Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peel

Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peel

December 23. - Making the last of my planed christmas treats. I don't know if I or the treats got covered the most in chocolate.

There is something about the combination of orange and chocolate, the flavors compliments each other perfectly. I alway buy chocolate covered orange peel at christmas time, and they are not cheap, by any means. So when I learned how make these at a Valrhona chocolate workshop at Sur la Table, I was very happy. I think you would like this recipe, so you can save some money making your own. It's actually really simple, but it takes some time, because you have to cook the peels 3 times to get rid of the bitterness. 

This is the recipe I got from my cooking class.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 large navel oranges

• 1,5 cups sugar

• ⅓ cup (180ml) orange flavored liqueur, Cointreau or Grand Marnier

• 1 cup sugar (to coat the cooked orange peels)

• 340 g Bittersweet chocolate (like Valrhona 61%)

Directions:

Cut of the top and bottom of the oranges and discard. Cut the oranges into quarters and remove all but the but 1/2-inch of flesh, which will assist in removing the bitterness of the  peel during the cooking process. Cut the quarters into 1/4- inch wide matchstick strips.

Place the orange slices in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water and place on the stove over a medium-high heat. Bring the water to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Using a strainer, remove the water and repeat the process with fresh water two more times.

After the third boil, drain and rinse the cooked orange peel under cold water and remove any pulp that is attached to the peel.

Return the orange slices to the pan with 1-1/2 cups of sugar and the liqueur and place on the stove over a low heat to cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved, about 4 minutes.

Continue to cook on low heat until the sugar is absorbed by the peel, about 1 hour. While the peel is cooking, spread the remaining sugar evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Remove the saucepan from the stove and immediately roll the orange peel strips in the sugar, separating the slices to coat them completely. Transfer the slices onto a sheet of parchment paper and then let them air-dry, about 20 minutes.

To dip orange peel with chocolate: Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt and temper the chocolate over a double-boiler.

Dip a slice of the candied orange peel into the chocolate, half-way or completely, thoroughly coating it. With a fork or a dipper, remove the slice from the chocolate, gently shake off the excess chocolate, and turn the slice out onto the paper. Repeat with the remaining slices. Let the chocolate dipped orange peel set up at room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator, about 15 minutes.

Cherry sauce - kirsebærsauce

Cherry sauce - kirsebærsauce

This cherry sauce can be used on ice or puddings, but I always make this for my christmas dessert, risalamande. 

Growing up my parents had a cherry tree in their yard. Every year, my mom would preserve cherries to use for Christmas. The best part of my moms preserved cherries was the small nuts from inside the cherry-stone. After being preserved, the tasted like almonds, so yummy.

When I turned 9, my parents decided to move, and in their new yard, there were no cherry tree. And this was the end of homemade preserved cherries in my family. Now we had to eat store bought cherry sauce, like most other danes. 

Moving to the US, gave me a challenge with the cherry sauce, but one of my Danish friends, who moved to the US 4-5 years earlier than me, had the answer. You make your own cherry sauce from caned cherries. 

This is Mrs. Olsen's recipe for cherry sauce - well I might have tweaked it a bit, but the credits goes to Mrs Olsen. 

Ingredients:

• 1 can pitted cherries in heavy syrup
• 1 cup (250 ml) concentrated cherry juice
• 2-3 tablespoons sugar
• ½ lemon, the juice from
• cornstarch
• water

Directions:

Heat the cherries, cherry juice and sugar in a saucepan, bring it to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in cold water. Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch. Add lemon juice and sugar to taste. A spash of cherry liqueur only makes the sauce better.

Serve this sauce with ice cream, puddings or on risalamande.

Risalamande - Danish Rice Pudding

Risalamande - Danish Rice Pudding

December 22. - I think, I need to plan the hunt for the almond carefully this year. I really want the marzipan pigs from Summerbird.

Risalamande means rice with almonds, and even though the name sounds french, it is a danish dessert, dating back about hundred years.

This is the dessert 90% of danes have at christmas dinner on christmas eve. Normally the cook will put one whole blanched almond in the the bowl with Risalamande, which  is served family style. The person who gets the whole almond gets a special gift. In many families the gift is a pig made from marzipan, or at least some kind of sweet or candy. As if you need more sweets and candy at christmas time.

Before risalamande was invented the norm was to start the christmas dinner of with a bowl of rice porridge. Maybe to fill you up with an inexpensive dish, so you wouldn't have to eat so much of the more pricy goose or duck roast. The Danish royal family still to this day start their christmas dinner with rice porridge. 

Risalamande is served with a hot or cold cherry sauce.

This is how my mom made risalamande.

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients:

• Rice porridge made from 1 l milk, cold

• ¼ liter heavy whipping cream (use organic, without any other ingredients other than cream/milk)

• 1-2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 vanilla pod, the seeds from.

• A large handful chopped blanched almonds

Directions:

Whip the cream in a large bowl, until stiff peaks are just about to form. If you over-beat the cream, it will leave you with butter. (been there, done that).

Spilt the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife. Using the knife, mix the seeds with some sugar. This helps the seeds to distribute in the risalamande. You want an even distribution of seeds in the risalamande, like small black freckles.

In another bowl mix the rice porridge, sugar and vanilla. Use s couple of dollops of the whipped cream to soften the porridge. Fold in the whipped cream and the chopped almonds a little at a time. Taste the risalamande, so you won't put in to much. You want a fluffy light dessert, but not a bowl full of whipping cream.

Serve the risalamande cold from the refrigerator with hot or cold cherry sauce.

Enjoy.

Klejner - Danish Fried Christmas Cookie

Klejner - Danish Fried Christmas Cookie

December 21. - Today we are decoration our christmas tree. A real tree decorated with lights, Danish flags and pleated hearts. 

Klejner is the oldest of the danish christmas cookies. You were able to make klejner in a pot of fat over the fire, so there was no need for a stove. 

My dad loved klejner, but my mom thought they were to much work to make. So for many years my dad made klejner, one of the few thing he ever made in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 180 g  butter, salted
• 120 g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 100 g whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon cognac
• 2 lemons, the zest of
• 1 teaspoon bakers ammonium (hjortetaksalt)
• 1½ teaspoon cardamom
• 500 g all-purpose flour
• Palm oil or coconut oil for frying 

Directions:

Cream the butter with the sugar in a stand mixer with a paddle, till it's light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, making sure that it's incorporated before adding the next. Mix in cream and cognac. 

Add bakers ammonium, flour, cardamom and lemon zest and mix until you have a firm dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator over night.

How to

Divide the dough into 2 balls. Roll the dough out forming a rectangle about ⅕ inch (5 mm) thick. 

Cut the dough into 1⅕ inch (3 cm) wide strips with a knife, pizza cutter or a klejnespore*. Cut the strips into 3⅕ inch (8 cm) long rectangles, make a ½ inch (1½ cm) slit in it.

To make a klejne carefully open the slit and pull one end of the rectangle through the slit to form a knot. Do this with all klejner. Set the klejner side by side on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Heat up the oil to 170-180℃ and fry the klejner until golden brown. Let the excess fat drain off on some paper towel.

The klejner will keep for about a week, in an airtight container.

Klejnespore

* A klejnespore is a special pastry cutter that makes the perfect size dough strips and make a slit in the middle of the dough strip.

Pebernødder - Pfeffernüsse

Pebernødder - Pfeffernüsse

December 20. - Finally weekend in sight. Time to make paper decorations like the pleated heart. The first known pleated heart was made by Hans Christian Andersen the Danish author and poet.

Pebernødder mean pepper nuts and is one of the oldest christmas cookies in Denmark. Pebernødder are small spicy chrisp cookies, they are really yummy.

This recipe is from the Danish morning TV, but I cut the recipe in half, because I made other christmas cookies this year. 

Ingredients:

• 125 g salted butter, room temperature

• 125 g sugar

• ½ teaspoon ginger

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon white pepper

• ½ teaspoon cardamom

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 50 ml heavy cream

• 250 g all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃)

Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer, until it's fluffy and white, add the cream.

Mix the dry ingredients and mix it in, and you will get at firm dough.

Roll the dough into logs as thick as your little finger, cut the dough into 1 cm pieces . 

You can roll them or just keep them as is.

Bake for 7-10 minutes to light brown.

Keep in an airtight container.