Food blog on scandinavian style food done right.
Dutch Baby with Lemon and Blueberries
Today is Pancake Day in most of the world, and a good excuse for eating delicious pancakes or crepes for breakfast, dinner, dessert or just because.
In Denmark our pancakes are the thin crepes like the french. I love these especially served with jam and ice cream. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with serving them with Nutella and fresh strawberries.
Thick, puffy pancake to die for.
Valentines Pavlova
I made pavlovas before but never with this finish. It was meant as a serving sized dessert, but to be honest, it came out as a dessert for sharing with your loved one.
I love the taste of the meringue with the lemon juice. The kind of pavlova I grew up with, "fuglereder" or birds nests in English, were plain white meringues, and they just tasted sweet, and served as a vessel for whipped cream and fresh berries or canned fruit if you were really unlucky.
I know 3 is a crowd on Valentines Day, but I like to make tree desserts just in case I'll fumble and break one of the meringues. I know this will happen if I don't have a spare.
Makes 3
Meringue:
Filling:
Meringue:
Preheat oven to 185℉ (85℃). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw 6 3-inch (7.5 cm) circles about 2-inch (5 cm) apart on the parchment paper, and turn the parchment paper upside down, so you don't get any pencil on the pavlovas.
In the bowl for the stand mixer, beat egg whites until frothy. Add the sugar gradually, a couple tablespoons at a time, while still beating the egg whites. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks. The egg whites/meringue will become thick and glossy. Gently fold in confectionary sugar and then fold in lemon juice and food coloring. Be careful not to over mix the meringue.
Spoon the meringue into a piping bag with a large round tip, and push the meringue down towards the tip.
Hold the piping bag at a 90-degree angle about an inch above the parchment paper, pointing at the center of the circle. Pipe with an even pressure until the meringue fills the circle. Ease the pressure on the piping bag and lift the piping bag straight up, making the meringue look like at big teardrop. Repeat for the rest of the circles.
Bake the meringues in the center of the oven for about 25 minutes, you should be able to gently remove the teardrops from the parchment paper. If you can't do this after baking for 25 minutes, then bake them for another 10 minutes. (This is when I knew my oven was broken. I had to bake the pavlova for about an hour before I could handle them)
With the flat bottom of the meringue facing up, spoon the inside out the inside, leaving a thin dome of meringue. Repeat with the rest of the meringues. Return the meringue domes to the baking sheet, and bake for another 30 minutes, flat side down. This will dry the meringues completely.
Let the meringues cool to room temperature.
Half of the domes (3) needs to be sanded down, using a microplane grater. This will become the base of the pavlovas.
Assemble:
Place the base of the pavlova, hollow side up on a plate. Pipe a big dollop white chocolate/lime ganache in the center filling the base. Place berries and quartered strawberries so they are covering the sides and top of the ganache. Pipe a small dollop ganache on top, to make the top dome stick.
Dust the top with confectionary sugar, and serve immediately.
TIPS:
For at quick dessert: Instead of making the teardrop, you can spread the meringue inside a drawn large circle on the parchment paper. Spread the meringue working from the center towards the edge. You want to make it look like a bowl. Bake it at 300℉ for 90 minutes. Fill the cooled bowl with ganache topped with fresh fruit.
Enjoy!
The Danish version:
Marengs:
Fyld:
Opvarm ovnen til 85℃.
Tegn 6 cirkler med en diameter på 7,5 cm, ca 5 cm fra hinanden på et stykke bagepapir. Læg bageparpiret på en bageplade med tegningen ned mod pladen, så du ikke får blyant på dine kager. Læg på en bageplade.
Pisk æggehviderne let til de begynder at blive skummende. Tilsæt sukkeret et par spsk ad gangen, mens du pisker. Pisk æggehviderne til du kan vende skålen på hovedet uden at det løber ud. Marengsen er så tyk og blank. Fold forsigtigt den sigttede flormelis i massen. Når flormelisen er blandet i, vend farve og citronsaften i. Pas på med at over-mikse marengsen.
Kom marengsen i en sprøjtepose med en stor rund tylle i. Pres marengsen ned til spidsen, og pres eventuelle lufthuller ud.
Hold sprøjteposen i en 90 graderes vinkel ca 2 cm over bageparpiret. Pres marengsen ud, så den fylder cirklen ud, slip presset på sprøjteposen og løft den lige op, så marengsen ligner en stor dråbe. Gentag for resten af cirklerne.
Bag marengsne i 25-35 minutter indtil de er tørret lidt, så det er muligt for dig at løsne dem fra papiret, uden at ødelægge dem. Du skal have ca 1 cm tørret marengsskal. (Det var her min ovn for alvor stod af, da jeg var nød til at bage dem i næsten en time, før de var til at håndtere.)
Hold marengsdråben med den flade side opad, og skrab det inderste ud. Jeg skar en cirkel med en skarp kniv, så jeg fik en jævn kant. "Indmaden" er stadig en blød marengs. Sæt dråben tilbage på bagepladen og gentag med resten. Bag marengsdråberne med åbningen nedad i yderligere 30 minutter, indtil de er helt tørre.
Lad marengsdråberne køle helt af.
Haklvdelen af dråberne skal have toppen slebet af med et fint rivejern. Disse skal være bunden af fuglereden.
Samling:
Sæt bunden af fuglereden med hullet opad på tallerken. Sprøjt en stor klat hvid chokolade/lime ganache i, så den fylder skålen ud. Placer bær hele vejen rundt så det dækker ganachen. Kom lidt ekstra ganache på toppen, til at lime "låget" på. Gentag med de resterende fuglereder.
Lige før serveringen drysses med lidt flormelis.
TIPS:
For en hurtigere dessert, kan du forme marengsen som en stor skål og bage den i ca. 90 minutter ved 150℃. Fyld den kølede skål med ganache og frisk frugt.
Velbekomme!
White Chocolate/Lime Ganache
This sweet creamy ganache is perfect in a classic layer cake instead of a buttercream or in french macarons. * Next time I'll try with only 1 gelatin sheet, so I get a softer ganache. but otherwise it was perfect. This is the kind of ganache that can be eaten with a spoon, it's that good.
This recipe is adapted from Dominique Ansel's recipe.
Soak the gelatin in water, or if using gelatin powder sprinkle over 2 tablespoons water. Let to bloom for 10-15 minutes.
Chop the chocolate finely and place in a bowl, set aside.
Rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic.
Heat the cream with the aromatic sugar, in a saucepan, to a soft boil. Remove from heat.
Melt the bloomed gelatin in the hot cream, while whisking. Pour about one-third of the hot cream over the chocolate, and left to sit for 30 seconds. Then whisk until incorporated and melted. Add the rest of the cream and whisk until smooth.
Let the ganache cool to room temperature, then whisk in the lime juice.
Cover the ganache with plastic wrap pressed directly against the ganache. This will prevent the ganache forming pudding skin. Let the ganache set over night or for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator.
Whip the ganache on high speed until medium-stiff peaks. Put ganache into a piping bag with a round tip. Push the ganache towards the tip. Place the piping bag in the refrigerator until ready to use. (Will only keep in refrigerator for up to 2 days).
Use ganache in Valentines Pavlovas or french macarons.
Enjoy!
We eat a lot of chicken in my family. Chicken is very easy to change up with different flavorings, and different cooking methods. So when I got David Lebovitz's cookbook, My Paris Kitchen, the first dish I had to try was "chicken with mustard."
The flavors of this dish blew me away. I thought the Dijon mustard would give the dish a strong flavor, but oddly enough the flavors was very mellow. I think we have another family favorite here. It is actually perfect for a weeknight dinner. We served it with pasta and quick butter-roasted carrot coins.
Serves 4-6
140 g Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt (optional)
4 chicken thighs and 4 drumsticks (8 pieces total), bone-in, skin-on
100 g (2-3 slices) smoked thick-cut bacon, diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves + some for garnish
a little olive oil, for the pan
240 ml (1 cup) white wine, non-oaky
1 tablespoon grainy mustard (I used Maille Old style whole grain dijon mustard)
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
Mix the 140 g Dijon mustard with paprika, salt and black pepper in a bowl. Toss the chicken pieces in the mustard mixture, making sure you get mustard in between chicken and chicken skin. Set aside, while you tend to the bacon and onion.
Chop onion and dice bacon. Heat sauté-pan or Dutch oven and add the bacon. Cook the bacon until it just starts to get brown. You are not looking for crispy bacon bites, you need them to stay soft. Remove the bacon from the skillet and let it drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Remove all bacon fat but 1 tablespoon. Add onion to the pan and cook until soft and translucent. Add the thyme and cook for another few minutes. Put the onions on a large plate, with the drained bacon.
Add a little olive oil to the skillet, if necessary, brown the chicken pieces in a single layer. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan, because this will cause the chicken to steam and not brown, it's better to work in batches. Get a good color all over the chicken. This will help develop the flavor in the dish. Place the chicken pieces on the plate with onions and bacon. Add the wine to the pot to deglaze it. Scrape of the dark bits of the bottom. Return the chicken, onion and bacon to the pan, and cook it covered for about 15-25 minutes, Check the doneness of the chicken by inserting a knife into the meat next to the bone. You want the juice to come out clear, if red, keep cooking for a few more minutes.
Remove pan from the heat and transfer the chicken to a platter and stir the remaining 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, the grainy mustard, and the crème fraîche into the sauce. If the sauce has reduced and is quite thick, you can thin it with a little warm water, adding a teaspoon or so at a time. Pour the sauce over the chicken, sprinkle chopped parsley over the top, and serve.
Enjoy!
The Danish version:
140 g Dijon sennep
¼ tsk røget paprika
friskkværnet sort peber, efter smag
½ tsk salt
8 stykker kylling med ben og skind, jeg bruger overlår, men underlår duer også
100 g bacon I tern
1 løg, hakket
1 tsk frisk timian blade + lidt til pynt, Jeg bruger 4-6 hele kviste
lidt oliven olie til stegning
2½ dl hvidvin
1 spsk grov sennep med tydelige sennepskorn så som Maille grov mild sennep
3 spsk Dijon sennep
3 spsk crème fraîche
Bland sennep, paprika, salt og peber i en skål. Kom kyllingestykkerne ned i blandingen. Masser senneppen over hele kyllingen, også ind underskindet. Lad kyllingen stå og marinere imens du forbereder det næste.
Hak løg og bacon i tern. Start med at stege bacon i en tykbundet gryde. Baconen skal kun lige tabe fedtet, og lige have taget lidt farve, det er ikke meningen at det skal blive alt for sprødt. Lad baconen dryppe af på et stykke køkkenrulle. Brug bacon fedtet til at stege løgene bløde i, kom timianen i sammen med løgene. Tag løgene op af gryden.
Kom evt. lidt olivenolie i gryden og brun kyllingestykkerne godt af. Gør det gerne af flere gange for ikke at koge kyllingen. Bruningen er med til at skabe en god dybde til retten.
Tag kyllingen op af gryden, og deglace den med vinen. Kom alle ingredienserne tilbage i gryden, og lad retten simre i 15-25 minutter, indtil kyllingen er nok.
For at færdiggøre retten tilsættes den grove og dijon sennep og creme fraichen. Hvis sovsen er for tyk, tilsæt lidt vand. Hvis sovsen er for tynd, så jævn den med en lille melbolle.
Server kyllingen med kartofler og lidt gulerødder.
Velbekomme!
Banana Milkshake - no ice cream
This is a very tasty shake, with just 4 ingredients. Normally milkshakes are made with ice cream, and they tend to be very sweet. This one is creamy and not overly sweet, and it reminds me of the banana milkshake you get from Falafel's Drive in, in San Jose.
Makes 1 shake.
Add all ingredients to a blender, and blend until smooth.