The Turkey

This year, I remembered to get a pretty picture of the turkey, pre-carving. For the third year now, I followed Nigella's recipe that I've adapted a bit (here!) and it worked out well. It took about two hours - note that this was the first year I used a convection oven and that was a lot faster than a regular. It also browned the bird a lot more, so I had to be a bit careful there.

Sweet Potato Gratin

I made this recipe per a suggestion in the comments for thanksgiving - and it was absolutely lovely. I made way too little - half the original recipe - so I will gladly make more next time. And yes, there will be a next time for this. The garlic and chili are perfect matches for the sweetness of the dish.

Sweet Potato Gratin

500 g sweet potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic
1-2 tsp dried chili flakes
100 ml cream (35-40% fat)
2 tbsp milk
salt, pepper

Peel and slice the sweet potatoes. Crush the garlic. Mix everything in a bowl, and transfer to an oven-proof dish. Bake at 175°C for about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft, and the dish is slightly browned and crunchy on top.

Recipe in Swedish:
Sötpotatisgratäng

Apple Fennel Salad

This was one of the vegetable dishes I served for Thanksgiving. It was very nice and refreshing - it's crunchy with clean flavors, and I will definitely make it again. Maybe for christmas?

I used my latest toy - a Kyocera mandolin. It was absolutely perfect for the job! I used Jona Gold apples, but I think I'll go with something a bit tarter for next time. The inspiration from this came from a magazine clipping - I think it was from Ica's Buffé.

Apple Fennel Salad

2-3 large apples
2 bulbs of fennel
1 red onion
1 lemon
1 tbsp honey
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Trim the fennel, and slice very thinly. Put in a bowl of ice water for half an hour - this will make it extra crisp.

Core the apples (you don't have to peel them) and slice thinly. Slice the red onion too. (See why a mandolin is nice here?)

Make a simple dressing from the juice of the lemon, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, drain the fennel and arrange everything on a large platter.

Recipe in Swedish:
Sallad med äpple och fänkål

Great Apple Chutney from Jungbo

On our vacation in Dalarna, we stopped at Jungbo gård, just outside of Enköping. There lives ME, a fantastic cook and baker. She has a small store there, where you can buy homemade marmelade and chutney, biscotti, cake decorations and other cool stuff. We bought some vanilla-cinnamon biscotti, and these jars of apple-chili-vanilla marmelade (on the left) and hot apple chutney (on the right). I served the chutney as part of the Thanksgiving meal, and it went perfectly with the turkey and the rest of the trimmings. Excellent!

If you're in the vicinity, definitely do stop by. ME also has a small bed-n-breakfast, so you can stay in her cute, romantic cabin for one or more nights, and enjoy her cooking.

Jungbo Gård
Vårfru Jung 15
745 91 Enköping
www.jungbo.se/

Warming Apple Drink

Thanksgiving is over! For many of you, since several days, but for me, just since half an hour or so. My guests have left, stuffed, and the cleaning up is pretty much done. It was a huge success - the turkey turned out great, the potatoes were crispy, the sauce hot, the lingonberries sweet, the apple chutney a perfect match and so on. I tried three new vegetable dishes, I'll blog about all of them in the coming days. Dessert was a frozen chocolate mousse cake that was also really good (coming soon!) and I started everything by serving some spiced nuts (this recipe, but I used macadamias), gingerbread swirls and this great little warming apple drink. It was just the thing to warm everyone up after coming inside from the cold weather. And a welcome change from the usual Swedish Glögg that is starting to be served everywhere now that the holiday season is almost here.

I'm sure a little alcohol won't hurt if you want to add that - maybe a splash of whiskey, or calvados? I have some non-drinkers in my family, so I like to keep it non-alcoholic for most of our gatherings.

And as some readers have aptly noticed - I've got a new haircut! It's the shortest I've worn it since I was a kid, so it's a big change - and it feels wonderful. Hence the new profile picture!


Warming Apple Drink

2 liters apple juice
1 orange
6 cm (2,5 inch) fresh ginger
2 star anise
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp brown sugar

Slice ginger and orange (unpeeled) in very thin slices. Put in a big pot, add the apple juice and the other ingredients. Leave to soak for an hour if you can, then heat gently until steaming hot. Pour into small cups and serve at once.

Recipe in Swedish:
Värmande Äppeldrink

Preggers!

Would you believe that in this little furry tummy lies tiny little kittens? They'll peek out - if all goes well, of course - in about six weeks.

Don't know if anyone is hosting Weekend Cat Blogging this week - but anyway, we're playing! Updated: Yes, indeed! It's hosted by House of the (Mostly) Black Cats - check out the round-up, here!

SHF #25 - Peanut Truffle

Time for another round of the most tooth-aching blogging event out there - Sugar High Friday. Johanna from The Passionate Cook is hosting, and the theme - chocolate truffles. It was really hard deciding what to make this time, but eventually, lack of time forced a decision. I am a big fan of sweet-salty, and this truffle combines heavenly chocolate with salty peanuts: perfect.

I can't wait for the round-up - I really want to try lots of new recipes for the holidays, so I'm expecting a lot of new goodies from around the world!

Peanut Truffle

50 g butter
200 ml cream (35-40% fat)
200 g dark chocolate, chopped up
100 g milk chocolate, chopped up
100 g salted peanuts, chopped up

Melt the butter. Add the cream, and bring to a boil. Add the chocolate, and stir or use an immersion blender until you have a nice, silky mass. Add half the peanuts and pour into small foil cups or into a large, lined pans. Top with the rest of the peanuts. Leave to set in the fridge. (And indeed, leave them in the fridge - they will melt very easily.)

Recipe in Swedish:
Jordnötstryffel

Got a good recipe for sweet potato something?

I am planning my Thanksgiving dinner - it'll be on Sunday. Yes, I know it's a bit off - but hey, it's not really a holiday here. Anyway. Here's what I know so far:

-gingerbread swirls with blue cheese

-turkey
-roast potatoes
-gravy
-apple chutney
-lingonberry jam
-cornbread
-honey saffron bread (very, very yummy)
-brussel sprouts with feta cheese and almonds
-crunchy salad with fennel and apples

-frozen chocolate mousse cake for dessert

So. What's missing? I ran this by mom, and she said sadly "what, nothing with sweet potatoes?" I skipped it last year, too, after the first year's rather disastrous sweet potato bake with miniature marshmallows that took over the oven. It was not a big hit. But mom apparently has a fond memory of it, and well - I'd like to try something else.

However, I'd really prefer something that can either be prepared in advance, or that doesn't have to be prepared in the oven. At least not at the same time as everything else, i e right before eating. Any ideas? Maybe a simple mash? Bring on your favorites!

And, if you're wondering - neither stuffing nor cranberry sauce was very popular in my family either, so we're skipping those, too.

Happy Thanksgiving to All my Readers

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving is an American Holiday, and was believed to have been first celebrated at the Plimoth Plantation. Even to this day, the Thanksgiving celebration is enacted at the Plantation. I went there in the summer, but I have other plans this thanksgiving, so, much as I wanted to visit the Plimoth Plantation this thanksgiving I will give it a pass..
Check out some of these thanksgiving quotes meanwhile!

Lingonberry Toffee

I know, I know - I promised this recipe quite a while ago! Better late than never, yeah? Lingonberries are probably not so easy to find outside of Scandinavia, but cranberries are quite similar and I'd definitely give them a go for this recipe. Maybe you have some left over from Thanksgiving dinner?

Happy Thanksgiving by the way, to all those who celebrate. I've actually adopted this lovely holiday for my own family, and will serve a fairly traditional meal on Sunday. I like to be thankful for having such great family, and I'm glad to be able to gather them all (most, anyway) together for this. It'll be the third year running - and since we don't really spend christmas together, it's nice to get together a bit earlier.

Lingonberry Toffee

250 g lingonberries
300 ml sugar (1 cup plus 3 tbsp)
100 ml cream (35-40% fat)
50 g butter

Use a blender to liquidise the lingonberries, and press them through a sieve to get rid of any big pieces. Pour into a small pot, and add sugar, cream and butter. Bring to a boil. Stirring all the time, bring the mixture up to 125°C, or until a small sample dropped into a bowl of cold water can easily be rolled into a firm ball. Beware that it takes a lot of time at first, but then the temperature will rise very fast - you really have to watch it. I can't tell you how long it will take, as it will depend greatly on your stove and the pot you use. (The larger the surface, the faster it will be.)

Pour the toffee in a buttered dish, and let it cool overnight. Cut into pieces, and either wrap them in paper or dip in chocolate. Keep in the fridge.



The recipe in Swedish:
Lingonkola

Very tired

Awfully tired today. Yesterday was my first day as a councilwoman - I sat all day on city council. Usually, the meetings take place at night, and last for about four hours. Yesterday was however our budget meeting, and it lasted from 9 am to 11 pm. All day. I made my speaking debut at about 9 pm (talking about sports and leisure activities, basically) and was pretty speeded when I got home. After all, it was a very special day.

And today, today is just a very, very mellow day. Cook? Tomorrow, maybe. Sleep now? I think so.

Cooking for a Crowd Meme.

Actually it's been a long time since I cooked.
I am still not settled in my new job, new place.
The first House I rented turned out to be quite a Disaster.
Nosy Neighbour! Actually a Shrew.
She even hears the sound of my flush and complained, 3rd day into the house.
She don't like guests either.
And she is very 100 happy.
The last tenant left because she used to dial 100 too often.
Calls up the police for every damn thing, and girls cannot visit my Pad.

I can't stay in a such a place...
I have decided to move into a new place, and I will move on 30th.
I have stalled my shopping till then, and my kitchen is not yet fully Functional.
So my dinners have been quite random!
Leave alone time for Bachelor Cooking.

This is the first time I ever Ignored Bachelor Cooking so long.
And add to it the fact that I have moved to a new location.
I still have lots to do to tweak my new blog.
I have to reload all the photographs...
So Till then, I thought I shall update here.

A few more days and I shall be doing a lot of new postings.
My parents are coming and many Manipuri goodies are on its way.
We shall have many authentic Manipuri dishes too...

In the Meanwhile, why not play a Meme?
The Cooking for a Crowd Meme
When was the last time you had cooked for a crowd?

The rule of the meme.
1) Write when was the last time you cooked for a Crowd. The exact date is not required.
Just describe the adventure of cooking for so many people, what you cooked.
How it turned out to be?

2) Tag on the meme to 5 other Food Bloggers.

Enjoy!

Hey but when was it that I cooked for a crowd?
I love having guests at my home and the more the merrier.
And I can cook Alone, I don't mind as long as you don't come in my way!
But you can peel the potatoes (But don't CUT! I have my own measurements)
Peel the Onions, and the Garlic..
Oh you may crush the Ginger and Garlic.
Even the Spices..
Oh I love fresh ground Spices and Freshly crushed Ginger-garlic for my Recipes, specially when I am cooking for guests..

The one adventurous "cooking for a crowd" was when I was in Kolkata.
I had asked some friends to come over.
About 10 of them?


And, I was late. From work!
Just as I came back from shopping the fish and meat and started in the kitchen, people started rushing in.
It was 9 already!

But it was the most memorable dinner, the new year Bar-B-Qs not withstanding!

I was suppose to be tired, but cooking has this magic.. It sure has, and can be a great destresser..

I was sweating in the Kolkata Heat, and I cooked...

My friend kept pouring the scotch... I like my drinks when I am doing big dinners.
I cooked a Pork Dish, a Chicken Dish, Peas and Fish Roe (fish eggs) and a fish Curry, Like I always do.

It usually is a nightmare for vegetarians, unless it is a vegeterian lunch!!
Now that was a memorable Dinner. Somewhere in 2005....
My friends still remember my dinners...
And how pleased I get when people enjoy the same!

I usually don't eat much after such cooking sessions..
I Just watch!!

May I tag

-(Kalyn)
-SaffronHut
-Nandita
-Mandira
-Shaheen
- Revathi

And all my readers, you may consider yourself tagged if you have had adventures cooking for a crowd. I will follow up this Post with tips to cook for a crowd, or rather what I do to simplify cooking a lot of preoparations quickly.
Of course I will link back to all the posts on Cooking for a Crowd.

Wild Boar

Perhaps not something you cook every day, but it's absolutely perfect for fall. And not very expensive - at least not in my local store. This saucey stew is perfect to serve over pasta - I did just that for a dinner with my parents the other day. Juniper berries and rosemary play up the "wildness" in this dish!

Wild Boar Stew
Serves 4-6

800 g wild boar - the cheap cuts will work well for stewing
1 red onion
1 yellow onion
3 small carrots
100 g button mushrooms
100 ml tomato sauce (any kind really - or just passata if that's what you have)
400 g canned cherry tomatoes
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 tbsp juniper berries
salt, pepper, sugar
500 ml red wine
100-200 ml water

Cut the meat into small pieces. Slice onions, carrots and mushrooms. Brown the meat in a little bit of oil and set aside. Brown the onions, too. Combine in a fairly large pot. Add the wine, and let it boil on high heat until most of the wine is reduced. Add carrots, tomato sauce and the cherry tomatoes, and the rosemary. Cover with a lid and cook for about 30 minutes.

Add juniper berries and mushrooms, and season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Add water if it looks dry. Cook for about 15 more minutes. The meat should be very tender and falling apart.

The recipe in Swedish:
Vildsvinsgryta

Weekend Cat Blogging - Glinda 2 years

We have a birthday girl! Glinda turns two years old today, along with her brothers Gonzo (aka Smirnoff) and Gideon (aka Bowser, who has a foodblogging mommy too) and her sister Gisele who lives with my aunt.



For more cat pics, you can see a Flickr set of the G-litter as babies here, and of just Glinda, here.

Or for other cats, check out this week's Weekend Cat Blogging, hosted by Catsynth.

Time for some copycat recipes!

I've been cooking quite a bit from other blogs, as always! Here are some of my most current concoctions!

Oatmeal cookies from Bakingsheet - before, and after the oven.



Cornmeal cake from Orangette - this was *great*. I served it with home cooked strawberry-raspberry preserves with vanilla, and whipped cream.



Chocolate Hazelnut cake from Esurientes. I swapped the regular wholewheat flour for "dinkel flour", a very popular kind here in Sweden at the moment. It was a very massive cake - perfect if you're feeding lots!



Rhubarb Cobbler from Bakingsheet. A disaster when I happened to forget the egg - but perfect when I actually did it right. Good thing I had a lot of frozen rhubarb.

Blackened Salmon with Strawberry Salad

This recipe, or well, the one I was inspired by, was published in Buffé this summer. That is the free magazine given out to everyone who shops at Ica, one of the biggest grocery chains. Their recipes are sometimes great, but sometimes.. well, boring. Anyway, I tried this one rather late in the summer, and it was excellent. I didn't get around to blogging about it earlier - sorry. (Indeed, expect quite a lot of catching-up posts now!)

It's well worth a try! The salmon is coated with a mix of sugar and spices, and grilled or pan-fried until blackened and *very* tasty. The salad has spinach (or rocket works fine), strawberries, black olives and feta cheese. Stellar combination!

Blackened Salmon with Strawberry Salad
Serves 2

Two fresh salmon fillets (or frozen, and thawed)
1 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
1/2 tbsp flaky sea salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder

Mix all spices, and rub into the raw salmon. Pan fry or grill for about 4-5 minutes on each side until blackened and cooked through.

For the salad:
250 g strawberries, halved
150 g baby spinach (or rocket/aragula), rinsed
1 red onion, finely sliced
1/2 cup black olives
100 g greek feta cheese, crumbled
flaky sea salt
black pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Mix all the ingredients for the salad except for the cheese. Just crumble it on top, or it will turn bright pink from the strawberries.

Recipe in Swedish:
Muscovadolax med jordgubbssallad

Crunchy matchstick salad

Sometimes, what you need is a real jaw-workout. This salad fits the bill - and it works all year round. We ate it several times this summer, but I think it's time to bring it back for winter as well. It's very adaptable, but I usually have carrots, cabbage, radishes and some kind of sprouts. All dressed lightly with a mustardy, garlicky vinaigrette - yum!

Sticky Chocolate Cake with Nougat Topping

Sticky chocolate cake - kladdkaka - is one of Sweden's most loved baked goods. Everyone has their own version. Most are quite like American brownies. I fiddled around with this one for my brother's fiancé Thina. She asked me to bake a birthday-ish cake that she could take with her on a hiking trip. (She and her friend Charlotte have a very cool business where they take customers on hikes and mountain climbing expedition! It's called Go Camp - the website is right here.) Anyway. This cake holds up very well - it won't melt or become dry or mushy. Perfect. It's topped with Danish nougat from Odense - it's actually some sort of hazelnut gianduja, I think. Very sweet, slightly nutty. Substitute with what you have, or leave it out altogether - I just needed something to make it look more festive.

Sticky Chocolate Cake with Nougat Topping

100 g butter
2 eggs
200 g sugar
90 g flour
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla sugar
150 g dark chocolate
coconut flakes
100 g nougat or gianduja

Heat the oven to 175°C. Butter a springform and spread coconut flakes on the bottom and the sides of the form. Melt the butter and let cool. Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy, and add salt, vanilla, cocoa and flour. Add the butter and stir until well combined.

Coarsely chop the chocolate, and mix it with the batter. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes. Start checking a few minutes early - do NOT overbake this. Like a brownie, it needs to be sticky!

Let the cake cool for a few minutes, then cover with very thin slices of nougat. (A cheese sliced comes in handy!) Spread it out a bit as it melts. Decorate with more coconut, chocolate sprinkles or whatever you would like.

Serve with a large glass of cold milk! Mmm!

Half a batch - a much thinner cake, which means a heftier nougat-to-chocolate ratio:



The recipe in Swedish:
Kladdkaka med nougat

Carrot Risotto

Whew, long day together! I just came home from a work conference on a ferry boat to Aland - it was fun, but like all overnight activities, pretty intense. The food was great on board - I had a toast Skagen with king crab and salmon roe, and for my main course I chose deer with a herby potato purée. Very nice. And even nicer was the huge dessert table with tons of great stuff to choose from - mini creme brulées, tiramisu, tons of petit fours and an amazing rhubarb jelly. Definitely going back for that! Lunch today was a more regular "smorgasbord" - very untraditional though with stuff like poppadums with mango chutney, nachos and pasta carbonara. Not great, but fine.

Enough about that. The picture is of a risotto I made a little while ago - pretty standard, so I won't bother with a recipe. Just add lots of grated carrots when you've softened the onions, added the rice and started to add liquid. (You can follow this simple recipe for beet risotto, and just use carrots instead.)

Kroppkakor - potato dumplings

Another traditional Swedish dish! It can't be made during the summer, when there's only new potatoes - they won't hold together, and will just become a gluey mass. (Trust me, I know this from first-hand experience. Sigh.) A kroppkaka is quite simply a large potato dumpling filled with bacon and onions. (Although it translates a bit scarily into "body cake".)

It's slightly different depending on where in the country you are but I grew up with my grandmother's version, and those kroppkakor were always white - made from mashed boiled potatoes. Some people prefer grey kroppkakor, made with half raw potatoes. You can eat these with lingonberries and melted butter, or with a white sauce flavored with allspice. I prefer the sauce. And extra filling on the side, please!

Kroppkakor
From Stora Kokboken ("The big cookbook", a Swedish classic)

8-10 large potatoes (750g-1 kg)
1 egg yolk
150-200 ml flour
salt

For the filling:
100 g bacon or pancetta (ideally salted, but unsmoked, pork.)
100 g smoked ham
1-2 tbsp minced yellow onion
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2-1 tsp allspice



Peel the potatoes and cut into smaller pieces. Boil until soft, drain the water and let the potatoes dry. Press through a potato ricer into a large bowl, and wait until it's completely cold.

Cut the bacon and the ham into small dice. Fry the onion and the meat in the butter until lightly browned. Season with allspice, and let cool completely.

Mix together the riced potatoes, the flour and the egg yolk, and a bit of salt. The dough should be well mixed and easy to handle. Roll into a sausage-shape, and cut into even pieces. Each dumpling should be between a golf ball and a tennis ball in size - fairly large. This recipe makes about 12.

Roll each piece into a round, and make a hole with your thumb. Fill with plenty of filing, and close the hole. Roll again so you get a nice, even dumpling, and flatten it slightly.

Boil the dumplings in plenty of boiling, salted water, a few at a time. They need about five minutes on each side. Serve with melted butter, lingonberries or sauce béchamel with allspice.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kroppkakor

Weekend Cat Blogging - Hamlet

Hamlet on his now-conquered but formerly very scary wool carpet, cuddling with his favorite human. (No, not me.)

In other news, Glinda thinks she's pregnant. We're not sure yet, but she certainly thinks so. She eats like a small pony, and she tries to bury herself in the bed covers, any blankets and today even a drawer. (Not very successful, and it took us at least half an hour to locate her tiny mewing.) All in order to prepare for birth. Which will be, SHOULD she be pregnant, a few days into 2007.

More cats? Weekend Cat Blogging is hosted by Skeezix's Scratching Post.

Easy Lemon Ice Cream

Not the most sophisticated of ice creams, it's still delicious, and it can be made without an ice cream maker. Just four ingredients! I learned this from Lena, who made this for our 13-course dinner almost a year ago. (Posted about it here!)

Easy Lemon Ice Cream

2 tbsp lemon juice (or more, for stronger flavor)
2 egg yolks
150 ml powdered sugar
200 ml whipping cream (heavy cream)

Mix lemon with sugar and egg yolks in a small bowl. Beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks, and fold in the lemon mixture. Freeze in a bowl, several small bowls, or into hollowed-out lemons like Lena did. Freeze for at least four hours.

Recipe in Swedish:
Citronglass

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Feel like chocolate? Well, it *is* Friday. I've spent all day at fairs - first several hours with Kristina at the Food Fair - lots of fun. Then a few more hours with Dad at the Photography Fair. Both were great - but the food fair was better. The photo fair, on the other hand, yielded a very pretty stripey camera bag, and a severe longing for a Nikon D80. *sigh*

Anyway. I made these cookies some time ago, the recipe is from Olive mag, and they turned out very nicely. They also freeze very well, always a bonus. The only drawback is that you have to chill the dough before baking, which means you have to prepare. Which is fine, when you don't need absolutely instant gratification.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Makes about 20

175 g dark chocolate
4 tbsp unsalted butter (about 50 g)
175 g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
150 g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
60 g powdered sugar

Melt chocolate and butter together, in the micro wave or over a pan of boiling water. Let cool slightly.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt.

Beat the eggs and the sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla and the chocolate-butter mix. Last, fold in the flour mixture and stir until well combined. Cover and place batter in the fridge over night or at least for two hours.

Heat the oven to 160°C.

Put the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Form balls from the batter, and roll them in sugar. Place on a lined cookie sheet. Press down slightly on each cookie to flatten it a bit, and then bake for 12-15 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Skrynkliga Chokladkakor

Hate brussels sprouts?

Then this game is for you. Funny! (Although I really do like sprouts, yum!)

Blueberry-Blackberry-Currant Jam with Vanilla

Ah, this lovely creation appeared on a Sunday afternoon, and it's well worth repeating. I had blueberries that Per and I picked in Dalarna, red currants from raiding Per's parents' bush, and some leftover blackberries in the freezer. I combined all three (about 250 g blueberries, 100 g blackberries and 150 g red currants) with 500 g of jamming sugar (that'd be sugar with added pectin) and two split-open vanilla beans. After bringing it to a boil, I boiled for two minutes, skimmed, removed the vanilla, and poured into clean jars. That's all there's to it!

It's lovely to eat with a bowl of filmjölk (fermented milk - doesn't that sound lovely! - sort of like yogurt, but less sour. Read wiki here.)and a sprinkling of demerara sugar.

Recipe in Swedish:
Blåbärssylt med björnbär, röda vinbär och vanilj

Basel Bread

Basil bread? No, not at all - Basel bread. As in the Swiss city! This recipe comes from a famous Swedish baker - Jan Hedh - and he has worked a lot all over Europe. He has written several cookbooks - one on bread, two on chocolate, one on desserts and one on jam - and I have them all. They are great reads - sometimes the recipes are very complicated, but the ones I've tried have been completely worth it.

This particular bread is delicious - it's very fluffy on the inside, but with a strong, crispy crust. It's always formed, Hedh tells us, by putting two small ovals together during the final proving, so that you end up with a double bread, sort of. (You can perhaps see it in the picture above - near the back is a seam.)

It freezes very well too, and can be revived in a warm (100°C) oven for about ten minutes.

Be aware that this will take some time. I usually start the night before and let the starter rise over night in the fridge. Also, you need active sourdough, so if you don't have that - that's where you need to start.

A mixer comes in handy - this bread is worked very much, and I love my Kitchen-Aid for it.

Basel bread
makes two
from Jan Hedh's "Bröd"

Starter dough:
5 g fresh yeast
250 g water, tepid
200 g fine rye flour
50 g sourdough from rye

Mix the sourdough with the rye flour. Dissolve the yeast in warmish water (no hotter than body temperature) and mix that in too. Work in a mixer for ten minutes at low speed. Put in a slightly oiled plastic box, cover with a lid and leave to rise for three hours at room temperature or over night in the fridge.

Dough 2:
15 g fresh yeast
250 g water, tepid
450 g flour (regular, white, but preferrably high protein)
18 g flaky sea salt

Dissolve the yeast in the water, pour over the starter dough and add flour. Mix on low speed for ten minutes. Add the salt and work for eight more minutes until the dough is very elastic.

Leave the dough to rise in an oiled bowl for two hours. Punch it down three times during this time, this will give a better structure to the finished bread.

Take the dough onto a well floured surface and divide into four parts. Roll into small ovan breads, and put together them two and two. Place on a sheet of baking paper (for easier removal to the oven later on) with plenty of flour. Leave to rise for an hour.

Heat the oven to 275°C with a cookie sheet or a baking stone inside. Move the breads to the hot sheet, and spray with lots of water so the oven fills with steam. This makes the crust crispy.

After five minutes, lower the temperature to 200°C. After ten more minutes, open the oven door a little bit and air for a few seconds. Spray with more water. Repeat this twice more during the total baking time - 50 minutes in total.

Recipe in Swedish:
Baselbröd

Tosca pastries from Gateau

What's this? Oh, only one of the most heavenly pastries ever thought up. It's a danish (wienerbröd in Swedish), topped with vanilla custard and caramelized almonds, pistachios, walnuts and hazelnuts. And who makes this? Not me - sorry to say - but Gateau Bakery does. They were, not surprisingly, chosen as "pastry bakery of the year". Well deserved, in my opinion.

If you're in Stockholm, pay them a visit - they have a couple of locations, and I usually go to the one right here in Nacka, which is their main bakery nowadays. (Although just a very tiny serving area, so if you want to eat there, choose the one in Sturegallerian instead.)

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - Kåldolmar

Here's a Swedish classic dish for you! It's called Kåldolmar - "kål" means cabbage, and you'll recognize the other part of the word, "dolmar", as related to "dolmades", the greek dish. This is essentially a meat filling wrapped up in cabbage leaves, then fried or baked. It's also traditionally drizzled with a bit of golden syrup, to give that sweet-salty taste that is very common in Swedish food.

It's usually served with boiled potatoes, a simple gravy and lingonberries. Allow quite a bit of time to prepare this - boiling the cabbage and loosening the leaves does take longer than you'd think. Other than that, it's a breeze - especially since I make this in the oven rather than in a frying pan.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - Kåldolmar
Serves 4, generously

1 medium head of cabbage
2 dl (about 3/4 cup) boiled rice
300 g ground meat, I use half pork and half beef
salt
white pepper
100 ml milk
butter
1-2 tbsp golden syrup

Cut around the stem of the cabbage, and boil the entire head in salted water. Loosen the leaves as they soften - one at a time, and be careful. Put on a plate to cool off, and cut off the toughest stem part, so that the leaves are easier to roll up.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Mix the meat with the rice, season with salt and white pepper, and add the milk. You should end up with a fairly loose batter, but not too runny. (If it *is* too runny, try adding a spoonful of breadcrumbs.)

Fill the leaves with about 1 tbsp of filling, and roll up tightly to form a neat package. Place in an oven-proof dish, seam down. Scatter over a few pats of butter, drizzle with golden syrup, and bake for about 40 minuter.

When it's ready, remove dish from oven. Pour off any liquids into a small saucepan, add water, and bring to boil. Add a bit of liquid stock (or a cube) and soy sauce, and use cornstarch to thicken if it's too liquid.

Serve with boiled potatoes and lingonberries.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kåldolmar

Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles

I saw these cookies in a post on Slashfood, last Tuesday. I felt so inspired I headed straight for the kitchen - even at 7.30 in the morning. These were really a breeze to make, and it didn't matter one bit that I was a little late for work - since I came bearing cookies! Very popular, very popular indeed.

The recipe comes from Karen at Family Style, and I hope she doesn't mind my reprinting it here - it's just so fabulous that I never want to lose track of it. If you want it with American measurements (I changed quantities just slightly) - here's Karen's original.

These are great cookies - chewy-crispy with amazing spicy flavor and a deep chocolatey scent. What are you waiting for? Get baking!!

Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles
24 large cookies

5 dl sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp white pepper
225 butter, softened
1 dl cocoa powder
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract (vanilla sugar is fine too)
5 dl flour
1,5 tsp baking powder

Heat the oven to 175°C. Put baking paper on two cookie sheets.

Mix the sugar and all the spices in a large bowl (could be the bowl of your kitchen-aid, if you use one) and reserve 1 dl for later. Add the butter and beat with the sugar mix until very pale and fluffy.

Add the cocoa powder, and beat until completely mixed in. Add the eggs and the vanilla, keep on beating. Finally stir in the flour and the baking powder.

Roll balls, about walnut-size, and dip them in the reserved sugar-spice-mix. Place on a cookie sheet, and flatten slightly with your hand. I could fit 12 cookies her sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes, remove and let cool on a rack.

The recipe in Swedish:
Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles

Weekend Cat Blogging - Ywette

Yet another close-up of my grand old lady cat, Ywette.

In cat-related news, Glinda has gotten back from her little vacation with her first boyfriend, Rutger. We don't know anything for sure, but it seems that they have indeed hit it off.

Weekend Cat Blogging today is hosted by Layla who lives on the French Riviera! Her blog is here, and the round up is here.

More fika at Taxinge Slott

I went back to Taxinge Slott a few weeks ago, for more fika. (See my first post about it here.)



Very yummy stuff - this time I had a cream-filled nut roll with raspberries, and a very moist, chewy nut cake. Per had the sacher torte.

Best sushi in Stockholm: Hattori Sushi Devil

Per, trying to master his chopsticks

Today, let's talk about sushi. I'm not a big fan. Or rather, I wasn't.

Let me elaborate. I've tried sushi several times before, and was never blown away. It was.. ok. Nothing special. Not very appealing, really. Boring.


Miso soup

And then my sister married a sushi chef, Peter. Who, it turns out, is one of the best sushi chefs in all of Sweden. And I'm not just saying this - he really is.

And what do you know? He just opened up his own place. It's called Hattori Sushi Devil, and after two tentative visits where I just popped by to say hello, he said that he was actually starting to get insulted that I never tried his food.


Lena with her whole squid.

So I worked up my courage, and visited for dinner there with Per, Lena and Nico. And wow, am I glad I did. Because now? Full-blown sushi fan. Yes. That's me.

See, Peter's sushi is amazing. Not only is it very fresh (he's one of fairly few chefs that work a la minute, meaning nothing sits and waits for the customer) and of highest quality, it's beautiful and most of all, innovative. Very, very innovative.


Lena with chopsticks

I don't remember all I ate - we each got two huge plates of great stuff, but I'll tell you about some of it. Peter told us all about it, but I was too floored to take it all in, I think. He also said that if we can't eat very well with chopsticks, it was fine to use our hands - and that's what most of us ended up doing.

And yes, I've been back - I had to sneak back on Monday for seconds, it was just that good. And I can't wait for my third visit.


Me, Per and Nico

-Miso soup with a lovely mussel floating in it
-A small appetizer of Edamame
-Salmon with saffron oil
-Giant shrimp with chilli mayonnaise
-Tuna with wasabi-marinated fly fish roe
-salmon with salmon roe
-rolls with rosemary-marinated ham, coriander, red onion, mayo and togarashi
-rolls with roast beef, mayo, red onions and coriander
-rolls with asparagus and smoked fish
-sugar and cinnamon flavored scallop
-whole squid, cooked in chilli
-squid salad
-jellyfish salad
-Salmon sashimi with fresh coral
-Spicy tuna sashimi

And I have to tell you about the soy sauce. There are three kinds at Hattori Sushi - the regular stuff is in the white bottle. The green bottle has soy flavored with various citrus fruit, and that was my fave. The red one had a very unusual smokey soy, flavored with smoked tuna. It reminded us of whiskey, and the guys really loved it.


My first plate.

My absolute favorite? I'd have to say the squid salad. It's amazing. And the dessert - a vanilla panna cotta with ginger glaze - was just the right thing to finish with.


The panna cotta

So. If you like sushi - or even if you don't - this is the place to go. Tell Peter I sent you - he's the guy in a red chef's uniform.

Hattori Sushi Devil (visit the homepage to find out what the name means)
Tegnérgatan 43 (Subway: Rådmansgatan)
08-22 44 00

Open weekdays 11-21, weekends 13-21

Potato au Gratin with Chanterelles

The picture isn't anything to be proud of - but the recipe is great! It's not very different from my regular Potato au Gratin, but it has celeriac, and most of all, chanterelles. (Funnel or golden, it won't matter.) And it has amazing flavor. The idea comes from Swedish chef Leila Lindholm.

It's a great side with meat or chicken - and I wouldn't turn it down with a piece of grilled salmon, for instance.

Potato au Gratin with Chanterelles
Serves 4

1 kg fingerling potatoes (or other floury potatoes)
1 small piece of celeriac
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
450 ml single cream (I used 15% fat, but you could use a mixture of half milk, half heavy cream)
200 g chanterelles
1 tbsp liquid concentrated stock, vegetable or chicken works well
fresh herbs - thyme, sage, tarragon, rosemary
salt
black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Peel and thinly slice potatoes, onions and garlic. Cut the celeriac in "julienne"-pieces - that is, about the size of matches.

Mix cream, concentrated stock, salt and pepper and bring to boil. Add potaties, celeriac, onions and garlic, and cook on medium heat until the cream thickens.

Fry the chanterelles in a little bit of butter and season with salt and pepper. Mix the mushrooms and the herbs into the rest of the ingredients. Pour everything into an oven-proof dish.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the gratin has a lovely bronzed surface.

Potatisgratäng med kantareller