Rosemary Salt

Rosemary Salt

My rosemary bush needed a trimming. Every year I am left with a lot of rosemary branches. This year I decided to make rosemary salt. The salt is perfect for roasted chicken, lamb or potatoes. In Denmark I never had an excess of rosemary. Oddly enough it was very hard to keep my rosemary alive. If it didn't die from lack of water, it died from too much water. But here in Northern California my rosemary thrives.

Ingredients:

• 250 g coarse sea salt (about a cup)
• 4 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 225℉ (110℃).

Pulse the sea salt and rosemary in a food processor until mixed well. This will male the salt a little finer. Taste the salt, and add more rosemary if desired.

Transfer the salt to a baking sheet, and bake/dry the salt for about 15-20 minutes.

Let the salt cool for about 5 minutes, and brake apart any lumps. Store the rosemary salt in an airtight container. The salt will keep for 6-8 months, but the intensity of the rosemary will diminish over time.

Enjoy!

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

I bought some dried culinary lavender, for my cheese cake. I thought that I would receive about a cup lavender. But no, I got a big bag full of lavender. I have enough lavender to last a lifetime or two. So I have to come up with new ways to use the lavender, so now I warned you. 😉

Makes about 30

Ingredients:

• 60 g confectionary (powdered) sugar

• 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender

• 1 lemon, the zest of

• 225 g butter, salted and room temperature

• 215 g all-purpose flour

Directions:

In the bowl for the stand mixer, mix the sugar, dried lavender, and lemon zest until well incorporated. Add the softened butter and cream it with the sugar. You are looking for at light and fluffy butter mixture. Slowly add flour mixing until just combined.

Roll dough into a log (2 inch in diameter), wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate for  minimum 3 hours. Make sure to have a smooth surface to get an even look on the finished cookies.

Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃).

Slice the chilled dough into ¼-inch slices, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake cookies 12-15 minutes, not getting any golden edges on the cookies.

Cool cookies on the pan on wire racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!

Lemon Lavender Cheesecake

Lemon Lavender Cheesecake

For the longest time I have been wanting to include lavender in a cake, and this is my first take. Well, I made exactly the same cake for 4th of July last year. But I learned that you can't pour the fairly warm lavender jelly onto a barely set cheesecake part, without getting a clouding of the jelly layer. So no pictures, and no blog post for that try. But the taste was great, so I knew I had to revisit this cake. The lemon and lavender is a really good combination, I think I have to explore this further in the future.

Makes 4 cakes.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 200 g shortbread cookies
• 4 tablespoons melted butter, salted

Cheese filling:

• 225 g (8oz) cream cheese 
• 100 g sugar
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• zest of 1 lemon
• 200 ml heavy whipping cream, whipped medium soft

Lavender jelly:

• 100 ml water
• 100 g sugar
• 2 teaspoon lavender flowers (dried or fresh)
• purple food coloring, optional
• 2 sheet gelatin (just under 4 g unflavored gelatin)

Directions:

Line serving-size cake rings with cake wrap/collar. 

Crust:

Crush the shortbread cookies, I used a food processor. Mix in the melted butter. In a medium bowl, mix together crumbs and melted butter until combined and crumbs are moistened. Press the mixture into the bottom of the cake ring using either your fingers or the bottom of a small glass to form a crust layer.

Cheese filing:

Whisk  the heavy whipping cream until medium soft peaks, set aside.

In another bowl whisk the cream cheese with the sugar until completely smooth. Add in vanilla paste, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Using a spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

Pipe the filling into cake rings and smooth the top. Cover the cakes and place them in the freezer for 30-45 minutes or until completely set, before pouring in the lavender jelly.

Lavender jelly:

Heat water, sugar and lavender in a saucepan, while stirring. When sugar has melted, turn off the heat and let sit to steep for 5-10 minutes. Drain the lavender from the syrup, so you have a clear syrup. Add a tiny amount of food coloring to the syrup. 

To make jelly. Let the gelatin bloom in some cold water for 10 minutes. (If using powder, follow the instructions on the package.) Heat the syrup and melt the gelatin in the syrup.
Pour the jelly on top of the cheesecake . You get the best result by pouring over the back of a spoon to avoid clouding the jelly with the cheesecake. Let the cakes set completely in the refrigerator before serving.

Enjoy!

Roasted Chicken with Blood Orange and Mint

Roasted Chicken with Blood Orange and Mint

I keep getting attacked by blood oranges at my grocery store. They keep hopping into my cart. 

So I have to figure out new ways to use them. I have been roasting whole chicken with lemons, so why not use blood oranges? 

I really like the sweet and sour taste this combination gives. The sauce is very thin and can be thickened, but the taste was fantastic.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 boneless chicken thighs

• few sprigs of mint, torn

• 2 blood oranges, thinly sliced

• 1-2 red onions, cut in chunks

Marinade:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 200 ml orange juice (preferably blood orange)

Directions:

Mix the marinade add the chicken to it, and let the chicken marinate for a few hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 425℉ (220℃).

Place the chicken in an ovenproof dish, add onion, mint, blood orange slices and pour the marinade over. 

Place dish in oven and roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 35-45 minutes.

Serve chicken with rice or couscous.

Enjoy!

Green Fish Cakes - Grønne Fiskefrikadeller

Green Fish Cakes - Grønne Fiskefrikadeller

Fish cakes is an easy way to make picky kids eat fish. Serve them as finger food with bite-sized vegetables and a dipping sauce. In Denmark you will get a sweet tartar sauce, remoulade, with the fish cakes. You can also serve the fish cakes cold on a sandwich. 

Makes 12-15.

Ingredients:

Fish Cakes:

• 900 g cod, no bones or skin
• 3 eggs
• 300 ml cream (half & half or whipping cream)
• 35 g (⅓ cup) all-purpose flour
• 2 leeks, rinsed and chopped, 
• 2½ teaspoons salt
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 handful fresh dill, chopped

Spicy creme fraiche sauce:

• 200 ml creme fraiche (you can use sour cream)
• 1 jalapeno, grated
• about 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• juice from ½ lime
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Put the cod and salt in a food processor and pulse until it gets sticky. The idea is to bind the moisture so that the fish cakes don’t fall apart. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until combined.

Let the batter rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. (I tend to forget this part. 😇)

Mix the ingredients for the creme fraiche sauce in a bowl, and leave it to rest in the refrigerator until serving.

Using a spoon and your hand, make plum-size cakes and fry them in a mixture of half oil and half butter in a skillet, until golden brown on both sides.

Serve with boiled potatoes, a salad and a spicy creme fraiche sauce.

Enjoy!