp. Delicious! I also included Lena's red onion cheesecake in this round-up - that'd be perfect for an Easter starter.

For warm dishes, I like to have lamb. Try this slow-braised lamb, or some sort of lamb meatballs - I made one kind yesterday, but these with pine nuts are also great. A lot of people eat ham as well - try this coca-cola baked one! A popular side dish is Jansson's Temptation - do try that if you can get your hand on Swedish anchovies.

As for dessert, this is actually a time where a lot of people would serve cake. Something yellow, decorated with marzipan chickens, is popular. I don't have a specific recipe though - I'll attempt something myself this year and get back to you! (Last year I made this one.) Something light would also be nice - this white chocolate mousse with mixed fruits, or a rhubarb mousse perhaps?

If you want to know more about Smorgasbord, I'm giving away a great, great book on the subject - so check back tomorrow!

Lamb & Mushroom Meatballs

Well, I wasn't sure what to call these - they have lamb and mushrooms, sure, but also lemon and zucchini. The idea to put zucchini in them came from Thomas Keller, who has a recipe for lamb meatballs with zuccini (and cured lemons & mint) in Ad Hoc At Home, and as I had a little bit o zucchini in the fridge - perfect. I also had mushrooms, so... I thought that'd work out nicely, and it sure did.

They'd be absolutely perfect for Easter by the way - great as a part of a larger meal. We ate these with several other small dishes - stuffed mushrooms, a feta cheese salad and freshly baked greek bread. Yummy!

Lamb & Mushroom Meatballs

(printable recipe)

2-3 mushrooms (or mushroom stems from about 8), finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely minced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 zucchini, in tiny dice
olive oil
500 g lamb mince
1 lemon, the zest
salt
pepper
1 egg yolk

Gently fry the mushrooms, red onion, garlic and zucchini in olive oil on medium heat until softened. Set aside to cool, then mix with the lamb mince, lemon zest, salt, pepper and the egg yolk. Shape fairly large meatballs - about the size of ping pong balls.

Place on a baking sheet on in an oven-proof dish and fry in the oven at 200°C for about 15-18 minutes. Check to see if they're cooked through.

Recipe in Swedish:
Lammköttbullar med svamp

Waffles!

Yesterday was waffle day in Sweden. I actually made a few for dessert,
but we had leftover batter so we're having them again for lunch today.
Homemade strawberry jam and whipped cream - yum!

My best beef stew

A while ago, I made a beef stew. I didn't realise it while cooking, but it turned out to be one of the best stews I had ever eaten. I immediately had to write down the recipe, and hopefully I (and you!) can re-create it. It's doesn't involve any special ingredients or fancy technique - it's just awfully good.



I served it with Smetana, which is similar to sour cream or crème fraîche. It has a higher fat content though, and it's super creamy. I used the one from Valio which happens to be lactose-free - not something I care about per se, but this is really super delicious and something I'll definitely have at hand for future soups and stews.

My best beef stew
(printable recipe)
serves 6

140 g bacon
1 kg beef (I use Högrev which is from the front - I don't know the exact equivalent), in small dice
4 shallots
2 yellow onions
3 garlic cloves
oil for frying
400 ml red wine
water
7-8 large button mushrooms
4 carrots, sliced
2 bouillon cubes (I use a liquid, concentrated stock)
fresh thyme
smetana to serve

Cut the bacon into dice, and fry in a heavy pot. Add the beef, a little at a time, and brown on all sides. In a separate frying pan, brown shallots, onions and garlic in a little oil - be careful to not let it burn. Add to the pot, along with the red wine.

Cut the mushrooms in smaller pieces, and fry in the same pan you used for the onions. Set aside.

Add enough water to the pot to just cover, and add the bouillon cubes or concentrated stock. Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and lower the heat. Cook for one hour.

Add the mushrooms and the carrot slices. Bring to a boil again, cover with a lid and cook on low heat for another 45 minutes. At this point, everything should be very tender.

Serve with rice, fresh thyme and smetana (or sour cream, or crème fraîche).

Recipe in Swedish:
Grym köttgryta

Food revolution

Watching Jamie Oliver's new series, and eating potato chips. Seems
fitting. Honestly, I much preferred his early shows.

Cookbook watch - greek and cookies

Alexandra Pascalidou
Min Stora Feta Grekiska kokbok

I like cookbooks written by journalists. After all, my first cookbook love was Nigella Lawson's How to be a domestic goddess, and my infatuation with her writings - and her food - continues. I also really like cookbooks by food bloggers, who are also experienced food writers - and I'll certainly much rather read these than cookbooks by chefs. (As for what I'll actually cook, or eat - well, that's not quite as simple.) Alexandra Pascalidou is Swedish-Greek (well, she's really Greek, but grew up in Sweden) and has written a lovely book about Greek food called "My big fat greek cookbook". It holds recipes - tons of them - and stories. I usually don't really like stories in my cookbooks (where's the food?!) but Pascalidou's writing is so good I don't mind. In fact, I found myself flipping pages, going past the food, to get to the next story. They're that good. The one about her grandmother made me cry. And after I dried my tears, I knew I wanted to cook a LOT from this book. It has that genuine feel about it, and you can just tell that the recipes are without a doubt going to work.



Claes Karlsson
Kladdiga kakor

"Oooh, what's that?" My husband immediately reached for the book I was unpacking from the mail, and demanded it for himself. It's pastry chef Claes Karlsson's latests - Kladdiga kakor, which translates to Sticky Cakes. A Swedish "kladdkaka" is something like a brownie, but this book expands greatly on the subject, and includes every sort of sticky cake you could imagine. And some that you probably couldn't. I love the retro look of the cover, and am drooling over recipes like meringue cake with milk chocolate truffle and strawberries - I mean, seriously?? I have to make that. And a lot of other things. This is a great book for the yum-lovers out there!

...and sorry, both are available in Swedish only.

Chicken Salad with Pear & Honey dressing

I made chicken soup the other day, and every time I do, I end up with cooked chicken meat. So, on the next day, I decided that a salad was in order. It was sunny, not exactly warm but at least the snow was melting. And I made this. Simple, filling and very tasty. Use a really ripe pear for maximum flavor. Add some black pepper if you want a little bit of heat. I bet pecorino would be lovely instead of the parmesan, if you have some at hand.

Chicken Salad with Pear & Honey dressing
(printable recipe)
serves 2

Cooked chicken (about 1/2 small chicken)
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 small red onion
75 g sugar snap peas
2 carrots
50 ml parmesan, coarsely grated
1 pear
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
flaky sea salt

Divide the chicken into bite-sized pieces, and clean off any skin and bones. Cut the peppers into strips, thinly slice the onion and clean the peas. Peel and cut the carrots into thin slices, about 1 mm thick.

For the dressing, peel and cut the pear into small dice. Mix with the juice from the lemon, olive oil, honey and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the carrots for 3-4 minutes, and the peas for 2. Drain, and plunge into cool water to immediately stop the cooking. Drain and mix with all the other ingredients for the salad except for the cheese. Toss with the dressing, and top with the parmesan.


Recipe in Swedish:
Kycklingsallad med päron- och honungsdressing

Crispy risotto balls

Here's a perfect way to turn leftovers into deliciousness.

I don't know about you, but I often have a little bit of leftover risotto. We usually throw it out - but since I discovered this little gem, I will never do that again. In fact, I'll make a point of making too much risotto next time!

What you do is simply mix the leftover risotto with an egg (I didn't have a large amount of risotto, so I used about half an egg, mostly yolk), shape small balls, then roll them in panko. (Panko is ultra-crispy bread crumbs, and you can find it in Asian groceries.) Fry in lots of oil - I used peanut, which is great for frying.

So, that's it. Super easy, super fast and a great little appetizer.

Chocolate Mint Macarons

Certainly not my prettiest macarons to date, but they were still tasty. I used un-aged egg whites this time, and maybe because of that the batter was runnier than usual. (I also used unpeeled almonds due to extreme laziness but I don't think that affected the texture - just the appearance.) Hence, the macarons turned out bigger and flatter. I should have adjusted the oven time, but as it was, I over-baked them slightly. And the feet - well, they are just big and ugly.

However, even ugly macarons taste good. Especially when they're filled with mint-chocolate ganache. Super simple by the way - chop 200 g of dark chocolate, mix with 100 ml of boiling cream and a few drops of peppermint extract. Stir until smooth and wait for it to cool and thicken before filling the macs.

For a lot prettier macarons, check out this round-up over at MacTweets!

Scallops in Saffron & Tomato sauce

Per often requests scallops for special occasion dinners, and I love them as well, so why not? They're terribly expensive here, and usually not super high in quality - but still good. This idea - to cook them with a saffron and tomato sauce with capers - comes from Isabel's Cantina. It makes a delicious starter, and it's easy to scale up for more people.

I had an open bottle of rosé wine so that's what I used, but white wine would work great as well.

Scallops in Saffron & Tomato sauce
(printable recipe)
Serves 2

4 scallops
olive oil for frying
100 g cherry tomatoes, halved
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
200 ml wine (rosé or white)
1/4 g saffron
1-2 tbsp capers
1/2-1 tsp lemon juice
salt, black pepper

Start by roasting the cherry tomatoes in an oven proof dish. Place them with the cut side up, drizzle with some olive oil, and bake at 175°C for 30 minutes. Let cool.

Heat a little oil in a pan, and when it's hot, add the shallots and garlic. Fry for a minute on high heat, then add wine and saffron. Cook for 4 minutes on medium heat. Add the tomatoes, capers and lemon and cook for another minute. Remove from heat while you sear the scallops.

Dry the scallops with kitchen towels, and season with some salt and finely ground black pepper. Sear in olive oil on high heat for about 2 minutes on each side. Serve with the sauce.

Recipe in Swedish:
Pilgrimsmusslor i saffranssky

Lunch at F12

I recently got invited to a very nice press lunch with Turntable Chardonnay, at F12 restaurant. The wine was good, but the food was amazing - a special-composed menu to match the wine.



First, a take on Vitello Tonnato with veal and raw tuna. It also had truffle mayonnaise, capers, grapefruit and licorice jelly.



Next course was pike-perch with a dusting of curry, and edamame beans. The green sauce is an edamame purée, the other sauce was buttery and almost caramel in flavor. This was served with a potato purée.



And finally Brillat-Savarin cheese, with roasted macadamia nuts and an apple jelly.

Pistachio Brittle

Happy St Patricks day!

Well, I had to blog about something green... so my choice fell on these yummy little goodies, actually something I made at christmas time but they'd certainly be good all year round. I use regular salted snack-type pistachios, and the only time consuming part was shelling them. The candy itself is super simple to make.

Some other green food I highly recommend:
Guacamole
Broccoli Slaw
Green Pea Tagliatelle
Chèvre Pea Crostini

Pistacho Brittle
(printable recipe)

250 g sugar
40 ml corn syrup (or white baking syrup)
60 g water
55 g unsalted butter
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp flaky sea salt
170 g salted pistachios

Mix sugar, syrup, water and butter in a saucepan, and boil on medium heat without stirring. It should turn golden brown. (Count on at least 10-15 minutes, but it will vary depending on temperature and the pan you're using.)

When it is golden, remove it from heat and carefully stir in the baking soda and the salt. It will bubble and fizz a lot. Stir in the pistachios, and immediately turn it out onto a teflon or silicone baking sheet (a silpat mat would be perfect). Press on it with the back of a wooden spoon to make it as even as possible before it sets.

Leave to cool completely, then break into pieces and store in air-tight containers.

Recipe in Swedish:
Pistagebräck

Congratulations to Frantzen/Lindeberg!

One of my very favorite restaurants ever - frantzén/lindeberg in Stockholm - got their second Michelin star! Congratulations! I really look forward to my next visit because our previous one was a wonderful experience.

Produce box

We're recently started subscribing to produce boxes from Årstiderna, which is a Danish-based company that's really big on organic fruit and vegetables. We get a box every other week, filled with a mix of fruit and veggies - delivered to the door. I've gotten three boxes so far (sorry, just photos of the first two) and the quality is certainly very good. The price - well, it's high, there's no getting around that. You pay more than at the store. But, it's good stuff, and it's fun to get a box of stuff you might not have bought otherwise. It forces you to think creatively - like two weeks ago, when I received a HUGE knob of celeriac. (aka celery root)



First week, I got endives. I *hate* endives. Really, really hate them. Bitter, evil little things. I only hate one other vegetable as much, and that's celery. I shudder just thinking about it. But I was determined to cook with the endives, and I did. I cooked them in olive oil, and made little endive tarts with puff pastry, red onions, balsamic vinegar, bacon and feta cheese. Was it good? Yes. Better without the endives? For sure. But at least I used them.



This week, I got celery. Readers, I'm ashamed to admit it, but I just tossed it out.

So. I figure with two of my most hated veggies out of the way, it's bound to get better as we approach spring. I look forward to seeing what's in my next box!

Momofuku Compost Cookies

Sorry for the silence. I haven't been able to eat, or think about food, for a few days, but it's much better now.

To make up for it, I thought I'd let you in on the secret of cookie nirvana. It's simple.

See, it's all about the sweet and the salty. Together, the best of friends, at least to my palate. And while the idea of salting cookies is by no means new, I did feel quite adventurous adding actual salty potato chips to these cookies - and pretzel sticks, too! And... chocolate covered caramels, and peanut butter chips... (The name of these cookies will give you a hint - you can add anything you'd like!)

Definitely not my idea (though this particular combination might be) - I found the basic recipe at Amateur Gourmet, but the original is apparently served at Momofuku Milk Bar in New York, where I very much hope to go someday. You can add any candy or snack items you like - I had pretzel sticks sitting around, and peanut butter chips as well. I was planning to use dark chocolate, but didn't have any. I did pick up some chocolate covered caramels - they're rather firm and chewy, slightly larger than M&M:s and I'm sure you can find something similar if you want to - and my favorite potato chips which are thickly cut and unpeeled.

So, what makes these so good? Not only the unusual flavor combination. It'd still be a great, great cookie, with just chocolate chips. It's crunchy, but chewy too, and caramelly and just.. good. Great! What are you waiting for? Get baking!

Momofuku Compost Cookies
(printable recipe)
27 huge cookies

225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
250 ml sugar
180 ml brown sugar
1 tbsp white baking syrup (or golden syrup, or corn syrup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
415 ml flour
2 tsp flaky sea salt
1 tsk baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
200 ml peanut butter chips (or chopped dark chocolate)
200 ml chocolate covered caramels (cut in half)
200 ml crushed salted potato chips
200 ml crushed pretzel sticks

I'm using my Kitchen-Aid. I wouldn't attempt it by hand, but handheld beaters would work.

Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and syrup for three minutes until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat for ten minutes. It will be very thick, pale and fluffy.

Mix flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a separate bowl, and add this to the cookie batter. Stir as little as possible to combine them. Add your candy and snacks to the batter and stir just to combine.

Shape large balls - about the size of ping pong balls - and place on lined baking sheets, leaving a lot of room in between. I could fit nine cookies per sheet. Place in the fridge for at least one hour.

Bake at 200°C for 9-10 minutes. This last step is hard but crucial: let them cool completely on the sheet before tasting. (Or they'll break up completely.)

Recipe in Swedish:
Kompostkakor

Baby with his toast

Sorry, another round of stomach flu, hence the lack of posts...

Another not very successful bread

I've lost my bread mojo.

First, I tried to make bagels. Using the same recipe as always, but MAN did they fail. They didn't rise, at all, and were just sad little things. Compact, hard - I threw the whole thing out, didn't even bother baking them, it wouldn't have worked. I'm guessing possibly my yeast was too old... even though I have no idea how, since I used dry yeast like I always do for those. It *did* come out of an open sachet though, so maybe that's why. Anyway. No bagels.

And then I tried this sourdough bread, which I *will* return to, but on this day it didn't rise properly either. I didn't get those large holes and the right texture. Still a good bread, but not what I wanted.

Maybe it's just too cold to bake right now? (Another reason to hope for spring - soon!) Or, I need a super-reliable recipe to bring me back. Wanna share your favorite? Leave a comment!

Beef & Rice Soup

Ok, this photo isn't exactly something I'll send to Tastespotting, but the soup was good and I think it's well worth trying even though it wasn't photogenic. I've been wanting to try a soup with ground meat and rice ever since I had a fantastic one at a little tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant. That one had lamb, lentils, spinach, rice... and well, I had no idea how to make something similar. I still really don't, but when I saw this soup in Jaden's Steamy Kitchen cookbook, I knew I had to try it. And now at least I have a base to work with - it's definitely not very similar, but it's tasty, filling and satisfying when it's cold outside!

Think of this as a base, to which you can add a lot more flavors.

Beef & Rice Soup
(printable recipe)
Serves 2-3

250 g ground beef
2 tsp dry sherry
2 tsp dark soy sauce
black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cooking oil
1 litre water
50 g rice, uncooked
1 carrot, thinly sliced
handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
100 ml green peas (frozen and thawed)
salt

Heat the oil in a pot. Mix the beef, sherry, soy sauce, black pepper and sugar. Fry on medium heat for a few minutes while stirring to break up any clumps of meat. Add water, rice, carrots and tomatoes and boil for abut 25 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked. Add the peas, and season with salt.

Recipe in Swedish:
Köttfärssoppa med ris

My current favorite chocolate!

Dessert!

Crunchy granola crust, frozen caramel filling and yummy wild
raspberries.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

When Titus was just past 6 months, he was about to have his immunization shot for the swine flu. However, it was advised that all kids would try eggs before the shot, since allergics might otherwise have a reaction. As Titus wasn't eating any solids at that point, and certainly not anything like scrambled eggs, I called up our pediatric nurse for advise.

And she said to give him cake.

This is QUITE unorthodoxic advice. But she said that it was really important to try eggs, and well, most kids would at least nibble on cake. And that'd be enough to know.

I figured that if he should eat cake, it should at least be pretty darned good. So I turned to Rose Levy Berenbaum's latest book, Heavenly Cakes, and made a version of her mini vanilla poundcakes. This isn't that exact recipe - she also adds vanilla extract, and is more exact in how long the cake is mixed, and douses them with vanilla syrup - but oh boy, it's a great recipe.

I made cupcakes, or muffins I suppose (that is definitely up for debate - what is what?) and left them unadorned. You could certainly frost them. I just ate them.

And so did Titus. And no, he does not seem to be allergic.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
(printable recipe)
makes about 12

2 vanilla beans
150 g sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3 tbsp milk
150 g flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
185 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Heat the oven to 175°C. Split the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape out all the little seeds. Mix them with the sugar. If you find it hard to mix them, use a food processor, otherwise just try to rub them together.

In a bowl, whisk eggs and milk. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular bowl, and use your handheld mixer), add flour, the now vanilla-y sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix for 30 seconds. Add the butter and half of the egg mixture. Mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides if necessary. Add the rest of the egg mixture and mix again.

Fill cupcake liners (in a muffin tin, ideally) to about 3/4. Bake for 18-22 minutes - they should like nicely golden with slightly cracked tops. Check with a cake tester to make sure they're done.

Recipe in Swedish:
Vaniljmuffins

Cookbook watch: some news for spring

Tokyo Food by Petter Bjerke, Gustav Karlsson Frost & Markus Karlsson Frost

An inspired walk through the foods of Tokyo, with lively descriptions of meal in dark little restaurants with five seats, this is certainly a lovely introduction to Japanese food culture. The text is well-written, and there are plenty of photos, as well. It's mainly a travelogue and not a cookbook - but there are recipes, too, and in-detail descriptions about food such as ramen, udon, soba, sashimi and sushi, as well as lesser-known (to me at least) techniques. And I do mean detail. Ever wondered what the best way to kill fish for sashimi is? Wonder no more!

Now, the negative stuff. The authors are a bit too reverent, in my opinion - excited about absolutely everything, and seeming to think that every single food joint is a lot better than anything found in the west. I also really don't like the layout, where there are descriptions and recipes in the margins - and sometimes not at all related to the main text on the same page. It's quite confusing and makes it much harder to read. It isn't clear why some texts are in the sidebar and not in the main column. That aside, I'd say this is the perfect book for someone wanting to travel to Tokyo, or someone who HAS travelled there and likes to reminisce about it.



Måndag till torsdag by Marcus Aujalay ("Monday to thursday")

As the title implies, this book is all about weeknight cooking. That is, quick, easy to prepare, but without being repetitive or boring. I really look forward to trying some things from this book - but I have to wait, because my dad immediately grabbed it off my table when he saw it, and brought it with him for a month in Spain. Let's hope he brings it back!

Fresita - this summer will be delicious

I got a small bottle of Fresita yesterday. It's sparkling wine - infused with strawberries. Real strawberries. It sounds really weird, but oh - it was delicious. It'll be sold in Sweden from March, and I for one will stock up. I can see myself sipping this in the sun, waiting for someone else to make me dinner... Perfection.

Chicken Coconut Noodles with Red Curry

Here's the kind of dinner you can have on the table in ten minutes, and you'll probably have most of the ingredients at home, too. I love it. It's obviously very adaptable, and flavorful without being too spicy.

Chicken Coconut Noodles with Red Curry
(printable recipe)
2 generous servings

2 small chicken breasts, cut into dice
1 tsp cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp red curry paste
1 can coconut milk (400 g)
1 can baby corn (frozen is fine too, of course), cut into smaller pieces
75 g snow peas or sugar snap peas, in smaller pieces
handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1-2 tsp fish sauce

2 servings of egg noodles, boiled according to the package instructions

Heat the oil in a pot. Add garlic and curry paste and fry on high heat for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk and add the chicken. Boil for 5-6 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Add baby corn, snow peas, tomatoes and red onions and cook for another two minutes. Season with fish sauce. Serve in deep bowls over freshly cooked noodles.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kycklingnudlar med röd curry och kokosmjölk

Don't mind the mess...

The blog might look a bit different for a few days. I'm doing a slight redesign, and although I'll keep the main elements, I *am* switching over to "new" blogger - a few years after everyone else did!

This makes widgets a lot easier, so this is your time to wish - what functions would you like to see here? Things that are certain:

- the recipe index will stay, and look like it does now
- I'll add a left-hand column, to separate links and recipes
- I'll add labels to my posts, so that it's easier to search for categories other than the ones in the index (or at least that's the idea, I hope it will work)

Other than that.. I'm open to suggestions! So, bring them on! And I hope that I'll get everything up and working fairly soon, but in the meantime, don't mind the mess! :)

Pistachio Chèvre Crostini

I'm always on the lookout for quick little appetizers to serve to my guests while I'm finishing up in the kitchen. I found this recipe via Tastespotting, and immediately knew it'd be perfect. I adore chèvre cheese, and while I like all sorts of nuts, pistachios are some of my favorites.

I used ready-bought crostini, but you could certainly make your own from day-old baguettes. (Drizzle with oil, and toast in the oven.)

Pistachio Chèvre Crostini
(printable recipe)
makes 20

200 g chèvre cheese
3-4 tbsp crea
salt
black pepper
100 g pistachios (unsalted)
20 crostini (or toasted baguette slices)

Set aside 20 pistachios for decoration. Chop the rest, and mix with the cheese and the cream to a nice spreadable consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Spread on crostini, and top with the reserved whole pistachios.

Recipe in Swedish:
Getostcrostini med pistage