Soft Pretzels - Kommenskringler

Soft Pretzels - Kommenskringler

I believe the soft pretzels originate from Germany. The danish version contains caraway seeds. Back in the days, you could get them at most bakeries in Denmark, but nowadays, you only see them at old traditional bakeries.

Growing up, we had them occasionally,  because my mom loved caraway seeds, but I hadn’t had them for years before I met my husband, and he reintroduced me to them again.  

I love the soft, sweet bread with the characteristic taste of caraway seeds.

Here is how I made them

Ingredients:

• 500 g all-pupose flour

• 100 g butter

• 50 g live yeast (or 12 g dry active yeast)

• 4 tablespoons caraway seeds

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• 300 g milk 

• 1 egg (for egg wash)

Directions:

Warm the milk and melt the butter in it.  Mix together flour, sugar, salt and caraway seeds. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry  and knead the dough for about 10 minutes on medium. The dough should be soft and almost sticky.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a pretzel, and let the pretzels rise until doubled in size in a warm place. 

Brush pretzels with egg and sprinkle with caraway seeds. 

Bake the pretzels for about 10 minutes at 485℉ (250℃). 

Let cool on a wire rack.

Danish Lemon Mousse - Citronfromage

Danish Lemon Mousse - Citronfromage

Lemon mousse was my moms favorite dessert. We had it as dessert all trough the 70’s every time we had people over. I guess this was very normal in the 70's because nobody thought that cream could be bad for you, not to mention the risk of eating raw eggs. Salmonella wasn't a big risk at the time. 

My mom served lemon mousse in a dark green glass bowl, actually it's the exact same bowl, that I used here. I have never seen this bowl used for anything else, and for sure I'm not going to change that.

Somehow this dessert went on the back burner after the 70's. But when you serve it, people will love it. When I serve it for my danish friends and family they always start reminiscing, lemon mousse brings back good memories.

Disclaimer: This dessert is made with raw eggs. I recommend using pasteurized eggs. This would minimize the risk of getting Salmonella food poisoning. You can find pasteurized in some supermarkets here in California, on safeeggs.com you can see where to find them in your neighborhood. In Denmark you'll find it right next to regular eggs. For tips and information on how to handle eggs, check out FDA’s website. The Danish version of FDA,  Fødevarestyrelsen also has advisory on egg

 Serves 4-6 (in my family it's closer to 4 than 6)

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons gelatin (4 sheets husblas)
• 3 whole eggs (read disclaimer)
• 100 g sugar
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (50-60 ml)
• 1 lemon, the zest of
• 1 cup (250 ml) heavy whipping cream + extra for decorating

Directions:

Whip the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks, and set aside.

Whisk the eggs pale and fluffy with the sugar, set aside.

Mix the gelatin with half the lemon juice and melt the gelatin over a double boiler. Mix in the rest of the lemon juice and lemon zest.  

Using Husblas: put the sheets in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes. Over a double boiler melt the sheets with the water that adheres to it when removed from the bowl. Mix in the lemon juice and zest when melted completely.

Mix the gelatin lemon mixture with the eggs while whisking. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Pour the mousse into the serving dishes, and set it in the refrigerator for about 3 hours.

Before serving, whip some extra whipping cream and decorate the mousse. Serve the cold mousse with whipping cream and shaved dark chocolate.

Enjoy.

Kale Salad

Kale Salad

Kale has never been one of my favorites until I tried this salad. Kale is filled with vitamins A, C and K and calcium, so it's one of the healthiest things you can eat. Curly kale is fibrous and grassy tasting and it goes well with a creamy and lemony dressing, like the one I use here. The kales call for more dressing than a regular salad like iceberg or butter salad.

The dressing I use is a old-fasioned creamy dressing called mormordressing (grandmothers dressing) made with whipping cream, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. My mom made another version of this dressing substituting the whipping cream with a fermented milk product called ymer, kinda like the Icelandic skyr, you can get in most supermarkets.

I love this Kale salad with different curries or with a nice pork chop. 

Ingredients:

Salad:

• 1 pound kale curly red or green

• 75 grapes

• 1-2 mango

• ½ cup (50 g) almonds, chopped

Dressing:

• ½ cup (1 dl) whipping cream

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Dressing:

Mix the ingredients and add lemon or sugar to taste.

Salad:

Rinse and cut the ribs out of the kale leaves, and finely chop the leaves. Discard the ribs.

Rinse the grapes and cut them in halves. 

The mangos should be ripe and soft, so you can peel of the skin without using a knife. Peel mango and dice it. 

Mix it all in a large bowl with the dressing, so all the kale is covered in a thin layer of dressing.

Chop the almonds and sprinkle them on top of the salad. 

Enjoy.

Guacamole

Guacamole - The perfect snack.

I have a love for avocados, and guacamole especially. The green velvety dips is to die for.

I have tried many different recipes, but this one from Curtis Stone is the best I've tried yet. I will keep looking for perfection, but this is really really close.

Ingredients

• 3 firm but ripe hass avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and cut into ½ inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• ½ jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• salt

Directions

In a large bowl, gently fold the avocados, cilantro, lime juice, jalapenos, garlic, and cumin together. Season to taste with salt.

Øllebrød - Danish rye bread porridge

Øllebrød med meget flødeskum -  Danish rye bread porridge with a big scoop whipped cream.

I made øllebrød, another traditional danish dish. But when  I wanted to write this post I didn’t know how to translate "øllebrød" - So I tried Goggle Translate, which suggested "beer soup". But it didn’t sound right, especially when I don't use any beer in the recipe. So I ended up with the Danish rye bread porridge because its a porridge made from rye bread, right?

My mom loved øllebrød, she could eat it for every meal, while my dad hated it. So she had it mostly as breakfast, and as her daughter I learned to love it too.

In Denmark you give children øllebrød for breakfast when they are starting to eat solid foods. It's very filling and will keep you full for at long time, kinda like oatmeal. Øllebrød is sweet and that's why I add some lemon zest to it. But beware you can only eat a little portion, because it's so filling.

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

• 400 g seedless rye bread
• 900 g water (to get desired thickness)
• 120 g brown sugar
• 1 lemon, zest of 

Directions:

The bread can be leftover stale bread. Cut the bread into cubes, and put them into a pot. Add water just to cover. With stale bread you would let it sit overnight. With fresh bread you can start to cook it right away.

Boil the bread and water with the brown sugar, and stir occasionally. To get rid of the lumps you can either use an immersion blender or strain the porridge through a sift. 

Add more water to get the right consistency. Take the porridge of the heat and add the lemon zest.

Serve the hot Øllebrød with cold milk or whipped cream.