Danish Crab Salad - Krabbe salat

I've on a mission to introduce as many people as possible to Danish Cuisine, in my own humble fashion.
Semi-humble fashion.

I've been making a concerted effort to share as many recipes as I can with my friends.

Luckily for me, they seem to appreciate it as well.
They do eat it all gone when I make something fun, and this past Tapas Night was no exception.
I made some Tarteletter shells and filled them with some chicken and mushrooms, but I also made this Crab Salad and put it into some small Puff Pastry Shells.

They were a hit.
And I will make these again.  I think they'd be a perfect starter to a fancy meal, or just because.
I like the idea of just because, cause that way I don't have to wait for a special occasion.  I can make them again, soon.

 This recipe isn't in my cookbook but will be in the next edition, out early next year.  But for now you can purchase Hygge- Danish Food and Recipes on Amazon, either in paperback or on Kindle.  You can even read it for free if you have Kindle Unlimited.  

 But until then, you need to try this out.  Really, you do. 

Yield: Enough to fill 24 mini Puff Pastry ShellsAuthor: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - adapted from C.Borgnaes

Danish Crab Salad

prep time: 10 MINScook time: total time: 10 mins

The original recipe said to stuff Tomatoes with it, but the Puff Pastry Shells were a perfect appetizer

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2-3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon + Tarragon Vinegar to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh Tarragon  + extra for garnishing.
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon good smoked Paprika
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste (I use the double tomato in the tube)
• 1/2 lb. Crab Meat
• 1 stick Celery, fine dice
• 24 mini puff pastry shells, baked

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix mayonnaise with vinegar, salt and paprika to taste. Add tomato paste, tarragon and then crab meat and celery. Mound into baked puff pastry shells, sprinkle a few tarragon leaves on top and serve.

Created using The Recipes Generator

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 © 2011-2017, with all rights reserved thereof.

Halloween - Vampire Blood Tapenade

I wanted to come up with a creepy name for this totally delicious spread.   I was thinking along the lines of Vampire Vanquisher, or something like that, and then as I was reading a book, a line in there caught my attention.  They talked about how Vampires don't have blood running through their veins, it's more coagulated.
Well, this recipe is right on then.
It should also keep those pesky Vampires away as well.  Hey, if you're a garlic lover, this recipe is for you. 

It tastes wonderful, but more importantly, at least for Halloween purposes, it's a little, well, a lot on the creepy side.
Doncha' love it when it all comes together?
It sure did on this.  And best of all, it came together on a night when we got a last minute invite, and I was able to go into the pantry, pick out a couple of things, and throw it together.

And everyone loved it.  So much so I did a repeat a couple of weeks later, and again, it was eaten.
I love it when a recipe comes together that fast and people love it.
This is perfect for Halloween though.  The appearance is that of coagulated blood and I bet it would be great served in a bread bowl or another fun receptacle.
In other words, go forth and have fun. 

Yield: 6-10 servingsAuthor: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Vampire Blood Tapenade

prep time: 10 MINScook time: total time: 10 mins

A fun appetizer for Halloween, or anytime. This black olive tapenade comes together in just a couple of minutes, with just a couple of ingredients from your pantry. Perfect for a last minute gathering. And it looks suitably grim for Halloween.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cans black olives, drained
• 24 pimento stuffed green olives (add more if desired)
• 2 cloves roasted garlic
• 1 small jar roasted red pepper, or 
• 1- 4 oz. jar pimento's or 
• 1 whole roasted red pepper, seeded and peeled
• 1 clove raw garlic, grated on a microplane
• 2 teaspoons - 1 tablespoon EVOO

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add all the ingredients to a food processor and process until almost smooth. Serve with Naan or fresh sliced french bread or crackers. 

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First Monday Favorites- October 2017 -10

It's First Monday Favorites time again, and time for me to choose what recipe I made last month that bears repeating.

In other words, it was so good, I need to make it again and again.
And as usual, I had a hard time choosing.
I'd made some Honey and Garlic Roasted Carrots  for the Fantasical Food Fight, and they were so good.
I'd also made some Hurricane Irma soup as well as Fish Taco's but the one recipe that got my heart going pitter pat, was this one. 
Warm Potato Salad, recipe courtesy of my cousin Solvejg and it was her mother's recipe, my Faster Magda's recipe as well.    (Faster means father's sister in Danish).

Who can argue with a family recipe?  Not me.  Especially when it was a lovely taste from my childhood.
So that's my pick for First Monday Favorites from September.
What's yours?

An InLinkz Link-up

Tarteletter shells (Cream Cheese Tart Shells)

According to many recipe books in Denmark there are over 100 different filling for Tarteletter.  I usually make one kind, this one.  It's the one my mom made, and signals a special occasion for me. But you need to be able to serve this on or in a tart shell.  A quick and easy fix for many of us is to use puff pastry shells, and serve it that way and that's not a bad thing.
If you live in Denmark you can head down to the local købmand's and pick up a package of tart shells.
You can also have them shipped in and that works great as well. If you can find some online.

However, if you're me, and like to play with food, this is also another option. 
It's a basic pastry dough, made with cream cheese, and is light, flaky and flavorful.

It's also very easy to use, very forgiving and you can change it up a little if you're not in the mood for savory, you can also add a little sugar to it along with some vanilla extract and serve fresh fruit and whipped cream inside as well, or whatever you like.

I served this to my guests this past weekend.   

Yield: 36-40 mini tart shellsAuthor: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking (adapted from many recipes)

Tarteletter Shells

prep time: 10 MINScook time: 10 MINStotal time: 20 mins

These are a perfect size for an appetizer, but can also be made larger for a meal. Add a little sugar and vanilla and they're also suitable for a dessert.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 oz. Cream Cheese
• 4 oz. Butter
• 2 cups AP flour

If making it sweet

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix the cream cheese and butter together. Then add the flour and mix well. Make into a ball, and place in fridge for an hour to cool down. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. When ready to make the tart shells, take out of fridge, divide the dough into two pieces. Take each portion of dough, sprinkle a little flour onto the counter, then roll out the dough thinly. Using a round cookie cutter, cut a round out that is larger than the tart shell, and press into the tart shell. Continue to cut out rounds and place them into the mini tart pan until it is full. Prick the bottom of each mini tart, with a fork. Bake in a 375 deg. oven for 7-10 minutes or until the tart shell is lightly browned. Remove from oven, and place on a rack to cool. Fill with your choice of fillings.

Created using The Recipes Generator

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.

Tapas for September 2017

It never fails, I miss getting a photo of one of the dishes that was brought and shared at Tapas. The shot I missed was of some Shrimp Fried Rice. sigh.
One of these days, I'll actually get a picture of every single dish and then I'll probably faint in amazement.
Just kidding.
It was Tapas Time last night and we had some great dishes that were brought and shared.  Including one that came directly out of my cookbook, which I released last month. 
I get such a kick out of it when someone makes something from a recipe I've shared and then tells me all about it. Including whether they actually liked it or not or the changes they made to it.  As I tell people all the time, if you're making it, the recipe that is, then you're the cook.
But onward to the dishes.  And as usual I'll share what I made at the end.  This is Sildsalat, on page 43 of the cookbook.

I put out a plate of buttered rye bread to go with it.

Harriett also brought a Zucchini salad

And then there was a Sausage and potato dish.

We had an interesting Pasta Dish which was seasoned with a little cinnamon.

Personally I love these little rollups, and generally end up eating several.  When I attempt them, they never look so neat. sigh

There were some yummy stuffed mini peppers. 

and some stuffed eggs

There was also some wild hog chili, which was very interesting

some more stuffed eggs and a fruit platter

I made some California Rolls and also some crab and cream cheese sushi rolls.

and some quick pickled carrots, ginger and radishes to go with them.

I also had fun making some Tartelletter with Chicken and Mushroom filling.  I made the tarts using a cream cheese pastry and I'll be sharing the how to's on that another time.  Not quite authentic, but very tasty.

I also made a Danish Crab Salad and placed it in some puff pastry shells to serve.  You might even say I made Crab Salad Tarteletter.  I'll be sharing that recipe soon, cause it's worth sharing.

There were a few desserts as well.  Pineapple

And some Nutella Fudge, and I'll be sharing that recipe soon, just as soon as I get a jar of Nutella and make it. 

There was a frozen trifle  Frangelica flavored I believe.  It was gone by the time I made it over to the dessert table.

We also had some Pumpkin Spice bars

And the obligatory shot of the table, and you can't see it, but the candle was lit.  Pierre and Jacque standing guard over the candle.  I also put out some Smoked Oysters, cause I like smoked oysters.

 We have more good food here.

I do have to tell a funny story though. 
In retrospect it was funny, but not at the time.
I'd run out of wasabi for the California Rolls, so had to make a last minute run to town to pick some up.  I got home with it, decided to slice off a piece of sushi to taste, and I put a good half teaspoonful of wasabi on top of my sushi, along with some sweet soy sauce. Popped it into my mouth, started to chew and swallow when the Wasabi hit.  And it hit back, just as I was swallowing.  Not only did my eyes water, my nose did as well.  Talk about self inflicted pain.   And yet, I did have some of the California Roll later on, I just put a teensy dab of Wasabi on it. That'll larn me to do some judicious taste testing in the future.  BTW, I bought not just one tube of Wasabi, but also a second one.   I've got plans for them, big plans.
Sushi anyone?