13 courses - the appetizers

I told you about our huge 13-course meal, on Trettondagen (which is 13-day in Swedish) which falls on the 13:th day after christmas. (Belive it or not, the 13 courses was a coincidence.. but now I have a feeling it will be a tradition.)

We had six small appetizers.



Fried Halloumi with a Capers Lime Dressing



Cherry Marys

Very simple. If you have good injection skills, that is. You need a large needle. Plunge it into the tomatoes through the top, and try to remove as much tomato insides as you can without breaking it. A broken tomato is a ruined tomato. When you're done, mix a couple of tablespoons of vodka with a dash of tabasco, a pinch of salt and a few drops of worcestershire sauce. Carefully - very carefully - inject this into the tomatoes. And that's it!



Crostini with aragula, raitziki and grilled lamb

For the lamb, roll two small fillets of lamb in a mix of garlic, salt, pepper and shredded lemon peel. Grill on high heat for a minute on each side, remove and let rest in a foil package until ready to slice and serve.



Chanterelle Mushroom Tartlets

Lena made these, so no recipe. Sorry!



Grilled scallops and jumbo prawns with a citrus salsa

Tesse and Danne made these - no recipe!



Tuna Chichimi on cucumbers

Buy some really good tuna. You want a piece that's as wide as it is thick - about an inch. Roll it in Chichimi, which is a Japanese spice mix with chili, sesame seeds and orange, among other things, and sear it VERY briefly on VERY high heat. Remove, slice, serve on cucumber slices to cool things down.



Mandarin granita

Absolutely perfect after the tuna. This is a great palate cleanser! And it couldn't be easier. Just freeze mandarin juice (Brämhults make an excellent one!) in a shallow container. When frozen, scrape with a fork or a spoon, and put the crystals in small chilled glasses. (These thermo glasses from Bodum are brilliant!)