Risengrød - Danish Rice Porridge

Risengrød - Danish Rice Porridge

December 10th and it's time to feed the elfs/nisser. 

According to Danish christmas traditions, risengrød is given to the elf aka nissen.

Nissen lives  in houses and on farms, and protects the people and animals who lives there against evil and misfortune. But nissen is more than a protector, he can also play tricks on you, and then he is called drillenissen. By giving nissen its favorite food, risengrød, during the month of december, he will for the most part be at his best behavior.

Back in the days farmers would put a bowl of risengrød up in the attic at night, and the next morning the bowl would be empty. Now the farmer knew that he did his best to soothe nissen. But most likely there were no nisse, it most likely were the cats that ate the risengrød.

Nowadays it's only children who are raised to believe in nissen, as a sweet christmas tradition. Pretty much like the elf on the shelf here in the US.

Risengrød is a Danish comfort food, it's soft, sweet and easy to eat. Maybe thats why it's a favorite for many kids. A lot of parents likes this dish too, and it's very easy on your pocketbook. 

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup water

• 1 L (4¼ cups) milk

• 190 g rice (danish grødris or aborio)

• ¼ teaspoon salt

Toppings:

• butter, salted

• cinnamon sugar ( cinnamon + sugar)

Directions:

Boil the water in a saucepan. Pour in the rice and boil them for a minute. Add the milk and salt, and bring it to a slow simmer while you stir constantly. 

Let the risengrød simmer at low heat for about 30 minutes, stir occasionally. Well, every recipe calls for stirring occasionally, but I have burnt the risengrød so many times, so I stir constantly. And yes it's kinda like watching paint dry. 

Season with salt.

Serve with cinnamon sugar and a little dollop butter. I like to drink nisseøl or cherry juice with this meal. Nisseøl is a very very sweet low alcoholic beer. In Denmark we actually let children drink this beer. Yes we are living on the edge 🎅   

I don't like my risengrød to thick. I serve it as soon as the rice is tender and the milk has thickened a bit.

Danish Meatloaf - Forloren Hare

Danish Meatloaf

Every nation has their version of meatloaf. The danish one is called "Forloren Hare" or mock hare. The meatloaf most likely was called that, because it's cooked like you would cook game (with bacon and the sweetness of the jelly).

I always loved the danish meatloaf.  The sauce is to die for, if nobody is watching you - you can eat it with a spoon. My mom would always make a big loaf, so we had dinner for two days and a few slices for our open faced sandwich at lunch. 

This is more or less my moms recipe. My mom didn't make the bacon weave, this is my spin on her classic.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 1 pound lean ground beef or veal
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs 
• salt & pepper
• 1 pack of bacon

Sauce:

• Drippings from the pan
• 1 cup milk or whipping cream
• 2-3 teaspoons redcurrant jelly
• a few drops of kulør* or gravy browning
• salt
• milk & all-purpose flour mixed to thicken the sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven for 400℉ (200℃).

Weave the bacon. Lay slices of bacon side by side on a piece of parchment paper. Lift every other slice, and lay a new slice across. Lay the lifted slices back on top of the one across. Alternate lifting the slices, until you have weaved the whole thing.

Mix the meats with salt, pepper, breadcrumbs and the eggs. Form a loaf in an ovenproof pan. Flip the bacon weave on the meatloaf, and tuck the bacon under the meatloaf.

Cook the meatloaf in the oven fore about 30 minutes. Add about a cup of water to the pan, this will later be used for the sauce. Cook for 20-30 minutes more until the it reach a center temperature about 167℉ (75℃).

Pour the pan drippings into a sauce pan and heat it. Add milk and redcurrant jelly. and thicken the sauce with milk and flour.

Season with redcurrant jelly and salt.

Enjoy. 

* You can get Kulør here.

Poularde au Bayard - Chicken in White Wine

Poularde au Bayard

Poularde au Bayard was a dish my parents mad when they had people over. It's a dish where all the work is in the preparation. It's slow food at its best.

I think the recipe came from a pamphlet my mom got from the local butcher, but the details are lost in history. I remember that we all loved this chicken dish, and it was a treat when we had it. I removed most of the butter, because I don't need to have my meals dripping with butter. In my opinion there's no loss of flavor.

Ingredients: 

• 1 large chicken
• 3 carrots
• 4 tomatoes
• 4 onions
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 garlic clove
• 24 whole cloves
• 1 cup white wine
• butter and olive oil for searing
• ½ teaspoon tarragon
• ½ teaspoon basil
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon rosemary
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder or a garlic clove
• salt & pepper

Onions with cloves

Directions: 

Peal the carrots and the onions and wash the tomatoes. Cut the carrots into 1 inch pieces. Press the cloves in the onions, 6-8 in each.

Clean and pad the chicken dry. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add butter and oil to a large pot. It should fit the chicken and all the vegetables. I use a 6.5 liter (6.8 QT) pot. Brown the chicken in the butter/oil. Get a good sear on it for flavor and color. Take the chicken out of the pot again.

Put the tomatoes, carrots and the onions in the bottom of the pot with all the spices. Add garlic, bay leaves and the wine and the chicken on top and put the lid on. Let it simmer for 45-60 until tender (170° F) 

Carefully take up the chicken and vegetables. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch in cold water, and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Carve the chicken and serve it with the vegetables and boiled potatoes.

The Danish version:

Poularde au Bayard - Kylling i hvidvin

Ingredienser:

• 1 stor kylling 
• 3 gulerødder
• 4 tomater
• 4 løg
• 2 laurbærblade 
• 1 fed hvidløg
• 24 hele nelliker
• 2,5 dl hvidvin (jeg brugte næsten en hel flaske)
• Smør og olie til stegning
• ½ tsk estragon
• ½ tsp basilikum 
• ½ tsk paprika
• ½ tsk rosemarin
• ½ tsp timian
• ½ tsp hvidløgspulver eller 1 fed hvidløg
• salt & peber

Kyllingen rengøres og tørres godt og drysses med salt. Derefter brunes kyllingen, i smør/olie og tages op igen. Nu kommes de hele tomater og gulerødderne skåret i skiver med i bunden af gryden sammen med laurbærblade, hvidløg og løgene, der har fået stukket nelliker i sig. Hvidvinen tilsættes. Kyllingen lægges ligeledes ned i gryden og steges mør med låg over. Dryp tit med skyen. Saucen jævnes med maizena og evt. Lidt fløde. Kyllingen parteres og serveres med små kartofler

Danish Baked Omelette

Danish Baked Omelette.

The Danish baked omelette is an old-fashioned lunch dish served with rye bread and a cold beer.

I my family we had baked omelette for dinner, well my mom made it in a skillet on the stove. Turning the omelette was quite a hassle. Sliding the omelette onto a large lid, and flipping it is not for me. I found that putting the omelette in the oven works like a charm.

The omelette is so easy to make, and is great for a weeknight where time is limited. Sometimes it's just nice to make a quick and simple dinner and it doesn't hurt that it's rather cheap. This night I wanted to clear out some of all the eggs in the refrigerator, so I just bought a pack of bacon and some chives, and done.

Here's my moms recipe for omelette:

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1½  tablespoons milk (½ tablespoon pr. 2 eggs)
• 6 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• salt & pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• bacon
• chives

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Separate the egg white and the yolks. Mix the yolks with milk, flour, salt and pepper.

Whisk the whites until stiff using a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Fold the whites in the yolks.

Heat a skillet with oil over medium heat, pour in the batter. Put the skillet in the oven. Bake omelette for 15-20 minutes. Do not open the oven, the souffléing will stop.

Fry up the bacon, and wash the chives.

Serve the omelette with a piece of rye bread.

The Danish version:

Æggekage

Ingredienser:

• 6 æg
• 1½ spsk mælk (½ spsk pr. 2 æg)
• 6 tsp hvedemel 
• salt & peber
• olivenolie
• bacon
• purløg

Æggeblommerne piskes sammen med mel, mælk salt og peber.

Hviderne piskes stive og vendes i æggemassen.  Kom massen på en opvarmet stegepande med lidt olie på. Kom stegepanden i ovnen, og bag æggekage i 15-20 minutter ved 200℃. 

Steg baconen og vask purløg. 

Server æggekagen med et stykke godt rugbrød og en kold øl.

Vegetable Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Vegetable Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

I love pasta, and I love spaghetti. But to tell the truth, I always eat to much when we have pasta for dinner. It's so easy to eat, and I love the texture. I tried to have spaghetti squash, instead, but this combination works well in my family,

The most common dinner in Denmark nowadays is pasta with meat sauce, but it's a trend that started in the 80's. Before that it was most likely meatballs with potatoes and brown gravy, or at least meat and potatoes.

When I moved out of my parents house, I didn't have boiled potatoes for moths. I was sick and tired of them. I had pasta and rice with my dinners. 

I know vegetable spaghetti is done before, but this is my take on it. I don't put measurements on my meat sauce, Season after taste.

Ingredients:

Vegetable Spaghetti:

• 2 small squash, julienned

• 3 leeks, julienned

• 3-4 carrots, julienned (or a bag shredded carrots)

Meat Sauce:

• extra virgin olive oil

• bacon, in bite size pieces

• onions

• garlic

• ground beef (lean)

• canned crushed tomatoes

• beef base (bouillon)

• water

• red wine

• rosemary

• thyme

• salt to taste

Directions:

Meatsauce:

Heat a drizzle of oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is turned brown. The bacon doesn't have to crisp up. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with kitchen towel, to drain of the excess fat. Discard the bacon fat. Add oil to the pot again and brown the ground beef, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic, onions, rosemary thyme, a little salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the wine, beef base, water, the crushed tomatoes, mushrooms and bacon. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer it simmers, the better it gets. 

Vegetable spaghetti:

Cut off the dark leaves of the leeks and discard. Cut of the root and the bottom 1/2 inch of each leek. Cut the leeks lengthwise in half and wash well under cold running water. Wash zucchini and peel the carrots. 

Cut all the vegetables julienne.

Heat a skillet, add oil and sear the vegetables until tender, but still having some bite. Season with salt and pepper..