Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Pandekager (Danish Pancakes)

We just celebrated Fastelavn's Dag, (Carnival) and now we're up to Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day.

And do I have a recipe for you. 
This is more like a crepe, rather than the big fluffy pancake most people are used to.  And this is also my default pancake, mainly cause this is the kind I grew up eating.
Pandekager (Danish Pancakes)

Well that and Æbleskiver 
Both of which have a place in my heart, but with the Æbleskiver I need to get out the special pan but with Pandekager all I need is a skillet, an appetite and this recipe.

This makes about  12 pancakes, depending on the size of the pan you use.
This is also Chimi approved.   I say that only because she loves them, but she likes hers with syrup and butter.  This is also a rare treat for her, as pancakes are not often served to dogs. But, what can I say, she's a little spoiled. 
The recipe is at the end however, I haven't figured out how to embed the pictures into the recipe yet. 
 Egg yolks and sugar whisked together until thick.
  The beaten egg whites, added to the batter.
  Cooking the pancakes
 Cooking them til the surface looks a little dry and the bubbles are starting to pop.
  Rolling the sugar sprinkled pancake.  This one's just cause it looked so pretty.  The lovely lace of the cooked pancake, perfectly browned.
 Ribsgele (Red Currant Jelly) spread out on one of the pancakes, before getting rolled up.
  Two down, one to go.

 



yield: 12 pancakesprint recipe

Pandekager (Danish Pancakes)

prep time: 5 MINScook time: 10 MINStotal time: 15 mins
These are not the thick fluffy pancakes many people know, they're more akin to the French Crepe, but not as eggy. Serve these for dessert with a little ice cream inside, or for breakfast or a snack. Rolled up with a little sugar and butter inside, they actually make a nice hand held snack.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups flour (200 grams)
  • 3 eggs separated, with the whites beaten to a soft peak
  • 2 teaspoons Sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cardamom (opt.)
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Beat the egg whites til almost stiff, set aside. 
  2. Whisk the egg yolk in with the sugar until the yolks are thick and lemon colored, and the sugar is dissolved. Then add half the flour, whisk together, add half the milk, whisk together, then add the remaining flour and milk and water and whisk together. 
  3. Fold in the beaten egg whites, at the last, fold in the butter. This will make a light thin batter. 
  4. Heat the skillet until hot, grease it with a little butter or oil, or non stick spray, ladle in 1/4- 1/2 cup of the batter, tilting the pan so that it covers it all the way. Let cook for just a couple of minutes until the surface looks a little dry, then flip over and cook the other side for another 30-45 seconds. Remove from pan to a hot serving platter, and sprinkle a little sugar on top and roll up. Continue to cook the remainder of the pancakes, rolling them up as you remove them from the pan. You can also add a little strawberry or raspberry jam as well to the inside. Serve hot.
Created using The Recipes Generator
Since it is Shrove Tuesday and a lot of people are making pancakes, here's a couple more links.

Dutch Baby
Gluten Free Rice Flour  Crepes
Banana Coconut Pecan Pancakes

And the extra pancakes, well, after setting Chimi's pancake down for her.
 I put the rest on some parchment paper, and will be freezing them for a later meal.  I didn't eat the whole thing...
Next time I want some Pandekager, I won't have a bunch of dirty dishes either, just one, my plate.
 And a fork and a knife as well. 

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Sunday, February 26, 2017

Tapas Night for February 2017

I know I say this every month, but it's so true. 
We end up with lots of great food, conversation and it's always a 'hygglig' evening when we host Tapas.

I know I have fun preparing the food, I sometimes wish there were little elves who could magically appear and do the housekeeping for me, so I can concentrate on just making food.

But then I get into making my contribution for the night and also get to taste some of the great food people take the time and effort to make and bring with them.
And trust me on this, there's always, always great food brought and shared.
We have some incredibly talented and inventive cooks in our neck of the woods.

Tapas Table
And there are times when I wonder if the table might not collapse under the weight of all that food.   Believe it or not, there were more dishes put on the table after I took this picture.  We also have a dessert table and kitchen island that food gets put onto.   No one can say we don't eat well here.
If you go home hungry, that's your problem and not mine.  There is usually something for everyone here.

Pimento Cheese on bread, this is somewhat of a southern specialty.   
Pimento Cheese
Wings made in an Air Fryer, and they tasted 'fried', I may need to put one of those on my wish list.
Wings
served with these as well as a sauce, and I think I didn't get a picture of the sauce.  I miss some great pictures sometimes.
Carrots and Celery
There was also these little sausage bites
Sliced Sausage
And a salad, which not only looked pretty, but tasted so good and fresh. 
Cucumber and Tomato Salad
A quiche which I did get a picture of, but not a taste, sigh...  But I'm told it was incredible.
Quiche
 another shot of the table...
Tapas Table
and this potato casserole
Potato Casserole
 as well as a green bean casserole
Green Bean Casserole
And this pasta, sigh... I do love pasta, I probably mentioned that before,huh?
Pasta
As well as a lovely little round of brie and Crackers
Tapas Table
These tasty little kebabs

And can't forget what ended up on the 'island', Chicken Provincial, with a sauce that was totally dip worthy.(and I know I spelled that wrong)
Chicken Provencial
Some Turkey, always welcome, especially for the meat eaters.
Turkey
as well as some Veggie Pizza, I do have the recipe for this and I'll share it one of these days...
Veggie Pizza
I also made some Smørrebrød for my contribution.   It was purely selfish on my part.  I'm working on writing a Danish cookbook, and while writing it my mouth wanted some of the food I was writing about, so I made it.
These were Italiensk Salat on ham and some Frisk Stegt Log med Peberrød sauce on some roast beef
 Italiensk Salat on ham og Frisk Stegt Log med Peberrød sauce on roast beef
and I made some Rejer i Mayonaise (Pretty sad looking shrimp if you ask me but)
Rejer (Shrimp)
And some Fransk Salad (I still have a little in the fridge)
Fransk Salat
As well as some Karrysild (Curried Herring) alongside some home made rye bread.
Karrysild and rye bread
and there were some desserts as well.
In the back, Rugelah and Black and White cookies, some Pecan Pie and Chocolate Chip cookies
Desserts
And just for fun, before and after,  the table at the end of the night
Tapas Table

Tapas Table at the end of the night
Gotta go wash some wine glasses, and then make some breakfast (frokost), since I've got some more Fransk Salat and Karrysild in the fridge, I know what I'm having. 

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Thursday, February 23, 2017

Buttermilk Cake with 'Faux Buttercream'

I had some fun in the kitchen last week.
I had gotten some heavy cream and decided to make butter, and a byproduct of home made butter is buttermilk.
I've used buttermilk in cornbread before but wanted to use some in a cake.  A lady I know makes a chocolate cake with buttermilk, but I'd already made a couple of chocolate cakes and wanted to make a different cake this time.  I didn't want everyone to think I only knew how to make Chocolate Cake, even if it is sooooo good. 
I should mention, I'm making cakes every couple of weeks for a cake raffle at the local legion. 
It's a win win situation, they get a cake to raffle off, and I get to bake a cake, giggle, and decorate it.
I like baking cakes, and decorating them as well but don't like them hanging around my house.  That cute little voice they use that keeps saying ' I'm here, cut a piece, try me out'.   It wears on you.  And then before you know it, that little slice you took just to taste becomes a bigger and bigger slice and then the whole cake is gone. 
But I'm outsmarting that voice, I bake and then take the cake for a little ride and drop it off.  

This time round I baked a Buttermilk Cake using my own home made butter and buttermilk in not only the cake, but also the frosting.
Buttermilk Cake with faux buttercream frosting
Buttermilk cake with plum filling
The lady who won the cake was generous enough to share with all of us, and I got a taste. 
I think this is a keeper, and since I've got lots of butter in the freezer, as well as buttermilk, this will be a repeat. 
Home Made Butter


yield: 1 cake, serves manyprint recipe

Buttermilk Cake

prep time: 10 MINScook time: 25 MINStotal time: 35 mins
This is an old-fashioned recipe, using home made butter and buttermilk. It's a little tangy, sweet and a lovely change of pace from regular 'white' cakes.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3/4 cup butter (I used my own homemade butter)
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs (jumbo or large)
  • 2 cups All Purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 cup buttermilk ( I used the buttermilk I had left after making the butter)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract ( I used my own homemade)

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, butter 2 - 8 inch round pans, placing parchment paper on the bottom of the pan if desired, and butter that as well. 
  2. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together until the mixture is almost white in color and the sugar has dissolved. 
  3. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat together. The batter will look like it's separating, but that's normal. 
  4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda and set aside. Add the wet and dry ingredients alternating the dry and wet, starting with the dry, (1/4 of the dry, then 1/3 of the wet), beating well after each addition. Finish off with the dry. 
  5. Pour the batter into the two pans, and then tap the pans a couple of times, to get the bubbles out. My trick is to raise the pans up a couple of inches and then drop them down on the counter. This forces any air bubbles out, and helps the cake to bake more evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  
  6. Frost and serve.  I used my Best Ever Frosting, (Boiled Milk Frosting)for the top and a mixture of the frosting and plum jelly for the middle.
Created using The Recipes Generator

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Saturday, February 18, 2017

Klassisk klar suppe med melboller og grøntsager (Clear soup with dumplings and vegetables) #SoupSaturdaySwappers

You ever get a craving for a soup from your childhood?

I did awhile back and made Melboller, and then I decided I wanted a good, hearty vegetable soup.
Klassisk klar suppe med melboller og grøntsager

Mom used to make a soup for dinner but it was served a little differently than most soups.  We'd get a big bowl of broth with some dumplings (Melboller) floating on top, and then would be served the meat and other vegetables the soup was cooked with on a separate plate.  And if she cooked a chicken to make the stock, she would frequently serve the chicken the next day for our meal.    When soup was served this way, it was probably to fill you up a little before the main course.
It works. 

Now, I always wanted more of the dumplings when mom made this soup, they were my favorite part and I didn't really care about the rest of the stuff.  I could and did, make a meal of just the broth and dumplings.  When I could get away with it.
Which wasn't often, sigh.

I made a couple of pork roasts a couple of weeks back, froze the bones from the roasts and decided that they would make a nice base for a soup. 

I added some dried minced onion, an onion, carrots, and a couple of cloves of garlic.   Then I let it simmer for a couple of few hours.   I

I pulled out the pork bones, took the meat off of them, then added the bones back to the soup and let them simmer a little longer.

I then strained out the broth, reserving the carrots and onions.  I threw a couple of red skinned potatoes in and then because I happened to run across some parsnips recently so I threw them into the broth just til they were cooked through and then took them out and let them rest with the carrots and onions while the potato finished cooking.  I then added a Leek, sliced in 1/2 inch pieces, and let it cook til it was just done, I also had a sad looking yellow squash so it got chopped and thrown in at the last minute as well. 
Klassisk Klar Suppe med Melboller og Grontsager
Klassisk Klar Suppe med Melboller og Grontsager

Then I had fun...

I made some Melboller,

 It's also my entry for Soup Saturday Swappers hosted this month by Kathy of A Spoonful of Thyme with the theme of International Soups.  I have to admit to not having to go too far to find an international soup to make.   I just made a favorite from my Danish childhood.
Soup Saturday Swappers

Soup Saturday Swappers is the brainchild of Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm.  Go to this link to find out more about her and how you can join in as well.


yield: 4 Servingsprint recipe

Klassisk klar suppe med melboller og grøntsager (Clear soup with dumplings and vegetables)

prep time: 30 MINScook time: 20 MINStotal time: 50 mins
This is a classic clear soup with lots and lots of vegetables. You can add meat if you like, but honestly I don't think you miss it. It can be made totally vegetarian as well, just by using vegetable stock.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 6-8 cups clear soup stock, either pork, chicken, beef or vegetable
  • 2 carrots, sliced into coins
  • 2 parsnips, sliced into coins
  • 2 celery stalks, sliced
  • 2 red potatoes, diced
  • 1 leek, cut into coins or 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1-2 yellow squash, diced
  • Salt and pepper to taste.  
  • 1 recipe Melboller

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Heat the stock and cook the carrots, potato's, celery, leeks and parsnip in the stock. Taste the stock, and add salt and pepper to taste.  The vegetables will have added a lot of flavor.  Cook the Melboller according to the directions, add the squash at the same time. Serve hot. You can add meatballs to this soup or just some cooked chicken, turkey or beef if you like. This is a hearty satisfying soup without the meat.
All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2020, with all rights reserved thereof.

This recipe and many more Danish Recipes are in my cookbook Hygge- Danish Food and Recipes Dansk Mad og Opskrifter til et Hyggeligt Hjemme, available on Amazon. Also available as an ebook.
Created using The Recipes Generator

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Chocolate Cherry Balls for #FantasticalFoodFight

I messed up last month and didn't get my Slow Cooker Soup on for Fantastical Food Fight,  but I have an excuse.  I had too much going on all month long.

I'm ready for a vacation or at least an afternoon to sit down with a nice cup of tea and some of these.
Chocolate Cherry Balls

I'm calling them Chocolate Cherry Balls, for now.  
But I didn't sit down with tea and eat them all, instead I made them up, put them in the fridge, so now I have a treat for the evenings, or maybe afternoon tea? 
 Basically this event is hosted by Sarah, who was once one of the leaders of the Secret Recipe Club, and did an amazing job at it.  
Fantastical Food Fight
She's hosting a Fantastical Food Fight in which we are invited to make something and share it.  This month the theme is Chocolate Dipped goodies.
You can read all about them here, which includes all the rules and how you can participate as well.

This actually isn't so much of a recipe per se., but a guide.
To start with, make a batch of my Three Way Chocolate Cake.  Restrain yourself from eating it all, but you can eat half of it if you like.  I won't tell.
You really only need half  or even a quarter of the recipe for this.
OK, so 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. 
Bake the cake, let it cool, and cut it into chunks and let them dry out a little.  Mix in with some chocolate frosting,  and set aside.  Drain a jar of Marashino Cherries, reserving the juice.
Chocolate Cherry Balls
I used one of my small scoops and well, I'll let the pictures tell the story.  The recipe follows.
They're a little messy to make, but so good to eat. 
I crumbled up 1 1/2 cups of chocolate cake, added 2-3 tablespoons of homemade chocolate ganache buttercream.
Melted some milk chocolate & dark chocolate together in one bowl  and some white chocolate in another.  Added some hot heavy cream to the each of the chocolates as I wanted a heavy ganache (is there such a thing?).
I then took out a jar of Maraschino Cherries, took out a few of the cherries and let them drain on a paper towel for a little while.
Got out my small scoop, packed the chocolate cake mixture into it, made a divot, placed a cherry in the middle,
Chocolate Cherry Balls

Chocolate Cherry Balls
and then molded the rest of the chocolate cake around it.  Put them in the fridge to reast, and continued to beat the chocolate ganache's until they had a jelly like consistency. 
Chocolate Cherry Balls
Plopped a spoonful of the dark chocolate ganache down on some plastic wrap, put them into the freezer to set up.
Chocolate Cherry Balls
As soon as they were set, I placed each little chocolate ball on top.  Then decided to use my small tart pan to make the bottoms rounded off more. Put them back in the fridge for about a half hour to let them finish setting up.
Then I placed the rest of the chocolate ganache's into piping bags.  I then piped the dark chocolate on the balls, in concentric rings.
Chocolate Cherry Balls
  Got them covered, then piped the white chocolate ganache on top, covering up any of the bald spots. Placed them back in the fridge to finish setting up.
Chocolate Cherry Balls
  After they had a chance to set up, I pulled them out of the fridge.  Cut one open. 
Chocolate Cherry Balls
I had to taste test them, I wanted to make sure my vision met reality.
They did.
Chocolate Cherry Balls
I tell you I really put myself on the line to come up with new recipes, and this one, it's a keeper.

This was also shared at Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday.

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