Jalapeño breadsticks

Congratulation, Tom Sjöstedt! He is the chef of the year, 2008. He came in second last year, and he has been in the competition three times. It's about time he won! The contestants have to make two dishes - one that they can prepare as they like (with some guidelines) and practise ahead, and one out of a secret ingredient basket that they get to see half an hour in advance. The major secret ingredient was Vendace.

Now, I'll tell you about what I made to accompany the pineapple chili margarita: jalapeño breadsticks. They, too, are from the Mesa Grill Cookbook, but I diverged a bit from the original. I didn't use actual chiles in mine, partly because the choices here are so limited, and partly because I didn't want them to get too hot. I used a chipotle chili paste instead, and a very light hand with the jalapeño powder (the one I have is super spicy!) but if you're craving something spicier, just add more.

They're really perfect with a margarita - and easy to make, too. You need to start by roasting a head of garlic - it's very easy and goes like this: Separate the garlic into cloves, but don't peel. Place them on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with a little olive oil, and scrunch up to form a loose package. Bake at 150°C for 45 minutes.

Jalapeño breadsticks

180 ml tepid water
25 g fresh yeast
2 tsp brown sugar
1 egg
1 whole garlic, roasted and mashed
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp chipotle chili paste
750 ml flour

corn meal
jalapeño powder
flaky sea salt

Crumble the yeast in a bowl and add tepid water. Stir until yeast is dissolved, then add sugar, egg, garlic, salt, pepper and chili paste. Stir well and add the flour. Work by hand or in a machine until you have a smooth dough.

Place in a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size - it should take about an hour.

Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper, and sprinkle them with corn meal. Divide the dough into two pars, and roll each one out to a large rectangle. Cut each rectangle into ten (or more) strips. Carefully move the strips to the baking sheet, twisting them lightly as you go. They should be about as long as the sheet are wide, to get nice, long breadsticks.

Sprinkle with some more corn flour and leave to rise, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Mash some flaky sea salt with jalapeño powder in a pestle and mortar, and sprinkle over the sticks.

Bake at 175°C for 20-25 minutes, or until they are lightly golden and crispy.

Recipe in Swedish:
Jalapeño-grissini

Yummy Breakfast

Today is the 25th annual "Chef of the Year" - or Årets Kock in Swedish - competition. Last year's winner was Tommy Myllymäki, and he served a grand breakfast this morning at a press seminar hosted by Arla (the largest dairy producer in Sweden, and actually the largest producer of ecological dairy products in the whole world). I was lucky enough to be invited!

I only managed the very lousy shot you see above, but that's of a deliciously creamy ecological yogurt topped with various, lightly caramelized nuts.

We also got crispy oatmeal with an apple and raisin compote, served with milk. Didn't try that one, but it sounds nice. Three different small sandwiches - one on dark rye bread with liver paste and pickled cucmber, one on crisp bread with Svecia cheese, pear and cress, and finally a delicious toast with smoked ham and horseradish. Was that enough? No, we also had an egg. Not an ordinary egg, but one that had been boiled for an hour, at exactly 65°C, which made it the most creamy perfect egg I'd ever tried. It was topped with a little bit of tomato sauce and bacon crumbs, which certainly helped things as well.

All in all, a fantastic way to start the day. If you want to read more about Årets kock, several bloggers are there and reporting more or less live. They're in Swedish though - sorry about that. I'll tell you who the winner is and what he cooked, tomorrow.

-Official website
-Arlas website

Pineapple Chili Margarita

A toast to my good health!

Seriously, I'm much better now. Pretty much 100% - which is good, as I'm invited to a really cool breakfast tomorrow that would have sucked if I still felt queasy.

The above drink is a pineapple chili margarita that I made for our 13-course dinner a few weeks ago. It's from Mesa Grill Cookbook by Bobby Flay but I didn't exactly follow the recipe. I improvised - and it went something like this:

-one pineapple, fruit and juice
-one fresh red chili, without seeds

Combine in a blender.

-pineapple juice, as good quality as you can get

Add this to the blender. You need a big blender.

I poured tequila into the individual glasses and then topped up with the mixture. we had one driver and one pregnant guest, so two got the pineapple chili juice as it was.

It turned out to be pretty darn good - everyone liked it. As I'm writing this, I think some lime wouldn't be a bad addition, but it depends on how sweet your pineapple is, probably.

Shar-pei Lemon Meringue Tiny Pies

Ta-da-da! It's Daring Bakers again, as you might have noticed if you're an avid reader of food blogs. We are so many now that you can hardly miss us - the blog roll is up to more than I care to count at the moment, suffice it to say: we're many.



And this month, we're all making lemon meringue pie. I think I write this almost every month, but again, I wasn't thrilled when I saw the recipe. I don't like pies very much. It's the crust - I like the filling well enough. And while I love meringue, I love it so much more when it's crunchy and chewy, like a good pavlova. Not very much when it's soft like it is when it's topping a pie. And the filling then? Well. It didn't excite me very much either. Lemon. Uh-huh. Sure. But there's a LOT of cornstarch in this recipe, it's not like a lemon curd (which is tasty enough) but it's much thicker and even though it's made from scratch, it feels somewhat artificial.



Oh, enough with the whining. Anyway. I put it off for a long time, then finally made it (right before I got the stomach flu, so good thing I managed to finish them at all!) but I decided that as I knew I wouldn't be crazy about the results, I wouldn't make very much. Thus: I went mini. Bite-sized, in fact. I used my mini-muffin tin and only made half the recipe. I actually tossed some pastry, filling AND topping, since I was too tired to make more than twelve.



Did I encounter problems? No. Not at all. It was a breeze. Except for that my meringue started to droop and wrinkle after a little while out of the oven, thus the title of this post. (You know the cute shar-pei wrinkle puppies? That's exactly what my meringue tops looked like.) But the crust stayed nice and crunchy, the filling was firm (no wonder, with all the corn starch) and with a nice tangy flavor, and the meringue was sweet and tasty. My guests liked them a lot and I had two. But will I be making them again? Ah, probably not. But I'm glad I made the challenge, and I'm looking forward to the next one!

The Garlic Twist

Photo by The Garlic Twist

I'm still pretty much out of commission, but have expanded my eating to include apple juice, bananas and chocolate wafers. Oh, what a gourmet meal! I just might try some cereal later tonight... seriously - this is no fun at all.

Something else that's no fun? Mincing garlic. I hate doing it by hand, and the garlic press is always such a pain to clean. A grater is ok, but that, too, needs cleaning and I often don't feel like bringing one out just to do a clove or two. (Besides, my Microplane is a bit too fine for garlic, it makes it more of a mush than mince.) I'm happy to report that I've found the solution. One of my favorite gadget blogs, Cooking Gadgets, reported on the Garlic Twist a while ago. I wrote to them, asking if they happened to have a retailer in Sweden, and while they don't, they offered to send me one (two, actually!) to try out. Nice!

How does it work then? Well, you peel the garlic (and in order to do so easily, the manufacturer says to whack the clove with the back of the gadget, much the same as hitting it with the backside of a knife - it works to loosen the skin), place at least two cloves in the gadget (but more will work just as well), press and twist. That's it! It does take a little bit of force, but not much. It gathers the garlic neatly, and the best part? It's really easy to clean.

And as a bonus, it comes in pretty colors. Oh, and it's inexpensive. No surprise that this one has already recieved several design awards. Every kitchen should have one!

Now, it's back to the sofa and numerous episodes of Buffy for me.

Weekend Cat Blogging

I've caught a stomach bug of some sorts, and all I've been eating today is buttered toast with the crusts cot off, scrambled eggs and Coke with the bubbles stirred out. I feel like complete crap, actually.

So. I can't even bear to think about food, definitely not blog about it, so instead, enjoy a photo of Ywette, sleeping contendedly.

Swedish Chocolate Balls

I've written about chocolate balls before - they were a childhood favorite for me and pretty much everyone else in my generation, but they're also sold in just about any café. Before political correctness came to Sweden, these were called "negro balls". Yes. They were. And they still are, by many people. Although some of us cringe, and blush, and call them chocolate balls nowadays.

They're dead simple to make at home, even though I hadn't done so for many, many years. Until I picked up a new cookbook, called Saras Kök (Sara's Kitchen) by Sara Begnér, who had a television show last year and is known as a pretty healthy cook. Her book is nice, and isn't just for those counting calories. However, most of the recipes are healthier, and somewhat low in fat. So what's the first thing I make?

This. Which is not at all healthy, obviously. Sara says that they're so intensely chocolate-y that you can easily get satisfied by just one or two. Umm. Yeah. Right. Let's change the subject and get on with the recipe, yes?

A note on decoration. You can choose to roll the balls in coconut flakes or in pearl sugar, and I always thought I defintely preferred coconut. Except.. well, we made both this time since Per prefers sugar, and I ended up eating most of his. So next time, it'll be all pearl sugar for me.

Oh. And you can use all oatmeal instead of half oat, half rye. That's really the traditional way to do it - adding rye is Sara's touch, and I liked it that way.

Chocolate Balls

150 ml rolled oats
100 ml rye flakes (looks just like rolled oats, only rye)
50 ml sugar
50 ml cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tbsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
2 tbsp hot, strong coffee
50 g unsalted butter

To decorate:
pearl sugar
coconut flakes



Mix oatmeal, rye, sugar, cocoa, vanilla sugar (or extract) and a pinch of salt. Cut the butter into cubes and add them to the bowl. Pour in the coffee. Work with your hands, and mix until you have a uniform, thick dough.

Shape small balls, about the size of a walnut, and roll them in your chosen decoration. Place in the fridge for a little while before you eat - they'll firm up and they're much better that way.

Recipe in Swedish:
Chokladbollar

Apple Scones

I don't know about you, but I like to have a slightly more luxurious breakfast on the weekends. Maybe something hearty like bacon and scrambled eggs, an omelette or frittata, perhaps pancakes, or simply some nice, warm-from-the-oven bread. These scones are real easy to put together, but will definitely add that special touch to a breakfast. They're delightfully crumbly and very apple-y. I love them with a fairly sharp cheese, and a slice of smoked turkey.

Apple Scones
Makes 6 large scones

150 g white flour
100 g wholemeal spelt flour (or regular wholewheat)
50 g sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
75 g butter
1 apple, coarsely grated (no need to peel it beforehand if you don't want to)
1 egg



Mix all the dry ingredients. Add the butter, cold and diced, and pinch with your fingertips until well distributed. Or use a food processor - that's what I generally do.

Add the egg and the apple, and quickly shape into scones. You can use a muffni tin (well greased!) if you don't want to make them free-form.

Bake at 200°C for about 10-12 minutes, or until they are cooked through and lightly golden.

Recipe in Swedish:
Äppelscones

Quick Turkey/Chicken Pasta

I'm hesitant to even post this recipe, because it includes an ingredient most of you probably will never get ahold of - a special ready-made cold sauce with herbs. However, no worries, you can probably get pretty good results with any nice non-tomato ready-made sauce, and perhaps add a little bit of thyme to that. And the point of this pasta is that it's a great way to use up leftovers, and it's fast to make, so don't fret about it. The orange goes extraordinarily well with the rest of the ingredients, and makes this unusual and, actually, quite sophisticated.

Quick Turkey/Chicken Pasta
Serves 4

4-500 g fresh tagliatelle
Meat from one cooked chicken, or from the same amount of turkey
200 g button mushrooms
150 g mangetout (snow peas)
1 red onion
500 ml ready-made herby sauce (I use Kelda Örtkryddad), and a splash of milk
the zest and juice from one orange
salt
pepper
olive oil

Slice the onion thinly, and dice the mushrooms. Cut the snow peas if you want to, or keep them whole. Rip the chicken or turkey into bite-sized pieces.

Fry the onion, mushrooms and snow peas in a little bit of olive oil until softened. Add the sauce, and add orange juice and a splash of milk to thin it out a little. Heat the chicken or turkey in the sauce, and add orange zest to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

Boil the pasta in plenty of lightly salted water and then mix with the sauce.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kalkon- eller kycklingpasta

Fruit Salad

Worried about eating your five-fruits-or-veggies per day? Well, do what I do and start your day with a fruit salad. That will get you well on your way, and it's really an excellent way to perk up a gloomy and dark winter morning.

I use whatever's in season and what's at home, but right now it's usually kiwi, passionfruit and raspberries. (Frozen, but they thaw in minutes.) Blood oranges are great to add, too. And if you're tired in the mornings, you can actually prepare this in the evening, cover it with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for a very quick start the next day.

This isn't all I eat for breakfast by the way. I generally have two open-faced sandwiches, generally with cheese or sometimes ham or turkey, and tea as well.

Bak Kut Tea, according to Lisa

I have to share this fantastic soup that I made for our massive 13-course dinner. It's originally a Singaporean soup, according to Lisa Förare Winbladh who was kind enough to let me share this recipe with you. It's from her latest cookbook, and you can find it in Swedish at Lisa's site Taffel.

She says that it can be totally improvised, but for once, I followed her recipe almost to the letter. And I was extremely happy with the results.

I sieved my soup, but you don't have to - it looks nice with the spices floating around in it too, but you need to be a bit cautious when you eat in that case. I also picked all the meat from the bones, as I felt it was easier to serve. Do as you like.

It does have some exotic ingredients - red dates was actually the only thing I didn't have at home (well, that and the meat) but I found some at an Asian supermarket. Goji berries are also known as wolfberries, and you can learn more here. My local health food store has them.

Bak Kut Tea
Serves at least 6-8

1 kilo thin pork spareribs
500 g thick pork spareribs
50 ml light soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 star anise
1 tsp black peppercorns
3 cloves
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 large cinnamon stick
6 jujube-dates (also known as red dates, sold dried)
1 tbsp concentrated veal stock
1 tsp sichuan peppercorns
1 tbsp brown sugar
neutral oil for frying

To serve:
zest of one tangerine
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp goji berries
2 tbsp light soy sauce
black pepper or chilli flakes, to taste

Cut the ribs into smaller pieces - I still kept them quite large as I planned to strip the meat off them anyway. Let them marinate in the light soy sauce for at least two hours.

Fry the ribs on the oil until they're well browned all over.

Bring two liters of water to boil in a large pot, with all of the other ingredients for the soup, except for the ribs. Add the ribs when it's boiling, lower the heat and let simmer, covered, for at least two hours. The meat should pretty much be falling off the bones, and be very tender. Add more water if you need to.

Remove the ribs, and pick off all the meat. Sieve the soup into a clean pot, and discard the spices. Put the meat back in the soup.

When you're ready to serve, add the zest of a tangerine, and a whole garlic clove to the pot. You can score the garlic clove beforehand, but don't cut all the way through as you want to be able to remove it. Bring the whole thing to a boil, add a few splashes of light soy sauce and add black pepper or chilli flakes if you want more heat. Fish out the whole garlic clove again before serving.

Caramel Cornflake Cookies

I got this recipe from Esurientes quite a while ago - and her turned out a lot prettier than mine did this time, they're usually not *quite* as thin and lacy. But it doesn't matter, it's a super tasty cookie and you really should try it. Besides, it takes all of five minutes to stir together.

The original is a christmas cookie, but frankly, it's suitable for any time of the year. Aren't most cookies?

Caramel Cornflake Cookies
Makes about 24

125 g butter
125 ml brown sugar
125 ml white sugar
125 ml coconut flakes
750 ml cornflakes, lightly crushed
1 egg
125 ml chopped hazelnuts

Note that 125 ml is about half a cup - very easy to measure.

Melt the butter. Add all other ingredients, and stir. (See, I told you it wasn't hard!) Drop onto lined cookie sheets, and leave plenty of space in between, since they will spread. Bake at 175°C for 8-10 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Caramel Cornflake Cookies

Chicken Saffron Pies

Just a photo today: tiny pies with chicken and saffron. I made them for my mom's birthday party, and they went down well enough but it's probably not something I'd repeat. I was annoyed that there was very little space for filling - and as I don't really like pie pastry that much, this wasn't for me.

It's very basic - a wholewheat pastry dough, cooked chicken, eggs, milk and saffron whisked with a few snipped chives and some chilli, and poured over.

Pineapple Pie

For once, I felt that the photo with the cat actually turned out much better than the one without. Glinda was *very* interested in this little pie, and so were my guests. It's one of those recipes that I've had for ages, and made many times - but not for a very long while. As in, five years or so. I have no idea why - it's easy enough and it's very tasty.

I'm not a big fan or pie crust, but this one is a lot tastier than the regular versions. The rolled oats help to make it crispier and with a lovely nutty flavor. (Oh, you could of course use actual nuts in the crust - not a bad idea at all.)

Serve this with ice cream. I'm particularly fond of my coconut sorbet, that's really the ultimate pairing.

Pineapple Pie

Pastry dough:
125 g butter
100 ml sugar
150 ml flour
150 ml rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder

Filling:
1 egg
100 ml sugar
200 ml crème fraîche, low fat is fine and lactose free substitutes are ok too!
2 tsp vanilla sugar
1 medium sized can of crushed pineapple, drained

Mix the pastry dough in a food processor. Mix everything, and process until the mixture starts to form a ball. Press it (don't even try to roll it) into a pie tin, and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Bake at 200°C for 10-15 minutes. (Using pie weights if you want to reduce the shrinking of the crust, but I never bother. As evident in the photos.)

Remove from oven and lower the temperature to 175°C.

Beat egg and sugar for the filling, until very light and fluffy. Fold in the other ingredients and pour into the pie crust. Bake at the new, lower temperature of 175°C for 25-30 minutes.



Recept på engelska:
Ananaspaj

Red Rice Salad with Egg

Today is one of those days when I would have preferred to just stay in bed. It's grey and gloomy outside, no snow, but fairly cold winds. And my office is really cold too. I feel like spring inside, but outside.. well, it's definitely still winter.

I found this recipe over at Heidi's excellent 101 Cookbooks, and as most of the recipes from her that I've tried, this was another winner. It's a fun one because you can add pretty much anything you want. It's like a Swedish Pyttipanna, but with completely different ingredients.

I happened to have red rice, but you don't have to use that. Regular white rice will do just as nicely - basmati would be particularly good, I think. And I bet black rice would look pretty! I'm trying that next time. Heidi suggests boiling eggs for this salad, but I preferred to top it with a fried egg instead.

Red Rice Salad with Egg
Serves 3-4

250 ml (1 cup) red rice, uncooked
500 ml water

1 tbsp oil
4 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely minced or grated
1 tsp ground coriander
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
200 g green beans, cut into smaller pieces
160 ml coconut milk
3-4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsk dark syrup or molasses
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 large bunch of fresh basil, finely shredded
1 handful macadamia nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

to serve:
lime
egg

Bring the water to a boil. Rinse the rice carefully and add it to the water. Cover with a lid and let it cook on low heat for 45 minutes. Remove from heat, and place the rice in a shallow bowl to cool off.

Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan. Fry shallots, garlic, chilli, ginger, coriander, carrot and green beans for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk, soy sauce and syrup, and let it cook for a few minutes. Add the rice, and if the dish looks too dry, add some water. Stir in some sweet chili sauce, and taste - you might want to add some more soy sauce for saltiness. Finally stir in the basil, and top with the macadamias. Serve it with lime wedges to squeeze over, and a fried egg if you want to.

Recipe in Swedish:
Röd rispytt

Caramel Chicken

I try a lot of recipes. You probably know that, since I constantly find new things to post about here. Some are of the kind that I like well enough, but not enough to make again. Some are new favorites, that I know I'll make again, and again. This is one of those.

I found it over at Nika's Culinaria, and it's a recipe from a book called "2500 recipes". I don't have the book, nor any strong inclination to buy it, but this chicken.. wow, this chicken is really extraordinary.

Do use as good chicken as you can buy - it makes a big difference here. I used organic free-range chicken thighs, and it was absolutely delicious. I made it again with slightly inferior chicken and it wasn't half as good. So do opt for the good stuff - it will be well worth it, I promise!

Caramel Chicken
serves 3-4

500 g chicken thighs, deboned
corn starch
2 tbsp neutral oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1-2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp brown sugar
2-3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp worcestershiresauce
black pepper
salt

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Coat them lightly in corn starch. Heat the oil and fry the chicken until it's cooked through, and slightly crispy on the outside. Remove to a plate.

Add more oil if you need to, and fry onion and carrot on fairly high heat for one minute. Add garlic, sugar, vinegar and worcestershiresauce and cook for a few minutes until the sugar has melted. Add the chicken to the pan and stir until it's well coated. Season with some black pepper and salt if you wish, and serve it with rice.

Recipe in Swedish:
Karamellkyckling

The Glenfarclas Family Casks Vertical Tasting

Here's a post long, long over due! I was invited to a really cool event in December - a full vertical tasting of ALL Glenfarclas Family Casks. That means whisky from every year from 1952-1994! 43 bottles! All in one weekend! (I have to admit that I only attended one day.)

I was intrigued. I like whisky, but don't know very much about it and I'm certainly not fanatic. My husband is somewhat of a whisky snob, and his friends are so even more. They were all very jealous, of course. Glenfarclas is a nice whisky, not very extreme like some single malts, but likeable and popular. Their family casks project is very unique - few distilleries even have casks that are so old! So, this tasting would be really spectacular.


George S Grant

And it was. It was led by expert Henrik Aflodal, and George S Grant from the Glenfarclas Distillery. It's the first time they've had such a large vertical tasting, and it's likely to be the only one! I learned a lot about Glenfarclas in particular, and the way Scottish distilleris run in general. And a lot about the whisky. I had no clue it would be so different - after all, it's all the SAME brand! Tastes the same, right? Oh, no. Not at all.



I was surprised right off to see that the colors were so different. These bottles were all cask strength, bottled right from the cask, without coloring or additives or any kind of altering. And the colors ranged from very pale yellow to deep reddish brown - all depending on what sort of casks they had been in. Many of the older vintages were from sherry casks (incredibly yummy!) which gives a very deep caramel color.



And the flavors? Way different. Each and every one. Ok, some were similar, but generally very distinct from each other. We were each given a small brown bottle to make our own blend - if we didn't want to drink all the whisky we were given (and you'd get *very* drunk if you did that) you could pour them into the bottle and make a custom blend. My whisky-nerdy friend paled when I told her this. I just thought it was kind of neat. And I still have that bottle - will drink it eventually, for a special occasion. It's very good, even though it's technically "just" 28 years old, since that was the youngest vintage that went in. The real enthusiasts brought tiny bottles for each and every vintage...



Most important then. Which one was the best? Well, I want to say that MY vintage (1976, which is also by the way George S Grant's vintage!) was the very best, but I have to admit that my very favorite was the 1960. It tasted of exotic fruits and had a very special aftertaste. Definitely not like anything else I've ever tried! Sadly, I'm not likely to ever get to try it again. If you get a chance to try any of the Glenfarclas Family Casks - I say go for it! It's an experience you're likely to remember for a very long time!

A big thank you to Sari and Patrik at Philipson & Söderberg for giving me this wonderful opportunity! And, to Henrik and George for sharing their fantastic knowledge!

Farmgirl's Fiesta Dip

Here's something I made a long time ago (for a Tupperware party) but never got around to tell you about. I have a massive backlog that I'm working through. Sometimes people ask me if I'll run out of things to blog about. Simple answer: no. I really don't think so. Ever.

Anyway. This is a nice, healthy dip, a nice change from the much fattier ones like guacamole (although oooh, yummy!) and it's a definite winner from Farmgirl Fare. I've made a few small changes, so head over to her site for her original recipe, and her story about tortilla factory tours!

Farmgirl's Fiesta Dip

500 g cottage cheese (diet versions are totally ok)
4-5 large tomatoes, diced
2 large red or yellow peppers, diced
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small fresh chilli, minced
1 bunch fresh coriander, shredded
1 tsp worcestershiresauce
1 tsp cumin
salt

Mix everything, and ideally let it sit for a few hours before serving. It will probably be a little fluid at the bottom of the bowl, so carefully pour that out before serving. And while you could serve this with more vegetables, it was delicious with tortilla chips. Just so you know.

Recipe in Swedish:
Farmgirls Fiesta Dip

Fig-Feta Palmiers

This is so easy, you hardly need a recipe! It creates a gorgeous flavor explosion - sweet meets salty, and the crunch from the pastry.. oh, it's perfect together.

So - you need a sheet of puff pastry, and I don't bother making my own even though you certainly could, it'll make it even better. You need dried figs - say, seven or eight of them. Finely chopped. You need about 100 g of feta cheese, and a few spoonfuls of cream. Mash the cheese with the cream, and spread it on the puff pastry. Sprinkle with the figs.

Roll up from both long sides at once, so that they meet in the middle. Or hey, just make one simple roll if you prefer - then you've got pinwheels instead of palmiers!
Place in the fridge for a little bit, to make slicing easier. Then slice. You want these to be fairly thin, say 7-8 mm.
Place the slices. cut side up. Brush with a beaten egg. And then bake, at 225°C, for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Mint Pannacotta

This is one of my favorite dishes from the 13-course dinner we had the other day. Not only is it ridiculously easy to prepare in advance, it's also extremely delicious and it was a big hit with everyone. The recipe comes from Elisabeth Johansson who is a great pastry chef and has written several lovely books in the past few years. I admire her very much, and am happy she's sharing her excellent recipes.

You do need to prepare this well in advance, since the layers need time to set. If you're really pressed for time, I think you could skip the final layer of mint jelly - it was good, but it would have still been great without it.

The decoration is a mint-chocolate toffee, a classic Swedish candy that I remember well from my childhood. The whole dish is definitely inspired by their flavor, so that's why it's so good to decorate with (plus it's unusual and makes people laugh a bit) but you could also use a few raspberries or other berries for that matter. Or just a sprig of fresh mint, or some chocolate curls. Anything!

Chocolate Mint Pannacotta
8 small servings

Mint pannacotta:
1 gelatin leaf
250 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
50 ml (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) sugar
peppermint extract

Chocolate pannacotta:
1 gelatin leaf
250 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar
50 g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Mint jelly:
1 gelatin leaf
50 ml (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) sugar
100 ml water
peppermint extract

To decorate:
cocoa powder
Mint Chocolate toffees, or berries, or anything you'd like.

Start with the mint layer. Soak the gelatin in cold water for five minutes to soften. Mix cream and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the gelatin and stir until it's dissolved. Flavor with mint extract - you have to taste it and add a little at a time, drop by drop, until it's as strong as you want it. You'll only need a little bit! Pour into small glasses and place in the fridge for two hours.

For the chocolate layer, do exactly the same thing - soak the gelatin, heat cream and sugar, add gelatin and stir. Then add the chocolate and stir until smooth. Pour gently on top of the mint layer, and place back in the fridge for two more hours.

For the jelly, again soak the gelatin in cold water. Heat sugar and water until boiling, and add the gelatin. Flavor with mint extract. Let this cool at room temperature, and then gently pour it on top of the chocolate layer. Place back in the fridge to set (this sets fairly quickly, since it's a much thinner layer).

To serve, dust over some cocoa powder and decorate as you wish.

Recipe in Swedish:
Mintkoladessert

Parma Ham Rolls with Avocado

Sweet yesterday, savoury today! This is a brilliant little appetizer that I made for my mom's birthday (well, that'd be Christmas eve) and it was incredibly popular. The plate was cleared in no time, and everyone who tried them went back for seconds.

It's great party food because you can prepare it well in advance. In fact, you *have* to prepare it beforehand, since the rolls need to be sliced when they're frozen. They go way too soft when they're thawed.

They're still pretty frozen in the photo, and not yet topped with toasted pine nuts, but you'll have to imagine how good they looked. Or just make them yourself!

If you don't like air-cured ham, use any ham at all! I'm sure it would be delicious with something smokier. Or hey, why not use large slices of bresaola instead? Or.. smoked turkey, even! The possibilities are endless.

Parma Ham Rolls with Avocado
Makes 3 rolls - about 24 bites

3-4 avocados
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1 red onion
150 g Philadelphia cheese (or other neutral cream cheese)
18 thin slices of Parma ham
salt
pepper
tabasco or chipotle chili sauce

To serve:
Pine nuts, toasted

Mash the avocados with the lemon juice and the cream cheese - use a handheld blender if you have one. Finely dice the red onion and add that. Season with salt, pepper and chili sauce. (I really prefer chipotle sauce if you can find it, it's slightly smokey and delicious.)

Place six slices of ham on top of a sheet of plastic foil, slightly overlapping. Spread a third of the avocado mixture on top, and roll into a tight roll. Wrap in plastic and freeze. Repeat with the rest of the ham and filling.

Remove from the freezer 1-2 hours before serving, and top with the toasted pine nuts.

Recipe in Swedish:
Parmarullar med avocado

Star Cookies

I made these simple but beautiful cookies for my mom's birthday. I used the sugar cookie dough from Nigella's book "How to be a Domestic goddess", made double stars using a special cutter, and filled the holes with crushed boiled sweets. (I had a bag of Fox's Glacier Fruits, divided by color.) Simple as that! And I think they turned out great! The fruity center really flavors the cookie, and makes what is otherwise quite plain into something special.

(The original plan was to do hearts, and remove "70" from the middle, but that proved to be way harder and indeed quite impossible.)

Lemongrass Claypot Chicken

This is not a great photo, but it *is* a great dish! I love using my claypot - I don't bring it out very often, but whenever I do I am positively surprised. It really does keep everything nice and moist, no risk of overcooking! And it's so easy - just toss it all in and let it bake. The flavors will come together beautifully!

Lemongrass Claypot Chicken
Serves 3

3 chicken breasts
3 bellpeppers - red and yellow
4 cloves of garlic
3 lemongrass stalks
1 piece of fresh ginger, thumb-sized
50 ml water
2 tbsp concentrated chicken stock
1 tsp sambal oelek chili paste
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar

Soak the pot in cold water for at least half an hour, and don't forget to soak the lid, too.

Cut the chicken into smaller pieces. De-seed and cut the peppers into smaller pieces as well. Grate ginger and garlic finely. Halve the lemongrass stalks lengthwise, and
give them a good bash with a heavy pot or the back of a knife to release the aromas and flavors. Place it all in the pot.

Mix water, chicken stock, sambal oelek, salt and sugar, and pour this into the pot. Place the pot in your COLD oven, set the temperature for 225°C, and leave for about two hours. Check to see that it's not too dry, you might want to add a spoonful of water.

Serve with rice, cous-cous or bulgur wheat.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kyckling i lergryta med ingefära & citrongräs

Frozen Lettuce

I had a lot of e-mails yesterday about what on earth the Frozen Lettuce was all about, so I decided to move it up in my posting schedule and tell you about it right away. It comes from Maraharu Morimoto's (the Japanese Iron Chef!) book "The Art of New Japanese Cooking" and while the flavors are definitely not far out, and fairly close to those of a Caesar Salad, the textures are wildly different. The lettuce is indeed frozen, and it melts in your mouth.

Really - do try this! Even if you don't make your own dressing - try it anyway! It's really fun! And tasty, but I don't need to tell you that.

The original recipe includes anchovy paste and white miso as well but I omitted those as my supermarket didn't have the first, and only had huge packs of the latter. There are other small changes as well, so if you want the original recipe - buy the book. (It's brilliant!)

I am going to try this again, but probably try to make the dressing a little bit lighter, possibly yogurtbased.


Frozen Lettuce
8 small servings

1 large head of iceberg lettuce

3 small cloves of garlic
4 tbsp (1/4 cup) vegetable oil (I use rapeseed)
1 egg yolk
8 tbsp (1/2 cup) mayonnaise
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tbsp Worcestershiresauce
1 tbsp shallots
1 tbsp parmesan, grated
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
zest of a lemon

salt
black pepper
chèvre (goat's cheese), crumbled
tiny croutons (If you don't fancy making your own, buy ready-made crostini and break into small pieces. Put in a sieve to get rid of any "dust".)

Cut the lettuce into eight wedges and place in a tight-lidded container. Freeze for 1-2 hours before serving.

Blanch the garlic cloves in boiling water for three minutes. Combine them with all the other ingredients for the dressing (except salt and pepper) in a small food processor or with a handheld blender. (Or whisk by hand, but then you must finely mince the garlic and shallot.) Season with salt and pepper. This can be prepared in advance, just put it in the fridge for a while.

To serve, pour the dressing on top of the lettuce, and top with crumbled goat's cheese and a small handful of croutons.

Recipe in Swedish:
Frusen sallad

Thirteen Courses 2008

It's that time of year again! Twelwth Night in Sweden is Trettondagsafton - "Thirteen-Day-Eve", and what better time for a great gourmet dinner with your friends? We each made three dishes (I also made a drink and a snack) to make a total of thirteen dishes, tasting-menu-style. This year, we also managed to keep the portions as small as they needed to be, which was definitely an issue last year.

So, without further ado - here's our menu. Up top you have the Pineapple Chili Margarita, from Mesa Grill Cookbook. I used more juice and less pineapple, and probably a different type of both chili and tequila than what Bobby Flay had intended, but it turned out very good nonetheless.



Served with this was his Mesa Grill Pretzels, or as I prefer, Jalapeño Breadsticks. I didn't use roasted chillies in mine, but instead a chipotle chili paste. There's also a whole head of roasted garlic involved, and generally very little effort. I'll share the recipe soon.



The first appetizer: Lobster on Pumpernickel with Saffron Sauce. Delicious! Dagmar made this.



Next, Lena's Salmon Mousse, served with fresh shrimp on a round of crisp bread. Very tasty!



Then, Tesse's tortellini, filled with a mixture of cheese and bacon, and served with a Cheddar-Chanterelle Sauce. I could have eaten just this for the rest of the night and been happy.



My appetizer was this Frozen Lettuce, from "The New Art of Japanese Cooking". It's sort of a take on Caesar Salad, in a very different way. I loved it - it was really different and unique, without being over the top. (Recipe to come.)

We had a lovely French white wine with the appetizers - Les Fumees Blanches. We then moved on to red wine, Opal Springs from Australia, and the main dishes.



First out, Tesse's Pheasant with roasted Jerusalem Artichokes, and a Calvados sauce. Great flavors!



Next, I made a soup from Lisa Förare Winbladh, called Bak Kut The. (From her book "Ditt Nya Skafferi".) It's apparently a Cantonese health soup - perfect to battle colds. It was indeed excellent, and I'm happy to say that I have lots of leftovers since we served it in tiny bowls. Recipe to come, soon-ish.



Dagmar served "frost bump" from moose, with a wonderful gratin from potatoes, carrots, jerusalem artichokes and other root vegetables.



Final main course was another soup, Lena's intriguingly named "Red Sea Soup" which turned out to be a creamy tomato soup with crawfish tails and crab. Yum!



On to desserts! I was first out and served a chocolate mint pannacotta, topped with mint jelly and a chocolate-mint caramel. Amazing! And I'll be sure to share the recipe, which is from Elisabeth Johansson's book "Lakrits Mint & Choklad" that I have previously reviewed.



Lena served a Lemon Meringue Pie, that was deliciously sharp and sweet at the same time. We had a small glass of chilled Limoncello with it, which nicely polished off my last bottle of homemade stuff - I'll make more in time for summer.



Tesse had gone all out in making these beautiful Chocolate Drops with White Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Sauce. (Don't lick your screen!)



As the perfect finish to this evening, Dagmar served us Apple Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts with an Apple Cinnamon ice cream, and it was truly lovely.

You can find recipes eventually at Dagmar's blog, and at Lena's (in Swedish). Tesse unfortunately doesn't keep a blog - she should!

A cheese with my name on it. Literally.

Remember when I was in Switzerland? I never did get to the second part of that post - wow, I wonder what happened? Life, probably. Anyway.



We got to do our very own Emmenthaler Cheese - right there in Emmenthal valley - and a few weeks ago, it was delivered to my house! It had been stored in Switzerland to mature properly and now that it's done, it's done. L-O-V-E-L-Y!!



Here are some photos from the cheese making: