Chicken Soup

Ok, so I told you in an earlier post that I got Tana Ramsay's cookbook Home Made a while ago. I promised you a recipe for chicken soup. Time went by. Sorry. But finally, here it is! And I hope you'll find it worth waiting for! (As usual, I couldn't leave well enough alone and fiddled a little bit with this - if you want the original, do buy the book which is excellent!)

I have to admit that chicken soup always seemed like too much work - especially since I actually like the canned soup by Campbell's... but this one is obviously on a whole different level. I loved it.

Chicken Soup
Serves 4
based om a recipe from Home Made by Tana Ramsay

1 fairly small chicken (about 1 kg/2 lb)
1 carrot, peeled and cut into smaller pieces
1 large leek, white part only, sliced
2 yellow onions, chopped
2 bay leaves
6 black peppercorns
1-2 tsp dried tarragon
50 g butter
2 tbsp flour
100 ml heavy cream (double cream)
1 tbsp dry sherry or cognac
salt

Place the chicken, breast up, in a pot with the carrot and half of the chopped onions and leek. Add bay leaves, peppercorns, tarragon and a pinch of salt. Pour in enough water to almost cover the chicken, but let the top part of the breast be above water so it will steam. (This prevents it from becoming too dry.) Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Simmer on low heat for about 1,5 hours.

Remove the chicken, and let it cool until you can easily shred the meat into small pieces. Sieve the boiling liquid into a saucepan and let it reduce until you have about one litre.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and fry the remaining leek and onion until softened but don't let it color. Add the flour and stir really well to make a paste. Slowly add the boiling liquid from the chicken, a little at a time, and whisk well. When it's all added, bring to a boil, lower the heat and let it cook for about ten minutes. Use a handheld mixer or a blender to liquidize the soup.

Add the cream, sherry (or cognac) and finally the shredded chicken. Season with salt.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kycklingsoppa

A Yearning for Cheese

There's certain things you're advised not to eat while pregnant. Those things totally differ depending on which country you're in and what the current research says. In Sweden, women are told (among other things) to stay away from any raw, dried or cured meat (no parma ham for me...), to not eat their beef rare, to never have any soft cheeses (even if they're pasteurized), to avoid certain fishes because of the toxins, and to not drink a single drop of alcohol.

And I can't wait to eat cheese again. It's ok if you heat it up, which is what prompted the risotto you see above - it has gorgonzola, mushrooms, ham and broad beans - but I'm really missing the texture of it. Blue cheese. And chèvre. And brie. Oh well - only about six weeks to go! I wonder if they look at you funny if you bring cheese to the hospital..?

Weekend Cat Blogging

Ok, I think this Hello Kitty outfit is among the funniest things I've seen in a long time. I'd love get a kit - not for any of the cats to actually wear, but as a photo prop... however, my googling skills are apparently so-so, and I haven't found any place that actually lets me order. So, dear readers - does anyone know? Maybe some of you are in Japan? If you have any idea where I can get this - please do let me know! In return, I guarantee you super-cute photos eventually!

Klara, in the photo, is now almost ten months old! (Photo is a bit old, though. She's rarely still long enough for photo sessions at the moment.) She's becoming quite a teenager. Her eyes are now almost completely green, and she always sleeps in our bed. I don't regret keeping her one bit!

Sweet Asian Dipping Sauce

This is a very yummy sweet-tangy-aromatic sauce that I first tried at Dagmar's. She served it with chicken skewers, but this was so good I could have eaten it with a spoon. It goes equally well with dumplings, something fried, spring rolls, shrimp... whatever, really. It's not bad dipping lettuce or veggies in either!

Dagmar used fresh chili, I didn't have any at home so I used a bit of sambal oelek which is basically crushed chili in oil. I also played a bit with the proportions. Feel free to experiment!

Sweet Asian Dipping Sauce
Serves 2

75 ml rice vinegar
80 g sugar
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1/2 - 1 tsp sambal oelek
1 tbsp roasted peanuts, finely chopped

Mix rice vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and let it reduce for a few minutes. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Then, stir in all remaining ingredients. You might want to add a bit more rice vinegar if the sauce is too thick at this point.

Recept på engelska:
Söt asiatisk dippsås

Comfort Food Friday - Finally a decent mash

I know, I really ought to give you a recipe - you've barely had any all week! - but sorry. Instead, I give you... my first successful mashed potatoes. Ever.

You're probably thinking "hey, what's so special about that? Besides, ugly photo!" and here's the story. I love mashed potatoes. Yet, I've never made them myself. See, I'm married to a mash-hater. He won't eat it. And I won't make mashed potatoes just for myself. Or at least, I thought I wouldn't. I tried, once, about eight years ago. It failed miserably, and I ended up with a gluey mess. Ever since, I've been afraid of trying. Instead, I've begged my friends to make me mashed potatoes, and I've eaten them in restaurants whenever I've had a chance.

Until a few days ago. I bought a 5 kilo bag of potatoes and decided to give it a go. I was wary, remembering the glue, and simply boiled the potatoes until very soft, mashed them with milk and butter (not too much milk at first) with a whisk (since I don't own a proper potato masher), and added more milk and butter, and salt, until I had a brilliant mash.

And then I ate it all. Yes, the entire pan. And you know what? I can't wait to make it again. And again.

For now, I'm satisfied with this very simple version, but I imagine I'd like to add more things to it eventually. What's your favorite variation on mashed potatoes?

Artichoke Recipe

Artichokes can be healthful and delicious, as long as this doesn't happen to you!

It’s been years since I ruined dinner badly enough to scrap it and order take out. Look, I’m not saying I’ve never had trouble boiling water, and there was that time in college when I set off Eric’s smoke detector, but my cooking mistakes are usually minor, food that’s a touch overdone or needs a bit more salt.  Not a disaster.

My recipe said that if you don’t have a steamer, you can boil artichokes, placed upright and arranged snugly in saucepan with a few inches of water. I think there was a typo, and what it meant was if you don’t have a steamer, don’t even think about boiling artichokes, placed upright and arranged snugly in saucepan with a few inches of water!

From All Artichoked Up on Simpson's Paradox.

Saffron Risotto with jumbo Shrimp

Frozen,raw shrimp isn't all that easy to find in my local stores, but jumbo shrimp is usually easier. I don't buy it often, but it's quite nice to have when you want to spruce up a simple dinner. I made a very simple saffron risotto (recipe here) and when it was all done, I just tossed some thawed shrimp in a warm pan with oil and crushed garlic and fried for a few minutes on each side. Dinner, done!

Waffle day!

It's that time of year again... Swedes love celebrating food-related "holidays" - such as Shrove Tuesday (semlor), or Cinnamon Bun Day. Waffle Day actually started as a linguistic misunderstanding - it's Lady Day today (that is, nine months before Jesus was born so.. well, let's not go into details) and in Swedish that's called "Vårfrudagen". That was quickly transformed into "Våffeldagen" which sounds somewhat similar - and *that* is why everyone eat waffles today.

Which Swedes normally don't do very often, by the way. It's definitely not a breakfast food here. I never eat it except for this day, and then I like them with jam and whipped cream. That's what we're having for dinner tonight...

Incredibly tasty juice!

I have a new favorite. (Well, aside from my juicer, which admittedly got more use right at the beginning.) Swedish Godmorgon Juice has come out with a lot of new, good stuff over the past few months, and the latest in their line up is an orange juice flavored with crushed strawberries and a few blackcurrants. I can't really taste the blackcurrants, but the strawberries are amazing. It's a little bit on the thick side, but it'd be perfect to freeze into granita or popsicles, or even whizz in a blender with ice to make a quick, semi-frozen treat.

Pesto Beef Pasta

Yet another weekday winner! Pasta is always a necessity here - we eat it for dinner at least a couple of times a week, normally. Good thing it's cheap, fast and versatile!

Pesto is delicious - a traditional Italien "sauce" that can certainly vary in many ways, but usually features basil, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan. Among other things. You can easily make your own, but there are also perfectly good jarred pestos out there.

Pesto Beef Pasta
Serves 2

200 g pasta
100 g fresh mushrooms, sliced
200 g beef
100 g pesto sauce
salt, pepper
butter or oil for frying

Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water.

Fry the mushrooms in a bit of oil or butter. Cut the beef into strips and fry in some oil or butter until browned, but still pink in the middle.

Drain the pasta, and mix with pesto, beef and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe in Swedish:
Pasta med pesto och biff

Do you eat enough fiber?

Probably not. I know I don't. At least now I know, I should say, because I attended a talk about fiber hosted by Axa, a Swedish producer of various grain products. They've recently launched two lines of functional food, one which is more heart-friendly and one which is more digestion-friendly, and had a lunch to present these new products.



The products are perfectly fine, but what really stuck in my mind was this tray. It shows how much fiber we should eat. Daily.



That's one serving of fiber-rich pasta. One serving of müesli. Three pieces of fruit. A carrot. Two slices of crisp bread, and one of dark rye. And a serving of chickpeas or other fiber-rich pulses. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty happy if I just have coarse bread with my breakfast. This was an eye-opener!

Not one that's likely to change my eating habits though, since I'm pretty happy with my fiber intake, but perhaps it's worth considering if you're having digestion or heart issues - fiber can be really good for you!

Coffee & Cardamom White Chocolate Biscotti

I really do love biscotti - crunchy little cookies that aren't too sweet, and the ones I make are also generally without any added fat. (Not saying that they're fat-free, though, as the eggs and the chocolate obviously contains plenty of fat.)

This is a pretty divine combination. I wish I had used a bit more coffee, or more potent beans, because the cardamom definitely took over, but since I love cardamom... well, they came out really nice. Perfect with a cup of coffee!

Coffee & Cardamom White Chocolate Biscotti
about 50 small cookies

2 eggs
200 g sugar
1 tbsp cardamom, freshly ground in a mortar and pestle
1 tbsp ground espresso beans
1 tsp salt
4-500 ml flour, spelt is fine if you've got it or use regular all-purpose
1 tsp baking powder
100 g white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Heat the oven to 180°C. Mix the eggs, sugar, cardamom, coffee and salt. Add 300 ml of flour, and the baking powder. Add the chocolate. Gradually add more flour if the dough is too sticky to handle - don't use so much that it gets crumbly, but it needs to be firm enough to be shaped.

Form ropes, about 2-3 cm, and place on a lined baking sheet.

Bake at 180°C for about 20 minutes. Remove the sheet, and when the ropes are cool enough to handle, cut them diagonally into biscotti and place them back in the oven at 100°C for about 20-25 minutes to dry out.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kaffe & kardemummabiscotti med vit choklad

Thai-style Chicken Bites

After the shortcut with very un-exciting ingredients, I had to post about a slightly more upscale canapé! Still a simple one though. You can totally make this with ready-cooked rotisserie chicken from the store, or just toss a bunch of boneless thighs in the oven until cooked through. In either case, it's rather effortless. And very, very good. The idea came from Rachel at Fresh Approach Cooking, who made this with duck. When I was first going to make it, I couln't find duck in any of my local stores, so I quickly decided to substitute chicken. Less rich, but still tasty.

Thai-style Chicken Bites
makes about 30

cooked chicken - about six boneless thigh fillets
5 tsp Japanese soy sauce
2 limes - juice and zest
1-2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1-2 tbsp thai basil, shredded
sugar to taste

1-2 large cucumbers to serve

Shred the chicken. In a bowl large enough to hold the chicken, mix soy sauce, lime zest, lime juice, ginger and basil. Season with a little bit of sugar. Add the chicken, mix well, and let this marinate for a couple of hours.

Cut thick, uneven slices of the cucumber, and carefully remove some of the seeds to make a little bowl for the salad to sit in. Serve with a small mound of chicken salad on top.

Recipe in Swedish:
Thaikyckling i gurkbåtar

Fairly disappointing noodle salad

I mentioned trying to make an Asian fingerfood night a few days ago. Well, this peanut noodle salad was certainly part of the plan but.. it really didn't work out. The dressing was great. The salad itself would have been great, but unfortunately the noodles were still warm when they were mixed with the dressing which caused them to soak up way too much. And instead of having glossy noodles covered in tasty dressing, I ended up with a salad that was dry and somewhat mealy. Needless to say, I won't be sharing the recipe.

However, if *you* have a favorite recipe for peanut noodle salad - please do share! I still have a craving for it.

Shortcuts

Here's one of the best shortcuts I know. It's perfect as a tiny snack to have with drinks, as it's very salty. People are always quite impressed, despite it being completely effortless, and it's embarrassing to give out the recipe.

See, here in Sweden you can get processed cheese in squeeze tubes. It comes in various flavors, such as bacon, shrimp and mushroom and it's extremely popular. Most people eat them on their breakfast sandwiches, and some cook with them as well. I'm always quite sceptical of processed food but the label isn't very scary here - it's made from actual hard cheese and then processed with special salts to make it melt. And then flavored with *actual* shrimp, bacon or mushrooms, or whatever flavor it happens to be. Not aromas, not extracts. It's not that bad.

Anyway, enough with the defense. This is really the only time I use them. And I pair them with ready-bought crispy little shells, croustades. Just half-fill them with cheese, and stick in a hot oven (200°C) for ten minutes or so. Voilà!

Dinner at Frantzén/Lindeberg

The cutest little jar, filled with almonds and macadamia nuts that were smoked. A great start!

We don't eat out a lot, but as we recently celebrated our tenth-year anniversary (that's ten years since we met - we've only been married for a little under four) we decided to really treat ourselves. We chose Frantzén/Lindeberg which is a small restaurant that opened about a year ago. They come highly recommended from many sources, and serve a fantastic and fun menu. And just today, they were awarded one star by the Guide Michelin! Congratulations!


My drink - orange, strawberry and pineapple juice.



A tower of amuse-bouches. At the bottom was a spoon with garlicky purée and crispy chicken skin. Next was a tiny macaron with foie gras and pear. On top is a little puff pastry with blue cheese, that only Per got.

We opted for the medium large tasting menu - you can really only choose between 6, 8 or 10 servings. The menu tells you some of the ingredients you'll be encountering, but nothing more than that. If you have any allergies or special needs (I wanted something pregnancy-safe, obviously, which meant two tiny substitutions), just let them know when you book.)


Our first appetizers. From right, it's a truffled pumpkin soup that was very rich, something with spider crab and some sort of jelly which was really the only dish I didn't love, and something that I can't for the life of me remember! Per got a beef tartare instead of the soup, on top of foie gras.


Per's favorite dish - their take on French Toast, with a parmesan purée, roasted shallots (I think) and served with a special soy infusion and very well aged balsamic vinegar

The meal was incredible. Just incredible. I took photos of everything, but I didn't take notes so I can't tell you *exactly* what we ate. Everything was described in detail by the two servers though - and they were also sommeliers. It's a tiny dining room, with just 16 seats, and there are no additional waiters. So, the sommeliers did all the serving, and they were really extremely knowledgeable about both the food and the wine. Per got the wine package, and it was definitely worth the extra money. I stuck to water... (but I did try a sip of everything he got.) The attention to detail is just stunning - everything is thought of, and we were made to feel extremely welcome. The whole meal was exciting - we couldn't wait to see what would come next, and it was just so much fun!


Brilliant bread - we were encouraged to try a piece of each.


And excellent olive oil and super-tasty butter that was imported from.. somewhere. It was much saltier than regular Swedish butter.


A perfectly cooked scallop.


Which was served with some smokey-roasted cauliflower.


More bread and butter. This time, coarser bread, and the butter was browned butter beaten with regular, cold butter to make a nutty, deep-tasting spread.


Poached fish (I really can't remember what kind - sorry!) on top of tomato marmelade with olive tapenade and some special beans that were picked on a specific date - August 13 2008, I think! Like I said, it's in the details!


The last main course, and probably my favorite. An extremely tender piece of veal, cooked sous-vide for three days. It was served with a truffle jus and onion cream.

They do play a lot with chemistry, but they don't take it over the top. It's clear that the ingredients come first, and that they only use advanced techniques to really make the food shine. Some things were clearly inspired by restaurants such as WD-50, The Fat Duck and El Bulli - and since I probably can't afford to eat at either one (if I even get a table), this is about as close as I'll get! The desserts were just as good as the other food, and that's no surprise since Daniel Lindeberg is a really good pastry chef.


The perfect transition from savoury to sweet - a little cheeseburger! It's really an almond macaron, with chocolate truffle for the hamburger, shredded mint for the salad, some sort of sweet jelly instead of cheese, and raspberries instead of tomatoes. It came with "mustard and ketchup", of course!


Apples and black currants, with vodka jelly and some sort of yogurt ice cream, if I recall correctly


Citrus pannacotta on poppyseed pound cake, with espresso ice cream


Various macarons


Chocolate truffles


The last dish - something like apple jelly and pop rocks, with eucalyptus mist


We were then sent home with a cute paper bag each.


And it contained breakfast! Bread, raspberry preserves, müesli and a chocolate truffle. I thought that was very sweet.

The drawback? Well, the price. Dinner for two, with wine for one, one glass before dinner and a whisky afterward, and a non-alcoholic drink for me came to 4000 SEK. Despite that, I'm dying to go back - soon!

Frantzén/Lindeberg
Lilla Nygatan 21
Stockholm (Old Town)

Spinach Bacon Gnocchi

Quick and easy dinners is really it for me right now. I can't stomach the idea of cooking something elaborate - I just can't. It's definitely the pregnancy. I can't seem to hold on to more complicated ideas, and just thinking about making more than two dishes makes me dizzy. (I had a serious meltdown the other night when we were making various asian fingerfood - it just wasn't working the way I'm used to.)

So - expect to see even more recipes like this. Fast. Simple. Few ingredients. And always really tasty.

I use several shortcuts in this dishes. I buy my potato gnocchi ready-made, at the store. By all means, make your own if you're so inclined. (Since that one time I tried and ended up with a gluey mass, I'll stick to store-bought for now.) Same for the sauce. I happen to love one of the ready-made cheese sauces available here (Kelda!) but you can certainly make a basic bechamel sauce and flavor it with whatever cheese you want. Or you can even skip the sauce altogether, but I like my gnocchi a bit saucy.

Spinach Bacon Gnocchi
serves 2

2 servings potato gnocchi
200 ml cheese sauce
140 g bacon, diced
80 g baby spinach
100 g button mushrooms
parmesan, grated
salt, pepper

Bring a pot of water to boil. Fry the bacon until crispy. Add the mushrooms and fry until they've colored a bit. Add the spinach and the cheese sauce and let it cook for a minute or so.

Boil the gnocchi until it floats to the top, which it will when it's done. Add this to the frying pan, stir everything together and add some grated parmesan. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Recipe in Swedish:
Gnocchi med spenat och bacon

Laver Lament

I thought I'd add laver, a kind of seaweed, to my diet for the iodine. I rarely use table salt, the primary source of iodine for Americans. Of course, I consume salt in processed foods, but that salt is not iodized.
Here are different types of seaweed for sale in Myeongdong. They may be seasoned, salted, or well-oiled.
Seaweed is ubiquitous in foods here. I always brush the green bits aside, though. I found a small pack at a convenience store:It sat in my cabinet for months until I decided to open it for a blog picture! I know people love rice with laver. In fact, you can buy it as a snack at convenience stores. I just can't do it, though, despite the health benefits. Maybe I should have been exposed to more foods as a kid.

Ladies Night - Mexican Potluck

Not Korean food, but food nonetheless. I hosted my first ever ladies' night on Saturday:Everyone prepared foods from scratch. My friend concocted a "Mexican salad dressing" with cheese, lime, and peppers. We used fresh lime and homemade simple syrup for our strong margaritas.

Here we are before our dinner. We're all leaving within the next four months, and this dinner was a "good-bye" for some.

My dinner plate: chicken enchiladas, salad, refried beans, Spanish rice. I made the refried beans myself using good old bagged beans. It makes a BIG difference.

After dinner we played a get-to-know-you game. The winner won this 'regifted' item. Some of you may recognize it as my husband's Lunar New Year gift! Note the missing bottle.

We finished our meal with fresh cut fruit and this low-fat flan. Delicious!

Very strange

Well, tonight's Swedish eurovision competition was extremely strange. The voting was... well, unpredictable to say the least. And the winner is a strange mix between disco and opera. It's on youtube, but I don't know if it'll be up for long...

EL FAMILY-CITA!!

Just a visit by the Phoenix bunch. Robert Page from Med To Go International accompanied by his son Johnny Rock Page super bike Daytona 2008 winner and his two little girls! Along with Michael Page and his beautiful wife Barbara.

The night lasted...a guess al night. However the Guacamole boy was nowhere in site we all still had a lot of fun!!