Thai Meatballs with Shrimp

We really like thai-inspired food in our house. Mostly we have rice with the meal, but I needed a lighter meal, so I opted for a pearl barley/cabbage salad. 

The meatballs were really really tasty. They were very flavorful, a little on the spicy side, but you can control that with the amount of chili you add. If you need a new twist to your normal meatballs give these a try. 

Ingredients:

Thai Meatballs:

• 450 g (1 lbs) ground pork

• 150 g (⅓ lbs) raw shrimp (peeled and deveined), grounded

• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

• 1 teaspoon grated ginger

• 1 jalapeño, minced

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 small handful cilantro leaves, chopped

• ½ lime, the juice from

• ½ teaspoon sesame oil

• ½ teaspoon red curry paste

• ½ teaspoon fish sauce

• salt and pepper to taste

• vegetable oil for frying

Salad:

• pearl barley, cooked according to instructions on package

• green cabbage, thinly sliced

• cilantro

• carrots, julienned

• chili pepper, julienned

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl. Heat a skillet with some vegetable oil and panfry a small test meatball. Taste the cooked test meatball and season the meatball mixture if it according to your taste.

Form the meatball with a spoon, and panfry them, until cooked through. Mix up the salad, and serve the meatballs on the salad with some satay sauce on the side.

Enjoy!

Green Goddess Chicken

Green Goddess Chicken

It is well known that if you marinate chicken in buttermilk, you will get the most juicy chicken. I have done that with the chicken nuggets earlier on.  So why not marinate chicken in the green Goddess dressing. 

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 200 ml green Goddess dressing

• 4-6 chicken thighs

• olive oil, for roasting

• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Pour the dressing into a ziplock bag with the chicken thighs. Let the chicken marinate in the dressing for at least 6 hours or over night in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 450℉ (235℃).

Remove the chicken from the marinade, shaking off the excess dressing, and place the chicken skin-side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Discard the marinade. Pad the liquid off the chicken skin with paper towel. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. 

Roast the chicken for 30-45 minutes golden brown and cooked through.

Serve the chicken with a salad and use the dressing as a cold sauce.

Enjoy!

Salmon in Red Wine Sauce

Salmon in Red Wine Sauce

I had this dish at my best friends house, when we both lived back home in Denmark. Whenever I make this I can't help thinking about her cozy home, and her sweet sweet family. I really miss my Danish friend, that I grew up with and her family. I miss living an hour apart from her. Being there for each other whenever we needed each other. Even though we both live in the US, Texas feels like a world away from California. Love you M.

Normally you would use white wine with fish, but the salmon really pairs well with red wine too. I love making this for smaller dinner parties. It is fairly quick to make, and brings on bold flavors, and pairs perfectly with a couple of bottles of good red wine

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 4 salmon pieces, serving size, skin and bones removed

• ½ yellow onion, finely chopped

• 300 g mushrooms, quartered

• 1 fish stock cube, or a good splash of concentrated fish stock

• 500 ml red wine, the better the wine, the better the sauce

• salt and pepper to taste

• corn starch dissolved in cold water to thicken the sauce

Directions:

Put onions, mushrooms and fish stock, in a large sauté pan and place the salmon pieces on top. Pour in the red wine, so it almost covers the salmon. Put a lid on the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Turn down the heat and bring it to a slow simmer. Let it simmer for about 8-10 minutes until the fish is done, and has turned opaque pink. Be careful not to overcook the salmon.

Remove the salmon with a slotted spoon, careful not to brake the fish. Let the liquid come to a boil again and thicken the sauce with some corn starch dissolved in a little cold water. 

Serve the salmon with sautéed spinach and rice.  

Enjoy!

Danish Hotdog

Danish Hotdog

Tonight was a hotdog kinda night. I did no cooking whatsoever, ok I heated the røde pølser (red hotdogs) from Copenhagen Street Dog.  

The pølser (hotdogs) tasted just like the ones you get at the pølsevogn (hotdog stand) in Copenhagen. The bite (knækket) was just right. For sure this was the most authentic Danish hotdog, I have had here in the states. Served with ketchup, mustard, remoulade, raw onions, crispy onions and picked cucumbers.
I will recommend these hotdogs to everyone I know. Look for Copenhagen Street Dogs anywhere near you.

Copenhagen Street dog Please come to California stores soon.

Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers

Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers

These stuffed peppers were really delicious. The peppers were sweet and perfectly roasted, but without getting mushy and bland. The filling was soft and flavorful. I don't like when the filling comes out like a little hard meatball. This gives me flashbacks to bland stuffed cabbage (kåldolmer) dinners in my childhood. The greek flavors is just as vibrant as the colors of the beautiful roasted peppers.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 100 g orzo
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 450 g (1 pound) ground lamb
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon chopped, fresh mint leaves
• 1 little handful Italian parsley, chopped
• 1 can diced tomato, drained
• 10-12 pitted kalamata olives, chopped
• 3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
• salt & pepper to taste
• 4 bell peppers
• olive oil

Directions:

Cook the orzo according to the package, I used the liquid drained from the tomatoes in the cooking water. 

Prehaet the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Sauté the onions until translucent, add garlic and meat and brown it. Remove from the heat. Mix in spices, herbs, tomato, feta, olives and the cooked orzo, season with salt and pepper.

Cut the tops of the peppers, and remove the seeds. Coat the outside with olive oil, and place them in an ovenproof dish. Fill the peppers and place the top on the peppers as small lids. Bake the peppers for 30-40 minutes until the peppers are tender, but still holding up.

Serve the peppers with a simple greek salad, containing greens, cucumber, red onions, tomatoes, olives and feta.

Enjoy!