Dinner

Just made a huge batch of Broccoli Slaw for dinner. Oh, I can't get
enough if it, it's just so good! P will grill some burgers to serve
this with. Highly recommended!

Cold Marinated Chicken

Here's a perfect dish for summer's parties - chicken, prepared in advance and served cool, and with tons of flavor. It goes well with almost anything - a creamy potato salad, pasta salads... anything, really. It's a great part of any spread, and easy to make, too.

Cold Marinated Chicken
(printable recipe)

1 kilo chicken breast or thigh fillets
salt, pepper
olive oil

Marinade:
100 ml olive oil
100 ml balsamic vinegar
50 ml runny honey
1 tbsp flaky sea salt (I used one seasoned with ramps - delicious!)
black pepper, as much as you want
2 garlic cloves, minced

Heat the oven to 200°C. Place the chicken in an oven-proof dish, drizzle with olive oil and season with a little bit of salt and pepper. Fry in the oven for about 15 minutes - the chicken should be cooked through. (Make sure you check it, the time can vary.)

Whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade, and mix with the chicken in double plastic bags. Place in the fridge for at least a few hours, or over night. (Turn the bags every now and again to make sure all the chicken is marinated.) When you're ready to serve, take out the chicken, cut into thin slices and arrange on a platter. Drizzle with some of the marinade, if desired.

Recipe in Swedish:
Marinerad kycklingfilé

Learn to cook Indian food in Stockholm this summer!

You walk into an Indian restaurant and immediately the wafting smells of chai, garam masala, and fried pakodas remind you of comfort food. And then you dip a warm, gooey fresh piece of naan into a creamy chicken tikka masala. Ohhh, the spices! A mango lassi quenches the spices and your thirst.

Before you know it, the plate is cleaned of any food once existing. But if only you could make this food at home! Of course you can. Indian food is not hard to make, but there are the basics to learn. Come learn basic Indian cooking with us in June and July in Stockholm, Sweden.

In the three evening course, you will learn to make lassi (yogurt drink), real Indian chai, fresh paneer (cheese), chick pea curry, veg curries, chicken tikka masala, grilled tandoori chicken, and more. My mom, a fantastic cook, will be leading the classes and sharing her culinary knowledge.

The cost is 500SEK and includes eating all the delicious food, a spice basket, and a recipe book. Why wait?! Classes are limited to 5 students to ensure a happy learning environment. In Stockholm, good Indian food is hard to come by; delicious Indian food is rarer.

Class dates:
June 22nd, 23rd, 24th: 18.30- 21.30
July 5th, 6th, 7th: 18.30- 21.30
July 12th, 13th, 14th: 18.30-21.30

Interested? Email me directly at ablacksapphire@gmail.com or visit Lost in Stockholm for more info. Half the payment must be received before the class starts. Please also let us know if you have any allergies.

------------
This post was written by Preeti, who'll be hosting the class. I think it's a wonderful opportunity and am planning to attend the June classes - I'm really looking forward to it and hope you can join me!

Happy Friday!

Food with blood

I usually don't post a lot of links to other sites, but as I'm feeling quite uninspired food-wise (we had fish sticks for dinner, for goodness sake. Ok, fancy ones, and we had asparagus and sauce hollandaise too, but still.) I thought I'd share this article about the use of blood in food. You don't have to be a vampire to enjoy it! Or maybe you do, I admit that I personally am not very fond of the idea. Or the food. Swedes eat blood pudding, and black soup, but I don't really do either :)

Chocolate Meringues

Got some extra egg whites? Make meringues! I tried these marbled chocolate meringues for a birthday party and it was a hit. Make sure to leave the meringues in the oven until cold though - they need to firm up on the inside. Top some of them with coconut flakes or chopped nuts if you'd like - it's delicious!

They'll keep at room temperature for a few days.

Chocolate Meringues
(printable recipes)
about 15

4 egg whites
250 ml sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
50 g dark chocolate
coconut flakes or chopped nuts, to decorate

Mix the egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a waterbath, and whisk until you have a thick and glossy meringue. (Use electrical beaters unless you have very strong arms!) The mixture must be hot enough for the sugar to dissolve.

Remove from heat and keep beating until the mixture is cool. Mix in the lemon juice. Melt the chocolate and fold it in with a few strokes so the mixture is nicely marbled.

Use a spoon to place dollops on two baking sheets, lined with teflon or silpat sheets. Sprinkle with coconut flakes or chopped nuts, if desired. Bake at 100°C for about 60 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the meringues until the oven is cool, preferably over night.

Recipe in Swedish:
Chokladmaränger

Creamy Beef & Onion stew

Time for another of those weeknight wonders - here's something that won't take much time or energy, but will give you big results when it comes to flavor. Caramelizing the onions might sound tedious, but it makes them so delicious and it's well worth your time.

Creamy Beef & Onion stew
(printable recipe)

500 g beef, in thin strips
250 g mushrooms, in large dice
4 small yellow onions (or two big ones), sliced
2-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or minced
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2-1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp chinese soy sauce (the dark kind)
500 ml cream (low-fat version is fine)
black pepper

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil i a pan. Add onions, salt and sugar. Fry the onions on mediu heat for about 15 minutes. You have to stir it to prevent it from sticking and burning - if it looks like it might, add a splash of water. Add the garlic and fry for a few more minutes, then set aside.

In a dry pan, fry the mushrooms until they've gotten some color, and lost most of their liquid. Add to the onions.

Heat the remaining tablespoon oil, and brown the beef until cooked to your liking. (Or a little less, it'll cook for a few more minutes in the sauce.) Add to the onions, and then add mustard, soy sauce and cream. Cook for a few minutes, and then season with black pepper and possibly some salt.

Serve over rice, or pasta.

Recipe in Swedish:
Krämig biff och löksås

Sunday dinner

So good, so simple. A roasted chicken, on top of roasted new potatoes
and carrots, with a mustardy cole slaw. Delicious!!

Frappuccino

Oh - we had a wonderful time in Berlin! Our hotel - Mövenpick - was
excellent and had an awesome breakfast buffet. We enjoyed a whole lot
of frappuccinos and lattes at Starbucks, and we took Titus to the zoo.
Great vacation!

Now that rhubarb is back in season...

I would love to remind you all about this wonderful dessert. Creamy rhubarb mousse is topped with bright pink rhubarb jelly, and then some white chocolate curls on top. It's the perfect finish to a spring-time meal, and all you need is some time and some.. rhubarb. I used frozen rhubarb this time, and it worked very well. I doubled the recipe and got 12 good-sized servings out of it, so bear that in mind - the original recipe is on the very generous side...

A bit of product news

I have to tell you about two delicious news in Swedish grocery stores. First, and foremost - chocolate. Marabou makes an excellent milk chocolate, and this latest edition is no exception. It has chunks of candy canes in it - "polkagrisar" in Swedish, and is therefor called "Polka". If you like peppermint with chocolate, this is for you. Try it!



Brago is one of the most popular plain biscuits sold here. (I have an old friend who'd go through a roll a day - in her defense, they are extremely good with coffee.) This new variety are made with oats (which makes them a little like hob-nobs) and are subtly flavored with apple. Not bad at all - I enjoy these, much more than the original which I always found a bit too plain.

(Both were sent to me for reviewing purposes, and the images used were provided by the PR agencies. I'm not getting paid to write this post.)

Pickled Salmon

Pickled salmon might sound really strange, but it's a very classical Swedish dish. The sweet-sour combination is spot-on, and it's perfectly complimented by pink peppercorns. You need to find white distilled vinegar which is about 12% - if the bottle says stronger, or weaker, adjust accordingly.

This is great as part of a larger spread. I served it with basil aïoli, and potato salad with asparagus and mustard. A herby yogurt sauce would also be nice.

It's best prepared the day before serving.

Pickled Salmon
(printable recipe)

about 750 g salmon fillet
600 ml water
150 ml white distilled vinegar
2 large yellow onions
2 bay leaves
10 white peppercorns
10 whole allspice peppercorns
20 pink peppercorns (plus more for serving)
2 tbsp salt
100 ml sugar

Heat the oven to 150°C. Deeply score the salmon but without cutting through the skin. Place, skin-side down, in an oven-proof dish.

Slice the onions, and place in a pot with the spices, salt, sugar, vinegar and water. Bring to a boil, and pour over the salmon. Cover with foil and place in the hot oven for about 8-10 minutes. Cool, and then place in the fridge overnight.

Before serving, transfer the salmon to a serving platter, and remove as many of the peppercorns as you can. Top with some of the pickled onions, and sprinkle with some crushed pink peppercorns.

Recipe in Swedish:
Inkokt lax

Lunch by Geir Skeie

I was at a really cool lunch yesterday, with fellow food bloggers Pia and Kari. It was hosted by Norwegian akvavit producer Arcus, and since it was May 17 - Norway's big day of celebration - it was very festive. And coolest of all, they had flown in culinary superstar Geir Skeie to cook the food.



Geir is 30 years old, and has already won Bocuse d'Or. (And Bocuse d'Or Europe, too.) He's very innovative and creative - and pretty cute, too.



The food was paired with Linie Akvavit, a special akvavit that has been aged in caskets aboard a ship for four months. I don't particularly care for the alcohol, but the food was certainly interesting. The first course was a cured salmon, with asparagus, asparagus cream, various types of roe, and jerusalem artichoke omelet. Each element (except for the smokey roe) was nice, but I found it disharmonious. And, oddly, a bit too rich.



Second, a piece of halibut seasoned with caraway, on top of choucroute, pig's knuckle and white asparagus. Again, each element was great, but as a whole, it was my least favorite dish. My halibut was a bit undercooked and the caraway... well, no, not really.



Third, a gorgeous piece of duck, with a divine orange-sweet potato purée, mushrooms, spinach and onion. I loved it, and would have licked the plate if nobody was watching.



And the dessert. Ok, you can't really go wrong with rhubarb-strawberries-white chocolate, but this was divine. White chocolate panna cotta with basil, on a rhubarb sorbet, in a rhubarb-strawberry soup (or just melted sorbet, perhaps?), with strawberry ice cream. Very clean flavors, and a great combo. The basil didn't add much though.

All in all, a lovely lunch and I feel very blessed that I got to attend!

Cheese Pie with Phyllo Dough

Here's a new take on a sharp cheese pie - something I've often made with Swedish Västerbotten cheese, but as that was unavailable when I shopped, I chose a sharp cheese called "Prästost" instead. A sharp cheddar would be nice as well! This pie is really rich, and is great to serve with lighter dishes, but to cut down at least a little bit on the fat, I used phyllo dough rather than a normal pie crust. (I'm really no fan of pie crust, so this suits me much better.) As a bonus, it's really pretty!

Cheese Pie with Phyllo Dough
(printable recipe)

Serves 10 as part of a buffet

You need a 24-cm springform pan

8-10 sheets of phyllo dough, larger than your pan
olive oil
4 eggs
400 g grated cheese (the sharper the better)
400 ml cream (full-fat is the way to go)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Work quickly, or the phyllo dough will dry out. Start by brushing your pan with oil. Place layers of phyllo, overlapping, and brush some oil between some of the layers. (It's not all that important, so don't worry.) When all the layers are in the pan, add the cheese.

Whisk the eggs, cream and cayenne pepper, and pour this over the cheese. Scrunch together the overlapping phyllo dough, and fold inwards to make a nice edge for the pie. Brush the edge with olive oil.

Bake at 200°C for about 30 minutes. The filling should be mostly set (but might still be a little wobbly) when you take it out. Leave to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.

Recipe in Swedish:
Prästostpaj med filodeg

1-up!

This might be the cutest birthday cake ever! Titus godmother Dagmar
made it for him, and it was really tasty, too! I hated cutting into it
though.

Just one more...

After all the comments on yesterday's onesie with cinnamon rolls -
kanelbullar - I have to show you this one. It has tiny green princess
cakes - too cute!!

Titus first birthday party

Sick of the baby talk? Sorry, we'll be back to food soon. But today was Titus first birthday party (we're having a second one tomorrow!), and of course I have to tell you about it. Titus had an awesome time. He loved all the attention and was really excited.



Here's the party spread - cinnamon buns, raspberry thumb print cookies, vanilla sugar cookies, raspberry chocolate macarons, team cookies and chocolate coconut meringues. And cake. Oh, lots of cake.



It's the same Flag Cake that I made for Fourth of July last year, but sans the flag.

v

And a close-up of the sugar cookies.



And I used some of the cake and frosting to make cake pops, for the first time. Prettier than tastier, to be honest, but it was fun.



I gave him a frosted cupcake to try.



Not so popular, as you can see.



He much prefers cinnamon buns.



And presents.



His favorite visitor of the day: Thumbelisa.

Happy birthday, Titus!

I can't believe it's been a year already...


Swimming, March.


February.


With grandpa in January

v
The littlest Santa


Playing dress-up in November


With mom, October.


September.


On his first car, August


With dad, July.


June.


His very first day. May 14, 2009.

Roasted Veggie Tomato Sauce

Ok, another tomato-based sauce for pasta! Well, it can be served with other things as well - like rice, bulgur or quinoa. Either way, it's really flavorful. Not so fast though - this one will take a little longer to make, but roasting the vegetables really bring out their sweetness, which in turn makes the tomatoes a lot yummier. Make a big batch and freeze it!

Roasted Veggie Tomato Sauce
(printable recipe)

1 leek - white and light green part - finely sliced
1 zucchini, diced
2 red peppers, diced
300 g mushrooms, diced
800 g (two cans) crushed tomatoes
splash of balsamic vinegar
water
salt
sugar
black pepper
dried oregano and basil
olive oil

Start by heating your oven to 200°C. Place the leeks, zucchini, peppers and mushrooms in a roasting tin, add some olive oil and toss. Roast for 20-30 minutes, or until soft.

Move the veggies to a big pot, and add the tomatoes. Add a little water, and the dried herbs. (A pinch of each will do.) Cook for about 10 minutes, add more water if it's too thick, and season with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and a small pinch of sugar.

Recipe in Swedish:
Tomatsås med ugnsrostade grönsaker

More cookies!

Raspberry thumbprint cookies

Whew! Back home, got everything in order, and am now gearing up for Titus first birthday party. Which is on Friday. And Saturday. And Sunday. Yes, we have a lot of guests! It's a lot of fun preparing for it, of course, but also a bit stressful. I'm trying to prepare some things in advance - like these delicious cookies! They're perfect to have at hand in the freezer! And obviously - you can use any jam you like.

Raspberry thumbprint cookies
(printable recipe)
makes 40

240 g flour
55 g potato flour (potato starch)
90 g sugar
2 tbsp vanilla sugar (or the seeds of one vanilla bean)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
200 g unsalted butter, cold
50-100 ml raspberry jam

Mix all the dry ingredients - everything but the butter, and the jam. Dice the butter, add it and work quickly into a smooth dough. It's easiest using a stand mixer or a food processor, but it can be done by hand, too. Don't overwork it!

Divide the dough into 40 equal parts - mine weighed between 15-17 gram. Roll each into a small ball, and place in a small paper cup. Press with a fingertip to make a small well in each cookie. Fill with a little bit of jam.

Bake at 200°C for 10-12 minutes. Don't let the cookies color too much!

Recipe in Swedish:
Hallongrottor

Spring!

Back home tomorrow! I've had a great time in Gothenburg and while it
was windy we also had some sun. And this beautiful tree really made me
feel that spring is finally, truly here.

Tiramisu

Yummy dessert at an Italian restaurant near our hotel in Gothenburg.

A delicious reminder

I'm away on a short weekend getaway to Gothenburg - we're nicely settled into our upgraded and very large hotel room, and Titus is excitedly exploring after hours in the car - so I'll just give you a very short post today. In fact, I just wanted to remind you about social bookmarking, and the site Delicious. I have an account there and I use it to bookmark all the stuff I find on other food blogs and want to make. I'll never get around to all of it, I'm sure - but it's a great place to look for ideas when I'm out of inspiration. You can see all my bookmarks, as well as start your own account, of course.

Have fun! And have a great weekend!

Less crumbly Scones

I regularly make scones for weekend breakfasts, and I'm constantly on the look out for better recipes. This is a really nice one - it contains an egg, which makes it much less crumbly than the scones I usually bake. Crumbs are good in a scone, of course, but not to the point where you can't spread a topping. These were delicious with cream cheese and fresh raspberries, but they were also great with a slice of aged cheddar and some blood orange marmalade. Yum!

Less crumbly Scones
(printable recipe)
makes about 10

250 g flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
60 g butter - cold!
1 egg
120 ml buttermilk (or if you're in Sweden, lätt filmjölk will work well.)

Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the butter in small dice, and mix until it's well distributed into the flour mixture. I used my Kitchen-Aid, but a food processor or your hands will work out as well.

Beat the egg with the buttermilk in a separate bowl and add to the flour. Mix into a soft dough, but don't overknead it. Flatten to a 2 cm thick rectangle, and cut out scones with a cookie cutter or a glass if you don't happen to have a round cutter.

Bake at 175°C for about 15-18 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Smulfria scones

Greek Potato Salad with Asparagus

Well, greek-ish.

Now that summer is nearly here, and with it, barbecue season, we eat potato salad in some shape or form a lot. This variation is definitely one to try - use as good potatoes as you can find, as that will definitely be worth it.

Since it has feta cheese, garlic, olive oil, capers, olives, lemon - that's greek flavor profile to me. Regardless of origin, it's an awesome combination and one that came to be thanks to my produce box. I had asparagus, potatoes, lemon and fresh garlic scapes that needed using, and I was also looking to come up with a good potato recipe for Taffel's potato contest. If you don't have garlic scapes, don't worry. Use regular garlic. Perhaps some scallions as well. Or ramps, if you have them!

Greek Potato Salad with Asparagus

(printable recipe)

500 g potatoes
2 fresh garlic scapes
200 g asparagus
50 g feta cheese
10 really good olives (I usually go for Kalamata)
2 tbsp capers
50 ml olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt, pepper

Peel and boil the potatoes. (If you have new potatoes, don't bother peeling it.) While it's boiling, finely chop the garlic scapes. Remove the stones from the olives and cut them into smaller pieces. Whisk together garlic, feta cheese, olives, capers, olive oil and lemon juice with some salt and a little bit of black pepper.

When the potatoes are cooked through, cut them into smaller pieces and fold into the dressing while their still warm.

Prepare the asparagus by snapping off the woody end of the stalk. It'll snap in the right place automatically, so be brutal about it! Prepare an ice bath - a bowl of cold water with some ice cubes. Blanch the asparagus in a large pot of salted water for 3-4 minutes, and then immediately plunge the stalks into the ice bath to stop them from overcooking.

Arrange the dressed potatoes and the asparagus on a large platter and serve at room temperature.

Recept på engelska:
Grekisk potatissallad med sparris

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I'm celebrating by having lunch at what's pretty much the only genuine Mexican restaurant in town (provided they're open - we'll see!), La Neta. And for dinner - quesadillas with guacamole. Yum!

Lamb Lemon Meatballs

Another variation on meatballs, people. These are excellent - the lamb goes so well with lemon, and since they don't have any breadcrumbs, they're more dense and less fluffy than some other versions. (And also gluten-free, by the way.) The secret ingredient - quark, or kesella as it's called here. I used it just because I happened to have some but it was actually excellent and made the balls hold together really well. I can really recommend giving it a try - ricotta might give you similar results if you can't find quark.

Oh, and Titus loved these!

Lamb Lemon Meatballs

(printable recipe)

400 g lamb mince
zest from 1 lemon
100 ml quark
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp dijon mustard
salt
black pepper
olive oil for frying

Mix all ingredients and roll into small meatballs, about the size of hazelnuts. Fry in olive oil on medium high heat.

Recipe in Swedish:
Lammköttbullar med citron