Velbekomme

VELBEKOMME HAS MOVED TO A SPARKLING NEW WEBSITE!!!

2009-12-01T13:29:00.002+01:00

http://www.velbekomme.com/ (wonderfully easy to remember, nicht wahr?)

Hello dear readers! On the occasion of Christmas and my never really user friendly website address, I have finally decided to take the jump. From now on, you can follow my foodie ramblings on the address above.

The blog is keeping its delicious looks, but the new setup will allow me to make all kinds of wonderfulicious trimmings. Just you wait 'enry 'iggins, just you wait!

Anyway, thanks a lot to Blogger for a great two and a half years of impeccable service.

Se y'all on the webthing.

Happy Birthday Rolls

2009-11-30T12:12:00.005+01:00

No, we're not celebrating the birthday of the roll, but with the roll. Big difference - I'm not crazy you know. Talking to my oven fresh cuties here is not my thang, even though they do have a lot of personality if I may say so. But if I were to talk to them, I'm sure they would say something in the line of "Thanks a lot b****! How would you like it if you had to spend 12 freaking minutes in a scorching hell hole?" Well, maybe that's why I don't talk to them. Anyway, this kind of roll is what most children have on their birthdays in Denmark, topped with melting butter and coupled with hot chocolate and whipped cream. And that's just the starter. The main course is a great sponge cake with icing and more whipped cream. If the parents are really naughty (or have a death wish) they OD the children with candy after that and whooptedo: 20 hyperactive kids with tummy aches.

Aaaanyway, these rolls are really yummy on their first day, so make sure you have plenty of them, while they're still velvety, warm and can serve as the perfect vehicle for softly yielding butter. And speaking of birthdays, this dough is also perfect for shaping one big dough-woman or man, baking and decorating it with icing sugar and the candy of your choice. Brings out the child in me every time.

Happy Birthday Rolls (makes about 12 depending on the size)

Recipe adapted from an oldschool cookbook on Bagværk in the "Menu" series from Lademann (1979).

3 decilitres of milk (any kind will do)
50 grams of fresh yeast
75 grams of butter, diced and almost room temperature
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cardamom, powdered (the rolls won't taste like cardamom, but it gives a great taste base)
500 grams of regular wheat flour
1 egg, beaten together for glazing

1) Heat the milk in a saucepan until it's lukewarm (30-35 degrees Celcius). Then crumble the yeast into it and stir until it has dissolved completely. Add the butter and stir until it has melted. Add salt, sugar and cardamom, stir for a while and then add the flour bit by bit. Knead the dough until it has a soft, even and stretchy texture. Leave it in a bowl covered with a tea towel for 30 mins or until it has risen to twice its size. Remember to leave it somewhere with room temperature.

2) Take the dough from the bowl and knead the air our of it. If you're kind of nazi about having evenly sized rolls as I am, you can weigh the dough and divide the grams by the amount of rolls you wish to end up with. Then pull out lumps of dough and check that each of them has the chosen weight.

3) When you're through with dividing and weighing it's time to shape the rolls. I like to start kneading each lump and then, to create the nice even round shape, I take the dough and pull at the outer sides and shove them towards the bottom and into the center of the roll. I hope that makes sense to you, because I can't seem to find a better way of explaining it. If you do it right, you should be stretching the outer sides smooth and tucking in the "ends" into the bottom centre.

4) Put each roll on a lined baking tray and leave them to raise for another 15 mins. under a tea towel. Turn the oven to 220 degrees Celcius while you are waiting.

5) Brush the surface of the risen rolls with a lightly beaten egg and put them in the middle of the oven for about 12 mins. Make sure they don't turn too dark so look at them every now and then. Leave them to cool for 5-10 mins. and serve while they're still a bit warm so the butter will melt softly into the bread. Yummmm!

Pear Tart With a Lemon/Marzipan Filling

2009-11-24T10:12:00.001+01:00

I love love looove making tarts. It's the most satisfying thing ever because they always end up looking so pretty and round and Mother Goosey. This one is a hybrid of two recipes with a twist of Heidi on top.

Pear Tart With a Lemon/Marzipan Filling
The tart shell is exactly the same as I used in the French Lemon Tart. Prepare the shell following that recipe, including pre-baking it. Then make the filling below, which is a recipe from a random marzipan manufacturer with an added twist inspired by Smitten Kitchen: A whole half lemon blended into the mixture to add a bit of tang to the rich flavour.

Lemon/Marzipan Filling

1/2 organic lemon with everything (apart from the seeds)
150 grams of marzipan, grated
100 grams of icing sugar
75 grams of butter, in small cubes
1 egg, beaten together
1/2 decilitre of cream
2 pears, sliced lengthwise

Set the oven to 200 degrees Celcius. Blend the lemon with its peel still on, add the sugar and mix well. Throw in the remaining ingredients (except for the pears) and remember to grate the marzipan and beat the egg in advance. Then pour the mixture into the partially pre-baked tart shell (see link to recipe above) and arrange the pear slices in the filling as you like. I am ashamed to admit that I used tinned pears for the picture above. It was purely bad habit and it wasn't quite as lovely as it would have been with a pear that had more texture and charater left in it. Anyway, put the tart just below the middle of the oven and let it bake for about 40 mins. Check it with a pin. The texture should be firm, but slightly sticky. Make sure you also check its colour towards the end as it can turn dark pretty quickly. If it turns brown early, you can always place at large piece of tin foil on top of it (don't tuck in the sides, just leave it loose) or try with another baking tray above the tart. Leave to cool for 20 mins and serve. Perfect for those long November afternoons.

Danish Delights: Flødeboller

2009-11-02T15:56:00.016+01:00

This is NOT a 10 minute treat. Not by a longshot. But oh my G does it hit the spot after 2-3 hours of messing about in the kitchen. While it may not be a beginner's recipe, it's not as hard as one might think. The only problem is the chocolate, but come on, when has chocolate ever really been a problem? Chocolate drippings everywhere just give you an extra excuse to taste the stuff as you go along.

Apart from the odd Swedish or German interpretations of the concept "flødebolle" (~ "cream roll" though no cream or rolls are involved), I believe they are mostly a Danish invention. At least I know we've been the ones taking it to a higher level during the last decade or so. Basically a flødebolle consist of three things: A waffle or marzipan base cut into circles, a filling made of whipped egg whites and sugar (a bit like Italian meringue) and a chocolate "cover". That's it. But when you buy them from chocolatiers in Copenhagen, e.g. A XOCO (the best place for innovative and immaculate chocolate in Denmark as far as I'm concerned - they call it chocolate gastronomy and that's pretty much what it is), you get so much more. The version I made was inspired by our recent visit to the probably most infamous 2 star Michelin restaurant here called noma. Their filling was raspberry flavoured and it really brought me to my knees. Let's get this party started:

Flødeboller (makes about 40 with a 4 cm diameter base)

Recipe adapted from a Mad&Vin ad

Meringue filling

3 (pasteurized) egg whites
20 grams sugar
1/2 vanilla pod
15 raspberries, mashed (you can choose to remove the seeds by pressing them through a sieve first)

-----------------
50 grams water
225 grams sugar

Base

150 grams marzipan
20 grams chopped almonds

Chocolate cover

200 grams very dark chocolate, e.g. Lindt 85% cocoa which has a very nice acidity

1) Mix the almonds with the marzipan and use a rolling pin to roll it out on a slightly floured surface until it is about 4 mm thick. Cut circles into the marzipan using a small glass with a diameter of about 4 cm. Place an oven rack on some baking paper (for the chocolate drippings) and then place the circles on the rack. The leftover bits can be re-rolled and cut into squares and filled in the same way, but use them as tasters for later.

2) Whip the egg whites in a metal or glass bowl (important because of the heat later on) and add the sugar as they begin to turn stiff. Keep whipping until the mixture is nice and fluffy. Set aside.

3) Boil a syrup in a saucepan using the water and sugar. Let it reach 117 degrees Celcius and at that exact point, take if from the heat and whip it into the egg whites with an electric mixer, making sure you pour as slowly and as closely to the inside of the bowl as possible so it DOES NOT hit the mixer in the bowl. Be careful as the bowl can turn quite hot from the syrup. Keep whipping until it has colled down. When all of the syrup has been mixed, add the mashed/de-seeded raspberries and mix it well. At the end the mixture should be shiny, slightly "bouncy" and you should be able to form little peaks with the tip of your mixer. If not, keep mixing for another while.

4) Pour some of the mixture into a piping bag with a round-holed tip, squeeze it gently and twist it to keep the mixture in place. And here starts the tricky part. Squeeze out a little of the meringue onto one of the marzipan bases. MAKE SURE you squeeze it out evenly, because otherwise you will have trouble covering it evenly with the chocolate afterwards. A trick I learned along the way (did I mention this was my first time?) was this:

Place the tip of the piping bag on the middle of a marzipan circle.
Hold it upright and squeeze out an even blob that goes almost to the edge of the base
Stick the tip into the blob and squeeze some more, always lifting it slightly upwards as you go. This should result in layered "waves" of meringue that turn smaller as you reach the wanted height. Mine were about 7 cm tall. See above photo for details.
When all of the bases have been topped with meringue, leave them to set for 30 mins.

5) After about 20 mins. melt the chocolate in a bain marie (water bath) and leave it to cool to a "finger-temperature". You can always try pouring it onto one of your testers and see if the meringue melts. If not, you're ready to go. If it is too cold, reheat it gently, otherwise it won't run down the sides and cover the meringue properly. When you're pretty confident the chocolate is just right, pour it over each meringue top using a cup. Leave them to set. This is were I still need some clarification from a chocolatier because how the hell does one get the chocolate to cover completely? Even with all my precautions the flødebolle on the picture top right was still one of the prettiest of the bunch and that says a lot. Luckily I'm going on a chocolate course tomorrow evening and I will try to ask the chocolatier about this, so I might have some answers for you soon. If not, they are still extremely delicious in the more "rustic" version. The combination of the sweet meringue, and the acidity of the chocolate and the raspberries can't possibly be ruined by shaky design only. Plus, the almonds render the base slightly crunchy which is very very nice. Now go on, be bold and try it out. The reward is huge and mouthwateringly addictive! The flødeboller must be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They can keep for 2-3 days but then the sugar starts crystallizing on the inside and the raspberry juicy starts dripping slightly. Not bad tasting but definitely better when they're fresh.

Crispyfied Home Fries

2009-10-28T16:16:00.013+01:00

Finally I cracked the secret code, not of home made gold, no, but of home fries. Yes sir. After many years of slicing, dicing, boiling, frying, baking and deep frying potatoes with more or less the same flacid result (I like my fries to stay crispy, please) I cracked it. It was only a matter of combining two pieces of information that had been scattered in my brain for years:

1) Olive oil can't handle high temperatures but other oils can.

2) When you bake stuff in the right oil, that very stuff turns crispy.

Hence the following recipe for:

Oven Baked Crispy Fries (enough for two lovers of fries):

Ingredients:

8 regular sized potatoes
1/2 decilitre of rapeseed oil
Salt, pepper and additional herbs of your own choice

1) Turn on the oven to 225 degrees Celcius.

2) Fill a saucepan about 1/3 with water and add a teaspoon of salt.

3) Slice the potatoes in long wedges.

4) Put the wedges into the boiling water and let them boil on for 10 mins.

5) Take them out of the water, dry them gently with a paper towel and leave them to cool down slightly on a lined baking tray (I used the reusable baking paper as seen on the picture - very recommendable!). 5-10 mins. in front of an open window should suffice.

6) Spread about half a decilitre of rapeseed oil on the potatoes and make sure they are all thoroughly smothered in it. I used the simple, cheap kind of rapeseed oil that comes in a plastic bottle because the taste isn't as pungent as in the organic, dark golden kind I use for salads. Sprinkle it with sea salt and pepper.

7) Put the baking tray in the middle of the oven and let it bake for 10-15 mins. before you take out the tray and turn the wedges over with cooking tweezers, your fingers or af fork to make sure they get an evenly baked surface. In my oven they turn brown faster on the side turning onto the tray, but that may differ. Return it to the oven and repeat until the potatoes are completely cooked, brown and kind of "bubbly" on all sides. Leave them to cool for five minutes.

8) Make your own seasoning to sprinkle on top. Here I crushed some cilantro/coriander seeds with extra sea salt and grated lemon zest. Very delicious with a simple crème fraiche or Greek yoghurt dip.

10 Minute Treat: Hot Espresso-Chocolate

2009-10-25T15:08:00.006+01:00

Looking at other people's blogs can be very inspiring. If you want a new way to pamper your guests on a Friday night, the possibilities seem endless. But what most of us really need, are ways to get us through our busy lives without having to settle for bakery cakes or ye olde spaghetti bolognese five days a week. That's why I've decided to share some of my little everyday tricks that fill out the vast space in between my more demanding kitchen projects. Here's the first one in a series of quick and easy ways of putting your inner snack beast to rest. This is one of my favourites: Hot Espresso Chocolate:

All you need is:

2 espresso shots/small cups of strong coffee
2 cardamom capsules (optional)
2 decilitres of milk
A splash of cream (optional)
40 grams of dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla sugar (optional)
A pinch of salt

1) Make two espresso shots using an espresso jug as seen above or here. If you don't have any such thing, I suspect a strong cup of fresh coffee or maybe even Nescafé could do the trick. I use two tablespoons of espresso for two decilitres of water. Throw in two slightly squeezed cardamom capsules (as pictured in the tin on the left) with the coffee (or in the coffee grinder if you have one) and make the espresso.

2) While the coffee is boiling pour two decilitres of milk (add a tiny splash of cream for that extra feeling of luxury) into a saucepan, add a pinch of salt, the vanilla sugar and heat it slowly. Meanwhile chop up the chocolate and add it to the milk when it has started building tiny creamy bubbles at the edges of the saucepan. Stir it until the chocolate has dissolved completely but don't let it boil.

3) Pour the fresh coffee into a nice cup. Whisk or froth up the hot chocolate (I use my Bodum French press but a regular whisk will do too) and pour it into the coffee.

4) Serve the drink and enjoy the instant comfort og two pleasures in one: Espresso and hot chocolate. If you're feeling adventurous I can recommend adding a touch of chili to the chocolate. That really takes it to the next level. But still, it shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to make this:

Julie & Julia

2009-10-24T17:39:00.008+02:00

(Our real life movie tickets, yup. Just so you know, I was in seat no. 7.)

Contrary to popular belief, I do, on occasion venture out of my kitchen. So last Sunday, I and my flour-dusted hair took T to the local movie theatre. Luckily we went to see Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. The two main characters Julie and Julia discover the eternal truth that cooking is the most rewarding pastime ever. Though I'm not a weeping fan, I think Streep was really great in the role of Julia Child, the saga queen of the cooking revolution in post war America and author of the cooking bible "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". Not that I knew her before I saw this movie, but she was a real character and it seems that Streep really nailed her, so to speak. There might just be an Oscar in it for her. As for Amy Adams, she plays a young blogger in post-9/11 New York who decides to cook her way through said bible in just one year. It was very eery that Hollywood had managed to churn out something that I could actually relate to to that extent. I mean, a woman around thirty starts a blog with the help of her lovely husband, writes about cooking and experiences its therapeutic forces on a daily basis. Hello! That's me! Only hang up I have was the very very annoying way Amy Adams' character Julie's husband chewed his food. I just couldn't watch it. His mouth was all over the place. I'm sure it was just actor Chris Messina's way of portraying that elusive experience of drool and yum in a manner befitting the movies. But me did not like. Anyway, it's a real heart warmer and that's not something I would usually be caught dead saying (as if that makes any sense at all). What are you still doing here? Go catch it before it's gone like the butter on Julia Child's frying pan.

New York - Man, Did I Take a Bite Out of That Apple!

2009-09-09T22:35:00.011+02:00

Yes yes yes, it's been ages since I went to New York but it took me some serious editing to cut my food experiences from one whole greedy week of eating into just one post. Suffice it to say that the pleasures of the palate were never ending in that city and we pretty much tasted everything in sight. I was very surprised at the quality of the food - was afraid there would be sugar and grease all over the place (Just kidding there. Having read a LOT of "The Girl Who Ate Everything" my expectations were sky high and still, I was surprised). So here are a couple of the highlights:

Left: Flourless (just a guess) chocolate mini cake with mocha zabaglione at the cafe in MOMA.
Top right: Delicious coffee and the fluffiest French toast imaginable with ricotta cheese filling at the local coffee joint on 86 E 7th str. (East Village).
Bottom right: Home made Oreos at a free flea market in Brooklyn (a bit sweet for my taste).

Left: Heart of beef on toast with plenty of yummy rhubarb butter at Diner on 85 Broadway (Williamsburg, Brooklyn). Generally a very very solid place for unpretentious and imaginative food that's very reasonably priced. (We paid 75 $ for two people having each one beverage and two entrees (the English definition of the word meaning "a smaller dish to get you started" and not the Amercian meaning which seems to be "main course"). That was more than enough to make us want to roll over and fall into sweet post coital slumber.
Top right: Farfalle with huge ass mushrooms and ricotta drool on top also at Diner (see above).
Bottom right: Japanese snacks made from peas that have been moulded into the shape of green snow peas. Very tasty, but a small taste. A bit like edamame beans. We bought them at a great Japanese supermarket called Jas Mart. 35 St Marks Pl. (East Village). Wonderful stuff indeed! I also got a tin of matcha tea that I have yet to use but still, I can't wait to make stuff turn green with it.

Blueberry Everything (& a French Lemon Tart)

2009-07-22T14:28:00.022+02:00

I love blueberries! It might not be much of a revelation to you but to me it's right up there with trying chocolate for the first time. In the past, blueberries have just seemed to be this bland thing only Americans could rave about. But now, I've prodly joined the clan. Blueberries are cute, fairy tale like and have a really soothing, subtle and happyfying taste. And I only just found out.

It all started last weekend when I went with T to his parents' summer house in Småland (a region in Sweden). There we went on a very fruitful (lame pun intended) scavenger hunt for the berries. And boy did it pay to be rained on that day! After an initial dry spell, we found an area where the berries were so abundant that I went into a frenzy, picking greedily at double speed and sitting in awkward positions that my ancient knees didn't agree with. On that day the four of us picked about 800 grams of berries. Here's my very own blueberry home video:

But that wasn't all.

On the evening of the first hunt, I decided on a daredevil mission. I set out to make a French style lemon tart from two separate recipes to serve as a tangy counterpiece for the delicate blueberries. And guess what? It turned out to be the best I've ever made. The only thing is, I haven't double checked the recipe since, so please tell me if yours doesn't quite work out.

French Lemon Tart (recipe combo)

Tart Crust (from random marzipan manufacturer's brochure)

150 grams flour
100 grams butter
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon cold water
A pinch of salt

For the crust, mix all ingredients into a heavy dough, wrap it in Vita Wrap and leave it to set in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Meanwhile, you can prepare the filling.

Lemon Filling (from Smitten Kitchen)

1 lemon
200 grams sugar (the 300 grams in the original recipe are highly unnecessary)
1 egg yolk
1 whole egg
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (I used potato flour - worked as a charm)
115 grams butter, melted and cooled

(My recap of the recipe) Cut up the whole lemon (skin and all, but no seeds), and blend it into a smooth paste along with the sugar. In a new bowl, mix the lemon paste with the remaining ingredients until you have an even mixture. Keep it in the refrigerator until you start rolling out the dough for the crust. Set the oven at 200 degrees.

Take the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured table. Start rolling out the dough into a round, thin sheet. Transfer the sheet to a regular sized tart pan and gently press it into place in alle the flutes and corners of the pan. When all the edges have been trimmed, take a piece of baking paper the size of your tart pan and roll it into a ball (makes it easier to work with). Unroll it again and place it on the pie dough in the pan. Then cover the paper with ceramic baking beans, or, if you don't have any such silly things, regular old hard chick peas will do. The reason you're doing this, is to prevent the crust from bubbling up and cracking as well as getting an even dose of heat throughout the crust. Put the tart pan in the oven and leave it there for 10 mins. Then remove the ceramic beans/chick peas and bake for another 5 mins without them. Pour in the lemon filling, but make sure to leave about 1/3 centimeter for it to rise. I baked it for about 15 mins with half the filling and then, when it had "curdled" on the crust and shrunk back a little, I added the rest and let it bake for another 10-15 mins. or so. I don't know exactly how the original recipe ends up, but my haphazard method resulted in an almost hard, chewy and really really delicious filling with the most buttery, flaky and brown tasting tart shell I've ever made. I hope you'll experience the same. And don't forget to serve the tart with fresh blueberries.

Recipe Tryout: Cheese Straws from Smitten Kitchen

2009-07-13T00:13:00.015+02:00

Behold: The latest recipe tryout from another food site: Cheese Straws from Smitten Kitchen.
With this one I have nothing else to say than: Why aren't you trying it already? It's got cheese, it's a finger food and it's dead easy to make. Go here for the recipe (and to compare our photos).

I would like to mention that the inclusion of the red pepper flakes seems a bit superfluous as they don't really stand a chance against the strong flavour of the cheddar. Instead I would opt for some oregano and garlic to spice things up and give the straws a more colourful appearance. Or I would split the dough in two or three batches with each their flavour. One with chili flakes, another with oregano and garlic and yet another with sesame seeds. And as we speak I'm in the middle of a tiny experiment with the dough. I'm waiting to see if it can stand waiting for a week or two in the freezer before being baked. If so, it would make it even more suited for parties. I'll get back to you with the result.

Pimp My Salad

2009-07-06T15:33:00.013+02:00

In many ways the BYO food-party is a great invention. It's economic, eclectic and sometimes it's even exciting. But, and here's the catch, far too often "I'll bring a salad" really does just mean that someone will bring a salad. Salad. As in lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and maybe even some tinned corn. Yawn! There's just no excuse for that. Throwing together a great salad is the easiest thing in the world and it doesn't even take a recipe. Just round up your favourite fruit and vegetables, slice them up nicely and bam! You've got a money shot.

Still, I know that the creative juices don't always come a-flowin' when we want them to and that's why I've jotted down a few ways for you to pimp up your fresh salad:

FRUIT
There's no end to the delight an unexpected slice of melon or apple will bring to an otherwise boring assembly of veggies. I personally prefer apples because I always seem to have them lying around the kitchen (and I like the crunch), but melons, strawberries, apricots, nectarines, plums, pink grape, oranges, grapes etc. are great too. And don't underestimate the power of colourplay on the plate. It does wonders for the appetite.

SEEDS & NUTS
I always love balancing the crunch and juice of the vegetables, the sweetness and tangy-ness of the fruit with a nutty touch. Whether it be in the shape of peeled and roasted almonds, soy-salted sunflower seeds or just plain sesame seeds, it's all good. Plus, if you have roasted them and toss them into the salad bowl shortly before serving it, the heat from the nuts tend to bring out the other flavours in the salad. Very Jamie Oliver.

HERBS
Especially in summer salads fresh dill, basil, coriander, mint, chives etc. can bring some delicate and more complex flavours to the mixture. Dill is great with apples and celery, coriander in just about everything and basil is lovely with sweet ingredients. For the dry kind, crushed rose pepper works well with grapes and dried rosemary/Provence spices are great for a salad with chunks of roasted chicken. Naturally, any salad needs a slight touch of salt and pepper too.

JUICES
Finally, you've assembled the perfect salad and just want it all to blend together. I would recommend that you go slow on the oils and hit the more fruity or acidy liquids. They tend to keep the salad fresh for longer and you don't get that greasy feeling afterwards. A tablespoon of elderflower cordial or some white balsamic vinegar makes for a delicious "blender", but you can experiment with any number of juices from apples, oranges, lime fruit, raspberries, red currants etc.

Obviously this is just the tip of the iceberg. I haven't even begun talking about real dressings and salads with meat or yogurt/other kinds of "coating". That'll have to wait for another time. Until then, chop along and bring a salad that's pleasing to the eye and the imagination, as well as the palate.

For more inspiration I can really recommend the book on salads by the Danish chef and food entrepreneur Claus Meyer called Claus Meyers Salatværksted (as far as I know, it's only in Danish).

Snacking My Way Through London

2009-04-21T16:39:00.007+02:00

It took me quite a while to digest my London experience (get it? "digest" as in eat, as in "Snacking my way through London"? Eigh? Okay, I'll leave you alone), but finally I'm done with the last crumbs from high tea, that leftover slab of pickled ginger from some pretty decent sushi and an early bakery breakfast. Let me break it down for you:

Top left: High Tea at The Wolseley. The price for a full Afternoon Tea was 19,75 £, which is pretty good for London standards as far as I know. The cakes were very delicate and light and the place itself was really worth a visit. Originally built as a showroom for cars it is furnished in an elegant art déco meets empire style with marble floors, black lacquer surfaces with gold detailing and dark wooden chairs. I can really recommend opting for the "separate" tea room looking onto the street as the large former showroom has terrible accoustics. Oh yeah, and you can spy on the passers by on the street;-)

Top right: Window display at a bakery in Hampstead. I am very sad to say that I only had an almond croissant here, because it was breakfast time and then the unwritten laws (by which I don't usually abide) of nourishment-before-sweets rule, which I guess doesn't really excuse the croissant so I'll just stop talking now.

Bottom left: Self service sushi bar called Wasabi on 58 Oxford St. This is a great pick for complementing the full high-street experience on Oxford St. When your shopper's has fallen to a low, just stop by this place, fill a box with your favourite individually packed sushi wonders and recharge. Note to other camera-junkies: Photography is not allowed here, something I only noticed after having taken 50 shots of the sushi selection.

Bottom right: Hot cross buns at the same bakery in Hampstead

Cooking For a Reception

2009-04-21T15:51:00.028+02:00

On the occasion of my recent book release (the travel guide some of you might remember me chatting about last summer), I couldn't help but invite just about everyone I know on Earth to a reception. Much to my surprise the usual statistic of about 60 % yes-sayers didn't pull through and nearly everyone said yes yes yes. Lo and behold, T and I suddenly had about 50 people on our hands who, thanks to the weather gods, could do their small talking in the blooming court yard in front of our apartment. But what to do about the food, we wondered? We seriously loathe the usual cheese squares with tooth picks and carrot sticks really don't do the trick for us either. That's why we embarked on a nitty gritty journey through about 120 delicate nibbles-on-a-stick and for my part, about 80 tiny cakes. Above from the left are tiny luxury brownies, made on a recipe for the Italian Chocolate Cake also pictured here on my blog. And that's really a big part of my best trick: Many recipes for large cakes can be made into finger-size cakes or muffins without any big changes to the recipes except from the baking time. In this case I took a cake recipe that I usually bake in a round cake tray and poured the finished mixture in a large square baking tray with an adjustable metal frame around it to make it fit to the amount perfectly. After baking it I simply measured and divided it into equally sized "brownies" and that was it. The best part is that with our new freezer, I could bake the whole lot a week in advance and then freeze them. The flavour only gets better from setting for a while. Win-win, as I see it.

As for the cakes, the mini-muffins to the right (above), they are miniatures of the apple-maccaroon cake pictured here on my blog. The only difference is that I pipmed them up a bit using hard and slightly tangy plums instead of apples, because the marzipan-like flavour of the macaroons goes perfectly with the plumness of the fruit.

Btw...

2009-04-15T12:26:00.004+02:00

...did I mention that my travel guide has finally been printed? Well, now I have. Mentioned it, that is. Though it's in Danish, there's plenty of self-explanatory and appetizing photos for the rest of you. Check it out here:

Turen går til: En god weekend

Doing the Unmentionable: Serving Fruit Salad For Dessert

2009-04-12T16:33:00.023+02:00

Those of you who know me, have probably noticed a certain stubbornness when it comes to desserts. For example T and I have a favourite mock-discussion on the topic of cheese and its, in my opinion false definition as a dessert. It is NOT and never will be a worthy substitute for a sweet treat after an enjoyable meal. And the same goes for fruit. Just plain fruit. What kind of dessert is that? Maybe that kind of thing flies in the tropics where you need something to quench your thirst rather than enhance it, but here, in the cold cold North, we need a good dessert to finish us off before enjoying that post-coital cigarette and early hibernation. So - when I asked my father the other day if he had any requests dessert-wise and he answered: "Something light, we're trying to keep it down you know. Maybe just some bitter chocolate..." I nearly felt like serving some of that un-comfortably dry 99% cocoa-"chocolate" that Lindt does and a glass of water to wash down the Sahara that follows. Well, almost. The point is, I decided on making a bowl of fruit salad that would satisfy his healthy diet as well as my own ambitions. This is how it turned out and I am happy to say, I had more than one portion of it myself:

Dessert Lover's Fruit Salad (serves 4)

Syrup (makes 100 ml. - can be doubled if you like your fruit soaked)

75 ml water

25 ml lime juice

100 grams white sugar (important for the colour)

Half a star anise

Salad

1 pink grape fruit, in fillets (see instructions below)

4 dark purple plums, thinly sliced

250 grams of fresh strawberries, sliced lengthways

10 leaves of basil, chopped
Chopped pistachios

Place the ingredients for the syrup in a saucepan and boil them together until the mixture reaches a runny thickness that resembles cordial - don't allow it to get too sticky. If it does, you can dilute it with a bit of water until you reach the right consistency. Remove the star anise and let it cool in the fridge for a couple of hours or over night. When the syrup has reached fridge temperature (about 5 degrees Celcius) start preparing the fruit. Clean the plums and strawberries and slice them thinly lenghtways. Peel the grape fruit and cut off the remaining skin with a sharp knife until the pulp is bared. Then proceed to slice the fruit towards the centre in each little section. If the sections are very wide, you can make two fillets from each compartment. The finished fillets should be long and flat as pictured above. As this is a very wasteful way of using a grape fruit, make sure you squeeze the remaining juice out of the fruit core and either drink it or pour it over the salad. When the fruit is done, mix it well with the chopped basil and pour a generous amount of syrup over it. Leave it to set for about 30 mins. so the basil can work its perfumed magic on the salad. Sprinkle with pistachios and serve cool, maybe even with a dewy glass of muscat.

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

2009-03-31T12:59:00.016+02:00

As you might have noticed, Eye Candy is going through the changes. But instead of becoming barren, I and my new web editor T are trying to pimp it up to a blooming new blog. We can't wait to air the final results. One of the first changes is the name: The name Eye Candy and I sort of grew apart and instead I've started dating this college guy who's totally into French literature and can name at least eight famous painters and stuff. Anyway, from now on, this blog is called

VELBEKOMME

which means "enjoy" or "may you enjoy this" and is something we Danes like to say before embarking on a great meal.

Off To London!

2009-03-17T17:04:00.006+01:00

Just a quick note to say that I'll be spending the rest of the week with a friend of mine in London. Hope to return with good pics and new food inspiration, as I've recently heard that there's more to the British cuisine than baked beans on toast and that wretched shepherd's pie (shudder).

Have a great week!

Beet Root Gnocchi

2009-03-13T12:37:00.017+01:00

Well howdy partner! Boy are you in for a treat today. This is one of those experiments that paid off straight away, and mind you, I could fill a book with my less fortunate trial-and-errors. This is my spin on a recipe for pumpkin gnocchi from Delicious:Days. It looked so juicy that I had to wipe off the drool from my keyboard after reading it. Only, when I looked for pumpkins at my local green grocer there were none in sight. But then something brownish red entered the corner of my eye: Good old sturdy beet roots. And with a little afterthought, I ended up buying two big fellas for my gnocchi. I couldn't get over the sheer daring of it all. But what can I say, I'm a kitchen rebel with a very good cause indeed. Well. As for the recipe, I won't be writing it here as you can see it with the link above.
What I will tell you though, are the few changes I made to the recipe. As it says in the original "script", wash, peel and slice the beets to thin slivers. Cook them in the oven as stated in the recipe, but be prepared to wait about 20 min. longer for them to soften. I ended up throwing the beets in a chopper-thingy and putting the tiny bits of beets back into the oven to speed up the process. When they were finally soft enough to sort of purée (it was more like 230 grams of sticky paste), I added the rest of the ingredients (egg yolk, salt, pepper, but no nutmeg) and stirred until it became sticky and shiny. Even though I didn't have the 450 grams of vegetable purée the recipe asked for, it still needed a whole egg yolk. As for the flower, 50 grams were plenty for this mixture. Then I rolled it, cut it into individual gnocchi. Cute and fluffy little dumplings of sweetness. Nice. And even though there was quite a lot of flower on them, they cleaned up real nice as they say Hollywood.

Despite the slight resemblance to raw tuna or bits of meat, they were absolutely heavenly with the sage butter (also in the recipe mentioned above), plenty of flaky sea salt and parmesan cheese to counter the sweetness of the beets. Actually, I was so pleasantly surprised by the outcome, that I had to call T and let him in on my delight.

Now go on, give it a try in your own kitchen. It's totally worth the flowery mess.

Healthy But Interesting Spring Rolls (Tutorial)

2009-03-09T19:47:00.039+01:00

This is a turning point in history. Yes, today's the day when the first ever tutorial enters these pages. But please don't hold these photos against me - it's kinda tricky juggling a camera, good setups, lighting and food prep with sticky fingers (and I don't mean the album). Anyway, here goes nothing:

In my sugar-and-cream loving mind, "healthy" and "interesting" have always seemed mutually exclusive. But there has been the occasional exception and today will be a celebration of one of them: Happy-crunchy Vietnam-style spring rolls with raw vegetables.

Vietnam-Style Spring Rolls (serves two people ~ 15 rolls)

1 large carrot, julienne (see picture below)
1 celery stick, thinly sliced
1 big handful of mint leaves, chopped
1 big handful of cilantro, chopped
1/4 fennel, finely chopped
1/2 spring onion, finely chopped
1 red snack pepper, finely chopped
1-2 tsp black sesame seeds
1/2 lime, juiced
White balsamic vinegar or rice vinegar
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
15 sheets of round rice paper (22 cm - see picture below)

Start preparing all of the vegetables and make sure they are all nice and thinly sliced. You want the filling to be as easy to arrange as possible. Regarding the carrots, by all means cut them julienne style by hand, but I prefer using a julienne-peeler as in this photo. It saves soo much time and agony and gives that evenly shaped Asian look.

As soon as the carrots are done, drizzle them with the lime juice to prevent them from turning brown. When the rest of the vegetables are done, sprinkle the sesame seeds into the mixture and season it with vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix it again. The result should look a bit like this:

Now it's time for the fun part: Rolling the rolls, weeha!

Take one sheet of rice paper and soak it in luke warm water for a couple of minutes, or until soft and dangly. Spread it out onto a clean tea towel and pat it dry. Place about a tablespoon of the salad just slightly below the middle of the rice paper:

Fold the front half over the salad and try to prevent "air bubbles" under the paper (I'm not perfect there but hey, we're all learning). Then proceed to fold one side over the middle, creating a straight line going away from you

Fold it as tightly against the salad as possible so you don't end up with saggy rolls that won't dip into the soy sauce afterwards. Again, try to avoid any air stuck under the paper. Fold the other side tightly over the first. Then roll it firmly to the end of the paper:

And voilà, your very own healthy and interesting spring rolls to serve with soy sauce and sliced/roasted pork chops as below or any other way you like. Enjoy!

And that concludes this week's lesson. Now get back to doing whatever you were doing and let me crunch up those rolls by myself;-)

Blogging Around

2009-03-01T18:48:00.012+01:00

This time I won't even bore you with excuses for my absence. Suffice it to say that I'm still going at it in the kitchen and here's what I've been up to lately:

As I mentioned back in December, I had a visit from a good friend in Munich. What I didn't tell you was that she brought me a new cookbook by a fellow foodblogger from Munich. Which again brought me to check out her starting point on the internet: delicious days. Although not exactly stuffed with posts it is very VERY interesting to look at the recipes she does have. Not to mention her photos! The above photo is my version of what you can see here under the heading "How to turn rhubarb pink". It's a little puff pastry tart filled with home made vanilla custard and a slightly tangy compôte of rhubarbs and raspberries. They turned out really great and my initial fear of the store bought puff pastry turning yeasty-bitter and way too thick was put to rest. And even the next day they were very delicious indeed.
Follow the link to find the original recipe. Below are my comments and learnings from her recipe. Do yourself a favour and try it out - you won't regret it! My only let down was the fact that it ended up looking like a very familiar piece of Danish: The "Spandauer" (enjoy the mug-shot) which is a sort of round puff pastry thingy with twisted edges, filled with a stiff custard or marmelade and topped with icing sugar. That sort of made me a little less excited about the new discovery. A bit like the time I made some Spanish tomato marmelade and somebody asked if it was ketchup. Dammit!

First of all, there's waaay too much custard and compôte to fill 10-12 puff pastry cups. I used the store bought kind where you get six little "plates" of dough, of which I used three to make 12 small tarts. Granted, that's 50 grams less dough than the recipe says, but I still have enough filling left over to make another 12 tarts. So either make half the amount of filling or double the amount of puff pastry.

This Year's Model (well, last year's, really)

2009-01-05T16:30:00.007+01:00

Just to show you how a "kransekage" looks, when it hasn't been on the floor...(compare to previous New Year's eve-post here).

And while I'm at it: Happy New Year and welcome to 2009! Hopefully it'll be a year filled with heavenly mouthfuls.

'Tis the Season, lah dee dah

2009-01-05T16:28:00.018+01:00

Can you believe these shots? I can't, and I was there.
This is how we spent Christmas at my inlaws', including my mother. Or rather, this is what we ate during the holidays. For here in Denmark it is customary to rank food right up there with the gifts, and the older you get, the more "foody" it turns. Judging from endless Thanksgiving specials on just about every tv show from the States we're not the only ones to make holidays all about the food (who could forget those dinners at the Walsh residence, where Brandon would bring a homeless guy to the table and pass him the cornbread like he was Jesus or something?). Anyway, this is a peek into our traditions. The first shot is from Christmas night which we all celebrate on the 24th with a pork roast or a roast duck as in this photo. In my family we used to have turkey because my mother's Australian, but I do like a good duck too. Here it's dressed in the traditional cuff made out of cut, white paper and to top it: A fresh sprig of pine. Served with a Waldorf salad, caramelized potatoes and a sauce that was to die for (made on roquefort cheese, red currant gelly, cream and the tasty drippings from the duck-tray, [drool]).

Yup, that's my mother's hand going for the juicy duck. Can you blame her?

Next day's feast was a Christmas lunch, complete with roast pork, "rullepølse" (the pink thing in slices, a kind of pork roulade with a pepper filling. Sounds strange, but is delish when served with fresh onion rings and mustard), fried, pickled herring and carpaccio (admittedly not a classic in the Danish kitchen, but a classic all the same). Great stuff, I tells ya! And on a side note: How campy is that roaring fire place in the background?! But it warms the heart, doesn't it?

Merry Christmas, or "Glædelig jul" as we say in this country of ours.

Christmas Baking

2008-12-16T23:19:00.011+01:00

So this is how it all went down (and I swear we wore our "Nissehuer" all the time!).

Weighing, mixing, stirring, tasting, baking, cooling, tasting, tasting, tasting and finally some impatient photographing in the bad lighting of a dismal December afternoon. My friend Britta and I ended up making the following four things:

* Several trays of ANZAC biscuits - with my Australian grandmother's secret recipe
* Lots and lots of biscotti (see above) with chocolate, almonds and different spices
* Russian apple cake (German link) with cocoa and rum - also made as muffins
* Two chocolate cakes baked with a chocolate truffle "drizzle"

Naturally we were pretty exhausted by the last cookie tray, but then we had to go deliver most of the goods at a Christmas art gallery on the other side of Copenhagen, so we stuffed the bics and cakes in brown paper bags and went away. Only to find that I had gotten the time wrong and the place was going to close for the day half an hour later! Hopefully the goods behaved well on the next day too.

And So I'm Back, From Outta Space

2008-12-10T10:05:00.006+01:00

Honey, I can't begin to tell you how great it is to have handed in the third draft of my travel book today. It's finally looking up for our relationship! With the book almost done I finally have a bit more time for producing pictureworthy pastry that can land a place on this blog. Now I can't wait to show you the result of my Christmas cooking on Saturday. My friend Britta is flying in from Munich and we'll be baking and tasting our way through the day, wearing our "nissehuer" with pride as we go along. Until then I'll leave you with my favourite comfort drink ever: Hot and spicy chocolate with a big bouncy dollop of whipped cream and a bit of cinnamon on top. Enjoy!

Sweet Add-Ons

2008-11-10T10:24:00.008+01:00

In these crazy deadline times, I haven't had much time for cooking. But somehow this tiny experiment found its way into my tight schedule. I've made these vanilla biscuits umpteen times, but only recently I thought of making a tiny indentation in the dough and adding a teaspoon of raspberry conserve before baking them. I used to love these Swedish-style things - sometimes even with a bit of icing sugar on top. And my friend's 10 year old daughter seemed to like them too. She chomped them down in no time! Now that's the best compliment any cook can wish for.

It's Show-and-Tell-Time

2008-08-25T16:46:00.004+02:00

Remember how I told you, I went to Falsled Kro while researching for my book? Well, I finally think it's time to show you one of the best dishes of the evening - and there were quite a few so that makes this one all the more special. This was actually "just" an appetizer: Potato wafers on an apple-celery salsa and most importantly - a scoop of densely whipped cream / sour cream with water cress, lemon zest and some other ingredients I couldn't quite put my finger on. Now that's really something to lift up the second scoop of Calvisius caviar on top! The mere consistency of the discretely zesty cream was heavenly and just the right buddy for the burst of caviar on the tongue. Dammit! Why does this place have to be so far out of my economic and geographic range? Btw. please excuse the oddly displaced focus on the photo - it seems as if my dreamy-eyed state has influenced on the lense...

Eat This! (you heard me)

2008-08-07T13:20:00.007+02:00

Here's what I do, when my writing skills don't agree with me or the silly material just won't budge: Make melting miniature marcipan cakes. That and I take pictures of them from so many different angles and with so much (food) porn in mind, I feel like a real pedofile - this shot might just as well be an upskirt of a six year old! Please let me in on your procrastination tricks - are you getting any good dusting done, do you prefer filing your cd's after colours or are you finally giving Stallone's "oeuvre" the time it deserves? Or could it be that I'm the last dinosaur out here still doing work that's vaguely similar to an exam, however long-lasting this one may be? Pleez tell me it isn't so!

Just For Kicks

2008-07-17T18:35:00.005+02:00

Okay, I guess it won't hurt to reveal what I had for nibbles...
Teaming up with a 2002 Veuve Clicquot rosé were not one, but a whole selection of nibbles. In the front row: A mayonnaise-dip reminiscent of bearnaise (it contained tarragon), four boiled quail eggs in a custom made egg shaped jar (don't worry, I didn't pinch it), homemade potato chips with tomato powder, one deep fried onion ring and finally, the quirky bit: Caramellized popcorn. The only minus was the fact that no sooner had I had a sip of my drink, but the maitre d' said: "Don't mean to rush you, but we have six courses to get through - please follow me...". I quickly tried one of each treat, grabbed my drink and left the rest behind (notice how the appetizer still shows on the photo from my dinner table). Must admit that I don't quite get the fuss about quail eggs though. As much as I looove quails on their own, I find that their eggs are really just tiny, although very pretty, eggs. And the onion ring although very tasty was actually a bit funny. I guess the whole array was their take on popular culture, which wasn't a bad idea at all.
And on another gourmet note I'd better not even get started on black truffles. What's with the much ado about that ingredient? As far as I have tasted, it has a very delicate (meaning hardly noticeable) flavour vaguely resembling an unripe and green hazelnut fresh from the shell. By all means, that's a nice flavour and all, but for that price, I don't really think it's worth it. How about you? If you think I'm an unbearable ignoramus, please let me have it - while you are at it - let me in on the brotherhood-of-the-black-truffle secrets, please.

When Two Become One

2008-07-17T09:49:00.007+02:00

Have you ever had that happen to you? That two parts of your life coincide and make sweet, sweet music? Well, it happened to me not so long ago. For the last couple of months I have been out doing extensive research for my upcoming traveller's guide for the rather well known line of books called "Turen går til..." by the Danish publisher Politikens Forlag. It is a book about 24 weekend trips away from Copenhagen around Denmark and a few in the southern parts of Sweden. On that occasion I have been on a trip for every single weekend for ages it seems. A great job for me, but not too good for the blogging I'm afraid. But now it's pay-back time. Because the moment this job seriously started to make sense and sweet sweet music, was when the time came for my gourmet trip to Funen, around Faaborg. This photograph was taken from my seat at the highly acclaimed countryside inn, Falsled Kro, where I ended my gourmet trip in style. I really truly enjoyed seeing what they came up with, and every single plate was a work of art (one in particular made the tepid metaphor come true - it really looked like a Miró!). Anyway, I noticed some very definite trends among the different restaurants I have tried of late, some of which were due to the seasonal ingredients:

1) Peas, peas, peas - mostly just naked and ready
2) Variations on a theme: Carrots, strawberries, malt etc.
3) Freeze-dried berries, which I really don't understand - in my world that strange flavour belongs in a müsli, not a gourmet dessert!
4) Calvisius caviar or lumpsucker roe with a dense whipped cream/creme fraiche and fresh herbs or smoked cheese (a specialty on Funen) dollop.
5) Food arranged in separate little dollops, dots, balls, twigs etc. - making the plate seem a bit flimsy, but in a good way.
6) Using edible flowers
7) The wine-guy talking really fast and mentioning all sorts of more or less interesting details about the wine-making process to the extent that you forget the name of the wine itself, which is really annoying if you want to go out and get it on your own some day
I might get back to you with a pic of the food, but I don't know if I should. Wouldn't want to reveal too much of their stuff online. But one thing I learned, and was very very sad to understand, is how you can actually get too much of a good thing. I seriously wouldn't recommend having three 4-7 course gourmet dinners within five days, and especially not accompanied by wine menus as well. It doesn't do the food or you justice at all. You want to
take this kind of food as slowly as it is produced, give it a whole evening with nothing else planned than clomping back to bed afterwards. My tight scedule nearly ruined the gourmet experience at times, but luckily the royal treatment at Falsled got me back into the game just in time. So learn from these mistakes and don't waste all that money and good food on an overstimulated palate.

Hot Stuff

2008-04-07T08:48:00.009+02:00

As so many of my kitchen-crazy peers, I have lusted for a crème brulée torch for a long time.

As very few of them though, I don't allow myself to buy too many single-purposed tools. That's why it took a present from a friend of mine to finally equip me with that fine invention. Of course it didn't take me long to realize that there's no such thing as a genuine single-purposed tool. There are only single-minded craftsmen and I was one of them. Or at least until I started scorching and torching away at everything. This is one of the more succesful results: Baked and then torched vanilla custard with orange & brandy-marinated plum, yum yum.

Sweets for the Salty

2008-03-07T10:21:00.004+01:00

Even the savoury kitchen needs a little sugar in its bowl sometimes. Take this tomato marmelade from Rosa Sala Burgaya's tapas book for instance. It's red, sticky and has a hint of sweet bay-leaf that suits white poultry and pork very well. Try to smear it on your regular club sandwich with chili-mayonnaise instead of curry dressing and suddenly it's a different ball game altogether. Here's how you make good with your canned tomatoes:

1 can of organic tomatoes

The zest of half a lemon (organic too)
1 bay-leaf
4 tablespoons of sugar

Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and leave it to simmer without a lid for about an hour (Rosa says two, but I find one is plenty) until it's firm and sticky. And that's it really. A seductive condiment for your table in no time. But do try to keep that index finger in check until the guests arrive. Once it's tried to dip into the glass, it can't seem to stop.

Recycling Made Tasty

2008-02-08T18:58:00.002+01:00

Thank God bakers are a thrifty lot. How else would they have invented this age old classic? In Denmark there's hardly a child who hasn't tried buying one of these romkugler (rum balls) and then enjoyed the heavy feeling in the bag of a great satisfaction to come. Anyway, originally meant as a way of using bakery leftovers such as Danish pastry and biscuits, the version on this pic is a bit more upscale. With all the time I spent making Christmas goodies I just couldn't bring myself to chuck it after a while, so instead I mixed it up with marzipan, good quality cocoa, jam, rum, and finely chopped cake bits. I recommend gathering the odd slice of cake and cookies in a bag in the freezer until you have enough different flavours (old trick of the trade). These balls contain ginger bread biscuits, chocolate cake, macaroons and lots more. To dress them up a little, dip them in melted chocolate and roll them in roasted almond slices or coconut.

Don't you just love recycling?

What a Blast!

2008-02-06T23:21:00.001+01:00

After having toiled over this architectural masterpiece of a "kransekage" (traditional Danish marzipan cake for new year's) I applied the icing with slapdash precision and rushed off. On the metro I nearly strained an unmentionable muscle or two trying to rescue the sucker from certain doom. Lo and behold if it didn't make it in one piece to the party only to be knocked off the table shortly before this picture was taken. At least now I know why we chose to make these sturdy fellows for an alcohol infested evening such as this... Happy new year people!

DIY Fast Food

2008-02-06T23:14:00.000+01:00

Deep-fried prawns in Orly-pastry with homemade remoulade - a shortcut to any man's heart. Am not so sure about the blue plate though.

Christmas Bonus

2007-12-24T11:45:00.001+01:00

What can I say, I like to pamper my guests with homemade goodies...

'Tis the Season (For Enjoying Chocolate)

2007-12-24T11:37:00.000+01:00

...Need I say more, nudge nudge? A very merry Christmas from me to you.

Souvenirs of a Different Kind

2007-11-06T20:49:00.000+01:00

My bad. Have neglected you like a zit-ridden stepson, who plays waaay too much WoW to ever experience serious human interaction. But that's all over now. Mommy's here. Anyway, just wanted to show you the kind of souvenirs I like to bring back from vacations. This time, 750 grams of beautiful self-picked chanterelles from Sweden. Now that beats the hell out of any miniature Eiffel Tower or brick from the Berlin Wall. Needless to say, the delicious souvenirs didn't make it past the border. But this photo did.

28 Years Later...

2007-10-11T10:14:00.000+02:00

Normally, on someone's birthday, I would be posting a big fat sponge cake with strawberries, whipped cream squeezing out everywhere and candles galore. But since today's my boyfriend's birthday, I'd better do the cake Troels-style. That's why I chose this opulent seafood dish from a market in Nice. So happy birthday ol' boy and to the rest of you, let this be a reminder of how far you can get with a minimum of preparation and a maximum of delicious ingredients.

Just Teasing

2007-10-09T13:36:00.001+02:00

I'm so sorry. Today's another one of those tease-days. I'm posting this photo and all the while I'm perfectly aware, that I can't follow it up with a recipe. That's because it sort of belongs to my employer (the tea salon), and I don't feel in a position to reveal their professional tricks. Instead, you'll have to settle for this photo or go buy an original cinnamon roll from Tante T;-)

Pizza with a Twist

2007-10-08T16:10:00.000+02:00

I already introduced you to my thin-crusted pizza during a nervous rambling in an earlier post (July 21st). However, this time I won't get myself all wound up, honest. Only thing I want to say is, it tasted damn fine with serrano ham, plums and feta cheese too! An additional trick is to use the slow-cooked tomato preserve, I introduced in the post from August 30th as a base on the crust.

Nothing Beets This Soup!

2007-10-07T18:58:00.001+02:00

Ahh, the splendour of a sunny day in autumn, where everyone is just sucking in those last rays of light before the bleak winter sets in! What better way to end such a day, than by enjoying a heartwarming soup? Yes, I'm in a soupy state of mind today and I want to share this delicious beetroot soup with you. As I understand, it's not quite a borscht as they make 'em in Russia, but a soup as the Danish film producer at Zentropa, Peter Aalbæk whips it up. So once again, I'm passing on a recipe with my own touches. I love the thought of someone else doing their thing with my recipe too, so feel free to inform me of your own improvements:-)

(Serves two people):

--------------------

2 large beetroots in small chunks

2 carrots (optional, and treated the same as above)

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

Small 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds - best buddies with beetroots!

1/2 litre meat stock (I use veal stock)

Chop up the onions and garlic and fry them in some olive oil in a large saucepan with the caraway seeds. Then add the beetroots & carrots and leave for five mins. Now you want some juice to enter the game, so add the stock and maybe a splash of water. Leave to boil for 20-30 mins. and check if the veggies have turned soft. If so, pour the whole lot into your blender and give it a good spin. When it's nice and creamy, return it to the saucepan and leave it on medium heat, while you prepare the trimmings: Almond pesto and goat cheese nibbles:

------------------

PESTO: Turn on the oven at 220 degrees. Blend up 1 decilitre of peeled and roasted almonds with 1 clove of garlic, a big handful of parsley, lemon juice & rind, grated parmesan cheese, olive oil and salt. You might need to add a little extra of this or that to suit your own taste. I like it a bit corse and dryish, not soaked in oil as many do.

GOAT CHEESE NIBBLES: Slice up some stale bread thinly, or as I do, stale rolls. Add a slice of goat cheese from a roll on each slice and give each "nibble" a bit of fresh rosemary, salt and olive oil. Crisp them up in the oven, take them out and sprinkle with runny honey.

Now you're ready to serve the sweet and caraway-spiced soup with your trimmings and a blob or two of ricotta cheese.

If that doesn't do it for you, I'm afraid nothing else will.

Because Apples Aren't Everything

2007-09-24T17:44:00.001+02:00

Even though I've been busy getting to the bottom of my pile of apples, there's also been time for cooking real food, in this case: Spaghetti Speziale. Granted, that's not it's real name, but who can resist a reference to Disney's "Lady and the Tramp", when looking at this dish? The original inspiration though, came from a much less palatable corner of popular culture; the American day time show host Rachel Ray. Not that I mind the woman, no she's doing a great job trying to educate regular Americans in the kitchen. But it's kinda embarassing to admit that I've actually survived watching this type of housewife-entertainment. Anyway, I jotted down a few things but the sauce is the result of my own trial-and-error (this recipe serves 3 people):

Tomato sauce

2-3 red peppers (depending on the size) or 5 fresh tomatoes (very ripe)

1 can of tomatoes

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

1/3 decilitre balsamic vinegar

2 sardines

Some veal stock if you like

Assorted spices (I like to try different kinds: sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano, chili...)

Olive oil, salt & pepper (s&p)

If you decide to use the red peppers, start by boiling them until the skin begins to loosen from the flesh, then put them in a plastic bag and leave them in there for 10 mins. By then the skin should come off very easily. Remove the seeds and blend the flesh into a light red paste with salt, one clove of garlic and some sage. Put a lid on the paste and set it aside. Then chop up the onion and the other clove of garlic and put them in an oiled and hot saucepan. Fry them lightly with the spices of your choice and add the balsamic vinegar, let it seduce, no sorry, reduce. Add either the fresh, diced tomatoes OR the red pepper paste as well as the can of tomatoes. Stir it, turn down the heat a bit, pop in the happy sardines and leave it to bubble away for 20 mins. In the meantime you can start preparing the meatballs (see below) and when you're done - return and finish the last few steps of this recipe=> Have a taste and see if the sardines have done their job or if you need a bit of stock and s&p. It might need a bit of extra salt to balance the sweetness of the red pepper paste.

Meatballs

400 grams minced organic beef

2 eggs

1 decilitre grated parmesan cheese

2 handfuls of fresh parsley or basil, finely chopped

3/4 decilitre of roasted pine nuts, roughly chopped

1 bread roll made into small crumbs

1 clove of garlic, crushed

s&p

Mix the whole lot and shape it into little meatballs with a tablespoon. Fry them up in a very hot, oiled pan while constantly shaking and moving it, so the meatballs don't settle for too long on one side, thus making them more round. When they're evenly brownish, put them carefully into the slowly simmering tomatosauce and make sure they're covered properly. Leave in the saucepan on low heat while you cook the spaghetti with plenty of salt. Serve on a platter with fresh parmesan cheese and basil, and make sure that Luigi plays "Bella Notte" on a banged-up old mandolin when you take your first bite...

Btw, sorry 'bout the not-so-homemade-pasta...

Bless Me Readers For I Have Sinned...

2007-09-20T11:30:00.002+02:00

...it's been nine days since my last confession and that's a long time to go without food. Sorry. Since I didn't have much luck gathering apple-advice in my former post, I had to dust through my archives and find this ancient recipe book known to Danes as Karoline's Køkken (~kitchen).

Underneath a heavy layer of spider webs and those greasy spots that make windows on every page, I actually discovered a recipe that wasn't half bad. A perfect way to finish off apples that are ready for the nursing home:

Apple Pie with an Almond Lid

1 kilo sliced apples

A bit of sugar and lemon juice

150 grams butter

1 decilitre sugar

1 decilitre plain flour

2 decilitres ground almonds

1 teaspoon cinnamon or cardamom

Turn on the oven and set it at 200 degrees. Place the sliced apples in your round baking tin, sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice. Stir the remaining ingredients together and spread the

mixture over the apples. It's perfectly okay to let them peep through the lid here and there - it just looks kinda homely. Cook for 30 mins. & serve with whipped cream and a board game.

Applemergency

2007-09-12T19:14:00.001+02:00

"Now we have apples galore" my boyfriend said the other day, when his sweet parents brought us heaps of home-grown ones. Now, apart from being a lovely gesture towards a food-loving couple, this was definitely a huge challenge: How does one dispense of such lovely and plentiful goods before they perish? So far we've had a whole lot of freshly made apple juice, desserts with
apple sauce and one round of oven-baked apples as a side dish for a pork roast. But there are still some left. What shall I do, my dear readers? Do I stuff my pillows with them or do you have some more respectful ideas that will also please my taste buds?

Suggestions,
suggestions,
suggestions.

The lines are open!

(btw, the pic was taken at a bountiful apple plantation on Fynen called Nybro. Just look at how the red delights are practically bursting with juice -what a wonderful sight!)

The Recipe for Zucchini alla Carbonara

2007-09-05T12:50:00.000+02:00

Ever since leaving out the recipe for Jamie Oliver's zucchini alla carbonara in my 20th August post, a nasty guilt has been nagging me like crazy. So I finally found a link for the recipe , which was soon removed from Jamie's site. Luckily I had copied it to my computer before posting
the link so here goes the text that was conscientiously jotted down during "Jamie at Home" by "the bikeman":

I have posted this recipe on another thread, but justin case you have problems finding them, I havetranscribed the recipe below. 4oD is great, I downloaded the episode and took notes, pausing Jamie in mid stream. Bon appetit. The bikeman.
Zucchini alla Carbonara - Jamie at Home; Episode 2
The recipe is for 2 very generous portions
Ingredients
5 slices of Pancetta or thickly cut bacon - chunkilysliced
200 gm of Penne
4 small courgettes (2 yellow if you can get them).
Lemon Thyme
Mottled Thyme
Ground Pepper
Olive Oil
Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Egg yolks (one egg yolk per person)
50ml Full Cream (25ml per person)

Splash olive oil in the pan, drop in thePancetta/bacon and let the fat render out. Toss it every now and then. Whilst the Pancetta is cooking put the Penne into a pan of boiling water and season with salt. Cut the courgettes into quarters lengthways and then remove the seed core (the bit that is in the middle of the courgette). Then slice the courgette at an angle.The pieces should resemble the Penne when cut. Add the sliced courgette when the Pancetta has gone golden and crisp. Give it all a good toss (if you're able to like Jamie, but for mere mortals a spatula would do equally), add a large pinch of pepper and then the Thyme. Toss and then
leave to cook whilst making the Carbonara sauce. Put the two egg yolks in a bowl and then the cream. Add a large handful of freshly grated Parmesan. Mix using a spoon. Now drain the pasta and pour straight onto the courgette/pancetta and toss. Allow to cool a little before pouring in the Carbonara sauce, toss (or mix) continuously whilst pouring. (Wait for the frying sound to subside, failing to wait will mean the eggs cooking, making it look like scrambled eggs!). Spoon some water from your pasta water, again tossing, to get a silky sauce, perfectly covering the pasta. Garnish with fresh thyme and then a glug of olive oil and serve on a large plate.
Happy Days!

Do Try This at Home

2007-09-03T23:19:00.000+02:00

I was making a cake for a party in our apartment building and decided to do a remake-over of the popular Victoria Sandwich, I've already shown you (see post from the 24th of July). Here's the good stuff I stuffed into it: stewed pear and cinnamon whip (for the lack of a better word).

The "how-to":

Dice up four pears (it's okay if they're rather hard) & one apple and boil 'em up in three decilitres (dl.) of water, about 1/4 dl. of brown sugar and 1/2 dl. of regular sugar (or more, if you like it sweeter). Add one star anis, the rind of 1/4 lemon and the juice of 1/2 lemon. When it

starts boiling turn it down slightly and let it simmer for about an hour or until the fruit is transparent and the juice is nice and thick. The star anis and the brown sugar are absolutely essential if you want that velvety caramel flavour and a distinct pear taste. Uhmm, and then a dollop of crème fraiche gently folded into some whipped cream mixed with cinnamon and a tiny bit of icing sugar. It's pure happiness in a silver spoon.

Day Six: Lamb Chop Chop

2007-09-03T23:05:00.000+02:00

If you too enjoy a good lamb chop now and then, I can really recommend getting it at a Hallal butcher. It's very fresh and you definitely get a lot more run for your money. This little lamb chop was dolled up with the classic accesories: garlic and herbes de Provence. Always works for me. Here I served it up with creme fraiche&mustard potatoes and a no frills salad. Nothing much, but certainly enough for me!

Day Five: Preparation Always Pays Off

2007-08-30T18:58:00.000+02:00

Another way to have an easy and yet satisfying dinner is to cook something in advance. Luckily I had caught a glimpse of Camilla Plum, the Danish kitchen-mamacita per excellence, while she was making preserved tomatoes on telly. The idea was so brilliant and easy that I simply had to try it out. Here's how you do it:

Take two big jars with tight-fitting lids (just no patent lids with those rubber thingies) and fill
them up with sliced tomatoes and herbs or, as I did, add sliced red peppers and roughly chopped garlic. Make sure you stuff the glasses as much as possible, as the mixture will reduce quite a lot (see picture). Add a splash of olive oil, whole pepper corns and salt and finally close the lids tight, but then un-screw the lid slightly so the heated air can leave the glass during the cooking time. Leave it in the oven on 110 degrees for four hours [sic!] or until the content has reduced approximately 30% and you can see it bubbling slightly. Then close the lid completely. These last steps ensure the preservation because the boiling kills off the germs and the lid seals it all in (well, duh!). So far, my glasses have survived on the shelf for 10 days without showing
any signs of old age (Mrs. Plum says she keeps hers all winter, though the sheer attractivity of them makes them last for a much shorter while). Must admit though, that I'm so much of a disbeliever, that I simply have to check the status from time to time anyway...which takes us back to day five of my food journal. I just heated the preserve in a saucepan and didn't have to change a thing. The tomatojuice in the sauce had such a deep and sunny flavour and the red
peppers almost tasted slightly smoked, so all the work was done. I recommend just serving it as it is with pasta and a bit of parmesan cheese. Nothing else to ruin the sweet simplicity of slow-cooked vegetables in season.

Day Four: Ready-Made Food Art

2007-08-27T18:55:00.001+02:00

Yup, Wednesday was another lazy day where curiosity was the only thing stirring in me besides hunger, of course), which made me want to try these sort of ready-made entrees from Irma
(Danish quality supermarket): Carpaccio and vitello tonnato. You get the meat packaged and sliced with the parmesan cheese and tuna sauce on the side and then you just have to arrange it
innocently on a nice platter. Naturally I'm too proud to actually do that with visitors, so we just had it on our own, with virtually no guests (or rather, only virtual guests). We both agreed that the "tonnato" part was done a bit too creamy and we therefore voted for miss Carpaccio 2007. I mean, all she wanted was World peace and who can resist that kind of selflessness dressed in olive oil?

Day Three: No Time For Cooking

2007-08-22T19:16:00.000+02:00

Please don't get too excited by this bagel -it's stolen goods! Tuesday evening way so busy that

I simply had to have take-out and if I hadn't stuffed the real bagel into my face with such greedy (and, I dare say dangerous) speed, I could have taken a real picture of it. Instead you will have to settle with this random photo. Will try to be a good girl tonight, I promise.

Day Two: Pulling a Copy-Cat

2007-08-20T21:41:00.000+02:00

Though I quite like Jamie Oliver and his whole rescue action towards the pasty English youth raised on baked beans, I've never really used any of his recipes. But somehow, today was

different. I had seen him doing this irresistible zucchini alla carbonara on telly the other day and I simply had to try it. This is how it turned out. After having followed my own notes from tv, I finally found the recipe on the web - only to discover that it's someone else's tv-notes. See recipe above under the post: "Recipe for Zucchini alla Carbonara" from September 5th.

Day One: Catering to the Needy

2007-08-20T20:08:00.000+02:00

These days my poor boyfriend is looking more and more exhausted as he is toiling over the final bits of his thesis. I did the same thing exactly a year ago, but certainly haven't forgotten the very draining experience. That's why I decided to give his usual serving of cup noodles a day off last night, and deliver a real home cooked meal to his reading-room in town. Since most shops are closed on Sundays, I just tried to make the best of the leftovers I had and what better way to dress up all but stale food, than to turn it into a beautiful Frittata? Here's how to do it:

Set your oven to 250 degrees. Then fry 200 grams of sliced mushrooms in olive oil spiced with crushed garlic, fresh thyme and sage. Add salt and pepper (S&P) to suit your taste and set the pan aside. Meanwhile take about two handfuls of frozen spinach and heat them up in a saucepan with grated nutmeg, white pepper and salt. Set that aside too. Then mix up four whole eggs, a splash of milk, S&P and half a teaspoon of baking powder. Put a cast iron pan onto the heat, melt a knob of butter, then pour the egg mixture into it. Arrange the mushrooms, spinach and two freshly sliced spring onions in the eggs and leave to cook until it's slightly firm along the sides. Then sprinkle grated Emmenthaler cheese over it and leave it in the oven until the colour is nice and appetizing and the whole Frittata is firm. NOTE: only use a pan, that can definitely stand the heat. When it's done, leave it to cool and serve a slice with buttered rye bread (not in the pic above). Needless to say, my boyfriend was very pleased, but then again, I was only up against cup noodles...

Dear Diary,...

2007-08-19T14:35:00.000+02:00

As of today, I'm responding to a challenge I was given by a somewhat patronizing guy, who thought he had all the answers, didn't quite and yet managed to come up with a good idea: why not make a food journal? Some of you may think that's what I'm already doing, but really, so far this blog has been more of a résumé than an actual honest account of all the food I eat, trashy as well as delicious. If you too like to browse food blogs and feel in awe of their high standards of eating, don't for one moment think they never experience moments of weakness or laziness. I for one am pretty darn sure it won't all be pretty what I'll be reporting to you during the next week. In the beginning I will restrict myself to dinner and see how I go. Then, if I find the time and nerve, I might even branch out to breakfast and lunch (oh the horror!). Will return later when I've had dinner and tell you all the gory details of me cutting culinary corners or cooking cutting edge food.

Flashbake

2007-08-17T08:59:00.000+02:00

I recently had a request for the recipe for that apple-macaroon cake from my "Heureka"-post (12th of August) and so I finally convinced my lazy behind to get started with the translation bit.
If you also experienced some serious saliva-action when looking at that photo, here's your chance to spend it all on a real life cake. The recipe can be found in the "Heureka"-post and it's surprisingly simple.

Blog 'n Roll

2007-08-14T12:41:00.000+02:00

To all of you hesitant cooks out there who prefer the comfort of a well known recipe, here's a way to renew the safe bet. I just tried to foccaccia-up my basic roll recipe (that I've already aired in my "Roll Over Beethoven" post) and it worked like a charm. Here's how you do it:

Make the basic roll dough and add a teaspoon of lightly roasted herbes de Provence. After it has risen properly, put a small tablespoon of the mixture into each muffin cup. Then take half a tin of preserved tomatoes and add the spices you like. I just used the pre-spiced kind and added one clove of garlic and a bit of salt. Squash it up until you get an even sauce and pour half a tablespoon onto each blob of dough. Top it off with grated Emmenthaler cheese and gently press the topping into the dough. When that's done just sprinkle some olive oil and oregano over them
and bake for 20 mins. at 225 degrees Celcius. And voilà, there are your old rolls in a new disguise!

Foodblogging for Dummies

2007-08-13T21:39:00.000+02:00

Reading over other foodie blogs and sites, I've come to realize that it's a common problem for all of us to talk about ourselves (you've gotta wonder why we do this "meme" to ourselves). And seeing that so many others have experienced the same hesitation that I do, only they first experienced it years ago, I really feel like a total sophomore in the school of blogging. And on top of that all of those self-acclaimed "amateur" chefs in the foodie-blog-site-business never miss

an opportunity to advertise for their top selling cook books. Now that's high treason in my book. First they lull you into this false comfort with words like "amateur" and sentences such as "oh I

try to cook and learn from my mistakes" (yada yada...). When it's painfully obvious that they are pros. Equally painfully obvious is the fact that I'm just jealous and feel terribly alone in the realm of gastronomic midgets, so let me get this straight once and for all: I AM a real bona fide amateur

cook, so to all of you like-minded foodies whose abilities in the kitchen don't quite match your ambition (yet) feel welcome and understood on Eye Candy. Join me in deflating soufflées, oversalting stews and cooking fancy meat dry as a bone. Just look at my silly picture - I'm one of the real, if only slightly nutty, people.

The Gospel of Novi

2007-08-13T16:48:00.000+02:00

In today's sermon I would like to talk to you about a slice of heavenly sin. It goes by the name of Novi and it's an Italian delight from the first surprising nougat sensation to the melancholy parting with the last piece. So if you're passing an Irma (Danish supermarket) and don't mind spending 25 kroner (~3,5 Euros) on 130 grams, I suggest that you treat yourself to this gianduia chocolate with hazelnuts. You won't regret it!

Heureka!

2007-08-12T19:50:00.000+02:00

I wish this recipe were my invention, I really do, but sadly this stroke of genius happened to someone else. Apple and macaroon cake with almond slices. The crushed macaroons in the mixture render the cake perfectly chewy and the surface lovely and golden. Here are ten (a nice number however incorrect it may turn out to be) easy steps to making this delight:

4 egg whites
50 grams sugar
250 grams macaroons (in Denmark: the Karen Wolf type)
75 grams flour
125 grams melted butter
2-3 thinly sliced apples
Sliced almonds for the topping

Beat the egg whites and add the sugar just before they become completely stiff (merengue texture). Crush the macaroons, add flour & melted butter and mix it with the apple slices. Fold the merengue gently into the apple mixture and pour the whole lot into a greased regular size tin (22 cm * 6,5 cm) lined with paper BOTH in the bottom and on the sides as the mixture turns really sticky in the oven. Sprinkle with the almonds and bake at 160 degrees for an hour or until it turns golden and doesn't stick. Leave to cool and serve with a mixture of creme fraiche, whipped cream and a bit of cinnamon.

Roll Over Beethoven

2007-08-07T08:35:00.000+02:00

[Drumroll and a couple of other noises, meant to build up an atmosphere of expectancy]: Finally the moment has arrived for you to re-create some of my food in the safety of your own homes. I hereby give you the very first recipe on "Eye Candy", one for The World's Easiest Rolls. And let
me warn you that everything is measured by the metric system, no "cups" or "ounces" here! The basic recipe originates from some ladies' mag, but this version includes my own alterations:

25 grams fresh yeast
500 ml lukewarm water
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
350 grams regular flour
200 grams corn flour

Stir the yeast into the water in any old bowl until it has dissolved completely, add salt & oil, stir again and then add both kinds of flower. By then the mixture should be quite sticky and fluffy, not like a regular bread dough. Now cower the bowl with Vita Wrap (cling film) and leave it to rise in the fridge for at least an hour -or preferably over night. When it starts pushing up the Vita Wrap, you know it's done. Then put 1-2 tablespoons of the dough into each cup in a muffin tray (I prefer the silicone kind), add a tiny splash of olive oil, sprinkle some coarse salt and fresh rosemary over each of them. Then bake in the oven (225 degrees) for 15-20 mins. Depending on the size of your muffin tray the recipe should make about 18 rolls. Enjoy!

This One Goes Out to You, AunTea

2007-08-05T17:06:00.000+02:00

Admittedly, I didn't have much trouble writing yesterday's post, so maybe you'll soon find me blabbering on endlessly about more or less lethal topics, perish the thought! However this post actually has a purpose, as I am celebrating my first day at work in the charming tea place,

Tante T (~Aunt T) in Copenhagen. There I'll be testing my baking skills on a weekly basis as well as broadening my culinary horizons. So, this French chocolate and pear tart is dedicated to that quaint little oasis on Vesterbro, where it might even end up on the menu some day. Until then I'll refer to "Chocolate and Zucchini", from whence the recipe came.

The Mad Woman in the Pantry

2007-08-04T10:51:00.000+02:00

When I first started this blog, I thought it would be the perfect outlet for my daily ramblings about food. Among friends I am known for talking with borderline crazy enthusiasm about everything from heartwarming red wine stews to fluffy mousses that evaporate all too soon from the tongue. But sadly, I have found it quite difficult translating this particular language into an

equally powerful text. Maybe there just aren't any satisfying written substitutes for those wild gesticulations and that certain twinkle of excitement in the eyes...? Or am I really more like Miranda in "Sex & the City" (sorry if I'm losing you with this one, guys!), in that episode where she suddenly learns to talk fluent dirty after a rather hesitant start? I sense a breakthrough around the corner... Anyway, today's slightly unfocused photo depicts the brilliant Danish invention: The Sarah Bernhardt cake. According to my favourite food magazine Mad & Venner

(March 2007), it was made by a Danish pâtissier for the famous actress' visit to Copenhagen in 1911. Since then, this beautiful combination of the crunchy-chewy macaroon and the luxurious chocolate truffle dipped in pure chocolate, has graced many a coffee table. These particular Sarah

Bernhardts were made on commission for a confirmation in May - with the added twist of fresh lime juice and lemon zest on top to spice up the truffle. Must admit though, that I had to buy the macaroons, because the recipe (or yours truly) seemed faulty somehow.

The Book of Revelation

2007-08-03T13:35:00.000+02:00

In the spirit of openness (am trying to get this pen a-flowin') I decided to let today's visual kick in the groin be done by my alter ego: Gal Capone... Yup, it's official, I love to cross dress whenever I'm bored. (Please, no racy comments from you Rhonda, I told you, it's NOT a dating site!)

An Itching Pen

2007-08-01T18:07:00.000+02:00

Ever since I started this blog, I've had this terrible itch in my pen, that I simply couldn't scratch.

Even my childhood diaries were always written with the utmost discretion. In the unlikely event

that anyone should want to peek in and discover which nondescript boy I fancied that week, I made extensive use of a kind of WW2 spy telegram-style with pseudonyms and secret abbreviations for all the parties concerned. So, I guess that's why I haven't managed to allow the ink to flow freely on this blog so far. I just have this strange feeling I'm being watched... Maybe this serving of blinis with sea weed salad, fresh herb dressing and lumpsucker roe will help. Will report back on that subject later...

Introducing: Kenners!

2007-07-28T16:30:00.000+02:00

In the days before anyone was PC my Australian grandmother made this golliwog for my brother. Now the little fellow has moved in with me and I tell you, it's quite a challenge trying to explain to him that being depicted with a banana is a dangerous thing these days. But as it happens, Kenners has inherited some of my headstrong grandmother's spirit as well as a swelling cultural pride and so he insisted that I post this photo of him. Please don't judge him too harshly.

A Festive Alternative to Jell-O

2007-07-28T11:34:00.000+02:00

Yes yes, Jell-O is an American phenomenon, but why shouldn't we have the pleasure of dessert-
jellies in Denmark too? And by that I mean a kind one can actually serve for guests. Elder-flower and raspberry. Nice!

Whoa Belly!

2007-07-27T14:24:00.000+02:00

-said the actress to the bishop when she tasted this cake. However, what the bishop replied is a different story altogether...

Crusade Against Deep Pan Pizzas

2007-07-26T13:19:00.000+02:00

I'm afraid today's post contains less sunshine and more war. I'm in the mood for removing that terrible invention called "deep pan pizzas" from the face of earth. I never understood the sticky dough and heavyness of that particular brand of fast food. Instead I suggest we travel light and opt for thin-crusted pizzas, Italian style.

A Bit o' Sunshine on a Dull Day

2007-07-25T12:35:00.000+02:00

Severely in danger of seeming self important I thought this image would enable anyone to escape to a much brighter day, where the pleasure of this elder-flower sponge cake would not be destroyed by a heavy shower. Please let me know if it works for you...

It's Time For Some Serious Indulgence!

2007-07-24T09:46:00.000+02:00

Here's my personal take on ye olde Victoria Sandwich, one of which the dear queenie was said to devour all on her own at tea time.

First Blog Everrr

2007-07-21T16:27:00.001+02:00

Of course my blog turned out to be all about the sweet stuff in life as well as in the mouth (no dirty pun intended). I'm just naturally alert to delicious things, as was also the case when I visited Paris in 2006. Just look at these awe-inspiring French tarts;-)