Family favourites (old and new)
I hate Starbucks’ scones. Ok, maybe “hate” is a bit strong but they typically suffer from over mixing. Therefore, they end up akin to little chunks of concrete rather than what a scone should be which, IMHO, is crumbly, light, and melt in your mouth …
Percy the Pumpkin is the gift that just keeps on giving. So far he has been resurrected as delicious dog treats approved by both large and small breed representatives, melt in your mouth pumpkin mini scones, and now he’s about to make his debut on …
So, I thought I had an expensive, epic fail on my hands with the Gravlax I made BUT I soaked it in cold water, dried if off, sliced it up and it was actually pretty good. However, I was still worried about the salt and the suggestions I saw on the internet suggested pairing it with cream cheese, lemon juice and unsalted bread…so I did. I served it with the Limppuleipa I made last week and … it was excellent.
1 block cream cheese (at room temperature)
3 Tbsp mayonnaise (the real stuff, don’t use that “salad dressing” crap)
Zest of one Lemon and the juice of half the lemon
1/3 C gravlax
1 Tbsp capers
1 generous handful of chopped fresh dill
It does not need salt…it’s salty enough, but you may want a fresh grind of pepper.
Delicious. Makes 2 cups.
Special thanks to the generous cooks on The Cook’s Cook Community Forum who graciously made time to suggest fixes and ideas for using up 2 lbs of super salty Gravlax. You people rock.
I was also pleased to be able to use one of my new hand printed tea towels from my former colleague and friend Paula Lukey’s collection. Do you have a cook on your holiday list? Looking for a good hostess gift? Like handmade stuff and supporting artists? Have a look at Paula’s site PaulaLukey.com or you can shop at her Esty store.
So, I’ve been using a lot of lemon zest for this and that lately and had a total of 3 lemons sans zest. It was time to use some lemon juice. Thank you to Ioanna Limberopoulou of Ioanna’s Notebook for this super easy, super fast, …
Percy the Pumpkin did double duty this year. He guarded the balcony and when he was done, I roasted him up to make pumpkin puree for dog treats. Most people know that carving pumpkins aren’t what you want for baking (too stringy) but they are …
Disclaimer: None of what happened is Kevin’s fault in any way.
Here’s what happened. I had a pork tenderloin that needed using, and I saw this recipe for Balsamic Roast Pork Tenderloin from Keviniscooking.com. First, let me say the tenderloin and the sauce were indeed, super fine. However, searing the loin and then roasting it in a 450 F oven burnt the hell out of the garlic as opposed to making lovable caramelized crispy bits on the outside of the loin. This, in turn, set off the overly sensitive smoke alarm in my apartment, necessitating a panicked run for the ladder (I have 12 foot ceilings)…which was the wrong one, and too short, resulting in me flailing at the ceiling until I managed to bat the smoke alarm down to get the battery out. If I had been cooking for guests, I can vouch for the entertainment value.
After all that, Kevin is right “It’s all about the sauce people.” And this one is indeed delicious if you love capers, and I do. The tenderloin also turned out very well. It was moist and flavourful.
I did remove all the “burnt offerings” from the roasting pan before I started on the sauce as I was worried I’d end up with a bitter sauce. It worked out quite nicely thanks very much. So, from epic fail to “Hey, this is actually pretty tasty,” I think I can live with that.
I will make this again, but I’ll be proactive and take the battery out of the smoke alarm before I do. I think I’ll also sear the tenderloin before coating it with the rosemary and garlic gremolata.
I served it with basmati rice and iceberg lettuce…yah, I know, lame on the sides, but after the adrenalin surge with the smoke alarm I didn’t have the energy (plus I was hungry). The plain iceberg lettuce actually acted as a nice foil to the salt in the sauce.
As part of a project on international holiday traditions, being orchestrated by Jeanette Kathryn Schramm of Apartmenteats.com (coming soon), I agreed to contribute some Scandinavian recipes. My Mom is Finnish and my Dad is Scottish, so they both like salmon. Together they have made a …
My Auntie Leila’s nickname is the Queen of Finland. She always looks amazing, her home is spotless (it’s either Finnish elves or she’s got servants she’s not telling us about) and she can cook like nobody’s business. This salad dressing is fit for a Queen …
Rye crackers are a great addition to any cheese board and this recipe, a tweaked version of the recipe on the back of the Bob’s Red Mill organic rye flour bag, is both easy and seriously good. The original recipe doesn’t seem to be on the site but the original uses margarine instead of butter (I hate margarine so I’mma not do that) and milk instead of buttermilk (everthing tastes better with buttermilk, plus I had some).
1/2 C white flour
1/2 C dark rye flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Organic Dark Rye, note that you don’t have to buy it in 25 lb bags!)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp caraway seeds
4 Tbsp soft, unsalted butter
3 Tpsp buttermilk
Makes a full cookie sheet of crackers…number will depend on how big the cracker is. The ones I made are roughly 1×1 bites and I got about 4 doz crackers out of the batch.
Note: The other reason I buy stuff from Bob’s Red Mill, when I can, is because the business is run by an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, and I think that’s cool. In 2010 Bob and Charlee Moore handed the business to their employees. That story is HERE.
Limppuleipä is a sweet rye bread that is flavoured with orange zest, anise, fennel and caraway seeds. It is the perfect base for Finnish gravlax (or any other cured or smoked fish come to think of it). This was the other bread I learned to …