Happy new year - resolutions for 2016

Happy new year, dear blog readers!

My 2015 has been a good year. No life-changing events for me, but unfortunately plenty of bad news for people close to me. I've tried to show them a lot of love and support and I hope everyone will have a better year in 2016.

I thought I'd try to make a few blog-related resolutions. Most importantly, I will try to blog at least once a week. More, ideally - I really miss doing this regularly - but at least once a week.

In order to do that, I really need to make more of an effort in cooking again. We get stuck in ruts as I'm sure most families do, and I need to feel inspired again and plan out weekly menus. So I'll definitely attempt to do this.

And related to that, I need to use my cookbooks more. I want to try at least a new recipe, from a book, every other week.

So, to sum it up:

1. Blog posts every week
2. Plan what we eat - maybe not every week, but most
3. Try new things from cookbooks at least every other week

Do you have any food-related resolutions? Let me know! And have a very, very happy new year!

Cod with mushrooms and bacon

I don't eat fish all that often, but I always feel like I should. Here's a fine dish to add into the fish rotation - it's rustic and almost meaty, in fact. Make sure you use the best quality cod you can afford, I prefer organic and from a sustainable source. It will make a difference.

We ate this with mashed potatoes.

Cod with mushrooms and bacon
Serves 4

600 g fillet of cod (or other white, firm fish)
salt
2 tbsp butter
140 g bacon, chopped
300 g mushrooms, quartered
1/2 red onion, in thin wedges
1 tbsp balsamic wine vinegar
salt, pepper
handful of flat-leafed parsley, chopped

Salt the cod about ten minutes before you want to eat, and let it sit at room temperature.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove from pan. Add a little butter to the pan and fry the mushrooms and onion until browned and soft. Add the bacon back to the pan, and add the vinegar. Let this cook for a few minutes and season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, add the parsley.

For the fish, just heat the butter in a non-stick pan, and fry until lightly golden and cooked through. It's a delicate product, so treat it gently!

Breakfast idea

I think I've posted this exact same thing before but oh well. It's just so good. You know McDonalds has an Egg Mc Muffin? Well, this is that. But at home. The only caveat is that you need english muffins which are generally not sold in Sweden (but occasionally they can be found at The English Shop). So you either need to bake them yourself, which is quite hard work (anyone has a failproof recipe?) or you need to find them somewhere else. I found these particular ones in my freezer, since I stocked up last summer. 

So. Grab your muffin. Split it. Toast it. Fry bacon. Add bacon and a slice of cheddar cheese, and a perfectly fried egg. For those I use oiled metal rings. I fry in butter and I break the yolk before briefly flipping the over. Perfection. 

Dinner idea

Not a recipe as much as an idea - soft tortillas, filled with spiced pork tenderloin, softened peppers and onion, a wonderful guacamole, pickled red onion, grated cheese, and sour cream. 

Pistachio Feta Coriander Dip

Rarely do I read through a list of ingredients where every single thing sounds great. It didn't happen this time either, but it was pretty darn close. I was leafing through Persiana, the cookbook by Sabrina Ghayour that's at the top of my christmas wish list, and I stumbled upon a creamy dip with pistachios, feta and coriander as the stars. It had dill as well, which I don't like at all, and I changed the quantities to go with what I had at home. The result was glorious! Mostly salty and lemony but with a lovely crunch from the nuts.. oh, I can't wait to make this again!

Pistachio Feta Coriander Dip

one small bowl 

50 g pistachios (unsalted) 

1 tbsp olive oil

140 g feta cheese

large handful of coriander leaves (or two handfuls, really. Lots!)

1/2 garlic clove 

1/2 tsp sambal oelek (feel free to use red chili instead, and as much as you'd like - I like things mild...) 

zest and juice from 1/2 lemon 

2-3 tbsp greek yogurt 

Use a food processor. Start with the nuts and the oil and process briefly until coarsely chopped. Add everything else, and pulse until lovely and creamy. Taste to see if you want to adjust the seasonings. Then serve. Eat. Enjoy. Lick from bowl. 

Lamb meatballs

I've done so many variations on lamb meatballs, really. These were inspired by the lovely Persiana cookbook by Sabrina Ghayour, which I found at my local library a few days ago. Her version contained pine nuts and raisins as well, but as I was out of pine nuts I had to omit those, and I'm not the biggest fan of raisins so I skipped that as well. But feel free to add in both! I changed a bunch of other things too, but loved the idea of adding cinnamon. My kids LOVED these - they're both pretty fussy eaters so I was thrilled that we could actually enjoy something together for a change. I 

Lamb meatballs

serves 4 (at least 2 adults, and 2 kids - I'd do more for 4 adults) 

500 g lamb mince

1/2 yellow onion, very finely minced

large handful of coriander, stalks and leaves, very finely minced

1 egg

zest of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cumin

salt 

Oil and butter for frying

Mix all the ingredients for the mince. Mix pretty well, it'll help the meatballs hold their shape and stay intact. Shape little meatballs, or any shape you like - I went for the fairly traditional oblong k�fte (kefta) but that's up to you. 

Heat the oven to 150�C. Fry the meatballs in butter and (or) oil, until well browned but then move them to the oven and let them cook through. (I check mine with a thermometer, and I want them to be at least 70�C.)

Serve, with anything - we ate tomato bulgur and pistachio-feta dip. 

Tomato Bulgur

One of my favorite fast food restaurants served different varieties of chicken, and side dishes. I always got the crispy chicken fingers, and for sides always a tomato bulgur salad and really good noodles. And a chilli aioli, too. Oh I loved that place. It's sadly no more, and I never did figure out exactly how they made their tomato bulgur salad. It was served cold, and a little bit like this one but with added raw red onion, tomatoes, red pepper and coriander.

This isn't that, exactly, but it's a really good base. We ate this with lamb meatballs - k�fte - and a yummy pistachio feta dip that I will soon tell you about.

Tomato Bulgur
serves 3-4

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, very finely minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp butter
250 ml bulgur wheat
500 ml water
salt, black pepper

Heat the oil in a large frying pan (that you have a lid for). Fry the onion on medium heat for two minutes - it should soften but not brown. Add the tomato paste and stir well, fry for a few more minutes. Be careful, you don't want this to burn. Add the butter and when it's melted, the bulgur. Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Special pop-up banquet - and a chance to win tickets!

Lidl is a grocery chain, present in several European countries. I mostly go there for their fun seasonal stuff, ice cream, and their really great fruit and veg department. I don't have a store very close to me, or I'd definitely shop there more often.

Last year, they partnered up with a famous chef to create a pop-up restaurant, to showcase their ingredients. This year, they have something even more special planned: a one night only pop-up banquet called Le Bon, on December 10. The chef is Titti Qvarnstr�m from restaurant Bloom in the Park, who was the first Swedish female chef to receive a Michelin star.

So - some facts. The banquet will be held at Globen Annexet, on December 10. Anyone can buy a ticket tomorrow, December 2, but you better hurry - they'll sell out fast. Titti will have 50 more chefs to help her serve everyone - 1300 guests! The proceeds from the banquet will go to cancer research, Barncancerfonden. The menu - and therefor the recipes - are secret until the big night, but after that I hope I can share them with you.



Careful readers might note that this is on the same night as the big Nobel banquet. If you're not invited to that - I know I'm not - this is your chance to go to another big, fun, spectacular party! I've been given the opportunity to give away two tickets to Le Bon. If you want to win, tell me your favorite party recipe in the comments. Two readers will win one ticket each. Last date to enter is Sunday December 6, and the winners will be contacted via e-mail shortly after that.

Happy first of Advent!

Today is the first Sunday of advent, which means christmas is coming. We've put all our lights up and have spent the afternoon baking saffron buns with grandma and grandpa. Yummy and fun. Have you tried Swedish saffron buns yet? I have tons of recipes for it - check out some of these.

Saffron buns with white chocolate

Almond filled saffron buns

Lucia buns - plain saffron buns

Today, we made half plain buns - lussekatter - and half filled with butter and almond paste.

A great burger place in Stockholm - Franky's Burger

I can really recommend a tiny little burger place in Stockholm - Franky's Burger. It doesn't look like much but it's really high quality. If you happen to be nearby, do make sure you drop by. The address is Sveav�gen 77.



Super juicy burger, crispy and delicious fries and a smoky, spicy chipotle dip. Highly recommended


Here's what it looks like - just a small shack.

Roasted butternut squash soup

So, Halloween came and went. We had  a really fun party for the kids and their friends - 14 kids in total. They really enjoyed "mummy sausages dipped in blood", "grape caterpillars", "icy gummyworms" (one little girl sat petrified for several minutes, believing those were real) and "graveyard muffins". Lots of fun!

However, we didn't carve a pumpkin. I couldn't find a good one in time, and then I sort of just ran out of time. We had some other decorations, but Titus was disappointed since he had looked forward to a pumpkin soup. (Not that you actually want to make soup from your carved pumpkin, but he doesn't know that...) So, last night I made this lovely soup instead. Very yummy! Well, I thought so at least - neither the kids nor the husband were fans. Oh well...

Roasted Butternut Squash soup

1 small butternut squash - peeled and cut into large dice
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
olive oil
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
about 1 litre chicken stock
100 ml cream
salt

Start by tossing the squash with a little olive oil and salt, and roast in a 200�C oven for 20-25 minutes. It should be lightly browned.

In a soup pot, heat some olive oil and saut� carrot and onion with coriander and cinnamon until soft - about ten minutes. Add the squash dice, and the chicken stock. Cook for at least ten minutes on low heat, make sure everything is nice and soft.

Use a blender, or an immersion blender, to make the soup completely smooth. Stir in a little cream if desired (always desired in my family), and season with salt and pepper to taste.

We served this with crispy fried bacon and sour cream and a nice sourdough baguette.

Slowcooked Chicken Parmesan Soup

I recently got a new crock-pot! It was sent by the Swedish crock-pot agent for me to evaluate, and since I love my old one as well, I was really eager to try it. The new one is much more advanced than my old and has saut� settings as well as settings for baking, roasting and cooking rice so I have quite a bit of experimenting to do.

However, for my first time cooking with the new pot, I wanted a simple recipe. I'd be out for most of the day and needed a quick dinner when I got home, so decided to do a chicken parmesan soup. It was really tasty - a hit for at least one of the kids and we adults enjoyed it a lot. I specify my cooking times below but it's adaptable, you could easily do shorter or longer. And I cooked the pasta separately because once we were home, we were in a hurry. If I'd had more time, I'd have added it to the pot maybe half an hour or so before eating. 

Slowcooked Chicken Parmesan Soup

2 chicken breasts

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

400 g crushed tomatoes

800 ml water

2 chicken stock cubes 

4 stalks fresh oregano

1 tsp chili pepper flakes

2 large handfuls grated parmesan cheese

and to finish: 

1 handful grated parmesan cheese

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

200 g cooked pasta, small shapes

100 ml cr�me fraiche

Place chicken, garlic, onion, pepper, tomatoes, water, stock cubes, oregano, chili and cheese in the slowcooker. Cook for about 4 hours on high, or 6-8 hours on low. We did an additional hour on low or so, but that was just for our convenience, it was done before that. 

Just before serving, shred the chicken, stir in the additional cheese, fresh basil, cooked pasta and completely optional, creme fraiche. Serve and enjoy!

Chocolate Snickers Cookies

I made these awesome cookies for a party. Super simple to make and so delicious. I love the combination of sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy and of course, chocolate. Never too much chocolate! In fact, I think I'll drizzle these with dark chocolate next time...

I'm also thinking you can vary these with other candy bars - as long as you cut the into thin strips that will fit along the middle of the dough, you're golden.

I found the recipe at a Swedish baking blog - Fridas bakblogg. 

Chocolate Snickers Cookies
about 30

150 g butter
150 g sugar
225 g flour
3 tbsp golden syrup
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1,5 tsp baking powder
1,5 tsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

3 Snickers bars, each cut into three thin slices, length-wise
1 egg
handful of salty peanuts, coarsely chopped

Cream the butter and sugar. Add flour, syrup, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla. Mix into a nicely uniform dough - I use my Kitchen-Aid for this.

Shape two long, thin rolls of dough and place on a baking sheet. Score both down the middle. In this score, insert the thin planks of Snickers, and pinch slightly so that the rolls hold together.

Brush with eggwash and sprinkle with lots of salty peanuts.

Bake at 175�C for 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool slightly before cutting them at an angle, then let them cool completely before you attempt to move them. (Or eat them.)

Frozen Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche drizzle

This recipe is a real oldie. I've had it for ages and my mom often made it when I grew up - I think she got it from a neighbor when Philadelphia cream cheese was first introduced to Sweden. I've actually blogged about it before, but considering that was NINE years ago I think it's fine to do a re-post. I recently made it again, and inspired by a very similar-tasting paleta I had in Copenhagen last summer at Hija de Sanchez I decided to top the whole thing with a drizzled Dulce de Leche and some raspberries. Delicious.

Frozen Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche drizzle 
serves 12

200 gram cream cheese
3 eggs, separated into yolks and whites
200 ml sugar
300 ml heavy cream
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
finely grated peel of one big lemon

150 g digestive biscuits
50 g butter, melted

Use a springform pan. Blitz the digestive biscuits in a food processor. Add in the melted butter. Press this firmly into the base of your pan. Place in the fridge while you proceed.

Cream the cheese, egg yolks and the sugar with the lemon peel. Beat the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Carefully blend with the cheese cream. Beat the egg whites until stiff, and fold those in too. Pour carefully on top of the crust in the pan. Put in the freezer for at least six hours or overnight. On the day of serving, take it out and remove it from the tin - you might need to carefully run some hot water on the outside. Place on a serving plate and drizzle with dulce de leche.

Take out about twenty minutes before you want to eat and top with the berries. This keeps well in the freezer (but better without the fruit).

Cheesecake brownies with red currants

An update on my previous recipe for cheesecake brownies! These are less sweet because of the berries and a great afternoon treat with coffee.

Cheesecake brownies with red currants
makes a large pan - about 40 small pieces

Brownie base:
180 g butter
300 g sugar
140 g dark chocolate
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
150 g flour

Cheesecake topping:
400 g cream cheese
2 egg yolks
120 g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Red currants - mine were frozen but fresh are fine. Use as much as you want - I had two large handfuls.

Start with the brownie part - melt together butter and chocolate. I always do this in the microwave, but feel free to use a double boiler if you want to. Stir in the sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and finally the flour. Pour into a well-lined pan.

Sprinkle over the berries.

Stir together all the ingredients for the cheesecake topping, and dollop on top of the brownie. Use a stick, or a knife, to swirl the together for a marble effect. (If you can be bothered. Honestly it's ok to skip it.)

Bake at 175�C for 30-35 minutes. It should just feel set, and a tester should come out fairly clean.

Cool completely before slicing.

Sweet and spicy carrots with feta

I made this side dish to go with bbq pork and a cole slaw, and it turned out to be so delicious I couldn't even take a photo before it was pretty much gone. As any food blogger knows, that means it was huge successful. I did have some on my plate so I managed to snap this measly pic - but I have to make it again, for sure. And soon! It's a perfect fall side dish and goes well with just about anything.

I really didn't measure my spices - I just can't be bothered but just sprinkle on a bunch and I'm sure you'll be fine. I used mostly cumin and chili, and just a little coriander and garlic.

Sweet and spicy carrots with feta

1 kilo of carrots (about 2 pounds) - ideally organic, they have much more flavor
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp runny honey
salt
cumin
ancho chili powder
ground coriander
garlic powder

150 g feta cheese

Peel the carrots and cut into smaller pieces - I split most of mine in 2 or 3 pieces and then halved them. Place in a large oven proof dish. Drizzle with olive oil and honey, and sprinkle on all the spices. Give it a good toss.

Bake at 175�C for about 30-35 minutes. The carrots should be fairly softened.

Crumble over the feta and bake for about 10-15 more minutes. And serve. You're done!

Titus' Vanilla Cake

Titus and Dante wanted to make a cake. I had them make this  classic quatre-quarts plus a little vanilla, but you can add whatever you'd like. For vanilla though, use vanilla extract or the scraped out seeds from a fresh vanilla pod if you have it - that's the best.

This is, literally, easy as cake. Easy enough for kids, for sure. And delicious! Leftovers? Well, this keeps well-wrapped in the fridge for several days. Or you can toast a slice or two, top with with berries and whipped cream perhaps?

Titus' Vanilla Cake

200 g eggs (3 or 4, depending on how large they are) 

200 g sugar

200 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
200 g butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

Beat eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Stir in flour and baking powder, and the melted butter and the vanilla. Pour into a well-lined cake pan and bake in a 200�C oven, for 30-35 minutes. Check to make sure it's baked through.

Colorful nacho dinner!

There are nachos, obviously, topped with beef, avocado, tomatoes, a lovely cheese sauce from Stonewall Kitchen, cilantro, pickled onions and sour cream. Yum!

Lunch

A simple lunch from last weekend. Sausage from one of my favorite stores - Urban Deli - with parmesan, and a simple salad with apples, fennel, red onion, cucumber and snow peas.

Homemade Egg McMuffin

Oh how delicious! I happen to love Egg McMuffins, and I've always been wanting to make them at home. However, you can't buy the muffins themselves in Sweden and I haven't found a great recipe for them. So on a recent trip, I was pretty excited to find these in a grocery store in Paris. I bought a few packets and last Saturday, we had this awesome breakfast. So easy really - toasted muffin, crispy bacon, a slice of cheddar and an egg. Yum!!

Nectarine Salsa

Here's a great little salsa that's perfect with grilled pork of some sort, or with chicken. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Nectarine Salsa

2 large nectarines, diced
200 g cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 red onion, finely diced
1 lime, juiced
2 tbsp mango chutney
1 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper


Mix everything together and let it sit for a little while before serving.

Instagram baking challenge 2

For our second week of Instagram Baking Challenge, we made these overnight rye buns. I wasn't crazy about the result - they look pretty but tasted a bit boring. So no recipe this time! But do follow us on Instagram and join in the fun!

Fish Tikka Masala

Here's a dish we first got in one of those pre-planned grocery bags that are so popular in Sweden at the moment. We've tried several providers, and this particular recipe comes from City Gross. We actually like their service quite a bit, they're very reasonable and the food was good. This fish dish was our absolute favorite! So easy and so tasty, it's something we're definitely making again. We modified the recipe to work for us.

Fish Tikka Masala

serves 4

500 g white fish (we had cod) 

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tbsp cooking oil

400 g crushed tomatoes (one can) 

400 g coconut milk (one can) 

1 tbsp concentrated vegetable stock

1-2 tsp honey

salt, pepper

Heat the oil in a large pot in low heat. Fry the onions, garic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne pepper for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, coconut and the concentrated stock and cook for ten minutes.  Taste, and season with honey, salt and pepper. Mix the sauce with a handheld blender until smooth. 

Dice the fish and add to the sauce. Let it simmer on low heat until it's cooked through.

We served it with cooked rice and a simple salad - the dressing is just plain yogurt with salt, dried mint, a tiny bit of sugar, and then thinned with a little water. 

Instagram Baking Challenge number 1

Those of you who follow me on Instagram might have noticed that I've started up something called Instagram Baking Challenge together with my friend Dagmar. Each Sunday, we choose a recipe to make the following week and then we post about it with the tag #instabakingchallenge

Anyone can join in! The idea is just to get us inspired to bake again, no pressure! For our first week, we made this delicious and easy bread, originally posted by Matgeek. It's really simple and my kids loved it - I made two batches that were completely devoured. 

Rye bread with crushed rye and molasses 
Yield: 2 loaves

300 g water
60 g rye flour
60 g crushed rye
300 g water (again)
25 g fresh yeast 
20 g salt 
50 g butter at room temperature
600 g all-purpose flour 
40 g dark syrup/molasses

Bring the first 300 g of water to a boil. Measure rye flour and crushed rye into a bow and add the hot water. Stir well until smooth. Cover and let it cool. 

Heat the second 300 g of water until just tepid. Crumble in the yeast and let it dissolve. Add salt and butter. 

Add all the rye batter from the first step. Add flour and syrup as well. Stir until smooth, cover and leave for ten minutes. 

Knead for 5-6 minutes. The dough will be very loose, that's ok. 
Cover and let it rise for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, divide in half and shape two loaves. Place in two buttered bread tins and leave to rise for 30 minutes. (Honestly, you can skip this step - just scrape the dough straight into the bread tins. It worked out fine.) 

Heat the oven to 250 degrees centigrade. Score the loaves and put them in the oven. Add some water or ice on a baking tray at the bottom or the oven or use a spray bottle - this is to create steam. 

Lower the temperature to 200 degrees. If the loaves start to look too dark, cover with aluminum foil. 

Bake until the core temperature is about 97 degrees. Leave to cool completely before removing to a rack.

Dill sauce for fish

Seriously, I don't know why I've posted so many sauces lately! I guess it's mainly what I've been making though - it's such an easy way to vary a meal. Here's yet another super sauce to serve with fish, especially fried and battered fish. (Although these in particular are bought frozen and baked - a simple shortcut which works well for us)

Dill sauce for fish

4 tbsp sour cream

1 tbsp mayonnaise

100 ml fresh dill, finely cut

1 tbsp chives, finely cut

salt

1/2 tsp honey

Stir everything together and season to taste. Let it sit in the fridge for at least half an hour. 

Roasted tomato sauce

This is one of the simplest but also tastiest sauces you can make. It's perfect when you have tomatoes that are starting to get a little old, soft and wrinkly. Just take those, cut them in half and place cut side up in a roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil, some chopped garlic and shallots, and a little salt and pepper. Add some fresh herbs if you have them. 

Roast at 200�C for about half an hour. The tomatoes should have softened quite a bit and released some liquid. Tip all the contents of the pan into a mixer. Add a little pinch of sugar and a little apple cider vinegar, and blitz until smooth. (Be careful, it's hot!) 

Pour into a pot and cook until it's as thick as you like it. At this point, you could certainly add some browned beef mince if you'd like. Season to taste with more salt, sugar and vinegar. 

Big Mac Sauce

I've always loved McDonalds Big Mac burger. It's the sauce - that combo of sharpness and the crunch.. yeah. It's definitely my favorite hamburger dressing. Apparently they've kept the exact recipe a secret for many years but now decided to release it - I was asked by their PR agency to try it out and I was eager to do so!

Is my version exactly the same? Well, I'm not sure. I think it's more yellow, even though I actually toned down the mustard. But it tastes pretty darn close! Give it a try - it's really perfect for those summer barbecues.

Big Mac-Sauce

100 ml mayonnaise
2 tbsp finely chopped pickled cucumber (bostongurka in Sweden)
2 tbsp yellow mustard (I used a little bit less)
1,5 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika

Stir everything together. Keep cool!

Sauce for pickled salmon

Oh you guys, this sauce is SO delicious! It has the perfect balance between salty and sweet, tangy and briny.. you have to try it! It's perfect to go with pickled salmon, which in itself sounds strange but I promise you that it's not. I used my old recipe for that, but omitted the pink peppercorns this time. Great results!


1 tbsp capers, finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped

1 tbsp chives, finely chopped

2 tbsp mayonnaise

3 tbsp sour cream

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp sugar

Stir everything together, and let it sit for at least an hour in the fridge. Serve! 

Cranberry Cornmeal Cookies

This awesome cookie is from an equally awesome book - The Perfect Egg - from a likewise awesome pair of bloggers: Spoon Fork Bacon. I made them with Dante on a cold and rainy afternoon, and I'm happy to report success. But beware of a few things:

1. Don't overbake. It's easy to do, but will result in crisp rather than chewy cookies, and worse, slightly bitter ones. So watch them.

2. Space. These cookies need their space. A lot of it. So don't overcrowd them. I say six per baking sheet would be perfect. I tried nine, and ended up with big blobby cookies that ran into one another.

3. I've made some adaptions. I changed quantities a little and I'm using metric measurements. I can't find corn meal in Sweden, and as I was baking with a two-year old, I skipped any refrigeration and resting time. (which probably explains the massive spreading.) Need the original recipe? I heartily recommend buying the book.

Got all that? Well, let's go bake.

Cranberry Cornmeal Cookies
about 20-25 cookies, depending on size
adapted from The Perfect Egg by Teri Lyn Fischer and Jenny Clark

180 ml flour (bread flour is recommended, all-purpose is fine)
175 ml polenta (we don't have corn meal in Sweden.)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
110 g butter, at room temperature
120 ml sugar
120 ml honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla  extract
150 ml dried cranberries

In a bowl, combine flour, polenta, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, cream butter, sugar and honey until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well. Add the dry ingredients, and finally the cranberries.

At this stage, you could (and probably should) chill the batter. Or go ahead and bake, which is what I did. Drop about 1 tbsp of batter per cookie (a little more), very well spaced, on lined baking sheets. Bake at 175�C for about ten minutes - start checking at eight! They should get a little brown around the edges but you don't want them to brown too much.

Let them cool before removing from the sheets, or they're very prone to breaking.

These freeze well!

Amazing lunch salad

So simple but so good. This is what's in the bowl:

2 leftover chicken drumsticks

1 avocado

Cucumber

Tomato

Small handful edamame beans

Little bit of red onion

1 white nectarine

Balsamic vinegar

Salt



Y U M!

Orange-soy-ginger chicken legs

Oh, these chicken legs were yummy! At least I thought so. The kids.. Well. Not today. But no worries, I don't blame the chicken. I'll totally make it again.



It's simple. Make a marinade from the zest and juice from one orange. Add grated ginger - about a tablespoon. Add two garlic cloves, minced. Add a tablespoon or so of Japanese soy sauce, and about the same amount of neutral oil. And a small splash of sesame oil.



Marinate about one kilo of chicken legs in this, for about an hour. Then bake at 200 degrees for about 30 minutes, turning about half way through.



You're done!

Chocolate orange cake

Sticky chocolate cake is a staple in most households (at least in Sweden), but this one is particularly tasty. I dare say it's the combination between orange zest and vanilla extract that makes this taste so good. Make it at least a few hours in advance, and serve completely cooled - it's better that way. And serve a dollop of cream with it.

As you can see, this was also one of Dante's birthday cakes. Perfect for his little guests and everyone enjoyed it!

As you can see, the photos are far above my usual iphone-level. That's because they're by the super-talented Lisa-Marie Chandler, a superb photographer and a dear friend.

Chocolate orange cake

150 g butter

300 ml sugar

100 ml cocoa powder

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Zest of one orange

150 ml flour 

Melt the butter. Stir in sugar and cocoa, and the eggs. Add vanilla, salt and orange zest and finally fold in the flour.

Pour into a greased springform tin, and bake at 175�C for about 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely before eating.

Gelato

It's a really warm day today - feels like summer! Perfect time to have a big scoop of gelato for lunch! As always, my very favorite place to go for ice cream in Stockholm is Stikki Nikki. She - Nikki herself - makes the gelato daily, from premium organic ingredients, and the quality is just super. I might ask for a quick behind-the-scenes-tour one day - would that be something you'd want to read?



The flavors vary daily by the way. Today I went for Tin Roof and Walnut. Yum!

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Anna Selander, who's the lucky winner of the Philips pasta maker! (I used random.org to pick a number.)

Philips Pastamaker - giveaway!

At the end of this post - there's a giveaway, so read on!

Philips have recently put out a pasta maker as part of their koncept �restaurant at home�, meaning you can produce restaurant quality food in the home. This is an extrusion-style pasta maker, and I was really excited to try it since I�d never tried one before. Normal pasta machines � the kinds with a crank � still require you do make a dough, and then spend a lot of time running the dough to the proper thickness, then cutting it. It�s fun but takes a long time, and I find that the pasta often gets pretty sticky and messy. With an extrusion-pasta maker, the pasta is pushed out through different nozzles, to make different shapes. I was given this machine for an honest review, but I happen to love it.

So, to make pasta, you simply add flour to your machine � I used 400 g durum wheat and 100 g regular all-purpose flour. (This is a double batch which made plenty for our family, but you can also make a regular batch which serves 2, generously.) Next, put on the lid and start the machine. Add the liquid � I had two eggs, and enough water to make a total of 190 g.



And that is it. That�s all. The machine kneads the dough, and when it�s firm enough, it�ll start pressing it out through the pasta mold. For our first run, we made spaghetti. You have to cut it as it comes out, which means you can make it super short or as long as you want. The resulting pasta was great! It was firmer and a little drier than the home made pasta I�ve made before, so it didn�t stick at all. It needed a little longer cooking time � about five minutes � but that was fine. My three picky eaters � husband and kids � all loved it.



We tried penne the next time, and again, very successful!  Our third run was plain pasta sheets (which we used to make these) and again - it was so simple. For these, I used less durum wheat and more all-purpose flour, in an attempt to get a slightly softer dough. It was still a little on the dry side, which is a side effect of the durum.  In addition to just pasta, you can also make noodles or even dumpling dough, and you can flavor your pasta as well as long as you keep an eye on the wet-dry proportion. I've even seen someone try to make fresh tortilla chips in the machine - amazing! I *have* to try that next.



Cleaning up is also easy enough. You dissemble all the parts and wash them, and when they�re dry, put them back together. It took me all of three minutes. Which is, incidentally, less time than the pasta needs to cook. I do find the pasta from this machine a little drier than other "fresh pasta", and it needs to cook for a little longer than the pre-made kind. I don't mind this at all, though.

My one and only problem is that I have NO place to store this. It�s a big machine and it�s fairly heavy. I�d love to have it close by but it just really takes a lot of valuable bench space � so you might want to think about that. But other than that, if you love pasta, definitely consider this.

Philips have very generously allowed me to give away one of these machines to one of my readers as well! In order to enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post with a recipe for your favorite pasta dish. Don't forget to leave a way to contact you, if you win.  I'll hold a random drawing on Sunday, May 17. (Sweden only, I'm afraid.) 

Pineapple Coconut Cake

Here's a simple and fun cake that I made for one of Dante's birthday parties. It's fairly basic - vanilla, pineapple and a little coconut on top. It's really easy to make, and you could either make a full cake or cupcakes.

Pineapple Coconut Cake 

5-6 pineapple slices - from a can, and save the juice because you need it
3 eggs
200 g sugar
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking powder
100 g butter, melted
270 g all-purpose flour
100 ml buttermilk (Swedish filmj�lk works great)
100 ml pineapple juice (from the tin)

Glaze:
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
400 ml confectioner's sugar
40 g melted butter
4-5 tsp pineapple juice (from the tin)

To decorate:
coconut flakes

Cut the pineapple into small bits.

Beat eggs and sugar until very fluffy. Fold in cardamom, vanilla and baking powder, and then butter, flour, buttermilk and pineapple juice.

Pour into a lined baking pan, mine was about 20 by 30 cm and I had enough batter to fill a few muffin cups as well. Bake at 175�C for about 25-30 minutes. Insert a skewer to make sure the cake is cooked.

Stir together all the ingredients for the glaze and add enough pineapple juice to make it spreadable.

When the cake is cooled, spread with the glaze and top with coconut.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Bacon and Dark Chocolate

I could barely believe what I was reading as I encountered this recipe over at Joy the Baker. A peanut butter cookie with chocolate isn't all that unique, but with the addition of bacon? Clever! Unique! And fun. And also, very very tasty. My guests were baffled - they couldn't guess the ingredients, but loved the cookies. 

These are very soft and crumbly, so be careful - make sure they cool completely on the baking sheets or they will mostly likely fall apart. 

As a bonus, these are free from gluten and dairy. Not dietary concerns for me, but for many others.

Peanut Butter Cookies with Bacon and Dark Chocolate
adapted from Joy the Baker
about 40 cookies

340 g peanut butter
200 g sugar (the original uses a mix of white and brown, but I only had white at home)
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
140 g bacon, cooked to a crisp and coarsely chopped
100 g dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70%)
sugar for coating the cookies

Start by cooking the bacon - I do this in the oven, at 200�C and about ten minutes. Cool completely before chopping.

Combine peanut butter and sugar. Add the egg and baking soda. Fold in bacon and chocolate. Roll into walnut-sized balls (or slightly smaller) and roll in sugar.

Place on lined baking sheets and press down with a fork to make a criss cut pattern. Bake at 175�C for about 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets before transferring. 

Milk Chocolate Pistachio Cookies

Honestly one of the best cookies I've ever made. The combination of chewy cookie, sweet milk chocolate and crunchy pistachios, accented by flaky sea salt, is sure to be a really big hit.

Milk Chocolate Pistachio Cookies

makes 40 or so

150 g butter, softened

140 g caster sugar

140 g brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp extract) 

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

240 g all-purpose flour

100 g milk chocolate, coarsely chopped

50 g chopped up roasted, unsalted pistachios
a few pinches of sea salt

Start by creaming the butter and both types of sugar very, very well. (My butter was, as usual, not softened, so I just creamed it for much longer.) Add the egg and vanilla and beat until mixed. Add the dry ingredients - baking soda, salt and flour - and mix until combined. Finally add the chocolate. 

Shape into four slender logs and place on lined baking sheets.  Press pistachios into the top, and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 175�C for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a minute before cutting them, diagonally, into cookies. Leave to cool completely. 

These freeze very well but lose some of their chewiness. 

Breakfast Parfait

"Mom, are you having DESSERT for BREAKFAST"?!

My kids couldn't believe their eyes, and insisted I'd eat something "real" first. 

Well, it does look luxurious, doesn't it? It's just vanilla yogurt, layered with fresh raspberries, a little granola and some toasted coconut. Very yummy and good for you - for dessert OR for breakfast. 

Kiddie-Pleaser Pasta Rolls

I was at a loss what to do for weekend lunch a few days ago and I was SO bored with the same old options. My kids are fairly picky eaters, at least right now, and what they eat change from day to day. So I wanted to try something new, but I also needed them to eat so I couldn't go too far out. Pasta is almost always popular...

This turned out to be a huge hit. Dante helped me, while Titus played video games (we love the Lego games for Xbox) with his cousin, and they all loved the food.

Plan on two rolls per kid if they're somewhat hungry - and adult might need three, depending on appetite. (And this would of course be nice with a salad on the side.)

Kiddie-Pleaser Pasta Rolls

8 fresh lasagna sheets
100 g cream cheese with herbs
8 slices cooked ham
one small zucchini
handful of corn (frozen, but thawed)
grated parmesan
about 400 ml plain cheese sauce  (or a bechamel if you want to make it from scratch. I was NOT in the mood.)


Slice the zucchini with a mandoline or cheese sliced the long way, to make long slices. Make sure you have at least eight - I cut mine in half to cover most of the pasta sheet, width-wise.

Spread the cream cheese on the lasagna sheets. Top with a slice of ham, one or two zucchini slices, a little sprinkling of corn and finally some parmesan. Roll up tightly and place seam-side down in an oven-proof dish.

Cover with the cheese sauce and any remaining corn or cheese. Bake at 200�C for about 15-20 minutes until the pasta is soft and cooked through.

Cookbook Watch spring 2015 - a big round-up

Here's a massive post with some of the best cookbooks I've encountered lately! Most of them in Swedish, but not all.

Festmat by Anette Rosvall and Emma Hamberg. These ladies have put out a lot of cookbooks in the past and they never cease to inspire and come up with new, fun recipes. Anette blogs, in Swedish, and I often run into her at press events. This latest book is all about parties - "Festmat" means party food. It has quite unusual chapters with anything from soups to barbecue, hungover brunch and "your life with food in bread". Fun and charming, and with personal photos as well as great food pics.



The Perfect Egg is another cookbook by bloggers, in this case by Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park who run Spoon Fork Bacon. I know the blog is brilliant so this immediately made my wishlist. As the name implies, it's all about eggs. Tons of eggs. And as I love eggs.. well, I love this book. It has a wide range of recipes, beautiful food pics and a lot of inspiration. Recommended - unless you happen to be allergic to eggs, in which case I imagine the book would be very frustrating...



Br�det, by H�kan Johansson. Simply called "The Bread", this book holds all sorts of baking recipes. How to start your own sourdough, and when to use it - and when to pass. Simple over night breakfast bread, and elaborate creations - the Cheese and Chili bread caught my eye, as well as Apple Hazelnut bread, and Chanterelle Pizza. There's also a chapter on sweet bread and buns which is no surprise since it's what H�kan Johansson is most well known for.



Bakat fr�n Slottstr�dg�rden Ulriksdal - a cookbook from one of Stockholm's most popular caf�s. It's situated in a nursery garden, inside a greenhouse, and it's always absolutely packed with people. They serve delicious vegetarian buffets, and a wide array of sweets, and the latter is what this book is about. Frankly, I was a little bit disappointed in this. I expected creative, new recipes, but the book feels pretty basic. With that said, everything looks great and I've tried a chocolate orange cake that turned out to be amazing - so it's a good book, no doubt about it. I look forward to trying out more of the recipes, too!



Grilla! is the latest book by Mattias Larsson, known as Fredagskocken after a long stint on one of the daily radio shows in Sweden. He's a great guy, and very good at flavor combinations. Grilla means to barbecue, so that's what this book is all about. Sweden is a grill-loving country, and as soon as the temperature is warm enough, everyone starts to cook outdoors. Also, the barbecue cookbooks hit the shelves - we see at least five or more every year. This particular one earns its place on my shelf because it's so creative - there are really tons of good ideas here sure to inspire. What I'm dying to try is the whole-grilled cauliflower with gruy�re cheese and gremolata oil.



Buff� is written by bloggers Jennie Benjaminsson and Stina Patetsos who met through the TV-show Masterchef Sweden. They are both really sweet and fun girls, and their cooking is bright, bold and flavorful. Stina is of greek heritage and a lot of recipes in the book show this. In fact, I'm going to try my hand at a Greek-inspired dinner in a few weeks - will report back! If you enjoy having parties and cooking for crowds, this is most definitely a book you don't want to miss!



Till Bords med Systrarna Eisenman is the latest book from the productive sisters, Lisa Eisenman Frisk and Monica Eisenman, who used to own the Cookbook Caf� in Stockholm. They have since made several books, together and separately, and the focus in this one is great food to enjoy together with your guests, rather than having to spend the whole night slaving away in the kitchen. There are recipes for both summer and winter, and most things take no more than half an hour to cook. Chicken Shawarma is first on my to-try list, followed by a Ch�vre Grape Salad with Caramelized Walnuts. Yum.


Sally Voltaire is a trendy chef right now. Her mom is Lotta Voltaire and her aunt is Ren�e Voltaire, both pioneers in vegetarian and raw food cuisine, and Sally now runs several restaurants and shops of her own. This is her first cookbook, aptly named Sally Voltaires Mat (Sally Voltaire�s Food). Most recipes, but not all, are vegetarian, and with unexpected flavor combinations.



I k�ket med Markiz - Marockansk Magi, is the first book from Markiz Talhaoui, who also was a participant on Swedish Masterchef a few years ago. She didn't win but she had amazing presence and was one of the judges favorites. Her book is all about the food she grew up with, in a Swedish-Moroccan household. There's different ambition levels - make your own merguez sausage, or just buy some and make a flavorful stew. Dig a fire pit and grill a lamb - or much more approachable, cook some in the oven, but with the same spices and sauce.