Happy New Year!

I hope all of you will have a marvellous new year!

My favorites from 2009 - recipes, part two

So, yesterday you got my favorite savory (-ish) recipes of this year. Here are the rest. Make them. Enjoy them. I know I do!


Cinnamon-Raisin Bagels (I like these much more than my old recipe)


Macarons (This is the most basic recipe, but I've made many variations - gingerbread, lavender, blueberry, cherry, pistachio, chocolate-peanut butter...)


Spiced Pecans


Coffee & Cardamom Biscotti with White Chocolate


Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins


Kettle Corn

My favorites from 2009 - recipes, part one

I went through this year's posts, and picked my absolute favorite recipes. It was really hard to pick just five so... I didn't. After all, the more the merrier! These recipes are all really, really awesome. I promise!

I'll split it into two posts - savories today, desserts and baked goods tomorrow.


Orange Apricot Lamb Stew


Carrot-Raisin Salad with Nuts


Fish Soup (with homemade aioli)


Avocado Edamame Salad


Italian Lentil Soup


Sweet Asian Dipping Sauce


Better, Fluffy Pancakes

Best of 2009 - new products

This will be pretty un-interesting for those of you not in Sweden, as all of these products are Swedish and probably pretty much only sold here. Sorry. Get even by telling me YOUR favorite new product in the comments - it'll be probably be something I can't get!

- Valio Mjukt Smör. (Soft Butter.) This is butter, with added canola oil to make it spreadable. We used to use a low-fat margarine spread before this, for many years. Then I had this sent home to my door from a PR-agency, along side a loaf of freshly baked bread. I was seduced. And won over. I haven't looked back. This is the only stuff that goes on my sandwiches now.

- Bravo Friscus juice. Orange and apple juice, with added "good bacteria" in order to strengthen your immune system and protect you from colds. I don't know if it works, but I drank it for two months and really got hooked. The apple juice in particular is really tasty.

- Ridderheims ham (and other cold-cut meat) without preservatives. They've launched a whole bunch of meats lately, including a Christmas ham which I really liked. Some of the products - the roast beef especially - were a bit dry, but I really did like that they didn't have any unnecessary chemicals in them.

- Allerum Lagrad Prästost - a very strong, aged cheese that was perfect to eat with the slightly sweet Vörtbröd for Christmas.

- Sour rats from Aroma. I blogged about them, and they are... great. In fact, they're so good I'll send a bag of them to a random commenter - just leave a comment, and make sure I have a way to reach you if you win.

My favorites from 2009 - books

It's almost impossible to write about favorites from a whole year - I can barely remember what happened last week, so how about what happened in January? I have no idea. But hey, let me try, anyway. I'll do a series of posts over the next few days, on my favorite cookbooks, my favorite recipes and my favorite new products. Let's start with the books!

What's your favorite from this year? Tell me in the comments!

Top 5 cookbooks



-Momofuku - absolutely great. I wanted to get on a plane to NY, go to every location and eat through the menus. I'll settle for cooking from the book though, which seems very, very useable - David Chang really goes into detail on how they work, and although some things probably won't be practical for the home kitchen, so many things are. (Website.)



-The Blackberry Farm Cookbook. I haven't been to the Blackberry Farm any more than I've been to Momofuku - but oh, I want to go. This cookbook (and it's much more than that, really, it has so many beautiful photos and interviews with the people somehow involved with the farm that it's really something you read, not just leaf through) is very different from the Momofuku - you won't find meat glue here, but tons of wonderful recipes for well-cooked food that's in season. (Website.)



-Rose's Heavenly Cakes. I have had the Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum for several years (donated to me by a kind reader who was cleaning out her bookshelf!) and it's completely changed the way I think about cakes. (it's also scared me off from making them very often!) This book is a lot nicer - it still covers all of the basics, but it has color photos of all the cakes, and I find it a bit more approachable. I've made yummy vanilla cupcakes so far, but I can't wait for an occasion to try out something a bit more challenging, too. (Rose's blog.)



-'Wichcraft. I'm a huge fan of Top Chef, and thus, of Tom Colicchio. I really, really wish I could fly out to eat at Craft, too, and I hope to experience 'wichcraft as well. (Eventually.) I'm happy to have the book, though - it has tons of recipes, and almost all of them sound great. And I love sandwiches for dinner. Don't you? (Website.)



-Not just a cookbook, but much more - Hungry Monkey by Matthew Amster-Burton is a funny and engaging story about how a child begins her journey towards being an eater. Or something like that. Just read it. If you have kids, you'll love it. If you don't, you will still appriciate the recipes. (Website.)

Lamb Tagine

I don't know, but I'm all done with the christmas food now. I'll eat leftovers for a day or two, but that's it. (I have to admit I don't really like leftovers much at all!)

I got this amazing lamb recipe from an online friend at a Swedish discussion board, and I've just made some minor changes to it. It really is fabulous - fairly fast and very flavorful. Don't skimp on the saffron - it's hideously expensive this year, but it makes such a difference here.

A tagine is really another word for "stew" but refers to the cooking pot which is quite special. I don't have one - if you do, you could certainly make this in it, but it'll be perfectly fine in a heavy pot or a Dutch oven, too.

Lamb Tagine

(printable recipe)
serves 4-6

1 kg lamb, off the bone, in large dice
olive oil
2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
5-600 ml water
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 g saffron
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 red chili, finely minced (or 1 tsp sambal oelek or similar chili paste)
salt, black pepper
5 sundried tomatoes, cut into fine strips
1 lemon, zest and juice
100 g dried apricots, cut into fine strips
fresh rosemary - a few sprigs
4-5 fresh tomatoes, de-seeded and diced

Brown the meat in some oil in a large pot, and place on a plate when it's done. Brown onions and garlic in the same pot, add tomato paste and fry for a few minutes. Add the lamb back to the pot, along with the water, all the spices and the sundried tomatoes. Cook on low heat for about 45 minutes. Check to see if the lamb is tender - if not, let it cook for a bit longer. If it is, add the lemon zest and juice, apricots and rosemary. Cook for 15 minutes, finally add the tomato dice and cook for an additional five minutes.

Serve with cooked bulgur or cous-cous, a dollop of thick greek-style yogurt and some lightly cooked veggies, like broccoli.

Recipe in Swedish:
Lammtagine

Thanks, Santa!

First blog post written at my new MacBook! I love it! It's a bit of a hassle getting everything set up - mail, contacts, bookmarks etc - but it'll be fabulous when it's all done, I'm sure. I was really good this year, apparently, since Santa decided to get me this!

And well, it *has* been quite a year! It seems to have gone by so quickly. The main event, obviously, was the birth of our son Titus, in May. He's already seven months and growing up so fast. It's quite amazing - I never expected to love life with a baby, but I do. The blog has been suffering a bit - not only because I haven't been cooking as much as before, but mostly because I haven't really felt the urge to sit down and write. I'll try to be better next year!

I downloaded something pretty cool - it's a little program called OmmWriter and it's designed to make writing much more like... actual writing, I suppose. It's full screen, so you don't see all your other programs, and thus, you're not disturbed. So far, I'm liking it. It's very serene. I'll try to use it to write a bit more next year - actual blog posts, rather than just recipes.

I don't say this often enough, but you mean so much to me. I would have given up on the blog long ago, if it wasn't for you - my readers. You are very important in my life - I appriciate you very, very much. Thank you. And happy holidays!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Candy: Vanilla Bean Caramels

Yum - caramels is a must at christmas time! You have to have a candy thermometer, but other than that, it's easy. Pour your caramel into a lined pan - I use something called "bakplåtsfolie" which is a coated foil. It's perfect and never sticks - but it's also not widely distributed, so use whatever you normally would.

A note on syrup. Golden syrup has a very distinct taste and is not easy to substitute - but if you can't get it, try honey. White syrup is best substituted with pure glucose or corn syrup.

Vanilla Bean Caramels
(printable recipe)

300 ml cream (full-fat - 35-40%)
300 ml sugar
50 ml golden syrup
2 tbsp white baking syrup
2 vanilla beans (scored and scraped)

Mix everything but the vanilla in a wide saucepan and boil over medium heat until the caramel is 125-128°C. The temperature depends on how firm you want the caramel to be - I like mine rather hard and chewy so I aim for the higher number. Add the seeds from the vanilla beans. Pour into a prepared pan and let it set before turning the caramel slab onto a cutting board and cutting it into individual caramels.



Recipe in Swedish:
Gräddkola med vanilj

Cherry Vanilla Bean Macarons

Ok - one more batch of macarons. I actually made them in August but didn't manage to post about it until now... Oh well - they would be great for Christmas, too!

As you can see, these are a bit lumpy. That's for not sieving the almonds after grinding. I was lazy, and this was the price of that. Not a huge deal, but remember to sieve for prettier cookies!

The filling uses cherry syrup, a lovely little thing that you can find in many grocery stores, but probably not everywhere. Mine is Polish, and very tangy. You could do your own cherry reduction, too.



Cherry Vanilla Bean Macarons
(printable recipe)
makes about 20 filled cookies

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched
red or pink food coloring (powdered or gel)

Combine powdered sugar and almonds in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of almonds. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the almond-sugar powder, and fold together along with the food color. Don't overmix this - most seem to say that you should use less than 50 strokes. (You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.)

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 15-20 minutes. (I have a convection oven, and 15 minutes is perfect for me.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

Cherry Vanilla Buttercream
50-100 ml cherry syrup
3 egg yolks
75 g sugar
82 g corn syrup (or if you're in Sweden, white baking syrup works perfectly)
225 g unsalted butter, softened
1 vanilla bean, the seeds
pink food coloring

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Pour over the egg yolks and beat at high speed until fully cooled. (Try not to get any on your beaters, or it will spin to the sides of your bowl.)

Add the butter, a pat at a time, until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla seeds and the cherry syrup, a little at a time. Finally add food coloring.

Spread - or pipe - the cream onto half of the macaron shells, top with the remaining shells. Eat right away or freeze.

Recipe in Swedish:
Körsbärs- och vaniljmacarons

Peppermint Meringues

As you might have noticed on Twitter, I've been making a lot of christmas candy and cookies lately! I made these yummies yesterday - really quick and easy, and super tasty. For a special treat, you could dip them in dark chocolate.. or perhaps sandwich them together with some chocolate ganache. I don't bother, I just eat them straight up.

They're perfectly crispy with a slightly chewy center - yum!

Peppermint Meringues
(printable recipe)
makes at least 50 small meringues

3 egg whites
200 ml sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
50 g peppermint candy
1-2 tsp peppermint extract
red food coloring - I use gel colors from Wilton.



Mix egg whites and sugar in a bowl. Place it on top of a saucepan with simmering water, and mix on high speed with a handheld mixer, until the meringue turns bright white, thick and shiny. Remove the bowl from the heat, and whisk for a few more minutes. Slowly add the lemon juice.

Crush the peppermint candy very finely, and add to the batter along with the mint extract. Stir in some color - either stir well and you'll end up with pink meringues, or just marble some color throughout. Place the batter in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (Wilton 1M is what I use) and pipe small stars onto a lined baking sheet.

Bake at 100°C for 45 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the meringues cool completely.

Recipe in Swedish:
Polkagrismaränger

Mint M&M Bark

This recipe is a product of one of my biggest pet peeves. Peppermint ice cream is one of my all time favorite foods, but I can't understand why everyone insists on ruining it by putting candy cane pieces in it! I am not one to chew hard candy, I think it might be my neurotic obsession with my teeth. I mean when I am enjoying a nice smooth bowl of ice cream I don't want to have chomp on candy cane or worse swallow a bunch of ragged pieces.
Anyways how this is all relevant to the recipe to this recipe is that this is originally for peppermint bark, but I've replaced the candy cane pieces with a less offensive candy to chew, mint M&M's :)

So for Tracy, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 cups (12 oz) White Chocolate Chips
appox. 1 cup Mint M&M's
Dash of Vanilla Extract (optional)

A word on M&M's: Make sure you get the classic mint M&M's that are only available for the holidays. They should come in a bigger bag. They also make a gourmet type mint M&M in small bags, but they don't have shells and will thus just melt into the chocolate. (Which will still taste pretty good but won't look the same)

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate in Microwave

2. Place M&M's in plastic bag and crush using a rolling pin.

3. Holding Strainer over melted chocolate pour crushed candy into strainer. Shake. Leave the larger pieces in the strainer.

4. Pour chocolate onto wax paper. Sprinkle with reserved larger pieces.

5. Allow to cool then break into pieces.

A little about my Christmas...

I did a Q&A with D. from Outside Oslo - check it out if you want to read a little about my holiday traditions!

White Chocolate Fudge

This is going to have to be a short post because guess how much I've packed for our trip tomorrow... yup nadda nothing none.

Ingredients:
2 pkg. Baker's White Chocolate
3/4 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 cup Almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
splash of vanilla extract

1. Line 8-inch pan with foil
2. Microwave chocolate and milk until melted (stiring frequently)
3. Add almonds, cranberries, and vanilla and stir well
4. Spread into prepared pan and refrigerate until firm.
5. Remove from pan and cut into pieces

Spicy Chocolate Cookies with Candied Ginger

I found this cookie recipe over at one of my very favorite food blogs - Baking Bites. Nicole has provided me with so many excellent recipes over the years, and like few others, she really inspires me to get into the kitchen and bake RIGHT NOW.

This cookie is great - spicy and flavorful and with gorgeous little chunks of ginger. It's also quite sturdy and perfect to pack up and send as holiday gifts. I've amended the quantities slightly, but for the original recipe (in US measuremeants), go here.

Spicy Chocolate Cookies with Candied Ginger
(printable recipe)

500 ml flour
4 tbsp cocoa powdder
1,5 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger, ground
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/4 tsp cloves, ground
1/4 tsp black pepper, finely ground
110 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
250 ml sugar
1 large egg
4 tbsp molasses or dark syrup
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla powder
100 ml finely chopped dark chocolate
100 ml chopped candied ginger
100 ml raw cane sugar, for rolling

Mix flour, cocoa powder and all spices in a bowl. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, and add the egg. Beat well. Stir in the molasses, balsamic vinegar, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, a little at a time, and mix into a smooth dough. Finally add the chocolate and ginger.

Shape small balls of the dough, and roll them in the raw sugar. Flatten slightly and place on a baking sheet, with plenty of room to spread out.

Bake at 175°C for about 10 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
Chokladkakor med ingefära

CIRI CIRI ALAYY !!

1 . Alay Sok ImutisaurusAlay jenis ini suka ganti² kata baku yg indah menjadi "imut" . Tapi bukannya menjadi imut , tulisan itu malah bikin bingung , bahkan membunuh pembacanya !

Contoh :● makan → mumbth● sayang→ chaiiank → cayanqst

2 . Alay KapitalismeAlay jenis ini seneng pake huruf kapital dalam kalimat yg digunakannya . Duh , sadar ga sih ? Kita sbg pembaca jadi sakit mata . Ga bisa bedain huruf kapital ma huruf non-kapital ya ? Anak playgroup aja bisa . Nyahahahaha . . .

Contoh :- AgkuH bEndci dIa

3 . Alay Cocotion RosaniusAlay yg lg dibahas ini adalah alay yg mengerahkan seluruh jiwa raganya buat jejeritan ga karuan .

Contoh :
X : waaaa ! Iya dunkz beibthz , hahahahaha . . .
Y : iaa kALi yHa bebth , hihi . Aaaa !

Ps : biasanya mereka jejeritan sambil memble + nekuk lidah (biar kayak bule kali . Tapi malah jadi kayak bule Zimbabwe)

4 . Alay AngkaliciousIni nih salah satu tipe alay yg paling bikin sakit mata . Emang dunia ini kekurangan huruf ya , sampe² make angka buat nulis ? Kenapa ga sekalian pake aksara jawa aja biar mantep ? Wakakakakak . . .

Contoh :a9kuH La9y 53bel5 5am4 k4muH !

5 . Alay Hydrocepalus Lebaytun Melebay²kan .INI DIA RAJANYA ALAY . Paling hobby show off dan melebaykan kejadian yg dia alami . Padahal sebenernya sih biasa² aja .
Contoh :
X : kamu online dimana ?
Y : di blackberry storm agkoh t'cindtah . Kemarendt baruw dibeliindth sama daddy di Paris . Itu lho , ibukotanya Perancis . Ada pertemuand pengusaha sukses di seluruh dunia getoh .

Ps : ya ampun , beli blackberry di Mangga Dua juga banyak . Pake jauh² ke Paris segala . Lagian semua orang juga tau Paris itu ibukotanya Perancis . Sejak kapan ibukota Perancis pindah ke Bantargebang ? Nyas . . .

6 . Alay Sok BuleIni alay PALING SOK dunia per-alay-an . Sok pake enggris tapi kagak ada benernya . Kalo diliat artinya per kata , bener sih . Tapi waktu digandeng , beuh.. NTU KATA ARTINYA APAAN ? Wealah... Cuma translate amatir dari bahasa Indo . Sekalinya bener ternyata ? NYONTEK !

Contoh :Hi , Coro . What you know if I already are is have ? Oh ya , how you ? What you good² only ? Don't shy² cat lah .


JADI, APAKAH ANDA TERMASUK DALAM KATEGORI DI ATAS?? hahaha!!

The best Gingerbread cookies

I've made gingerbread cookies (known as Pepparkakor here in Sweden, and probably gingersnaps in most of the world) many times, and I've tried several different recipes. You can always buy your dough chilled in the grocery store this time of year (possibly at IKEA for those of you who aren't in Sweden) but it's incredibly easy to make your own.

This recipe is quite different, since it doesn't contain butter. It's certainly not a "diet" sort of recipe though - it has plenty of sugar and cream. The cookies are really flavorful, and with an almost caramel crunch. Irresistible! The dough should rest in the fridge for at least a few days (and up to three weeks) so make it right away!

And you'll get a LOT of cookies. I divided my dough into six portions, each one made about two baking sheets of cookies. It'll all depend on the size of your cookie cutters. And save those with tiny details for another recipe, because these tend to fluff up a bit and don't hold their shape as well as some others I've tried. However, the taste more than makes up for that.



The best Gingerbread cookies
(printable recipe)
makes a whole lot of cookies

300 ml cream (35-40% fat content)
300 ml golden syrup
700 g granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1,5 tsp cloves, ground
1 tsp cardamom, ground
1/2 tsp bitter orange peel, ground
2 tsp ginger, ground
1,5 tbsp baking soda
1 kg flour

Mix cream, golden syrup and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, or stir together by hand. Add all the spices and the baking soda, along with half of the flour. Gradually add the rest of the flour until you have a nice, supple dough that's not too tacky. Divide into six logs, and place each in a plastic bag or plastic wrap. Keep in the fridge for at least a few days, but preferrably a week.

Roll out and cut into desired shapes, and bake at 160°C for 8-10 minutes. (8 was perfect in my convection oven, for fairly small cookies.)

Recipe in Swedish:
Bästa pepparkakorna

Pumpkin Rolls

I was introduced to this amazing treat when I married my husband.
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Filling
1 cup powdered sugar
1 pkg. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 Tbsp butter

Beat eggs on high for 5 min.
Gradually add sugar.
Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice.
Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and nutmeg
Fold in pumpkin mixture
Spread onto greased parchment papered pan. (Top with nuts if using)
Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.
Turn onto or place parchment onto dish towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Start at the narrow end and roll towel and cake together.
Allow to cool.
Beat all filling ingredients together until smooth. Unroll and spread filling over cake. Roll cake back up and freeze.
Once cold cut into pieces. (hint: it won't cut very well unless it's cold)