Nordisk Jul - Nordic Christmas

Elgfilet, karameliserede rodfrugter og appelsinsalat med rosenkål, granatæble og mandler.

For mig har den Nordiske Jul og specielt den Danske Jul og dens trationer en helt særlig betydning. Det er selvfølgelig fordi jeg nu er udenlandsdansker.

Da jeg boede i Danmark var det lettere at lade sig rive med af nye trends og tendenser, for dybest set var de danske traditioner og højtider jo fastforankrede, det er en del af det at være dansker i Danmark. Som udenlandsdansker er det meget op til dig selv. Man er på mange måder rodløs. Man hører ikke til nogen steder. Mange af de ting vi som danskere tager for givet, er nu de ting vi glæder os mest over.

Rent madmæssigt, nu dette er en madblog, så er det nu himmelsk at få en rugbrødsmad med leverpostej eller markrel i tomat, hvor det tidligere var umådeligt uinteressant.

Her i huset holder vi dansk jul den 24. om aftenen. Vi har et rigtigt grantræ pyntet med bl.a. Dannebro og stjerne på toppen. Vi spiser and og/eller flæskesteg, med rødkål, brunede kartofler og flødesovs. Og selvfølgelig får vi risalamande med kirsebærsauce til dessert, og ja der er en mandelgave. Der er ingen der skal lave om på min gamle jul! Men der er ting, der mangler. Her er ingen sne, og kulden er det så som så med her i Californien. (Jeg ved godt, at jeg bare kan køre ind til Tahoe og så har jeg kulden og sneen, på et godt år).

Hvordan vil en Nordisk Jul se ud her i Californien? Nordisk, må være gode, nordiske, rustikke råvarer med elementer fra den mere traditionelle julemiddag.

Jeg har valgt at lave elgfilet med stjerneanis "stegt" sous-vide, med karameliserede bagte rodfrugter og en frisk appelsin/limesalat med rosenkål, granatæble og mandler. Billedet er taget uden saucen, som var en indkogt portvin monteret med lidt smør og tilsat lidt friske blåbær.

Denne middagskombination var et stort hit herhjemme. Kødet var perfekt rosa og smagte "vildt" med en diskret note af stjerneanis. De karameliserede rodfrugter, havde stadig lidt bid, og smagte fantastisk. Salaten brød sødmen og gav god tekstur til middagen. Alt i alt var det et kongemåltid.

Til 3 personer

Ingredienser:

Elg:

• ca 20 cm stykke elgfilet (3-400g)
• 1 stjerneanis, knækket i mindre stykker
• 1 klat smør
• salt, efter smag.

Rodfrugter:

• 3 gulerødder
• 4 pastinakker
• 3 jordskokker
• 1 lille knoldselleri
• 3 små rødbeder
• salt
• lidt olie, til bagningen
• sukker og smør til bruningen

Salat:

• 3 appelsiner
• 1 lime
• ca 250 g rosenkål, kun yderbladene
• ¼ granatæble
• 1 lille håndfuld hele mandler

Sauce:

• ca ½ flaske portvin
• 1 tsk smør
• 1 lille håndfuld blåbær

Fremgangsmåde:

Kødet:

Elgfileten renses for sener og saltes jævnt over det hele. Den knækkede stjerneanis fordeles også på fileten. Kom kødet i en vacuumpose, og læg en lille klat smør på toppen af kødet. Vacuumpak kødet.

Tilbered kødet ved 61℃ i 1 time og 40 minutter. Når tiden er gået tag kødet op af vandbadet, og tag den ud af posten. Dup kødet tørt med lidt køkkenrulle. Brun fileten på en glohed pande med lidt olivenolie og smør, så du får en god stegeskorpe.

Skær kødet tyndt, og server straks.

Rodfrugterne:

Forvarm ovenen til 200℃.

Skræl rodfrugterne og skær den i mundrette stykker. Rødbederne holdes for sig selv, og steges også for sig selv, så det hele ikke bliver rødt.

Kom rodfrugterne i ovnfaste fade, og vend dem i lidt olie og kom salt på. Bag rodfrugterne i ca 30 minutter, indtil de er møre, men stadig har lidt bid. Tag rodfrugterne ud og lad dem køle lidt ned.

Når du er klar til serveringen, smeltes sukker på en stor pande. Sukkeret skal dække bunden med en jævnt lag. Når sukkeret er smeltet og det er gyldent tilsættes ca. en teske smør. Rør rundt i sukkermassen til det lige bruser af. Kom de kølede rodfrugter på panden. Rør rundt i det hele, til alle rodfrugterne er dækket af et karamel lag. Server staks.

Saucen:

Kog portvinen ind til en sirup. Dette skal gøres ved ikke for høj varme. Tag siruppen af varmen og pisk smørret ned i saucen, dette vil tykne saucen lidt. Kom blåbær ned i den varme sauce og lad den varme igennem . Server saucen.

Saucen passer perfekt til al slags rødt kød.

Salat:

Vask rosenkålen, og gem de pæne yderblade, det er dem der skal bruges til salaten. Gem resten af rosenkålen og lav evt en rosenkålsmos en anden dag. Hak rosenkålsbladene groft.

Skræl appelsinerne og limen og skær dem i tyndeskiver. Hak mandlerne groft. Befri granatæblekernerne og undgå at få de hvide lameller med. Youtube er fuld af forskellige metoder, men jeg skærer bund og top af. Så skærer jeg kun skallen fra top til bund de steder, hvor jeg kan se der er et ophold i kernerne. Jeg trækker så både ud med kerner og piller dem fra skallen. Det sviner knap så meget som når man skærer kernerne over. Saml salaten på tallerknerne eller på et fad.

English version:

Elk with caramelized root vegetables and citrus salad

Ingredients:

Elk:

• 8 inch (20 cm) piece elk loin (3-400g)
• 1 star anise, broken into smaller pieces
• 1 teaspoon butter
• salt, to taste

Root vegetables:

• 3 large carrots
• 4 parsnips
• 3 sun chokes (Israeli artichokes)
• 1 small root celery
• 3 small beets
• salt
• a splash of oil for the baking
• sugar and butter for the caramelizing

Salad:

• 3 oranges
• 1 lime
• ca 250 g brussels sprouts, only the vibrant green outer leaves
• ¼ pomegranate
• 1 handful almonds

Sauce

• ca ½ bottle port wine
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 handful blueberries

Directions:

Elk:

Trim loin of excess fat and/or membranes. Season the loin and place in a large plastic bag with star anise and butter. Vacuum-seal. Cook the meat in a sous-vide water bath preheated to 142°F (61°C) for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Remove bag from the water and remove the loin from the bag. Pad it dry. Sear the meat on all sides in a very hot pan with a little oil and butter. Slice the meat thinly and serve immediately.

Root vegetables:

Preheat the oven for 400℉ (200℃). Peel the root vegetables and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Keep the beets separate even during baking, to prevent all the vegetables from turning red. Dress the vegetables in oil and season with salt. Bake the vegetables in ovenproof dishes for about 30 minutes until tender, but not soft. Cool the vegetables. Just before you are ready to serve, heat a large skillet over high heat, pour in the sugar and melt it. When the sugar has turned the color of light amber, add the butter and stir with a wooden spoon. Carefully pour the vegetables into the hot caramel. Lower the heat and make sure the vegetables get covered in the caramel and get heated through. Serve immediately, otherwise the vegetables looses the shine.

The sauce:

Reduce the port to a syrup over low to medium heat. Remove from heat when the port can cover the back of a spoon. Stir in a teaspoon of salted butter, this will thicken the sauce a bit. Add the blueberries so they just get heated. The sauce is perfect with any kind of red meat.

Salad:

Rinse the brussels sprouts, save the outer leaves, these will be used in the salad. Save the rest og the brussels sprouts for anther day, maybe making this brussels sprouts pure. Chop up the brussels sprouts leaves roughly . Peel the oranges and the lime, and slice them up finely. Chop up the almonds. Place the brussels sprouts on a plate , place the oranges and limes on top. Sprinkle almonds and pomegranate on top.

Scalloped Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Scalloped Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and maybe its time to change up some of the sides. I really loved the scalloped hasselback potatoes I've posted previously, and thought that I might work with sweet potatoes too. The smoked gouda and the sweet potatoes and with the caramelized crunch works perfect.

I have a feeling that these sweet potatoes could very addictive. I might have to put a waring label on this post. 

Serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes

• 6 fl oz (5 dl) heavy whipping cream

• smoked gouda

• 2 sprigs thyme leaves, leaves only

• salt

• 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar

Direction:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Grate the cheese, and mix it with cream, thyme and some salt.

Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly on a mandolin. Toss the potato slices in the cream/cheese mixture, making sure to cover each slice. 

Purple and orange sweet potatoes

Stack the potato slices and lay them in ovenproof dish with their edges aligned vertically. Continue to fill the dish with the potatoes until the dish is filled. Pour excess cream/cheese mixture evenly over potatoes.

Cover dish with tin foil, and bake the potatoes for about 35 minutes until  the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife

Take off the foil and sprinkle the brown sugar on top, and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes until the sugar has caramelized.

When the potatoes is done, take the dish out of the oven and let the potatoes rest for a few minutes, before serving.

Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Dansk udgave

First time I encountered a butternut squash was after moving to the US. Every fall I would see piles of this oddly shaped beige vegetable in the grocery store. They were hard like a pumpkin, but didn't look like the pumpkins I knew from back home. Pumpkin was not something we cooked with in Denmark, at least not in my family. My mom had made pumpkin jam and sugar pickled pumpkin, but the recipes is long gone.

I got to taste a butternut squash soup at a friends house one Thanksgiving, and I kinda liked it, but I was on the sweeter side, and as I recall it, it had nutmeg or some warm spices in it. 

I don't have to tell you, but I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie, but I will never pass on a Pumpkin Spice Latte. It must be the coffee that make me love it.

I like a fresher and lighter taste to my butternut squash soup, so I was delighted when I found a soup with few ingredients, including an apple, on CHOW.com.  I made a few changes, and got a crisp fresh butternut squash soup, that even my squash-hating husband liked. He ranked it up with his favorite, spicy peach soup, so I must have hit something right with this soup.

Here is my version:

Serves 4 for dinner or 6-8 for an appetizer.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced

• 1 small onion

• 4 fresh sage leaves

• 3 teaspoons chicken paste*

• 4 cups (about 1 liter) water

• 2 teaspoons salt or taste

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or taste

Garnish:

• ½ cup toasted pumpkin seeds

• ½ leek, thinly sliced

• a few sugar pickled chilies

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220℃). 

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the squash pieces cut-side up on the baking sheet. Brush them with about 1 tablespoon of butter all over the cut side. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast squashes for about 50 minutes, until knife tender and browned on the edges.

Melt the remaining butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the apple and onion, and cook while stirring until softened about 5 minutes. 

When the squash has cooled somewhat, scoop the flesh out with a spoon into the sautéed onions and apples. Discard the skins.

Add chicken paste and water, and bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes, until the flavors are blended. Season with salt, pepper and fresh sage. 

Purée the soup in batches in a blender** until smooth. (You can also use an immersion blender.) Season with more salt and pepper if needed. 

Serve the soup hot with your favorite garnish and a slice of good bread.

* You can use chicken or vegetable stock instead of the paste and water. 

**Be careful when blending hot liquids, it can make the lid pop off, and you may risk getting serious burns on you skin. You can remove the small cap on you blender lid and cover the lid with a clean kitchen towel. You need to hold on to the lid and towel. This will let the steam from the hot soup escape and avoid the lid from popping off. You can also get blenders like the Vitamix, where you can blend hot liquids, without any hassle.

The Danish version:

Bagt Butternut-Græskar-Suppe

Til 4 personer til aftensmad eller 6-8 personer til forret.

Ingredienser:

• 2 mellemstore butternut græskar, halverede på langs og fjern frøene

• 2 spsk smør

• 1 Granny Smith æble, skrællet og skåret i tern

• 1 løg

• 4 friske salvieblade

• 1 liter kylling eller grøntsagsboullion

• 2 tsk salt, eller efter smag

• ¼ tsk friskkværnet sort peber, eller efter smag

Tilbehør:

• ½ dl ristede græskarkerner

• ½ porre skåret i tynde skiver

• lidt sukkersyltede chilier

Fremgangsmåde:

Opvarm ovnen til 220℃. 

Kom staniol på en bageplde/bradepande, og sæt de flækkede græskar her på, med skærefladen opad. Pensl dem med lidt smeltet smør, og krydder med rigeligt salt og peber. Bag græskarne i ca. 50 minutter, indtil de er møre og brunede i kanten. De er møre, når du let kan stikke en kniv ned i kødet.

Smelt resten af smørret i en stor tykbundet gryde, og sauter løg og æbletern heri indtil de er bløde, ca. 5 minutter. 

Når græskaret er kølet lidt og det er til at håndtere, skrab kødet ud af skallen og ned til løg og æbler. Smid græskarskallerne ud.

Tilsæt bouillonen og kog suppen op. Lad suppen simre i ca. 15 minutter. Krydr med salt, peber og salvie. 

Blend suppen i en blender eller med en stavblender. Pas på med at blende den varme suppe, da det kan give skoldninger, hvis låget hopper af. Man kan evt. tage det lille låg af blenderen og dække hullet til med et viskestykke, men der blendes. 

Smag suppen til med salt og peber en sidste gang, og server den brændvarm med det ønskede tilbehør.

Velbekomme

NB. Man kan få blendere som f.eks. Vitamix, som gør det muligt at blende varme supper uden problemer.

Hveder - Hvedeknopper

Hveder - Hvedeknopper

Hveder, or hvedeknopper, is a white bread roll spiced with cardamom. It's an old tradition from 1686 to eat heated rolls the night before "Store Bededag" aka "Prayers day." Store Bededag is the fourth friday after Easter, this year it's May 16th.  Actually it's a consolidation of a bunch of prayer and pendance days. Everybody had the day off on Store Bededag even the bakers. You were actually meant to stop all work, play, travels and all games. To make up for not being able to get any fresh bread on Store Bededag, the bakers made an abundance of hvedeknopper (wheat rolls), to tie people over. And the tradition of eating the toasted hvedeknopper the night before Store Bededag was born. Ok people was meant to save the rolls to the next day, but who can resist a fresh-baked roll?

The tradition stayed but nowadays the day is one of days used for the confirmation of the young people in the church - a big day for family parties.

Makes 18-20 hvedeknopper

Ingredients:

• 50 g confectionary sugar

• 10 g salt

• 50 g live yeast (4 teaspoon dry yeast)

• 1 egg

• 75 g butter, room temperature

• 5-10 g cardamom

• 2½ dl (1 cup +1tablespoon) water, finger-warm

• 550-600 g all-purpose flour

Directions:

In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the water. (Add a teaspoon sugar if you are using dry yeast, and wait until it starts to foam.) Mix in the butter, sugar and egg. Add salt and cardamom to a small part of the flour, and add that to the water-mixture. Add the flour a little at a time, until you have a soft dough. You might not need it all. Knead the dough for about 7-10 minutes until the dough is shinny and elastic. Let the dough rise covered for about 20 minutes.  

Hveder - Hvedeknopper

Pour the dough onto a lightly floured workspace, fold the dough over 3-4 times and divide the dough into 18-20 small balls. Place the balls only about 1 cm (about ⅓-½ inch) apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover the dough balls with a dampen kitchen towel, and let them rise for another 60 minutes. They are meant to grow into each other, you want the soft sides on your rolls, when you pull them apart.

Preheat the oven for 400℉ (200℃).

Bake the hvedeknopper/rolls for 15-20 minutes until they are dark golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack.

Before serving, cut them in half and toast them. Serve them hot with butter and jam or with a good cheese.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Hveder - Hvedeknopper

18-20 stk.

Ingredienser:

• 50 g flormelis

• 10 g salt

• 50 g gær (4 tsk tørgær/11,8 g)

• 1 æg

• 75 g smør

• 5-10 g kardemomme

• 2 ½ dl lunkent vand

• 550-600 g mel

Fremgangsmåde:

Opløs gæren i vandet. Hvis du bruger tørgær, kom en smule sukker i vandet og vent et par minutter indtil gæren skummer. Tilsæt smør, flormelis og æg, og rør det sammen til det er blandet godt sammen. Bland kardemomme og salt i lidt af melet og tilsæt det til vandet. Tilsæt resten af melet lidt ad gangen og ælt dejen indtil den er blank og elastisk, ca. 6-10 minutter. Lad dejen hæve tildækket et lunt sted ca i 20 minutter.

Form 20 boller som sættes tæt på en bageplade med ca. 1 cm afstand. Læg et fugtigt viskestykke over og lad dem efterhæve i ca 1 time. Bag hvederne ved 200℃ i omkring 15-20 minutter, indtil de er mørk gyldne. Lad hvederne køle af på bagerist.

Før serveringen flæk hvederne og rist dem i en brødrister eller i ovnen med skærefladen opad ved 230 grader i ca. 5 minutter.

Server hvederne med koldt smør og marmelade eller en god ost.

Velbekomme!

Source: Lagkagehuset

Fastelavnsboller

Fastelavnsboller

Fastelavn is a old tradition dating back hundreds and hundreds of years. Danes celebrate fastelavn aka the night before Lent. Fastelavn sunday is 49 days before Easter Sunday. In 2014 fastelavn will be celebrated on marts second.

Children will dress up and "slå katten af tønden"  - the danish version of piñata, where you hit a wooden barrel filled with candy and fruit. The one that get the bottom to fall out will be crowned “kattedronning”, queen of cats, while the the person getting the last plank of the rope is crowned "kattekonge", King of cats. You might think that it would be hard to break the barrel, but they are made for different age ranges, so everyone has a chance. 

The picture on the right shows me dressed as Little Red Ridinghood having a go at the barrel. My mom and brother is standing behind me to the left. 

The children also get a fastelavnsris, a branch decorated with candy, black cats, masks and paper flowers.

This tradition is very similar to the American Halloween.  The dressed up children walk door to door singing the song "Boller op, boller ned, boller i min mave, hvis jeg ingen boller får så laver jeg ballade"  Buns up, buns down, buns in my stomach, if I get no buns, I’ll make trouble. Kinda like the trick or treat song: "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat! If you don't, I don't care. I'll pull down your underwear!" But unlike the American tradition the Danish children beg for small change and not candy.

Another tradition is fastelavnsboller, or fastelavns buns. There are different ways to make fastelavnsboller. You can make them from puff pastry or cream puffs  and filling them after they are baked. Or you can make a simple yeast dough and fill it with a almond paste and/or vanilla custard. I'll make the later. I also add remonce as filling. Remonce is butter creamed with sugar and marzipan (almond paste).

Next year I'll make twice as much custard, because I ran out before I had filled all the fastelavnsboller. I made rolls with remonce from the leftover dough - not bad at all!!

Ingredients:

Vanilla custard:

• 200 g milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

• 3 egg yolks

• 25 g sugar

• 1½ teaspoons all-purpose flour

Dough:

• 300 g all-purpose flour

• 14 g (2 packs fleischmann's) dry yeast

• 20 g sugar

• 100 g milk

• 1 egg

• 125 g butter (salted)

• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste

Remonce:

• 50 g butter room temperature

• 50 g sugar

• 50 g marzipan

Icing:

• confectionary sugar

• water

• cocoa or food color

Directions:

Vanilla custard:

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale in color. Whisk in the flour and vanilla paste.

Heat the milk to a slow boil, set aside. While whisking vigorously drizzle the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, just a tiny bit at a time at first. Once you’ve added about 1/4 of the milk, you can add the rest in a thin stream, whisking constantly.

Pour the mixture back in the saucepan and reheat it over medium heat. Whisk constantly until it thickens. Remove from heat and chill the custard in a bowl in the refrigerator. Sprinkle with sugar or press a film of plastic wrap against the custard in the fridge so it doesn’t form a pudding skin.

Remonce:

Mix the sugar and marzipan well. Add butter little by little until it’s just incorporated.  Be careful not to over mix or the remonce will be runny when baked.

Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Dough:

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Just before all the butter is melted remove pan from heat and add the milk. 

In a large bowl mix sugar and dry yeast. When the milk mixture is finger warm pour it in the bowl. Mix well and add vanilla paste, egg and salt. Mix in the flour a little at a time, you want the dough to be soft but nut sticky. 

Kneed the dough on the kitchen counter until the dough id smooth and soft. Let the dough rise in a covered bowl for about 90 minutes until it doubled in size.

Divide the dough in two, roll each portion into a rectangle and divide it into 6 squares.

Put a tablespoon custard and a teaspoon remonce in the center of each square. Fold the four corners up to the center and press to seal all edges, letting the air inside escape. Put fastelavnsboller onto a parchment paper lined baking sheets with joint side down. Leave to rise covered for about 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash  and bake for about 10-12 minutes until golden. Let them cool on wire rack before decorating with chocolate or colored icing.

Icing:

Heat the confectionary sugar over very low heat (this makes the icing set faster) add water and cocoa or food coloring.

Enjoy.