Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd is a sweet, tart, soft and velvety spread. Traditionally it is used as a spread for scones for the afternoon tea. But it is a perfect filling in cakes. I've always looked at lemon curd as a thing you buy in a jar in the store. But having the most wonderful lemons in my yard, I had to try to make it myself. Wow, what a flavor!! I will never buy lemon curd ever again. The homemade version is like a party in your mouth. If you know Danish lemon mousse/citronfromage, it's like that, with lemon-steroids. YUM YUM YUM.

Makes about a cup (2-3 dl).

Ingredients:

• 115 g (1 stick) butter, I use lightly salted butter
• 170 g sugar
• 1¼ dl (½ cup) lemon juice, about 3-4 lemons
• 4 lemons, the zest from
• 6 egg yolks

Directions:

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, be careful not to let it brown. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the sugar, lemon juice and zest. Then whisk in the egg yolks until smooth.

Place saucepan over low-medium heat and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until it thickens. You are looking for the curd to leave a path on the back of a spoon, when a finger is drawn across it. Be careful NOT to let the curd boil, this will cause the egg to curdle.  

Immediately pour the lemon curd into a bowl, to stop the heating. Let the lemon curd cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Keep the lemon curd covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.

TIP: Lemon curd keeps for about a month in the refrigerator, not that it has survived this long in my house.

Marengskys - Meringue Tops

Marengskys - Meringue Tops

Meringue tops are called kys or kisses in Danish, and are small sweet tops, perfect with ice cream or at any party. 

These are dressed up for a party, with some rainbow disco dust.

Makes a lot.

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 135 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
• a drop food coloring
• sprinkle of rainbow disco dust 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300℉ (150℃). Line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In the bowl for the stand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks. Add the sugar gradually, a couple tablespoons at a time, while still beating the egg whites. The egg whites/meringue will become thick and glossy. Gently fold in cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and food coloring.

Transfer the meringue into a pastry bag with a star tip. Pipe tops onto the prepared baking sheets, You don't need to space them to far apart, they will stay pretty much the same size. Sprinkle the tops with rainbow disco dust.

Bake the meringues for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Green Goddess Dressing

Green Goddess Dressing

The delicious green dressing is believed to originate back to 1923 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Where the executive chef Philip Roemer wanted to pay tribute to an actor and his play The Green Goddess.

This dressing is new to me, it must be my Danish hesitance that have made me miss out on this delicious dressing. But from now on I am going use it with my salads from time to time.  

I know this dressing is old school, but the tanginess from the buttermilk and the taste of herbs really pairs well with a green salad.

Ingredients:

• 180 ml (¾ cup) mayonnaise
• 180 ml (¾ cup) buttermilk
• 20 g (4 tablespoons) chopped fresh chives
• 15 g (¼ cup) fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 3 tablespoons (about 5 g) fresh tarragon leaves, chopped
• 1 glove garlic
• 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
• 1 lemon, the juice from
• salt & pepper

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a blender, and blend the dressing until smooth. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Serve the dressing with a pasta salad or a green salad.

Enjoy!

Hot Hot Sauce

Hot hot sauce

We really like spicy food in my house. But I don't like hot and spicy just for the heat/pain, there is no fun in that. I need flavor, lots of flavor, and then the heat comes second. This sauce is flavor packed, with a good amount of heat. 

Mix the hot sauce with your ketchup, and you have a great "homemade" condiment for your next backyard BBQ.

Aiming for a very hot, hot sauce like the Google hot sauce by chef Charlie Ayers, the former executive chef for Google. This is what I came up with, using ingredients I had in the kitchen, giving the Google hot sauce a twist.

Makes little under 1 cup.

Ingredients:

• 3 habanero chillies

• 1 jalapeño

• ½ carrot, diced

• ¼ onion, chopped

• ¼ teaspoon ginger, minced

• ½ tablespoon raw sugar

• ½ teaspoon chipotle chili

• 1 teaspoon tomato pure

• 1 teaspoon agave nectar

• ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon worchestershire sauce

• ¾ teaspoon Thai fish sauce

• ½ lime, the juice

• water to almost cover

Directions:

Bring it all to a boil in a saucepan. Let it simmer, lid on, for 30-40 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

Puree the sauce in a blender, and pass through a strainer. Store the sauce in a clean sealed jar in the refrigerator, it will keep 3-5 days like that.

Enjoy!

Warnings:

Use gloves, while chopping the chilies. 

Do not inhale the steam from the sauce, it works kinda like pepper spray.

Do not get sauce in your eyes. 

Be careful when working with hot liquids in a blender.  If you need a new blender, consider a Vitamix. They are expensive, but they are worth all the money. They can liquefy almost anything and makes soup and margaritas so smooth and creamy. But the best part, you can blend hot liquids without having to clean the soup off all your kitchen cabinets afterwards. Just saying. ;) 

Walnut & Pea Pesto

Walnut & Pea Pesto

One of the best summer vegetables are the fresh peas. They remind me of the summer days on the beach, reading up for the exams and snacking on fresh peas.  

Right now you can get the fresh peas in the stores. And you can use them for other things than just snacking.

Makes about a cup.  

Ingredients:

• 50 g (⅓ cup) walnuts
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 155 g (1 cup) shelled peas (see my notes below)
• 35 g (1 cup) arugula
• 10 fresh mint leaves
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• ½  teaspoon salt
• ¼  teaspoon black pepper
• 1 dl (½  cup) extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, until they are just starting to become fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Blend the toasted walnuts, garlic, peas, arugula, mint, lemon juice and zest, salt and black pepper until finely chopped, scrape down the sides if necessary. While blending add the olive oil in a slow stream, until combined.  

Serve the pesto as a spread on toast, on pasta or as a dressing. The pesto will keep covered in the refrigerator for a few days.

Enjoy!