Archive for August, 2007
August 16th, 2007
Warning! This blog post is probably not going to be worth reading for those who count weightwatchers points :).
For generations ice cream has been the perfect ending to a feast meal. Today´s modern industrially-produced ice cream is not associated with feast any longer. However, homemade ice cream is very easy to make. I have a Philips ice cream maker. I must admit, it is usually a “shelf-warmer”, which means, I don´t use it that often. But homemade ice cream with fine dairy products can become “a dessert for a king”.
Banana Split
Serves 2 non-weightwatching people
INGREDIENTS:
* 4 egg yolks *from happy hens
* 1 1/4 dl (125 ml) sugar
* 2 teaspoons * Vanilla sugar
* 2 dl (200 ml) whipping cream
* 2 dl milk (200 ml)
DECORATIONS:
* 2 bananas
* ½-1 dl (50 ml-100 ml) whipping cream
* fruit and berries
METHOD:
1. Beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy and frothy.
2. Stir in whipping cream and milk.
3. Do not beat any more, just stir until everything is well mixed.
4. Remove your cooling container from the freezer and insert it.
5. Switch on the ice cream maker.
6. Slowly pour in your ice cream mixture through the hole of the lid.
7. Let your ice cream maker operate for 25-40 minutes.
8. Peel the bananas, cut them lengthwise, and place the halves on a plate.
9. Scoop the ice cream between the banana halves, and decorate with whipped cream, fruits and berries.
* OR cut open a vanilla bean lengthwise, place the bean in the milk, and bring the milk to the boil. Allow the milk too cool, and scrape the seeds from the pod. Then add the milk to the egg mixture.
* use an eggbase that has been heated to a temperature of 160 F [ab. 71 C] , if you are uncertain of the quality of the eggs.
July is National Ice Cream Month in a certain part of the world (USA), and the third Sunday of July is National Ice Cream Day. A designation made by late President Ronald Regan back in 1984. How do Americans celebrate Ice Cream Day and Ice Cream Month? I am curious. Anybody know?
When in Rome, I did as most Romans seemed to do. I had Ice Cream Day every day. I know, ice cream has lots of calories, but a genuine Italian gelato contains no cream. Genuine gelato has “more taste and less fat”. Ice cream has “more fat and less taste”.
There are gelaterias everywhere, and the doors are often wide-open.
I checked out the offerings, stopped by the cash register, told them what I liked to have; a cone or a cup, large, medium or small. Then I paid, and was given a receipt. This receipt I presented at the ice cream counter, where I could choose from the flavors. A ceremonious way to buy ice cream, but it was overwhelming to choose from about 60 different flavors.
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August 16th, 2007
Placed in Piazza Campo de’ Fiori, Rome, is an old restaurant called La Carbonara. This name has nothing to do with the classic Italian dish Spaghetti alla carbonara.
At the beginning of last century there was a coal shop in the neighbourhood. One day the owner of this shop decided to open an inn close to the shop. He called it Il Carbonaro.
Later on the inn was moved to Campo de’ Fiori square, and the name was changed to La Carbonara. Today it is a pricy type of eating establishment. However, they have a good quality cuisine, specialized in typical Roman Cooking. They serve Penne alla carbonara.
Spaghetti cooked alla carbonara is what you cook at home when you are in a hurry. Most international recipes call for cream. The traditional Spaghetti alla carbonara shall never have cream, only pork (pancetta), pasta, eggs, cheese, and black pepper. Pancetta isn´t available at my supermarket. But any good quality bacon will do too.
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4
* 400-500 g spaghetti
* 200 g bacon, cubed
* butter (optional)
* 3-4 egg yolks
* 1,5 dl (150 ml) Parmesan cheese, grated
* 1,5 dl (150 ml) Pecorino cheese, grated
* 4 tablespoons cream
* 1 - 1½ tablespoon black pepper, freshly ground
* 3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped (optional)
* a pinch of salt
METHOD:
1. Cook spaghetti in a large kettle of boiling salted water, until “al dente”.
2. Fry the bacon in a large frying pan until the fat comes out.
3, Beat the egg yolks with salt, the grated cheeses, cream and parsley.
4. Season with black pepper.
5. Drain spaghetti, pour it into the frying pan with the bacon.
6. Turn the heat on low.
7. Stir around to flavor the spaghetti with the bacon.
8. Add the beaten egg mixture, stirring carefully, avoiding the egg mixture to cook. The heat of the spaghetti will be enough to warm up the egg mixture.
Serve immediately.
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August 16th, 2007
Eating out in Rome can be very expensive. Touristy restaurants with English menus tend to be more expensive than restaurants a block or two away from touristy areas. If you go to a trattoria or a pizzeria on side streets, you don´t have to eat a full meal, and you don´t have to pay for a full meal. Certain places sell food by weight. They have a counter with different types of pizzas (and other dishes). You choose a piece or two, they will weigh it, and you pay for the weight.
A large pizza cut into slices can be shared by two or three adults. So, for us pizza was great for lunch. Simply thin bread garnished with small amounts of flavorful tomatoes and cheese. Most Swedish pizzerias serve monstrous pizzas. They are larger than the plate, and covered with fat toppings such as Bearnaise sauce and fried meat. I get a food coma after such a meal.
Pizza (originally a Neapolitan dish) is simple. I haven´t baked a real pizza at home for ages. Once I had a recipe, which was full proof. Even my father liked that pizza. But I have lost the recipe. Now I have tried to recreate it from my memory.
INGREDIENTS:
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 25 g yeast
* 150 ml warm water
* 5 dl (500 ml) flour
* 2 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
FOR THE TOPPING:
* 400 g tinned tomatoes, chopped
* 4 tablespoons tomato pure
* 10-12 tinned Swedish anchovy fillets, or some sardelles (real anchovy)
* 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 24 olives
* 300 g Grevé cheese, grated
* 50 g Parmesan cheese, grated
* 3 teaspoons oregano (or more)
* 4 tablespoons olive oil
METHOD:
* Crumble the yeast in a bowl, and add lukewarm water.
* Stir until yeast is dissolved.
* Add oil, salt, and sieved flour.
* Mix well with a wooden spoon to blend everything together.
* Place the dough on a clean, floured surface, and kneed until smooth.
* Transfer dough to a clean bowl, and cover with a towel.
* Leave it in a warm place for ab. 60 min.
* Preheat oven to 250°C [480°F].
* Turn out the dough onto a floured surface, and shape it into four balls.
* Roll out each ball thinly.
* Brush two baking trays with olive oil and place the pizzas on the trays.
* Mix the tomato puré with the chopped tomatoes.
* Spread the mixture all over the dough.
* Sprinkle with chopped garlic.
* Garnish with drained anchovies and olives.
* Sprinkle with cheese and oregano.
* Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
* Cook in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and crispy.
You can put two baking trays in an hot air oven at the same time. In an ordinary oven, just swap the positions of the trays after ab. 10 minutes.
May I recommend my Swedish pizza salad? It goes not only with pizza; it goes with almost anything. Here it is: Pizza Salad
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August 16th, 2007
Pizza – pasta – pancietta – gelato – panini – limoncello - bruschetta – prosciutto - and more ….
Now I am back home from Italy. I am back home from Rome, where I have spent some lovely weeks. Well, the hot weather was not always enjoyable. The well equipped apartment at 4th floor of an ancient building (without elevator) was located only a few steps from Piazza Campo de´ Fiori.
Piazza Campo de´Fiori is perhaps the most famous of Rome’s many markets. Here you can buy all your fresh fruit and vegetables. This is a square with many faces. In the morning: A colorful food market. In the mid-afternoon: The garbage trucks arrive and the square is cleaned by a large team of street cleaners. The garbage trucks generates very high noise levels. Late afternoon: Rather quite. At night: A very lively place with its bars, pizzerias, restaurants, street musicians, clowns and mime artists.
There was a historic food (butcher) shop (Antica Norcineria Viola), located on the ground floor of the old house where I was staying. This food shop have an excellent selection of cold cuts, and good Italian antipasti meats. “Sausage curtains” were hanging over the counter. The nice man behind the counter was very generous, and offered free taste of Italian pork sausages.
Antipasti
A lot of Italian dishes are of the quickly cooked, promptly eaten variety, and Italian dinners often begin with an antipasti. One night we visited a Vineria, ordered and had “antipasti “. However, afterwards we were too stuffed. There was no room in our stomachs for “secondo piatti” (main course) and “dolche” (dessert).
Next time I am inviting friends for a late evening snack, I am planning to invite them to an “Italian Antipasti Party”.
INGREDIENTS:
* A plate with assorted Italian cheeses.
* Assorted thinly sliced meats, such as salami, prosciutto and Parma ham.
* Small bowls with marinated olives.
* Red Italian wine.
* Lots of fresh bread, and a fruity olive oil, of course.
©2007 This post was created by Karin at My Recipes http://minareceptsamlingar.blogspot.com and has not been approved for use by any other site.
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August 16th, 2007
Midsummer Eve always falls on the third Friday in June. It is a survival of Teutonic pagan festivals celebrating the summer solstice. Also known as St. John´s Eve. Celebrations continue into Midsummer Day. I am not going to bore you with any details about the traditions of Swedish Midsummer. You can read about them here4 Midsummer and some traditions or here4 Midsummer .
A typical Midsummer meal consists of different kinds of herring served with sour cream (gräddfil), chives and fresh potatoes, schnapps and fresh strawberries.
One of my family´s favorite dishes is the so-called Schnapps Salad. (Nubbesallad) served with a small glass of Scandinavian liquor distilled from a grain or potato mash and often flavored with caraway seeds. The main salad ingredient is Matjes Herring. Matjes means maiden. Matjes herring is made from female fish that have not spawned. They are filleted and prepared with salt, vinegar, sugar, and spices.
INGREDIENTS:
* 300 g Matjes Herring, cut into small pieces
* 1½ dl (150 ml) mayonnaise
* 50 - 100 g crème fraiche
* 4 tablespoons smoked Swedish Caviar (a creamed cod roe paste)
* 1 red onion, finely chopped
* ½ dl (50 ml) leek, finely chopped
* ½ dl (50 ml) dill, finely chopped
* 5 boiled, cold potatoes, cut into small dices
* ab. 3 dl hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
* parsley, finely chopped
METHOD:
1. Mix créme fraiche, mayonnaise, caviar, onion, leek and dill.
2. Stir down matjes herring and potato.
3. Garnish with egg and parsley.
This year I am not going to celebrate Midsummer in Sweden. I am going to Rome, Italy, to stay with a son for quite a while. I suppose I am going to do in Rome as the Romans do.
See you at Piazza Campo di Fiori!
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August 16th, 2007
Swedish: “Tjälknöl”
English: “Frozen Lump”
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 6 - 8
1 - 1,5 kg (1000 g - 1500 g) frozen roast; beef, moose or deer, boneless
MARINADE:
2 liter (2000 ml) water
1 ½ dl (150 ml) salt
½ dl (50 ml) sugar
4 - 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
10 black peppercorns
2 dl (200 ml) fresh herbes OR 2 tablespoons dried herbs (thyme, rosemary, basil, chives, parsley…)
METHOD:
* Preheat oven to 75 - 80°C (170°F)
* Take meat out of your freezer, and put it on the roven rack.
* Place it in the lower part of the oven.
* Place a pan underneath.
* Bake meat for about 10 - 12 hours (overnight)
* Insert a thermometer after 7 - 8 hours.
* Meat is ready at 65 - 75C (Medium rare 145F, Medium 160F, Well done 170F)
MARINADE:
* Bring water, salt, sugar, and black peppercorns to a boil.
* Remove from heat, add garlic and herbs.
* Allow marinade to cool.
* Pour it into a strong plastic bag.
* Put the hot meat into the bag, seal the bag.
* Make sure that the meat is emerged in the marinade.
* Allow the meat to marinade for ab. 5 hours,
* Baste and turn it a couple of times.
* Pour out the marinade, cut meat in paper thin slices.
* Serve with a potato gratin and a salad.
(A potato salad instead of a potato gratin works fine too).
No, this dish is no joke. I was told that this recipe was invented by coincidence and forgetfulness, half and half. A piece of frozen moose meat was put in the oven to be defrosted. Then forgotten until the next morning. However, it was not at all spoiled. The meat was placed into brine. Four hours in the brine and the meat was easy to cut into thin slices.
I like the meat to be spicier. A brine isn´t enough spicy for me. However, not everybody does like garlic and herbs. Some like to put juniper berries into the marinade. I do not. Juniper berries have such a bittersweet taste so I don´t use them together with herbs.
This dish has many advantages. It is great for a buffé with many guests. Leftovers can be kept in the refridgerator for several days. Delicious in sandwiches. A potato salad instead of a potato gratin works fine too.
Next time I am serving this meat at a buffé, I´m going to try this dressing, allowing each guest to spoon a more spicy dressing over their meat:
INGREDIENTS: 4 tbsps freshly pressed lime juice, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tbsps Asian fish sauce, 2 tbsps finely chopped spring onions, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsps chopped parsley, 1 teaspoon chili flakes.
Copyright ® 2007. It has come to my attention that ignorant people blatantly make use of copyright protected material. Every hosting company has very strict rules for clients about copyright infringement. Obviously not every host has. My RSS feed is for personal, noncommercial use only. If you are perusing this post on a site that is neither My Recipes nor your news aggregator, the Web site you are reading has likely stolen my material, and I’d like to know about it. Please send me an e-mail at kireneATspray.se. Splogs (Spam+Blogs) need to be stopped. Google and Yahoo have added check-off boxes for reporting spam. Thanks for your assistance in this matter.
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August 16th, 2007
“Tunnbröd” (thin bread) is a Swedish flatbread and comes in many variants. It can be soft, or it can be hard and crispy. The dough is made from any combination of wheat, barley and rye. From my point of view, “tunnbröd” looks like Matzoth (Jewish in origin). Flat, perforated crisp crackers of flour and water, baked in large rounds or squares. I am not familiar with this bread, so, I really cannot tell. Perhaps somebody else knows.
This website has recipes for “tunnbröd”, unfortunately only available in Swedish 4 Homemade “Tunnbröd”
Crispy “tunnbröd” differs from “knäckebröd” (crisp bread). It is thinner, more compact and contains less air bubbles.
Soft “tunnbröd” is sometimes used as a wrap for other food, not unlike a crêpe or burrito. A popular fast food dish is soft “tunnbröd” rolled around mashed potatoes and a hot dog. A substitute for the soft variant in the U.S. could be a floppy flour tortilla.
This is a dish that is popular in Sweden, often served as a starter at restaurants.
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4
* 4 pieces of crisp “tunnbröd”
* 250 g smoked salmon
* 1 hardboiled egg, finely chopped
* 2 tablespoons dill, chopped
* ½ dl (50 ml) mayonnaise
* ½ - 1 dl (50 - 100 ml) crème fraiche
* black pepper to taste
GARNISH:
50 g caviar (red fish roe)
dill sprigs
lemon
METHOD:
1. Hold the bread in the steam over a pan of boiling water.
2. Steam each bread soft and shapeable.
3. Put immediately on upside down mugs.
4. Shape bread into a basket, and leave to dry.
5. Meanwhile cut the salmon into very small pieces.
6. Mix salmon, egg, and dill.
7. Mix mayonnaise, crème fraiche, and black pepper to taste.
8. Stir down salmon mixture, and fill the baskets with the mixture.
9. Garnish with caviar, segments of lemon, and a sprig of dill.
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August 16th, 2007
A simple, straight-forward recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 4
* 1 large yellow onion
* 200 g fresh mushrooms
* 300 g ground meat
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 3 cloves garlic, pressed
* 2 teaspoons chinese soy
* 3 - 4 dl (300 - 400 ml) cream
* cayenne pepper
* salt
METHOD:
1. Chop the onion and slice the mushrooms thinly.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet, fry and crumble the ground meat.
3. Add onion and mushroom.
4. Lower the heat, simmer for 5 - 7 minutes, and give it a stir now and then.
5. Add garlic, and season to taste with cayenne pepper.
6. Stir in cream and soy.
7. Simmer, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes.
8. Taste with salt.
Let´s have a Pasta Sauce Potlock Party!
There will be a large bowl with cooked tagliatelli, grated parmesan and salad on the table. I serve my sauce. You bring yours. I am thrilled! What will it be? A ragout or a sauce?
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August 16th, 2007
Today, on 6th of June, it´s holiday. It is the Swedish National Day. This day became the Swedish national day in 1983. Previously known as Swedish flag day. It marks the coronation of Gustav Vasa in 1523. This old king defeated the Danes and established Lutheranism in Sweden. This day also marks the adoption of one of our constitutions from 1809.
The Swedish Riksdag (parliament) only designated this day a public holiday in 2005. Many immigrants associate the day with receiving Swedish citizenship. They celebrate living in a free and independent country.
There are celebrations in Stockholm, 600 kilometers away. I do not know what to do with a holiday in the middle of the week.
Anyway, here you are. I hereby give you the recipe of our National Day Pastry. A result of a pastry chef competition. The prize winner was Helena Bergmark.
4The Recipe in Swedish
INGREDIENTS:
10 Servings
LAYER:
300 g almond paste, grated
150 g butter
3 eggs, slightly beaten
TOPPING:
100 g almond paste, grated
about 2 tablespoons orange liqueur, (Grand Marnier) or fresh orange juice
1 l (1000 ml) strawberries
lemon balm
METHOD:
* Preheat oven to 175° C [350°F].
* Line a smaller oven pan (ab. 18×24 cm) with parchment paper.
* Grate almond paste.
* Crumble butter and almond paste in a mixing bowl.
* Add slightly beaten eggs and mix to form a mass.
* Spread batter evenly, 1 cm thick, in the oven pan.
* Bake in the centre of the oven, 12-15 minutes.
* Allow to cool.
The topping:
* Mix grated almond paste and liqueur, or orange juice.
* Spread the mixture on top of the almond paste layer.
* Cut into squares or ovals.
* Slice the strawberries lengthwize.
* Place the slices in the almond paste mixture.
* Garnish with lemon balm and a flag.
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August 16th, 2007
I was going to bake this cake in April. We had invited guests for dinner. I needed ripe passion fruits at once. The perfect coffee cake, I thought. However, the passion fruits were hard as stones and looked more or less like purple plums. How long would it take for them to ripen? A week or a month? No one knew.
Now I am able to purchase wrinkled and crumpled passion fruit. Its seeds add a special taste and color to this sticky chocolate cake.
INGREDIENTS:
12 pieces
3 dl (300 ml) flour
4 dl (400 ml) sugar
8 tablespoons cacao powder
3 teaspoons vanilla sugar
2 dl (200 ml) margarine, melted
4 eggs
100 g white chocolate ( check that it contains a high level of cocoa butter)
2 passion fruits
METHOD:
* Heat oven to 175°C [ 350°F].
* Melt margarine.
* Mix flour, cacao powder, sugar and vanilla sugar in a bowl.
* Mix the dry ingredients with margarine.
* Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
* Pour batter into a greased baking pan, 24 cm in diameter
* Bake in the lower part of the oven for 30-40 min.
* The cake should be moist and sticky in the middle.
* Allow the cake to cool.
* Melt the white chocolate. (How to melt?)
* Spread evenly on top of the cake and allow it to stiffen.
* Scoop out the passion fruit seeds and sprinkle them over the cake.
Early Spanish Christianly minded explorers discovered this plant in South America. They considered the exotic flower symbolic of the crucifixion of Christ. The five petals and five sepals were thought to represent the 10 faithful apostles; the corona was the crown of thorns; the styles were the nails; the stamens suggested the wounds of Christ; and the tendrils were the scourges.
Because of the beautiful flowers the plant Passiflora Caerulea is cultivated in Sweden as a potted plant.
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