Lamb chops sous vide

Lamb chops sous vide

I got a new gadget for the kitchen this christmas. I got an Anova sous vide Immersion circulator. It's the nerdiest gadget to date. I almost feel like I'm back at the lab growing cells or making analysis.

Sous vide is cooking in a water bath at exact controlled temperatures. You put the ingredients in a vacuum sealed bag and cook it at the temperature you want your ingredient to end up with, but you have to take food safety in to consideration. If you want a medium rare steak (131℉ or 55℃) you cook your steak at 131℉ or 55℃ for a certain amount of time. The time seems to be some kind of trial and error. But I’m not the first to have this type of equipment in my home, so there’s a lot of websites recommending time and temperature for different ingredients.

These lamb chops was tender and moist, and by far one of the best I have ever had. Next time, I would remove more of the fat, no other changes.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 rack of lamb, cut up to 4 chops

• 2 sprigs of rosemary,

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 tablespoon butter

• salt and pepper

Directions:

Wash you hands very thoroughly. 

Pour boiling water over the rosemary. Cut the rack of lamb into 4 chops. Season the chops with salt and pepper. Place some rosemary leaves on each chop and a few slices of garlic. Place two chops in each vacuum bag and place some butter, rosemary and garlic slices on the other side of the chop. Vacuum seal the bags and submerge them in the 130℉ (54.5℃) water bath to cook for 2 hours.

After the 2 hours take the vacuum bags out of the water and remove the lamb chops from the bags. Sear the chops on a scalding hot pan, about a minute on each side.

Enjoy.

Liquorice, Lemon and White Chocolate Cookies

Liquorice, Lemon and White Chocolate Cookies

I have a thing with liquorice, I can have cravings for liquorice. I know it's a scandinavian thing, but I'm trying to introduce real liquorice for my American friends. The red "liquorice" with raspberry flavor has nothing to do with liquorice, none what so ever. 

I just bought the book Lakrids i Maden by Johan Bülow, and it was very inspiring. I want to try every recipe. I like the twists Johan Bülow gives to classic recipes like caramelized potatoes by adding liquorice.

I had to try make cookies with liquorice, but I wanted another flavoring than the one in Lakrids i Maden. Liquorice and white chocolate is a match made in heaven, and adding lemon into the mix, makes the flavor go to a whole other level.

This Is my take on a cookie with liquorice.

Ingredients:

• 200 g butter, salted
• 200 g sugar
• 75 g brown sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1 teaspoon fine liquorice powder (Bülow Fine Liquorice Powder)
• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 50 g white chocolate (a good one like Valrhona)
• 50 g sweet liquorice (like Bülows No. 1)
• 1 lemon, the zest of
• 75 g almonds, blanched and ground to a course flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Heat oven to 365℉.

Blanch the almonds, and ground them 

Mix together the flour, liquorice powder and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Combine the egg, milk, and vanilla and bring to room temperature in another bowl.

Cream the butter in a stand mixer, starting on low speed to soften the butter. Add the sugars. Increase the speed, and cream the mixture until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture slowly, and  mix until well combined.

Slowly add the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate, liquorice and lemon zest. Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for more even browning.

Remove the cookies from the pans immediately. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes

Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes

My husband send me a link to a recipe for hasselback potato gratin. It looked to be the best of both worlds, a combination of the creamy potato gratin and the crisp hasselback potatoes. 

I thought it would be perfect with a ribeye steak. I changed it up a bit, to what was in my refrigerator.

This is my version.

Serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds russet potatoes

• 6 fl oz (5 dl) heavy whipping cream

• parmesan cheese

• smoked gouda

• 2 garlic cloves

• 2 sprigs thyme leaves, leaves only

• salt

Direction:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Grate the cheeses, and set about ¼ of it a side, and mix the rest with the cream, garlic, thyme.

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. 

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 30 minutes. Take off the foil and spread the rest of the cheese on top, and continue to bake for 30 minutes.

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

Curry Salad - Karrysalat

Curry Salad on pickled herring

Curry Salad is another traditional side for the Danish open faced sandwiches. Danes like fish, danes like pickled herring, but danes, for the most part, don't know how to make pickled herring, and this includes me. But I know how to make the curry salad to go with the herring, and it's so yummy. 

In Denmark you can buy pickled herring in a curry sauce, but sometimes homemade is better, And when you can't figure out how to pickle the herring, you can always make the curry sauce or salad, to get the homemade feeling at your lunch.

At my family's christmas luncheons the seafood part was the most important, we all loved pickled herring, smoked Salmon and fried fish fillets. Normally a danish christmas luncheons is a feast on all thing pork, but fish is a plays a big part too. 

Ingredients:

• 2 pickled cucumbers/gherkins (you can use 5 small cornichons)

• 3 eggs, hardboiled

• 175 g mayonnaise

• ½ cup (1 dl) sour cream

• 3-5 teaspoons curry powder (I use madras curry)

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrins)

• a splash HP sauce

• ½ teaspoon turmeric

• salt & pepper to taste.

Directions:

Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, curry powder, Worcestershire sauce, HP sauce and turmeric. Dice the cucumber/gherkins and the hardboiled eggs in small pieces, fold it into the sauce. season with curry, salt and pepper.

Refrigerate the curry salad for an hour or so for the favors to blend better. This salad will keep for 5-6 days in the refrigerator. 

You can add diced apples for a sweeter taste, or diced red onions for a sharper taste.

Citrus Salad with Liquorice Vinaigrette

Citrus Salad with Liquorice Vinaigrette

I decided to make a new dish for the christmas dinner. I know that the Danes are really set the their ways, especially when it comes to their christmas dinner. But I love trying new things, so I hope my husband's family will love this citrus salad inspired from "Lakrids i Maden".

When I read that the salad called for a liquorice vinaigrette, my first thought was "how would the salty liquorice syrup taste with the dark espresso balsamic from The Olive bar?" I can only say "faaaantastic" - and on a slice of orange it tastes even better.

Here is my take on the citrus salad.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 1 tablespoon salty liquorice syrup
• 2 tablespoons dark espresso balsamic

Salad:

• 3 oranges
• 2 pink grapefruits
• 2 pink lemons
• Tunisian blood orange olive oil
• 1 handful Italian parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons shallots, finely chopped

Directions:

Whisk the the liquorice syrup with the balsamic, set aside.

Peel oranges, lemons and grapefruits and slice them thinly. Arrange the slices in a platter and sprinkle with olive oil and salt.

Drizzle the dressing un top, and sprinkle with onion and parsley.