A whole lot of Christmas ham

I've just been to Scan's annual Christmas press event - they showed how the Christmas hams are cut. Pretty interesting - I know I want to look for one as round as possible, since that's from the back of the leg. (the actual butt)

Creamy Mushroom Toast

Another perfect fall dish! Mushrooms are everywhere, and if you can't find any more exciting ones, rest assured that ordinary button mushrooms are perfectly delicious in this simple open-faced sandwich. This makes enough for four sandwiches, which will be a good dinner for two, or a sturdy appetizer for four.

Creamy Mushroom Toast
(printable recipe)
enough for four toasts

250 g mushrooms
1 yellow onion
1 tbsp butter
salt, black pepper
150 ml cream (any fat content)
grated cheese, preferrably a rather sharp one

4 slices of bread
4 tbsp cream cheese

Fry the mushrooms, onion and butter until most of the liquid is gone, and the mushrooms are starting to brown. Add the cream and cook for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread the cream cheese onto the bread, and place in an oven dish. Divide the mushroom sauce on top, and sprinkle with some cheese.

Bake at 225°C for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling.

Recipe in Swedish:
Champinjonstuvning

New York City Hotels?

I know I had a similar post up a few years ago, but this time it might actually be happening: me going to New York with one or two of my dearest friends. We need to decide where to stay though - any recommendations? We're definitely on a budget, but we want someplace that's clean and safe, obviously. We'll be there for four nights in November - main focus on the trip is shopping and eating! (Huge surprise to all my readers, I'm sure!)

Swedish cheesecake

The photo doesn't do this justice at all, but I still wanted to tell you about it! I had dinner last night with Dagmar and Courtney of Coco Cooks and Dagmar had cooked a wonderful meal with very Swedish flavors. For dessert, she made this Swedish cheesecake that's nothing like any other cheesecake. It's made totally from scratch, making the cheese from milk and whey. It has lots of toasted almonds in it, making it grainy and almost a little like a rice pudding. It's always served with whipped cream and jam - we were served a delicious red currant vanilla jam that was perfect with the soft sweetness of the cake. Yum! I might attempt this myself sometime!

Chicken soup with Ginger and Fennel

Total comfort food! It has mild hints of ginger and fennel - it's mostly silky smooth and absolutely excellent for fall weather.

Chicken soup with Ginger and Fennel
(printable recipe)
serves 4

1 chicken
1 carrot, peeled and cut into smaller pieces
1/2 fennel (fairly small bulb), coarsely chopped
5 ginger slices, 2 mm thick
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
6 black peppercorns
1 tsp dried tarragon
50 g butter
2 tbsp flour
100 ml cream (full-fat)
1 tbsp sherry or cognac
salt

Place the whole chicken, breast up, i a pot along with the carrot, fennel, ginger and half of the onion. Add the bay leaf, black pepper, tarragon and a pinch of salt. Add water so that it almost covers the chicken, but leaves the top of the breast above water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover the pot with a lid. Simmer on low heat for 1,5 hours.

Remove the chicken and let it cool enough to handle. Shred the meat.

Pour the boiling liquid through a sieve into a clean pot, and boil until about one litre remains.

Melt the butter i a pot (large enough to hold all the soup) and fry the remaining onion on medium heat until it's softened but not browned. Add the flour and stir well. Gradually add the boiling liquid from the chicken, stirring all the time to avoid clumping. When all liquid has been added, bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Blend the soup until smooth - I prefer an immersion blender.

Add the cream, sherry or cognac, and the shredded chicken. Season with salt, and any additional spices you might like.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kycklingsoppa med ingefära & fänkål

Amazing Bolognese

Well, it's essentially the same as the meat sauce I make for Jamie Oliver's "Amazing Lasagna" - the only difference is that I used one can of cherry tomatoes and one of crushed tomatoes, rather than two of whole tomatoes. And all beef mince.

Delicious! And easy to make - it does take time, but it's well worth it.

Risoni Chermoula with Marinated Chicken

This is a really great dish - it cooks very quickly and is easy to make. Don't fear the ingredient list - it sounds much more complicated than it really is. I originally found this in a book called "Medelhavsmat för svenska kastruller" - it translates into something like "Mediterranean food for Swedish pots". Prepare the chicken the night before - and the recipe easily doubles if you have more people to feed.

Risoni Chermoula with Marinated Chicken
(printable recipe)
serves 2

Yogurt Marinated chicken:
2 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
200 ml mild yogurt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Cut the chicken into smaller pieces. Run garlic and onion in the food processor and add olive oil, yogurt and spices. Combine and leave to marinate for at least a few hours or overnight.

Thread the chicken onto skewers if you want to, and grill or fry them. I pan-fried mine, but I think I'll do it in the oven next time.

Risoni Chermoula:
150 g risoni (that's rice-shaped pasta, by the way)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 red bellpepper, diced
100 ml black olives, halved
1/2-1 tsp chili powder
1/2-1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp lemon juice
100 ml flat-leaf parsley, chopped
100 ml fresh coriander, chopped
1 avocado, diced
salt, pepper

Boil the risoni until tender. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry onion, garlic and bellpepper for a few minutes. Add the olives and all the spices. When the risoni is done, drain it and add to the pan along with the lemon juice, parsley, coriander and avocado. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche.

Recipe in Swedish:
Risoni Chermoula med yogurtmarinerad kyckling

Cookbook Watch - fall 2010 part 1

Ok guys, I have SO many books to tell you about. Some that I have been waiting for a long time - like Nigella Lawson's latest book, Kitchen, and of course, a lot of new books on the Swedish market. You'll have to wait a bit more for my take on Nigella, since I'm really savoring it. As always, she's a great writer, and I really enjoy reading her books much as I would any good book rather than just leafing through the recipes.



So, without further ado. Here are some new books in Sweden - only available in Swedish, I'm afraid. First, let's talk a little about Håkan Larsson's Fredagkväll ("Friday Night"). This book has ideas for Friday nights, to put it simply. Easy menus - with one or two courses - with a touch of luxury. It also includes wine pairings, which might be fun and useful - I personally don't drink a lot of wine, and am not all that interested. I tried a pork tenderloin with basil oil and asparagus chèvre risotto - it was good, but nothing special. And that sums up my thoughts on the book: rather nice, if not exactly unique.



Smart & Gott is the latest book by Liselotte Forslin, who does a lot of freelance work, so I've read many of her recipes in various magazines. I like her general outlook on food, and her recipes always seem fresh and seasonal, with a lot of vegetables. This book however, is a little too goody-two-shoes for me. It's called "Smart & Tasty - healthy recipes for everyday" and healthy is exactly where the focus is. Namely, low(ish)-fat, small(ish) portions and frankly, not all that exciting. The book has everything from breakfast blueberry porridge to a quick dessert (fresh orange slices dusted with cinnamon) but nothing inspires me to cook. This book is great if you're stuck in a fast-food rut and need ideas to eat healthy, but if you're already on a varied diet, this won't have much that you haven't seen before. (And personally, I'm pretty annoyed by general statements like "you should always choose organic if possible", but that's a subject for another day.)



Former pro-boxer Paolo Roberto surprised everyone a few years ago by writing several cookbooks and having a cooking show. He really can cook! This is his third book, Italiensk Fastfood (I don't think you need a translation of that) and the goal is to make people realize that you can cook good food from scratch, without a lot of time. Well, I don't know if the recipes here are all that much faster than the ones from his previous books, but that's forgiveable since I absolutely love everything I've tried from his recipes. It's not complicated, and it doesn't take a lot of time, nor require a lot of ingredients. The food is good, and so is the writing. Definitely recommended!



And a brand new book from a food blogger! Therésia Erneborg writes a blog about sweets, called "Söta Saker" ("Sweet things") and she just wrote her first book. I'm betting it's not her last! She's a journalist, and her writing is very clear and entertaining. The book is filled with sweets - everything from candy and cookies to cakes, and what I really love are all the beautiful photos! The book feels quite "vintage" rather than ultra-modern, and I really like that. It has personality! More importantly, it has delicious, wonderful recipes, and lots of them. If you're a sweet-lover, this is definitely the book to get this season.

Vanilla Frosting

Sorry to leave you with just chocolate muffins, and nothing to spread on them! This frosting is a revelation - you'll be surprised how tasty it is. It doesn't have that slightly metallic note using powdered sugar can give, and it's not overly sweet, either. The only downside is that it's not super-pretty - it's not thick enough to pipe on. But flavor-wise, it definitely makes up for that.

Vanilla Frosting
(printable recipe)

This makes enough for about 30 mini-muffins or 15 normal-sized ones. It doubles easily.

125 ml milk
2,5 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
120 g butter, at room temperature
120 g sugar

Whisk milk and flour in a small saucepan and heat until it thickens. Cook for a few minutes - it will thicken quite a lot! Remove from heat and let it cool completely. Add the vanilla.

Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. (You probably want to use a stand mixer for this - but handheld beaters will work as well.) Add the milk/flour-mixture, which must be absolutely room temperature and not at all warm.

Mix until your frosting looks like whipped cream. Spread onto your muffins or cake.

Recipe in Swedish:
Vaniljfrosting

Seared shrimp with garlic-almond sauce

Ah, today I won't be sharing a recipe! However, I'll share a photo, and I wish I could share the taste with you as well, because this was a highly successful little appetizer! So, why no recipe? Well, this was a taste-test from a soon-to-be-released cookbook, a little event called "Dancing in the Kitchen with Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef".

I was sent a few recipes, but as I have a hard time finding specialty items like sweet rice flour and xantham gum, I stuck with this simple dish that only had a few ingredients: shrimp, salt, pepper, garlic, almonds and olive oil. Yes, really, that's it!

The book will be called "Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: A Love Story with 100 Tempting Recipes" and I have no doubt it will be fabulous. I love Shauna's blog, and have read it for many years - I don't eat gluten-free but I love her food nonetheless. And I always recommend it to people who *are* diagnosed with celiac disease. I love her writing, too, and especially what she writes about parenthood - I can very much relate to her love for little Lu, and I've often found myself smiling at her posts, and sighing over her gorgeous photos. So, I wish her - and the chef - all the best with the cookbook. I'm sure it will be wonderful!

A short post on politics

Well, I feel I need to write a few lines about my life outside of the blog, and to explain why I haven't been posting as much. See, I went back to work in August, after having been home with Titus for a full fifteen months. I work in politics, for the Swedish liberal party. And our national elections were yesterday.

So, I've been a bit busy. And now that the elections are over, I wish I could say everything's just peachy but the truth is that it looks pretty grim. My party did a reasonable result, but on a national level, a far right-wing party with racism on the agenda gained enough seats to have an important role in Swedish politics and that just plain sucks.

So, I'm a bit moody today. I'm sure things will get back to normal eventually, but for now.. bear with me!

Chocolate Muffins

These chocolate muffins are basic - and probably the best chocolate muffins I've tried. They can easily be gussied up, filled, frosted or turned into fanciful cupcakes, but they're great just on their own as well. The original recipe comes from The Pioneerwoman, and it makes a truckload. Almost. (Good thing they freeze well, unfrosted.)

Chocolate Muffins
(printable recipe)
Makes 30 regular muffins, 60 mini-muffins or one sheet cake

500 ml flour
500 ml sugar
220 g butter
4 heaped tbsp cocoa powder
250 ml boiling water
125 ml buttermilk (I use Swedish filmjolk)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda

Mix flour and sugar in a bowl. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the cocoa powder. Pour in the hot water and stir until the cocoa has dissolved. Add to the flour and sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, and mix with vanilla, buttermilk and baking soda. Stir into the rest of the batter.

Pour into lined muffin tins.

Bake at 175°C - my mini-muffins took 10 minutes, and my regular-sized ones 15. An entire sheet pan will probably need 20-25 minutes.

Let cool completely before frosting. (But try one warm - yummy!)

Recipe in Swedish:
Chokladmuffins

Chanterelle, Bellpepper & Bacon Pasta

Chanterelle, Bellpepper & Bacon Pasta
(printable recipe)
serves 3

250 g pasta (we used gnocchi for this)
140 g bacon, diced
1 yellow bellpepper, in large dice
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
200 g golden chanterelles, cleaned and cut into smaller pieces
300 ml cream (single, cooking, or full-fat - it's up to you)
100 ml parmesan, grated
1 tbsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
black pepper

Boil the pasta until tender. Drain, but save some of the cooking water.

Meanwhile, fry bacon, bellpepper, onion and garlic for a few minutes. The bacon should get crispy and the pepper should soften. Remove to a plate and set aside while you prepare the chanterelles.

In the same pan, fry the mushrooms until they've released all their liquid and started to brown a bit. Add back the bacon and vegetables, and then add the cream. Let it bubble for a few minutes. Add the pasta and the parmesan, and a few spoonfuls of cooking water if it's too thick. Season with black pepper and fresh tarragon.

Serve, and swoon.

Recipe in Swedish:
Pasta med bacon, paprika och kantareller

Husband cooked dinner.

Delicious risotto with chanterelles and bacon.

Beer & Chorizo Stew

The weather report says it'll rain all week. To me, rainy weather really calls out for comforting food eaten out of bowls rather than on plates. This stew is a nice variation from my more commonly cooked ones - it has bold, intense flavors from the beer, garlic and chorizo sausage, but also gentle crunch from just-cooked zucchini and silky mushrooms. It'll take a while to cook, so prepare accordingly. And if you can't find all the ingredients - I imagine ajvar relish can be hard in some places - just leave it out.

Beer & Chorizo Stew
(printable recipe)
Serves 4-6

800 g beef
500 ml water
1 bottle - 330 ml - dark beer
2 tbsp ajvar relish
2 tbsp concentrated veal stock
salt, pepper
100 g celeriac, in small dice
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
200 g mushrooms, quartered
300 g chorizo sausage, thickly sliced
1 small zucchini, diced
400 g (one can) large white beans
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Start by placing the beef, water, beer, ajvar relish, veal stock and some salt and pepper in a heavy pot or dutch oven. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and put it in the oven.

After an hour, fry the celeriac in some olive oil until golden, and add this to the pot.

After another hour, fry the mushrooms, garlic and chorizo in some olive oil, and add this to the pot as well.

After a total of 2 and a half hours, remove the pot from the oven. Fry the zucchini in some olive oil, and add to the pot along with the white beans right before serving.

Season, and serve with rice, bulgur or boiled potatoes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Gryta med mörk öl & chorizo

Wedding cakes

Here's one of three wedding cakes I made for my husband's little sister, who got married last night. It's really the same as my Lemon Mousse Strawberry Cake, but with blackberries -homegrown - in place of the strawberries. I also made them a bit smaller than the original - I doubled the recipe and made three cakes from that. They'll have plenty of leftovers - good thing this cake freezes well.

Triple Lemon Yogurt Cake

How about a weekend treat? This cake is wonderfully moist and lemony and with a sweet hit from the lemon glaze. I really enjoyed it,and I really don't like "plain" cakes all that much. It was a big hit at work, too, where I brought the leftovers.

Triple Lemon Yogurt Cake
(printable recipe)

3 eggs
125 ml neutral oil (such as canola)
250 ml mild yogurt
220 g sugar
2 lemons, zested
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
375 ml all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Lemon syrup:
80 g sugar
100 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

Lemon Glaze:
250 ml powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract



Beat the eggs with the oil, yogurt, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Pour in a greased and floured loaf pan, and bake at 175°C for about 50 minutes.

Heat the sugar and lemon juice for the syrup. Bring to a boil and let it simmer until all the sugar is dissolved.

When the cake is baked through (check with a skewer - it should come out clean), remove it from the oven and leave to cool slightly before you move it to a plate. Poke a lot of holes in it with a skewer, and pour the warm lemon syrup all over the cake.

When the cake has cooled completely, stir together all the ingredients for the glaze. Pour over the cake and let it set before serving.

Recipe in Swedish:
Trippelcitronkaka med yogurt

Champagne, prawns, scallops

Inspiration for New Year's Eve, courtesy of Seafood from Norway.

Carrot Seed Bread

I'm always on the lookout for good bread recipes! I love bread rolls - it's perfect to freeze and then just thaw as you need them, rather than having a whole loaf of bread go stale, day after day. I found these via a Swedish blogger that I like very much, Kryddburken. (Original recipe here.) She is truly passionate about food, and I love her writing. She has nice step-by-step photos as well, and you can really feel the love as you read her blog. (Sorry though, Swedish only.)

These rolls are slightly sweet from the carrots and the apricots, and have an interesting texture due to the seeds. I didn't like them all that much myself to tell you the truth, but my husband loved them!

Carrot Seed Bread
(printable recipe)
makes 20

50 g fresh yeast
500 ml milk
50 ml golden syrup (molasses would work well, or honey)
1 tsp salt
100 ml neutral oil, such as canola
50 g crushed linseed
50 g sesame seeds
100 g dried apricots, finely chopped
200 g carrots, grated
1 kg high-protein bread flour

Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Heat the milk until it's the same temperature as your little finger, and pour it over the yeast. Stir until dissolved. Add syrup, salt, oil, linseed, sesame seeds, apricots and carrots, and stir. Add the flour gradually and work into a smooth and stiff dough. It'll take a while - at least 20 minutes by hand or 10 using a stand mixer.

Leave the dough to rest, under a tea towel, for 30 minutes. Divide into 20 equal pieces (mine weighed about 100 g each), and shape into nice, firm rolls. Place on baking sheets, cover with a tea towel again and leave to rise for about 30 minutes.

Bake at 200°C for about 15 minutes. (I use a fan-assisted oven, it might take a bit longer in a regular one.)

Recipe in Swedish:
Morotsfrallor

Travel reporter?

I rarely enter contests, but Solresor ("Suntravels") are having a great one. Anyone with a blog can be their travel reporter for one week. I can think of few better things than to travel for a week, and just enjoy time off with my family, and explore great food! I'd want to go to Italy, partly because they're so family-oriented, but mostly because of... the food. Oh, the food. Calabria would be lovely indeed!

So, cross your fingers that they'll pick me - I'd have to blog about my trip, obviously, which mean you would all be sharing it!

Bolognese with celeriac

I actually made this a long time ago - in March, I think. However, the weather became warmer and it didn't feel right to blog about this until fall came. Now that we're properly in fall, with cool crisp air, this is a perfect dinner dish. Sure, it takes a while to cook (but no more than an hour) but the payoff, flavor-wise is big. Just the thing for a rainy day! (And it makes a lot of leftovers, so you'll be all set for a few days, if you're a smaller household. It freezes well, too!)

Bolognese with celeriac
(printable recipe)
serves 6

900 g beef mince
300 g celeriac
300 g carrots
2 medium yellow onions
2 tsp dried oregano
2 garlic cloves
salt, black pepper
1-2 tsp worcestershiresauce
50 ml water
1 tin (400 g) crushed tomatoes
100 g tomato purée
400 ml red wine
100 ml cream
1-2 tsp sugar
olive oil

Start by peeling and grating carrots and celeriac. Chop the garlic and onions into small chunks. Fry the onions, celeriac and carrots along with the oregano in some olive oil on medium heat for ten minutes.

In a separate pot, heat some oil and brown the beef mince with the garlic. Season with salt, black pepper and worcestershiresauce. Add the water - this prevents the mince from clumping. When the all beef has browned, add the vegetables that you fried earlier, the crushed tomatoes, the tomato purée and the wine. Stir, bring to a boil, cover with a lid and lower the heat. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes.

Just before eating, add the cream and cook for a few more minutes. Season with more spices and possibly a small pinch of sugar. Serve with pasta.

Recipe in Swedish:
Köttfärssås med rotselleri

Cauliflower Cheese

Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables - it's so nice and mild, and it's the perfect side to something salty and assertive. We made this great cauliflower cheese last week, alongside pork chops. Perfect match!

Cauliflower Cheese
(printable recipe)
serves 3-4

1 medium size cauliflower
100 g cheese, grated (preferrably a rather sharp one)
50 g Parmesan cheese, grated
40 g butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
500 ml milk
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp crème fraiche
salt and pepper

Divide the cauliflower into florets and boil in salted water until they're just beginning to go soft - about 4 minutes. Drain and place in an oven-proof dish.

Make the sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and whisk into a smooth paste. Gradually add the milk, but whisk the whole time to make sure you don't get any lumps.

When all the milk is added, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat again and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Add half the cheese and all of the parmesan, as well as mustard and crème fraîche. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower, and top with the remaining grated cheese. Bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes. Watch closely towards the end, so it doesn't burn.

Recipe in Swedish:
Ostgratinerad blomkål

Feta-Cashew Dip

Well, a dip really never photographs all that well, but trust me, you will like this. It's quite unusual - roasted garlic, cashew nuts, and feta cheese. It's salty, sweet, textured from the nuts and just divine as a dip for veggies. (Red peppers and snow peas in particular!) Although you could just serve it with crackers or chips - I promise I won't tell.

Feta cheese is one of my favorite ingredients. One of the Swedish producers, Fontana, has made a recipe folder that'll hit the stores in a few weeks, with recipes from ten food bloggers. I'm one of them! It's been a really fun project, and I'm very excited to see the final product. I won't reveal the recipe just yet, but I promise that it's very good. Just as this dip.

Feta-Cashew Dip
(printable recipe)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic (the Solo kind), or 3 cloves regular garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp cashew nuts (unsalted)
75 g feta cheese
1 anchovy
2 tsp lemon juice
8 basil leaves, julienned

Heat the olive oil, and fry the garlic and cashews until nicely browned - about 3-4 minutes. Let them cool a little, then mix with the cheese, anchovy and lemon juice in a blender. (Or with a stick blender.) Stir in the basil. Serve at room temperature

Recipe in Swedish:
Fetaostdipp

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
(printable recipe)
about 30

170 g unsalted butter
260 g all-purpose flour
40 g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
150 g brown sugar
150 g sugar
1 egg yolk
1 egg
75 g dark chocolate, chopped
75 g toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
mini marshmallows, about 100



Melt the butter. Mix flour and cocoa with baking soda and salt in a bowl. Stir together both types of sugar with the melted butter. Add egg yolk and egg, and beat until it's pale and fluffy. Stir in the flour mixture, and finally chocolate and nuts.

Scoop onto baking sheets, making sure to leave enough room to let the cookies spread - and top each with three mini marshmallows.

Bake at 165°C for about 10-12 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies