Dinning with The Bloggers - May 26th. 2009.

Allow me to ease myself back into blogging mode (one needs to, every now and again, don't one?) I've actually been cooking quite a lot from my fellow blogging friends these last couple of months - they're not half bad at it, the food bloggers out there, I must admit. Here are some highly recommendable try-it-yourselves:

Spring Slaw from Tea & Cookies

Let's start with a beauty - I was this close to calling the round-up "The Ugly (but tasty!) Edition" this time, because - well, you'll soon learn why. Tea's spring slaw didn't quite fit into the ugly category, au contraire, it is both very spring-pretty and ladylike in it's colors. That it was also very tasty didn't hurt, either. We had it with potato salad and frikadeller (a Danish meatball I will have to tell you about at a later time) and I had it the next day for lunch as well. Very yummy, and you feel so wonderfully healthy eating all that cabbage and radish and whatnot :)

Love Dip from The Homesick Texan

Okay, here we go with the not so flattering pictures. My fault, 'cause really, you can't put a finger on taste or texture of this fine, fine dip. I made it for my 30th. birthday back in February and was so smitten with the tangy cream cheese taste I made it again a week later for another birthday party, It's a keeper. I didn't have salsa at the ready, but found a jar of chipotle paste that I used instead, of course cutting back on the amount. I liked that, but am sure salsa would make for an interesting version, too. I served the Love Dip with:

Spelt Crackers from Smitten Kitchen

You need to spend a little time making these, but they are worth it - trust me. I used a little chili on some, sesame on others, and just plain flaky salt on a batch as well. Feel free to use whatever you like, and if you're the coordinating kind, you could choose something that matches whatever you're serving them with. Point is, they take well to almost anything you can throw at them, and are sturdy enough for you to be able to scoop a decent amount of dip onto them - and all-essentiel quality in a cracker, if you ask me. You can even make them well in advance - they keep (almost) indefinitely.

Chicken Liver Pâté from Sassy Radish

Oh this, I loved. Don't let the looks decieve you, 'cause it is good. In fact, this was made twice in a couple of weeks (as well) and served with caramelized red onions on toasted bread. Forgive me here, but YUMM-O! Smooth and creamy, with enough taste of the liver for you to know that it is there, but discreet enough for kids to like it as well. That, and the fact that it's a breeze to make has given it a permanent place in my kitchen notebook.

Giant Chipotle White Beans from 101 Cookbooks

I'm still working on my private stock of beans, and lo and behold, when I came upon this recipe, I knew I had to dig in there and find some of my big white beans and make it (and make room for another bag of something at the same time - what an oppurtunist I am!) I like beans, I'm realizing that more and more - especially when they're used in proper dishes and not just mashed and used as a spread. I actually went more along the lines of the original recipe (It's linked at the post), but whichever one you'd go for, I say remember to do the pesto-thingy for drizzling on top - it makes a world of a difference.

Have you tried any of your fellow blogger's recipes lately that you think are worth a repeat?

Being spoiled is...

• recieving Molly's new book and reading it within three days (I had to go to work in between. Otherwise I'd have devoured it much faster)
• having dinner with friends who reveals they're getting married, and squealing with delight at the thought
• having breakfast in bed at 10.30 am - scrambled eggs, whole grain bread, cream cheese and Bayonne ham
  
• making bread form scratch on a weekly basis
  
• not knowing which of the recipes to attack first in your new Ottolenghi Cookbook because you want to do them all - especially the eggplant ones
• spending Saturday night with your best friend, her husband and little girl and big slabs of beef
• buying 2 pounds of vanilla beans and constantly swooning away from their heady scent
  

Probably The Prettiest Salad on the Planet: Fattoush

Doesn't that look like spring? Just a tiny bit? And don't we NEED a little spring? I know I do. The weather has been absolutely pretty around here the last couple of days, I've dropped off my big bulky winter jacket at the cleaners (so it'll be ready for next winter) and am cautiously stepping out of the ever present jeans and yesterday, I thin pantyhose and a skirt. A SKIRT. Next up, I'm getting seeds ready for the balcony. It IS spring, yay!

The great thing about the salad up there - besides being almost girlish-ly adorable in it's colors - is that you can actually make this in the depth of winter. No, the tomatoes won't be as fantastic, but then leave them out and up the amount of sweet, musky melon (and I know, they're not really in season either, but at least they're worth paying for, as opposed to the greenhouse tomatoes from Holland that are all texture, no taste) The REAL time to make this is probably late summer, but I simply cannot wait. I want my dose of spring NOW!

Fattoush - Middle Eastern Bread Salad - a Camilla Plum inspiration
Another fantastic thing about this salad is that you can cut everything up well in advance, then toss it with the dressing just before serving.

You need:
6 medium ripe tomatoes
1 small cucumber
1 yellow and/or 1 red bell pepper
1 small bunch of radishes
1 small red onion
4 handfuls of mixed, crispy salad - I often use spinach, a bit of romaine, maybe some mizuna...
The seeds of half a pomegranate (but why not use the entire thing while you're at it?)
Half a small melon (I like honeydew melons, but cantaloup or Galias are just as fine. Definitely use watermelons when they're in season) and you're always welcome to do a mix, of course
Large bunch of flat-leaf parsley
Fresh mint
2 pita pockets

Cut everything into chunky - not too small - bite-sized pieces. I try to make sure I have some thing in slices (like the radishes) and some things in quarters (tomatoes) and other things just roughly cut (bell peppers, cucumbers). Tear the salad leaves up a bit, scatter the parsley and mint over. Toast the pitas until a tad more crispy than you'd do if you were stuffing them, then tear them up over the salad. Toss everything together with:

The dressing:
75 ml. nice olive oil
1 tablespoon elderflower vinegar (or other light vinegar)
2 cloves of garlic
maybe the juice of half a lemon (i usually don't think it needs it, but you be the judge)
salt and pepper
- whisk everything together. Start by using half, then add more to the salad if needed. Toss, toss, toss, then sprinkle everything with a pinch or three of sumac - it has a slightly tangy, citrussy kick that pulls everything together.

Turning 30.

Is what I did this month. It's two weeks ago (it was on the 15th.), but I'm still revelling in it. I love being 30.

I had a party - a FANTASTIC party, with cocktails, bubbly, dancing and finger foods. We had small glasses of butternut squash soup, shrimp cocktail in choux puffs (heavily inspired by Johanna's version - in fact, I took plenty of hints from Johanna's Canapées & Finger food section), blinis with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and chopped red onion; we had chicken liver paté and little tarts with onion and bacon, sandwiches with grilled vegetables and bruschetta with aubergine and feta spread; there was homemade lamb sausages with slaw (and more on those some other time), pork meatballs with herbs and slow roasted tomatoes - and, pictured above, the party favorite, small baked potatoes with seared, VERY rare beef and a caper-tarragon mayo. Almost like béarnaise. There was cake - carrot cupcakes and a traditional lagkage, and chocolate mousse.

Of course, I completely forgot to take pictures. I have some preparation shots, a couple blurry ones from the night, and one or two of leftovers (like the one above) I was busy. Turning 30. Sorry ;)

O.D.'ing

nothing like a lazy weekend morning in bed, with breakfast, food magazines and a new lens (that I don't quite know how to master yet, but still already adore)

I just realized I haven't recieved Gourmet since the May 2008 issue. (I am a subscriber. I don't expect them to just send them to me at random. Although after all those cookies, they should think about it, shouldn't they?)

But seeing I didn't realize the lack of Gourmet for a full eight months - do you think that means I've gone overboard in the food magazine department? Is there really such a thing?

I also subscribe to Saveur, Bon Appetit and Gastro (Danish food magazine. For men. I still get it though, it's the best around here.) Which ones do you get?

(Real food, coming right up. Oh, and happy 2009!)

Christmas Countdown: The Last of The Cookies

We're cookie O.D.ing here, I know, but I promise, this is the last one this year.

These are Applebutter-filled Gingerbread Cookies. I found the recipe back when Luisa made applebutter last year, and she mentioned it could be used in cookies as well, providing a link to the LA Times and a recipe. Unusual for me, I didn't bookmark the recipe, only printed it, and it had been languishing in my notebook ever since. That is, until I made applebutter a couple of months ago and tried finding something to use all those jars for, besides licking it off a spoon. Which is good, but these - are absolutely divine.

I made the dough a couple days in advance so I needed only to roll, fill and assemble, then bake on the day. That whole thing is a bit time consuming, but I really like the look of these, so I think it's worth it. I cut the "windows" at an angle, as you can see from the picture below, just to play around a little. They're gently spiced, and with the applebutter peeking giving the whole thing a boost of freshness - yum.

I have to say though - these don't keep very well. It may have been because I used my own applebutter, or didn't let the cookies cool completely (I was running out of cooling racks - does that happen to you too?), but they quickly - within a day and a half - turned soggy on the bottoms and crumbled. The taste was still lovely, they just weren't nearly as pretty, or easy to eat, with all those bits and pieces all over your napkin, as they were on day one. Eh. Just make less at a time, and you'll have fresh, crisp, cookies when you need them. Definitely recommendable this one.

Christmas Countdown: Liqour Cabinet Clean-Out

The last of the Gourmet cookies I tried this year. Chocolate Sambuca Crinkle Cookies.

Admittedly, I made these because I have not one, but two half bottles of Sambuca lingering on top of the wine glass cabinet where we keep or liqour. We don't drink Sambuca. In fact, we rarely drink hard alcohol at all, but if or when we do, it's usually gin or vodka tonics, or the occasional mojito. I think maybe the bottles are leftovers from my younger days - I seem to remember a pretty hardcore shot of vodka, with orange slices dipped in sugar, resting on the edge of the glass, with a bit of sambuca poured over it, and then lit with a match. But truth be told, if that's what I drank, how on earth do I still remember? Sounds like it could make anyone forget!

The cookies also have chocolate and walnuts in them, which are big ringers in the taste department, and Sambuca definitly needs something to pair up with. Personally, I like the anise-taste, but M despises it. I can't even get him to eat fennel. So I figured I better make these cookies for someone else, hence they were served at the Julestue. I wouldn't say they were a big hit though - people noticed the alcoholic afterthought in these babies, and that just doesn't ring well with my crowd, I suppose - but I liked their deep, dark flavor. They're mighty pretty though, plus I got to use up an entire half cup of Sambuca - the cabinet's already looking better!

Christmas Countdown: Gingerbread Snowflakes

I told you before that I am a hoarder. But I'm not only a hoarder of dried goods. I'm also doing very well in the kitchen utensils/machines/gadgets department.

Like cookie cutters. I have a big jar full of them, and they look mighty pretty on my shelf, in my office - they're not even in the kitchen any longer. But truth be told, I've hardly ever used them.Yet, when I'm abroad (they're expensive around here, so I seem to be able to control myself) one or two always seem to sneak themselves into my suitcase. I have no idea how this happens.

The truth is, I don't really care for cut-out cookies. They're often bland, buttery, boring affairs with their biggest asset being their shape (and perhaps their frosting). I know, you shouldn't judge a cookie - or anything else, except maybe a new haircut - by it's shape alone, but I do. I like the rugged, crumbly, fat discs of joy - not the controlled, straight-lined kind.

Still, those cutters needed some excercise (and I needed the jar for cookies) so I went looking for a recipe, and again, Gourmet to the rescue. These are delicately spiced Gingerbread cookies that keep well and stay crisp. They even, for this cut-out cookie disbeliever, were deemed worthy of their calories, even when competing against five other kinds of cookies. That is pretty high marks, I tell you.

You'll find the recipe here. I used only 1½ teaspoon baking powder and rolled them just short of 1 cm. thick. They were glazed with a mix of powdered sugar and lemon, because I wanted them all white, like Shauna's pretty things. And I used my latest investment, the snowflake cookie cutter, because 'tis the season, right? I think I got about 40-50 cookies, but it will of course depend on the size of the cutters you're using.

Now at least I feel a little bit better for having used my cutters...

Christmas Countdown: Still Time for Cookies

I have been sorely absent form this blog - again. I will try and make it up to you with a spurt of a Christmas Countdown - I know I have only five days to go (we celebrate Christmas Eve here in Denmark, so I'm counting down to the 24th., in case you thought I got the days mixed up), but at least it's something. Next year, I'll be better. Early with the New Year's resolutions, aren't I?

As we have done the past three years, this Sunday, the third Sunday in advent, was Julestue chez nous. Cookies were baked, both the traditional vaniliekranse and klejner, but for once I managed to make some of the ones I'd bookmarked during December as well. I always make many plans to try something new, only I never succeed - the days just seem so short in December, don't they?
I bookmarked these Brown-Sugar Brown-Butter Shorties from both Smitten Kitchen and Gourmet - did you by the way have a look at their extravagant spread of cookies from the decades? You must! The cookies were a BIG hit, especially with my older Sister. They look like your average butter cookie but there's no doubt the browned butter changes everything and makes these so much more than that. Plus, they're easy to make and you can make them well in advance and just have the logs waiting in the fridge (or freezer, I suppose) for when the craving hits.

Here's the recipe, with a couple of my notes and weight measures instead of cups - that's how we roll here, you know. Sis - bake your heart out!

Brown-Sugar Brown-Butter Shorties - from Gourmet

175 g. unsalted butter
100 g. cup packed brown sugar (I used light muscovado sugar)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
200 g. cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Demerara sugar for the edge of the cookies

Place the butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it has a nutty fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the butter to a bowl and chill. It should firm up. I browned the butter a whole day in advance, and just left it in the fridge. I took it out about an hour before wanting to procede with the dough.

Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, then mix in flour and salt at low speed until just combined. Transfer dough to a sheet of wax paper or parchment and form into logs, 4-5 cm. in diameter. Roll the logs in demerara sugar, making sure the sugar sticks to the sides in as thick a layer as possible.

Chill, wrapped in wax paper, until firm, about 1 hour, or up to one week.

Preheat oven to 170°C. Slice dough into 1 centimeter-thick rounds, arranging 5 cm. apart on an ungreased, lined baking sheet. Bake until surface is dry and edges are slightly darker, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Late Harvest

It's been snowing here, for the last four days. Snow, people. It's winter. The parsley in my window sill planter is covered in snow, and the pineapple sage is freezing it's leaves off. I think I may have managed to save the lemon verbena, but you can never be quite sure.

So what am I up to with the tomatoes? Nothing but bragging, really. These are from my tomato plant, from this summer. I just had a couple today, for lunch. I have no idea how this is possible, but the green ones are slowly riping in the paper bag I've put them in, on the counter, and every once in a while, there's enough for a nice sandwich. If it wasn't because I'd grown them myself, I'd be sure they were full of pesticides and other nasty-ness - how else could they keep for so long? - but they're not. I grew them on the balcony. They're all natural (apart from being city-tomatoes, that is) And they're really tasty, too.

What do you grow?