Perfect with Champagne

Happy New Year!

May you all have lovely celebrations tonight with the ones you love, and may you all have a very, very, very happy 2008!

Me, I'm cooking for four tonight, just us and our dear friends Tesse & Danne who are basically family. We're having this little number as a small appetizer, perfect with the first bottle of champagne. (Moët & Chandon is what we'll have.) I got the recipe from my mother in law who made this for us the last time we were visiting, and it's absolutely great! I add a bit of finely chopped red onion for some extra bite.

You do need soft, thin breads to make this. Swedish thin bread is often made with rye and slightly sweet - and you might not be able to find exactly that, but the idea is to have something fairly neutral to roll this up in, and I'm sure you can think of a creative substitute.

Hot Rolls with Ham & Parmesan

3 soft thin breads
100 g ham - you can use air-cured ham like Serrano or Parma, or regular smoked ham, depending on your preferences
150-200 g parmesan, grated
100 ml (or so) thick yogurt
1-2 tsp sambal oelek (or any other chilli paste)
1/2 small red onion

Cut the ham in really small dice, and mix with parmesan, onions, sambal oelek and enough yogurt to bind it all together. Spread this on the breads, and roll them up tightly. Wrap in plastic and place in the fridge for a while to give the mixture time to set. Cut into bite-sized pieces, and place them on an oven-proof tray. Bake at 200°C for 5-6 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Varma tunnbrödsnittar med skinka och parmesan

The best of 2007

Zorra from Kochtopf asked me what my favorite recipe was for 2007. You have to know this about me: I am seriously indecisive. When faced with a choice, I am almost always confounded. This one? That one? But what about that one? This leads to some problems - for example, when buying clothes. What color to choose? I often buy two. (Only to find out that in real life, I really do prefer one over the other - almost always black, by the way - and the other one goes sadly unused.) And in this case? Choosing ONE recipe? I have enough problems choosing 40 for my end-of-year cookbook that I make for friends and family every year.

So. What did I do? I chose one from every month. Here you go - some of my favorites from 2007!

January - Taleggio Risotto

February - Swedish Pancakes

March - Healthy Bread with Hazelnuts

April - Bacon Wrapped Halloumi

May - Team Cookies

June - Rice Krispie Cake

July - my favorite guacamole

August - Fire Roasted Corn Salsa with Feta Cheese

September - Beet Salad

October - Oscar II:s Almond Cake (also popular around the world as the almond cake at Ikea)

November - Crunchy Salad

December - Potato Canapés with Chanterelles

Creamy Lentil Soup

Here's another hearty soup recipe - and a vegetarian one, this time. Or well, almost - you can certainly skip the bacon if you're so inclined. I love the smokey flavor it imparts, but it's no biggie. There is one thing about this soup (which I found at the Culinary Review blog) that I don't love though. And that's its uncanny likeness to sauce bolognese. It looks *just* like it. And honestly, the flavor is.. somewhat reminescent of it. Still, it's a really good soup - and hey, if it can double as a veggie (well, skipping the bacon) alternative as a pasta sauce, why not?

Creamy Lentil Soup
Serves 4

70 g bacon, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
fresh thyme
400 g crushed tomatoes
250 ml (1 cup) lentils de puy (beluga lentils would work out nicely as well - something that holds its shape fairly well is what you need here)
1 bay leaf
1,2 liters of vegetable stock
50 ml white wine
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt
black pepper

Fry the bacon until crispy. Add onions, carrots and garlic and fry for a few minutes. Add lentils and tomatoes, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. Add wine, the bay leaf, thyme and water. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.

Use a stick blender (or a regular one) to blend the soup until fairly smooth, but not completely. (According to your liking, obviously.) Season with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.

Recipe in Swedish:
Krämig linssoppa

Potato Canapés with Chanterelles

This is one of my most requested recipes from friends and family lately! I've made them twice - first for a tupperware party, and then for my mother's birthday party. They disappeared like crazy - people really loved them. And what's not to love? The potato crust is really delicious and crispy and soft all at once (Thanks to Pille!), the filling is savory and rich, without feeling greasy or heavy (Umm, thanks to.. me?) and the combination, plus the addition of pink peppercorns (that aren't really peppercorns at all) is just incredible! (And that's thanks to Kristina, who got the stellar idea to put two and two together and end up with more than just the sum of its parts.)

Do make the potato crusts just as instructed. Yes, you DO need to make little paper balls and put in them or they will just puff up. I learned it the hard way. You will too. But don't worry - making the balls is quite fun! The dough will make a little more than you need - I made twice the amount and got three times as many canapés, but if I'm only making this for a few people, I'd probably just throw away the excess dough and not bother about making another half pan-full.

You can use all button mushrooms instead of funnel chanterelles for the filling. I did that for christmas, and it turned out just fine. In fact, I'd wager that you can use any mushrooms - just stick to your favorites, and you can't go wrong!

Potato Canapés with Chanterelles
Makes 24

200 g boiled potatoes
125 g butter
200 g flour (wholewheat is fine)
salt

Either boil the potatoes if they're raw, and grate them right away - use a potato ricer or a food mill. Or use leftover potatoes, and grate them.

Mix with flour, butter and salt until you have a soft dough. (Yes, you can use a food processor.) Place cold for at least 30 minutes. Roll out into a 3-4 mm thick dough, and use a suitable cutter to cut circles that will fit into your mini-muffin pan. (Or whatever size pans you're using, but I find the 24-hole mini-muffin pans perfect.) Press the circles into the holes in your pan to make little cups.

Make tiny balls from parchment paper, and place one in each cup. This will keep the dough from puffing up.

Bake at 200°C until the edges color - about 10 minutes. Remove the paper balls, and put the pan back in the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let them cool completely.

Funnel Chanterelle Dip

100 g funnel chanterelles
200 g button mushrooms
200 g cream cheese
1 small onion
salt
pepper
olive oil

Mince the onion and the mushrooms, and fry in a little bit of oil until softened. Let cool completely. Mix with the cheese, and flavor with salt and pepper.

To decorate:
pink peppercorns, crushed

You can make them a couple of hours in advance, but don't let them be filled too long, or they will go a little soggy. You can prepare both shells and filling the day before instead, and keep separately. The shells might benefit from a quick blitz in the oven to crisp up a bit, but again, don't fill them until they're cool.

Finish with a sprinkle of crushed pink peppercorns.

Recipe in Swedish:
Potatiskrustader med kantarellröra

Mackmyra Preludium - complete!

I am now the proud owner of six bottles of Mackmyra Preludium. They have been slowly released, one edition at a time, for the past year and a half. It's been quite a process - it means six early mornings at the local Systembolaget (Sweden has state-regulated liquor stores) and waiting in lines for a long time. Has it been worth it? Well, frankly... I have no clue what to do with these. Drink them? Well. See. Mackmyra is a very young whisky. It is the only Swedish malt whisky, which is what makes it special, but that doesn't mean that it tastes good. I've tried some of them and.. um, no. The later bottles are drinkable. But I think I'll keep the collection unopened for now, and see what happens later on.

You can read all about Mackmyra whisky here.

Christmas Candy: Fig Amaretto Balls

I have a big binder with recipes that I've clipped from various magazines and newspapers. A lot of them are old - really old. As in I haven't gotten to them just yet - because when I try recipes from that binder, I toss them. If they were good, I blog about them or put them in my recipe box, and if they were bad, they're promptly forgotten.

This recipe was good - really good! I clipped it from somewhere last christmas, and kept it until now. It's a simple little treat to make, but super tasty and sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Fig Amaretto Balls
makes about 60 small balls

200 g dried figs
60 g butter
160 g almond paste
50 ml amaretto liqueur
120 g breadcrumbs

dark chocolate

Cut the figs into smaller pieces, and remove the stalks. Place in a food processor with the butter, almond paste, amaretto and breadcrumbs. Process until you have a smooth paste. Shape into small, even balls and place them in the fridge for a while.

Melt the dark chocolate, dip and roll the balls so that they're evenly covered, and place on a piece of waxed paper to set. Keep at room temperature - and it keeps pretty well for a few days, at least.

Recipe in Swedish:
Fikon och Amarettobollar

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

My mom and dad.

Today is Christmas Eve, which is the big Christmas celebration in Sweden. Today is the day when Santa comes, and when everything happens - Christmas Day is pretty much just a time to relax and take it easy, when it's all over. At least in my family.

So, Christmas is celebrated in remembrance of Santa's Christ's birthday? Yes? Well. It just so happens that someone else was also born on Christmas, and that someone is far, far more important to me.

Happy birthday mom! Today is my wonderful mom's birthday, and I hope she will have many, many more.

I played with cookie cutters and decorations for her - they turned out rather cute!





May you all have a very merry christmas!

Nut Truffle Cake

You probably have your christmas dessert all planned out by now. If you don't, however, this cake is great. It'll serve many people (at least 10-12) and it's the perfect end to a perfect meal.

I made it for Thanksgiving, and won't be making it for christmas - instead, my mom has requested crème brulée, so I suppose I better get started on those...

Nut Truffle Cake

Cake:
100 g mixed nuts - I used pistachios, walnuts, almonds and cashews
1 egg + 1 egg white
140 g sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1,5 tbsp flour

Chocolate Truffle:
200 g dark chocolate
200 ml heavy cream (35-40% fat)
40 g sugar
60 g glucose
80 g butter

Chop the nuts, somewhere between coarse and fine. Beat together the egg, egg white and sugar until frothy, and add the nuts, the flour and the baking powder. Spread in a greased springform tin (use a piece of parchment paper in the tin, so you're sure to get the cake out) and bake at 175°C for 30-35 minutes.

Let the cake cool, then remove from the tin. Wash and dry the tin, and put the cake back.

Melt the chocolate with the cream, glucose and sugar, either in a waterbath or in the microwave. (I always use the microwave.) When it's melted, add the butter a little by little, and stir until it's melted. If you're using unsalted butter, add a small pinch of salt.

Pour this over the nut cake, in the tin. Wrap the tin in plastic foil and place in the fridge until the truffle has set properly - at least for a few hours. You can now serve the cake, keep it in the fridge for a few days, or freeze it. Just let it sit at room temperature a little while before serving. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, or crème frâiche.

Recipe in Swedish:
Nöttryffeltårta

Last chance: Menu For Hope

The raffle is still open, but it's closing soon! Here's the final things I'm adding to my package (see previous posts here and here) - two bags of Djungelvrål ("Jungle Howl") which is delicious salty licorice, and a bar of truly Swedish chocolate made by Malmö Chokladfabrik from a recipe from 1888. Don't miss it! The prize code to enter is EU34, and the donation site is right here.

Call me the log lady

..my log heard something that night.

Yes, I'm a huge Twin Peaks fan. But this post is not about that, it's about the latest from the Daring Bakers! We were asked to make a yule log, something I had never done before. Or so I thought. I read the recipe, and realised that it was pretty darn close to a classic Swedish "Dream Cake" which is a chocolate swiss roll with coffee buttercream. And.. so is this! Although slightly different. I decided to use a different filling for my log, to get some variation, and it turned out lovely. Thanks for a fun challenge, Ivonne and Lisa! I really appriciated that it turned out to be a quick one - except for the mushrooms, I was done in less than an hour and a half!

This cake has four elements, and I thought I'd comment on them individually.

1. The genoise cake. This was a breeze to make. Eggs plus egg yolks and sugar, whisk over simmering water (my only problem was that the bowl of my Kitchen Aid does not fit very well over any of my saucepans, but oh well!) and then whisk with the Kitchen Aid until cool. At that time, I had a huge, fluffy, pale yellow mass. Into that, I folded sifted corn starch (1/3 cup), regular flour (1/3 cup) and a scant 1/3 cup of cocoa. A breeze! I baked it for 7 minutes - 10 would have been way too much - and then performed my mother-in-law's trick: take a sheet of baking paper and sprinkle sugar on it. Invert the cake on top so that it's sandwiched between the two papers. Then, let it cool, and remove the top (which was the bottom) paper. Ta-da!



2. The filling. I have for some time now wanted to try a Dumle ganache. A ganache is basically cream and chocolate of some sorts, and Dumle is a Swedish candy. It's a bit like Rolo if I recall correctly - chewy soft caramels with milk chocolate? Super tasty in any case, and the thought of a light fluffy mousse with this.. ah, heaven. So, I chopped up about 125 grams of Dumle, heated 300 ml cream, poured together and then stirred until smooth. It must be absolutely cold, so I left it in the fridge overnight, and beat it until thick and mouss-y just before using. Worked like a charm!





3. The frosting. I have never made buttercream with egg whites before, but I was excited to try it. Now, I made half the recipe, and the only problem with halving is.. the human factor. I had printed the recipe, the full recipe, and although I added the two egg whites rather than four, I then added a full cup of sugar, whisked and realised that this seemed a bit thick. I then realised that it was I who was thick, poured it out and started over. Went much better. The meringue part was no problem, but after adding most of the butter, I thought the cream was breaking. It looked curdled and grainy. I didn't panic, and I realised that I was still using the wire whisk and not the paddle. So I switched, gradually added the flavoring (I chose Kahlua, a coffee liqueur, to dissolve the coffee in) and then beat for a while on high speed. Wonders - it turned smooth!



4. The decoration. Well, as you can see my log is the bare minimum. Mushrooms. And they're made of marzipan. Which was a breeze to make. I admit, I didn't follow the recipe, I just used a hunk of almond paste, a "little" powdered sugar and a dash of white baking syrup. It worked out lovely, and was easy to shake. I smudged a little cocoa onto them, and well, mushrooms!

All in all - a fun challenge that took surprisingly little time to make, and was pretty tasty! The buttercream was definitely best when it was first made, I liked it less on the next day, but the cake and the filling benefited from an extra day of resting.

Salami Stew

I'm baking up a storm in my kitchen. I have tons of things to prepare for christmas, and I promise to tell you all about them - eventually. I just have to get finished first! In addition to christmas, it's Per's birthday tomorrow, and my mother's on the 24:th - so this is a pretty busy time of year for me!

Meanwhile, have a nice, warming stew. This one is particularly good, very hearty and flavorful. As with all stews, it'll be better the longer it cooks (or the day after cooking, actually) but it's perfectly fine after an hour and a half as well.

The recipe comes from Jens Linder, a Swedish food writer with a book that I'd love to have: Långkok. (Which is a Swedish word for food that's slow-cooked, for hours or even days.)

Salami Stew
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 kilo beef, suitable for stewing, in large pieces
salt
black pepper
1 tbsp butter
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp wheat flour
500 ml beef stock
100 ml red wine
1 tsp fennel seeds
100 g italian salami, thinly shredded

Salt and pepper the meat, and brown in a large pot on all sides. Add garlic and onion and fry for a few minutes on lower heat, until the onion softens slightly. Add tomato purée and stir well. Dust over the flour and stir again.

Add the stock and the red wine. Bash the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar and add them, too. And go ahead and add the salami as well.

Cover with a lid and let the stew simmer for at least an hour and a half, but preferrably longer. The meat should be very tender, and falling apart.

Serve with boiled potatoes, or rice.

Recipe in Swedish:
Salamigryta

8 random things about me

Me, in december 2007

I was tagged by Helena (who's SO talented, she makes the most beautiful sketches and keeps a great blog!) for this fun little meme. So - eight random things? Shouldn't be so hard. But it is! I feel like I talk so much about myself that you all know me by now - but I realise that no, you probably don't. At least not all of you. So, well, here are a few little tidbits to get to know me a bit better.

-My interest in cooking didn't really grow until, say, 2000 or so. I wasn't really interested when I was younger, and it wasn't until I met Per and we moved in together that I really got into it. I think my biggest inspiration was actually Nigella Lawson's first two books, "How to Eat" and "How to be a Domestic Goddess". These are the first cookbooks I remember actually reading, like books, and not just like cookbooks. I loved her writing, her passionate way about food... and I still do.

-I hate getting my hands dirty. No sticky cookie dough for me! Thankfully, there's a very simple solution, that surprisingly didn't occur to me until fairly recently: plastic gloves. A lifesaver, indeed! (A fun thing here is that Per is just the same - his mom is fond of telling a story where he was asked to fingerpaint, in daycare many years ago, and he went to get a brush instead. So maybe *that's* why we're meant to be together?)

-I am not very adventurous. At all. Not in life in general, and not with food either. I am not one of those who will seek out strange things to try - no, not at all. In fact, when food shopping and asked to sample things, I frequently say no. Foodie, yes, food nerd, no.

-I love movies and tv shows. And I watch a lot. My favorite, all time favorite, is Buffy. Which I actually just watched last year. And I fell for it straight away. Lovely, lovely show. But I also enjoy Dexter, Heroes, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Prison Break, The Shield and MANY more.

-Very few of you know this, but I've actually worked really hard this past fall to lose weight. And I have, for the first time in my life, been successful! To date, I've lost 20 pounds. My secret? I wish it was simple. Truthfully, it's hard work. It's eating less, exercising more. And a LOT of walking. Both Per and I have bought pedometers, and we now aim for at least 12.000 steps every day. I'm not very comfortable talking about this, but as long as we're sharing...

-I have three sisters and a brother, and all of them are quite a bit older than me. I also have two nieces, and four nephews. And one of my nieces have two boys of her own.

-One of my very favorite pastimes is shopping. Meeting a girlfriend for lunch, coffee and shopping is really one of the best ways to spend an afternoon. The very best shopping? Handbags. Oh, handbags...

-I don't listen to music. At all. Sure, the radio is on when I'm driving, but that's pretty much it.

Braised Pomegranate Chicken

Here's a recipe from Shauna, the Gluten-Free Girl. I've admired her recipes many times, but I think this is the first one I've actually tried! Not the last one, that's for sure!

I changed a few things - I used shallots instead of white onion, and what I should have done is added the nuts before the onions. Now, the onion almost burned, before the nuts got any color at all. Shauna specifies it as onion first, nuts later, but I'll do it the other way around next time, which is why I've written the recipe the way I plan to do it. And I plan to make this many, many, MANY more times. It was really delicious! I also probably made a little more sauce than in the original recipe, but I wouldn't change that for the world. More sauce makes this world a better place! And, oh, if you - like me - have an unopened bottle of pomegranate molasses in your cupboard, this is the time to break it out.


Braised Pomegranate Chicken
Serves 2

4 small chicken thighs - just the thigh, not with the bone
olive oil
butter
2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp pistachios (raw, unsalted)
3 tbsp cashew nuts (raw, unsalted)
4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
zest from one lemon
juice from one lemon
1 tbsp sugar
salt
350 ml chicken stock

Heat oil and butter in a large pan or a pot. Brown the chicken a bit, and set aside. Lower the heat, and fry the nuts for a few minutes, until they color. Add shallots and garlic. When the shallots have softened a bit, add chicken stock, pomegranate molasses, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar. Bring to a boil and put the chicken back in. Cover with a lid and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and serve with boiled rice.

Recipe in Swedish:
Bräserad Granatäpplekyckling

Menu for Hope - some more things you'll get

I finally managed to get my Photoshop working again, which means you'll get some new pictures of what's waiting for the lucky winner of my Menu for Hope 4 package.



Wasa Crisp Bread - their special christmas bread, and a new product: Solruta with Dinkel. I love to bake with dinkel, which is an older type of wheat, and I love to be able to include this so that you can enjoy it, too.



A wide variety of Skorpor - Swedish biscuits (pretty much like biscotti), that can be sweet or savoury - from Ninas Skorpor, a lovely little company. They use only the best ingredients, and they are incredibly delicious. Flavours will include saffron, parmesan and rosemary. (Cat not included, by the way - sorry!)



Candy! Here, you see Foamy Santas (Juleskum), Dumle caramels and Polka Pigs (which is hard peppermint candy). And I'm still getting you Jungle Howl - the very salty licorice. Not for the timid..!

See my first Menu For Hope post here, with details on the rest of the package, and how to participate. Or if you're already familiar - head over to the donation site. My prize code is EU34.

Moomin!

I got my very own Moomin cookie cutters, thanks to Dagmar! Don't forget that she's giving away nine cutters, a lovely Moomin mold and other goodies in Menu for Hope - go check it out!

Or, if you want a taste of Sweden.. you can always buy a raffle ticket for my package! More info here.

Hot Pork Curry with Roti

I really am not very good at cooking Indian food. I like eating it, but there aren't a whole lot of good Indian restaurants here, and frankly, I always order the same thing. (Chicken Korma. Or, possibly, a Biryani.) I would love to be able to cook it though, and cook it really well. I think I need a coach!

This one is by no means authentic. At all. But it is pretty good, and it's very easy. You can add more spices as you like, it would probably benefit from a bit more experimentation. The roti bread is delicious and is great for scooping up the curry - but serve rice as well if you like, I think I will next time.

Hot Pork Curry
Serves 4-5

1 kilo pork, in large dice
4 onions, sliced
4 tomatoes, in wedges
1 tsp caraway seeds
neutral oil
1-2 tbsp yellow curry paste
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 small, fresh chillies, finely chopped
500 ml beef stock
salt
2 tbsp cornstarch
water

Toast the caraway seeds in a dry pan. Add oil, and brown the meat. Transfer to a big pot. Add curry and garlic, onions, tomatoes and chillies.

Add stock, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for at least an hour until the meat is very tender. Season with salt and more spices if you'd like. Stir together cornstarch and water to a paste, and add to the pot, simmer until thickened.



Roti
Makes 4

300 ml flour (about 180 g)
1 tbsp baking powder
salt
60 g butter
4-5 tbsp water

Mix flour, salt and baking powder and cut in the butter until you have grainy pebbles and the butter is well distributed. You can use a food processor. Add water, until it comes together in a ball. Wrap in plastic and let the dough rest for half an hour.

Divide the dough into fourths, and roll each one into a round. Brush with oil on both sides, and fry in a hot pan for a few minutes on each side. Keep warm!

Recept på engelska:
Hot Pork Curry with Roti

Christmas Candy - a round-up

Here is, as promised, a guide to some of the candy I've posted about in the past, that'd be suitable for christmas. More than suitable actually - it would be absolutely lovely!

Swedish knäck - almond caramel

Knäck, but a darker, walnutty version

Peanut Truffle

Peanut Nougat

Peppermint Patties

Peppermint Bark

Cherry Pistachio Bark

Gingerbread Caramels

Lemon-Vanilla Caramels

Espresso Caramels

Pecan Chocolate Toffee

And of course my most recent post on the subject, Rocky Road.

Swedish Christmas Food - a guide

I thought I'd do a small round-up of some traditional Swedish christmas food that I've posted about in the past. It's by no means complete - it's just a little guide to help you find your way in my archives, should you be looking for recipes. Have fun!

I'll do another one of these for candy tomorrow.

Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Christmas Ham

Finnish Swede Bake - it's very common in Sweden too, and goes so well with the salty ham.

Jansson's Temptation

Baked goods:

Lucia Buns

Advent Saffron Buns

Gingerbread Cookies - Pepparkakor

Another recipe for Pepparkakor

Lucia Buns - Lussekatter

Today is Santa Lucia Day, which means celebrations all over Sweden with candles, music, glögg, gingerbread cookies and lucia buns - yeasted saffron buns, with raisins.

I wrote about Lucia two years ago, and I had another recipe for saffron buns last year.

The problem with making saffron buns is that the saffron dries out the dough, and the buns go stale in no time. So make these on the same day as you plan to eat them, or put them in the freezer right away. They really won't keep well.

That said, this recipe is really good and really easy. It has a lot of butter and cream, and that helps to keep the dough nice and moist, and it's really a dream to handle. You don't need much flour at all, and no extra when you shape the buns, and that's always good in terms of moistness. So, do try these - you won't regret it!

Lucia Buns
Makes 20 large ones

100 g fresh yeast
400 ml milk, full-fat
100 ml cream (35-40% fat)
200 g butter
1-1,5 g saffron
200 ml sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 kilo white flour

Decoration:
1 egg, beaten
raisins

Crumble the yeast into the bowl of your stand mixer (or a regular bowl, if making this by hand). Melt the butter, then add the milk and the cream and heat until it's about 37°C - it should just barely feel warm to the touch. Add this to the yeast and stir until it has dissolved.

Put the saffron with a pinch of sugar in your pestle and mortar, and mix well. Add to the dough, along with salt, sugar, the egg and most of the flour. Work into a smooth and silky dough - it will look pretty sticky, so add the rest of the flour, but don't worry if it's still sticky. It's supposed to be. It shouldn't stick to your fingers though.



Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, and leave to rise, covered, for 45 minutes. Then it's time to shape the dough. I started by dividing the dough into equal portions, using digital kitchen scales. I like my lucia buns fairly large - that, again, helps counter any dryness. The traditional shape is as you can see in the photo below a fairly tight "s". Place raisins in the middle of the swirls on each side.



Place on a cookie sheet, cover, and let the buns rise for about 15 minutes. Brush with a beaten egg, and bake at 200°C for 8-10 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Lussekatter

Spelt Sourdough Bread

It's time to bake again! This is a simple bread recipe, and it makes some rather nice little buns that go very well with a bowl of soup. I love having some at hand in the freezer, then defrosting in the microwave and toasting them slightly.

I added sourdough because I had some - if you don't, you can omit it. Won't be the same, but close.

Spelt is a special type of wheat, that's very popular here in Sweden. (Dinkel)

Spelt Sourdough Bread
makes 12-15

300 g cold water
250 g strong bread flour
200 g wholewheat spelt flour
100 g wheat sourdough starter
12 g fresh yeast
7 g honey
20 g olive oil
8 g salt

Mix everything but the salt, and run in your stand mixer (or by all means, mix by hand, but be prepared to go for twice as long!) for 8 minutes. add the salt, and mix for an additional five.

Move the dough to a clean bowl and leave it to rise for two hours, covered.

Shape the dough into nice portion-sized buns, and place on a baking sheet. Put the baking sheets into your cold oven, and add a rimmed cookie sheet or a large saucepan to the bottom of the oven. Pour boiling water into this, and close the oven door. You now have a nice, moist, warm place for your bread to rise. Leave it for 30 minutes.

Remove everything from the oven, and heat it to 250°C. When it's warm, place the breads in the oven. Use a spray bottle to spray some water into the oven. This will create a crustier surface for the breads. Bake for 8-10 minutes, spraying in a bit more water at half-time if desired.

(You can use a pan of water, or ice, to create the steam instead, but I prefer using a spray bottle.)


Recipe in Swedish:
Kuvertbröd med dinkel

Nobel prize menu 2007

Yesterday was the Nobel Prize Awards, and, umm, no, I was not invited this year. Either. Oh well.

Here's what was served:

Lobster aspic with dill-baked halibut and Kalix bleak roe

Young cockerel with cockerel sausage, accompanied by
almond potato and celery root terrine

Raspberry and blackcurrant parfait on beds of pistachio,
with vanilla ice cream

I think the dessert sounds great, but not so much the other two dishes. Menu for Hope is much better!

You can check out all the Nobel menus here.

Menu for Hope 4: Win a taste of Sweden!

It's christmas time, and you all know what that means! Yes, it's time for Menu for Hope, the charity event where food bloggers all over the world unite to make this world just a little bit better. How do we do this? Well, we do it together. And we do it a little step at a time. And with your help. (Yes, I mean YOU.)

To be exact: we are raising money for United Nations World Food programme. For every US$10, the donor receives a virtual raffle ticket toward a prize of their choice. The prizes come from food bloggers all over the world! This year, the money are specially earmarked for a school’s feeding program in Lesotho. Providing food for these children not only keeps them alive, but helps them stay in school so that they learn the skills to feed themselves in the future. If you want to read more about the Menu for Hope, go to this post at Chez Pim.

My prize then, is a little taste of Sweden. I call it "Very Swedish", and the prize code is EU34. (You need to put this into the comments box on the donation site, in order to be able to win my prize.)

You will get a large box, containing:



-the cookbook Very Swedish (contributed by Max Ström publishers). This is a really brilliant cookbook, with all the Swedish traditional recipes. It has beautiful photos as well, and it will really be an inspiration for you if you're at all interested in Swedish cuisine.

-Swedish crispbread from Wasabrod. You will get their traditional christmas-spiced crispbread, as well as at least one more kind.



-Swedish candy - I will send you a wide assortment of Swedish candy, including the intriguing salty licorice called "Jungle Howl", foamy Santa Clauses, Dumle-caramels and other things.



-A handmade heart-shaped potholder in red linen by Swedish designer Jenny Jurnelius.



-Swedish honey, flavored with wild strawberries.



-Swedish spice mixes from Swedish Traditions - now you can easily make your own gravlax, your own snaps, your own meatballs and more!

I will add some more things to the package as the donations go on - so check back soon! I will ship this anywhere in the world.

Donation and raffle ticket buying instructions:

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at Chez Pim. Every $10 gives you a raffle ticket.

2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.

3. Please specify which prize you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code. The prize code for my Swedish package is EU34. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for the prize UW01 and 3 for UW02 - please write “2xUW01, 3xUW02″ in the Personal Message section when confirming your donation.

4. For US donors: If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

5. Important: Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday, January 9 for the results of the raffle.

If you’re feeling a bit insecure, the regional host Fanny at Food Beam has a step by step instruction here.

Mustard Pork Chops

I know at least two things that shouldn't come as a surprise to any long-term readers of this blog.

-I like cookbooks
-I like Nigella Lawson

And I have to say, her most recent book, Nigella Express, is yet another winner. I got that and Jamie Oliver's latest book, Jamie At Home, at the same time, but I have to admit that I'm much more attracted to the Nigella book in this case. It fits much better with my life this fall - busy busy busy - and although I love the idea of growing my own food, well.. maybe next year.

I've only tried two dinners from Nigella Express so far, but both were very memorable and I look forward to many more. For someone who's tried a lot more, check out this blog, run by fellow Daring Baker Kelly-Jane.

These pork chops were delicious. Really, really delicious. And I promise, this dinner comes on the table in fifteen minutes. It's that fast. Well, at least if you like me, serve it with store-bought gnocchi. Make your own, and that will take a lot longer. Obviously. Store-bought gnocchi is pretty darn good though, so don't feel bad.

As usual, I don't stick exactly to the recipe. The only thing that's changed here is that I don't have any garlic oil, so I added some garlic to the sauce instead.

Mustard Pork Chops
Serves 2

2 pork chops
2 tsp olive oil
125 ml apple cider
1 tbsp grainy mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
75 ml cream

Fry the chops in the oil, until done. Remove from the pan, and keep warm. Add the apple cider to the pan, and scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan so you don't miss out on any tasty goodness.

Let it cook for a minute, then add the mustard, garlic and cream. Let it cook until slightly reduced, say, 3 minutes or so. Then serve with the chops, and the gnocchi. (Or if you prefer, pasta, rice, boiled potatoes..) Do put the cooked gnocchis in the pan for a brief stir before serving - it'll add a lot of flavor.

Recipe in Swedish:
Senapskotletter

Weekend Cat Blogging - only two weeks left

This is actually a photo from last year, but Glinda is so cute as Santa's little helper that I just had to post it again.

Christmas Candy: Rocky Road

My first christmas candy this year! (Well, not counting those delicious espresso caramels - I'll try to make another batch of those.) This idea comes from Swedish cook Leila Lindholm, who is pretty much Sweden's answer to Nigella Lawson. I don't watch the show - I always miss it, incredible really - but her books are lovely, and her recipes are always good. I changed the quantities here to make a small batch rather than a big one, but it's not a very exact recipe so feel free to change it as you see fit.

Dumle is a Swedish candy, soft chewy caramels with milk chocolate. I believe Rolos are similar? Use whatever soft (but not runny) caramel candy you can find. And do use really dark chocolate, or this will be horribly sweet.

Rocky Road

-175 g dark chocolate
-45 g salted peanuts
-90 g Dumle caramels (cut in half if they're on the large side)
-30 g pistachios (unsalted)
-30 g marshmallows (cut into smaller pieces, or use miniature ones)

Melt the chocolate - in a microwave, or in a double boiler. Stir in everything else. Pour into a lined tin (this makes a pretty small batch, so you need a pretty small tin) and place it in the fridge so it sets. Take it out and cut it into pieces. Store in the fridge - I think it'll melt a bit if it's left out, but I haven't tried.

Recipe in Swedish:
Rocky Road

Cookbook Watch - Mesa Grill & Isabel's Cantina

Swedes love "latin" food. Well, here, we pretty much call it tex-mex. And let me tell you, Swedes love their "tex-mex". Which means, in a nutshell, tacos. And sometimes nowadays burritos and fajitas too. Let me tell you what's NOT common, at all: beans. And there are no corn tortillas to be found. And no fancy corn chips - just regular yellow ones, with or without cheese flavor. There are a few different kinds of salsas, but very few chillies to be found in most stores. However, to get an idea of how popular this is, I'd say that most Swedish families eat "tex-mex" at least every month. Which is quite a lot for a country so far from Mexico, and with absolutely no Mexican immigration.

We like a little more variation, but we usually stick to quesadillas and guacamole. (When you have such a winning concept, why not stick to it?) Always with lots of fresh coriander - cilantro - the wonderful little herb that I fell in love with when I lived in California, and then couldn't find here. Well, now I can, it's everywhere. Thankfully.



Ok, this post isn't about my love for latin food or cilantro, but about two new cookbooks that I'm really excited about. The first one is Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill cookbook. I don't really have any concept of who Bobby Flay is, and I'd never heard of Mesa Grill. But let me tell you, I'd love to have dinner there. Since I probably never will, I'm glad I have the cookbook. This really seems to be the genuine restaurant dishes, and I do like that in a restaurant cookbook. And a lot of it sounds so incredibly delicious! The genre is apparently more southwestern than mexican - honestly, it's not that distinguishable to me, but then again, I'm far away. There's no doubt what I'll make first though: Queso Fundido. That's melted cheese, my friends! With MORE melted cheese! And a spicy vinaigrette on top. It has to be amazing. (And now I'm hungry!)



The second is Isabel's Cantina by Isabel Cruz. This is a really cool book - there's a lot of focus on fresh and healthy eating, and it's a bit more accessible than Mesa Grill. It's stuff that I could easily make at home - and I can't wait to play around with the recipes here, everything sounds absolutely delicious. It's also fun with its slightly crossover styles - Isabel Cruz noticed that a lot of cuisines are slightly similar - like mexican and thai share a lot of ingredients and spices, and she plays on this with her recipes. Definitely interesting!

Both books are really beautiful - the photos are great, the layout is nice, and both are packed with interesting recipes that I really want to try. Both would make really good christmas presents for the eager home cook. If I had to choose, I'd go with Isabel's Cantina as it seems slightly easier, and edgier. But it's a very close call - that's for sure!

Innocent Hats

Awww! Look what I've got! Johanna sent me three adorable little knit hats, from Innocent. Not sold in Sweden - well, the drinks are, but not with hats. I've put them on my bottles of Glögg for now, lacking smoothies.

I also got some rosemary-white chocolate pebbles - super cute, and very herby tasting. Lovely!

Pineapple Spice Chicken

I think this was originally called jerk-marinated chicken. Well, I have no idea if the spice mix is at all genuine, and besides, I've made a few changes. Hence the name change. Anyway.

It's a nice dinner - and that's all I need to know. It's simple to make - don't be afraid of the long ingredients list for the spice mix, I bet you have most of it in your cupboard anyway, and you just need to toss it in a food processor.

It's well worth the effort. And it'll keep in the fridge for a week or so, so you can prepare it well in advance, and then just cook the chicken, quickly, after work for a fast week-day meal.

Pineapple Spice Chicken
Serves 4

4 chicken breasts (or thighs, or whatever cut of chicken you like)

1 batch of Pineapple Spice Mix
butter
200 ml chicken stock
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt, pepper

Marinate the chicken for a few hours. Pat dry with some paper, and then fry in a little bit of butter until browned on both sides. Add the marinade, and let it cook on fairly high heat until mostly reduced. Add the stock and the vinegar, and cook for 10-15 minutes. The chicken should be done by now, so remove it from the pot, and turn up the heat so that the sauce reduces further. Put the chicken back into the pot, and serve with rice.

Pineapple Spice Mix

1 onion
2 garlic cloves
150 ml crushed pineapple
2 whole dried chillies, tiny ones (or a good pinch of strong chilli powder)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp sage
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp salt
75 ml white wine vinegar
75 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
50 ml olive oil

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and whiz until combined. Keeps in a fridge for at least a week.

Recipe in Swedish:
Ananaskyckling med kryddor

Glenfarclas Family Casks

I've been invited to something really cool. No, make that something, really, really, really cool.

This weekend in Stockholm, Glenfarclas distillery is holding a complete vertical tasting of ALL their family casks, from 1952 to 1994. That's 43 years of whisky. It's a one time event, and... I get to go!

I feel really lucky - I know this will be a great experience and a wonderful learning opportunity - despite liking whisky I really don't know that much about it, and I'm not skilled enough to recognize nuances, so I'm very much looking forward to this. I'll only attend one of the two days, so I'll be trying.. oh.. 21 years or so. Still an awful lot of whisky!

I don't know if there are any tickets left, but you can find out, and read more about the event here. If you want to read about Glenfarclas distillery, there's a very nice story about it here.

Potato Sunchoke Gratin

A few days ago, I promised you a recipe for a brilliant gratin to go with the balsamico-glazed pork tenderloin. And it is time. This, too, is from Ica, and although it uses a ready-made cheese sauce you can easily substitute your own (made from butter, flour, milk and grated cheese of your choice) or any ready-made cheese sauce with mild flavor. It won't make a huge difference here. In fact, if you're feeling lazy, just use cream instead of cheese sauce altogether, maybe adding a handful of grated cheese on top or between the layers. I'm sure it'll taste great.

If you've never had sunchokes before, this is a great recipe to try them in. It will really showcase their mild, but distinct flavor.

Potato Sunchoke Gratin
Serves 4-5

800 g potatoes (floury are best for this)
200 g sunchokes
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
100 g fresh spinach
butter
salt, pepper
250 ml cheese sauce (1 cup)
100 ml parmesan, grated

Peel and slice potatoes and sunchokes. Fry spinach and onion in a little bit of butter, until spinach has wilted. Layer with the potatoes and sunchokes and some salt and pepper in an oven proof dish. Pour over the sauce, and finish with some parmesan.

Bake at 175°C for 45 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Potatisgratäng med jordärtskockor

Happy first Sunday of Advent!

Not exactly a day for celebration, but we're busy hanging up christmas decorations and getting in the holiday mood. And of course, we had some saffron buns - not homemade though.