À la Dankertier

This is a Canadian goody which has to be here. When I tasted it the first time, there was nothing comparable. It was so good and with an incredible texture, I couldn't believe it's self made! Even more, our first trials failed sadly, it was too sticky and we needed to throw most of it out (luckily the sugar can simply be dissolved in water, just takes time). Nevertheless, the last possible problem seemed the baking soda, which we couldn't find in Sweden. So on our last trip I brought it back all the way from Chicago :) - and voilà, it came out perfect! We made 2 forms, a pie and a spring form, and figured, that not only the spring form is much easier to remove and the sponginess is more uniform. An original recipe can be found on that page . In a big pot (minimum 3 liters) warm up on medium heat 625ml sugar   160ml light corn sirup (we don't know if corn is important, and the only we found here was dark pancake sirup - it works) 80ml of water and stir consist...

This recipe is also a couple of month old, but simply soooooo good for a veggy burger, that it has not been forgotten. I found it on this crazy blog here thinking it's always a good idea to find some alternative meat-free burgers. The liquid smoke was intriguing and the result was fabulous, even so the paddies were rather thin and therefore a little dry - so there's great potential left.... For 8 paddies put 2 cups of chopped spinache and 1 cup of diced onions in a food processor and pulse until it's a fine mixture. Add  3 cups cooked kidney beans Half a cup of dinkel (originally it was brown rice, but hey, lets go healthy a little further) 4 gloves of pressed garlic 1Tsp liquid smoke 2tsp soy sauce 1Tsp smoked paprika 2tsp oregano 1.5tsp grounded cumin black pepper and mix until it's a proper paste, but not doughy. Place the mix in a bowl and mix in half a cup breadcrumbs. You should have a nice texture of the mix to form balls and ...

Yes, another burger recipe - finally. I guess many thought we were kidding when we posted "the first of many" , but we actually really tried a large variety. A couple of our early tries were fish burgers, and this one here especially was inspired by a recipe posted by the magazine of the ICA supermarket . Combined with whole-grain buns it's a delicious and healthy alternative to the fatty beef burgers.  For four burgers you'll need 700g tuna filets (or any other white fish), 1 avocado (sliced), 4 burger buns (whole grain if you can), 1 bunch of pea sprouts ( or any other kind of crunchy sprouts). As a spicy burger spread mix 100ml mayonnaise , 2tsp Wasabi and a pinch of salt . Fry the fish in some olive oil and roast the bread. Spread the mayonnaise mix on the bottom half of the bun, put the tuna filet on top and cover with avocado slices and sprouts. To spice it up a little more, you can use a few drops of Teriyaki sauce .

This is a real Swedish classic. It's usually served around the Christmas time, especially around the Luciadag. That particular celebration day is historically quite funny, since they celebrate the burning of an Italian witch. Okay, one needs to mention that she was obviously falsely accused and became a saint - Saint Lucia. Also it's with a lot of candles, so Swedes try to have a nice day to brighten up the dark winter month. Also, Lussekatt are also just one of many Swedish baking goods prepared with saffron. Mix 25g of yeast 50g melted butter 250ml lukewarm milk 125g of quark (kvarg or fromage blanc) 0.5g saffron 75ml sugar salt 850ml flour and knead until supple and smooth. Then let it rise in a warm humid place for about 30min. Start preheating your oven to 225C while preparing the Lussekattar. Therefore, separate the risen dough into 15-20 pieces and form them into an S-shape, place them on a baking paper on a backing tray and decorate them with raisins (se...

One of the well known grocery shop here in Sweden is ICA. When I arrived, I was "spelling it out", like in Qc we do for IGA. People looked at me awkwardly and at some point, I realized that you are suppose to say it "ica" not "i. c. a.". This is a nice place to shop, they have different kind of shop. The one we like to go to is enormous. One of the nice things is that we can "self-scan" through the shop: at the entrance, we scan our membership card and take a self-scanner. When we go out, we put the device on a rack and scan our card on a computer, pay and leave. They check us every now and then, sometimes the entire stuff, sometimes 5-6 items choose randomly. Bref! Our membership comes with advantages, is a magazine we have by mail every month. Most of the recipes are either plain weird, not looking tasteful or would take too long to prepare, but sometimes, you find treasure. This recipe is one of them (we have it just in Swedish, online inclu...

We looooove sweet potatoes. When we make and eat burgers, we always end up making oven fries, half "regular" half sweet: it is just too good. I had the idea for this recipe during one of my weeks of vacations this summer: André was attending a conference and I tagged along. The food was very good and plentiful and this is one of the thing we really enjoyed, so I felt I had to try to reproduce it. This would serve 6 people. Prepare a pie crust, with your own magical recipe or this one . Warm your oven to 180 C. While the dough is in the fridge,  peel and cube 350g of sweet potatoes . Cook using your favorite method (see note at the bottom). Finely chop and fry one medium-large onion until golden. Cube 100g of feta cheese (we use this "brine" cheese that is similar). Once cooked, mix together the onion, and the potatoes, add the feta and a couple of tablespoons of fresh parsley (add less if dry). Roll the dough and put it in a pie form. Spread the onion/potato...

Everyone has his own recipe for the pie crust. I am re-posting here the one we already published on the website here . The thing is, this is our recipe, the one we always make. We love pie too, and now is a wonderful time for it, the weather being crappy and cold-ish, so I end up opening this post every other week, so I thought I would make a separate post for it. This is good for a regular sized pie (ok for 6 to 8 portions, depending on the quantity you want to have on your plate!) Mix together 400 ml of flour , 50 g of butter , 2 teaspoons of baking powder , half a tea spoon of salt . You need to work the dough to separate the butter in smaller pieces: it should look like oatmeal. Then, add 150 ml of milk . You need to mix just so it sticks together, not more: the more you play with it, the less fluffy it will be and the harder it will get. Put it in the fridge for 20-25 minutes (YES, it matters!). Roll the crust and put in a buttered pie form. If what I put in the crust is...

Burger is like pizza, it's really our thing. We looooooove burgers! We have many, many pictures of food on both our phones, so this is the first of a series of burgers recipes. This is something I stumble upon a the summer before I moved in Sweden. I was looking for vegetarian burger recipe and this one caught my eye. First off, you need to cook the quinoa. I suggest you prepare it the day before or a couple of hour before, otherwise, it will be too hot and you won't be able to do anything with your hands! This recipe will give you 8 patties, we freeze them, just before frying them and fry them easily directly out of the freezer. Boil 2 cups of water , add a big pinch of salt and a cup of quinoa . Cover and cook for 18-20 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Once the quinoa is cooled off a little (at least!) put in a big bowl and add: 3/4 cup shredded cheese (strong cheese are wonderful for this) 1/2 cup cottage cheese 1 medium carrot grat...

For my birthday, my cousin and his girlfriend came to visit. Yes, we spend 4 days living the four of us in a 28m2 (multiply by 10 if you want in feet square ;). Although this was crazy, it was also very nice. I will post later a wonderful recipe that Rémi and Charlotte made for us but now, I want to share a very nice marinade recipe. It was the beginning of spring, and the weather was wonderful, but cold. We decided to go to the island and have our very first BBQ of the year. Take some nice boneless chicken part. For some weird reason, the cheaper chicken you can have here is boneless, breast frozen, so I unfroze it first. To help the chicken cook faster, I cut it to make many smaller, thiner piece (otherwise, it takes forever). Mix the raw chicken with 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed, 30ml of each: soy sauce, sesame oil, lemon juice and honey . The chicken will be delicious even if it marinate just for a couple of hours. We later re-use that recipe and let it in the marinade...

This is one of those extremely quick and nice recipe. My sister has a book of quick and excellent recipe and this one is a family favorite that I decided to share with André a couple of weeks ago. Those who know me well know I looooove sweet and salty recipes in general. This one is particularly well balance, and really easy to make. The ingredient list is for 3-4 people. In a big pot, bring water to boil to cook 375g of pasta , al dente. In the meanwhile, put a big pan on medium high heat and add 30 ml of butter to melt. Cut 250g of ham (cooked or not) and roast it in the butter. Quickly cut in half-slices 2 green apples and add it to the pan. Cook until everything is a nice shade of golden. Add 3-5 green onion , finely chopped (the recipe calls for 12, which is like... wooooo!). Check the pasta regularly, it should be done soon! In the pan, add a big pinch of nutmeg and 125ml of apple juice and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add 250ml of cream 15% (or a mixture...

Once again, let's thank Mr. Oliver for his nice, wonderfully tasting recipe . Spring in Göteborg was fabulous in March, but it was grey and rainy in April, so we still needed some nice comfort food from time to time. For my birthday, at the end of March, my cousin and his Belgian girlfriend came to surprise me for a nice weekend stay here in Sweden. We went around, had our first BBQ on the islands and at the end of the day, lasagna seemed like a natural choice: I wanted to try that recipe for a couple of weeks and this is something that is easily sharable with many people. Of course, I re-interpreted the recipe, for normal people, but this is still clearly Jamie's style and goodness! The recipe is for 8 to 10 peoples. The picture does not do justice to this dish! Preheat the oven to 180°C (350F). In a large pan, slowly fry 50g of bacon with a pinch of cinnamon , until golden. Finely chop an onion and a carrot and add it to the pan along with 2 cloves or garlic , pressed,...

That's an old classic of mine, early adopted from Jamie Oliver... I love it, because it can be made with rather simple and little ingredients. If you're on a trip and want to thank your hosts or just cook in the hostel, you won't need many fancy spices to make this. I did exactly this: I cooked this for my mom, when she visited me in Oxford (and there was almost nothing in the kitchen), I made it for my landlords in Abington and I cooked it for Sophie in Stockholm. For four people cut 100g bacon and 2 small Zucchini in small stripes. While frying them in a pan, boil some water to cook 250g pasta (Penne or Farfalle). Spice the bacon and zucchini well with pepper and thyme, if available. Mix 150g grated Parmesan with 1 egg and 50ml cream or milk. Add sufficient pepper (pepper is the main spice and adds a lot to the taste). Turn of the heat on the pan, add the cooked pasta and let it cool for a minute before you add the egg mix. Steer until you have a nice creamy pasta. ...

I know... It doesn't look like anything, but this is amazing!!!! If I would have had to woo André with a recipe, this easy, wonderful one would have done the trick. I adapted this salad from a healthier version my mother use to make all the time during the summer. But she is holding back on the good, secret, can't do without ingredient: the mayonnaise. The important thing here is that you buy the REAL mayonnaise. Not Miracle Whip, not that low fat (silly) version and not that Swedish non-sense (seriously guys, like Monica in Friends would say: THIS IS NOT MAYONNAISE!): you need the Hellman's mayonnaise. Cook some small pasta al dente . While it is boiling, cut some nice vegetables (and fruits, I did not forget Alex ;): bell peppers, cucumber, broccoli, green onions, sun dried tomatoes... Mix together and add some cube of cheese and maybe some cube of ham also? Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah... The secret is to mix and match some sweet and salty stuff. Add some nice cashews or...

Even if it's not a pizza in my eyes, since the first time I made it here in Sweden it's called that way and is made every single time, we make pizza at home. Back when I made it the first time, I had nothing but a bunch of onions, cream cheese and a flower pot for the dough - we had to keep it vegetarian for Tom and Sumedh and also Sumedh didn't own a bowl (we changed that last weekend). Nevertheless, it was still a success, since the main taste comes from the combo of baked onions in cream cheese. The recipe is super simple, just needs some preparation and cooking before baking, but in total not more work than for a regular pizza! For the bottom you can make a regular yeast dough. Even though it's already simple, I developed a hand-and-foot recipe, everyone can do: Add a cup of warm water , a small hand of sugar and a pack of dry yeast (equals 50g fresh yeast) to a bowl and mix it. Then simply add first flour and then a pinch of   salt , mix and add more flour ...

Many, many years ago we got a muffin book in my family. I liked muffins already, but since then, I love them. These small little goodies, sweet or savory, creamy or chocolaty - always a treat and a nice snack for lunch, dinner, in between or at any party. In that particular muffin cook book I remember one muffin, I really enjoyed; but everyone else in my family disliked it completely - the Chocolate-Banana muffin :) A little while ago I experimented to make gigantic, fluffy, delicious muffins. I'm not quite were I would like to have them, but I found some nice recipes on the way. One is this here: one morning, we wanted to make some nice Banana-Chocolate chip muffins, but usually all recipes call for eggs. So I looked for a egg-free version. It was a little alternative in general, but after altering some ingredients, I got it working. And with the right baking time, they become a nice crunchy outside with a soft fluffy core - delicious. Set oven to highest temperature before ...

This is a nice little recipe my mom used to make when I was young (and still today, of course). I preferred it to hash browns, which both go with some apple sauce pretty well as a complete lunch in Germany. Maybe it was just the texture or simply the extra sugar, but I kind of missed them after I've been for the first few month in Sweden, so it became the first German recipe I made here. Traditionally it's made from left over potatoes, but you can also cook them fresh and let them cool down. You simply start by grating 500g cooked, cold and peeled potatoes (when you start with hot ones, you'll know why they should be cold ;) ). Mix this with 250g quark (kvarg or fromage blanc) 75g flour 50g sugar 1ts vanilla sugar some raisins and lemons zest Make a smooth dough and add flour if necessary, so it's not sticky. Then you can start to form palm-sized paddies. Fry them on both sides in hot oil or butter until golden brown. Put on a plate, add sugar and cinnamon and...

About half a year ago I stumbled upon the brilliant idea of having simple, quick cupcakes in a mug. They use almost no ingredients, and take about five minutes! The idea is genial and good for any occasion, or just if your hungry for some quick cake. Last week I did my first one, but it was rather dry. So today, after coming back from heavy shopping, I retried it - with big success. Some recipes you find online are for many cups, but I looked around for single cup recipes. They are supposed to be difficult, because the mixing has to be perfect, to be not to sweet, or to dry, or whatever. I found a bunch of them here , and tried the best looking first. The whole thing sounded rather sweet and chocolaty, so I reduced that a little, and it was perfect (guess it wouldn't have been to much, but so we had a nice relaxing chocolate goodness :) ). Just mix 4 tablespoons of flour 1/3 tablespoon of backing powder 4 tablespoons sugar 1 egg 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 3 tablespoons N...

I bought the "Comfy food" package of the Jamie Oliver's application on my iPad a couple of months ago, thinking that this will help me to go through the grey winter months of Sweden. Well! In the last couple of weeks, we have been trying some of those recipe, and so far, so good! Most of those recipes look good, and every one that we've tried is good! Of course, we have made some small adjustments because Jamie is a little bit like our Quebec Ricardo: they both expect that we have a nice bio garden or a bio farm in our backyard... Well, WE DON'T!!! Sometimes, we can't have our little nice bio eggs, or the best quality of happy lamb meet... Bottom line, we cut some corners but the results are still sooooooo good! Here is our version, of Jamie Oliver's Spicy Shepherd's Pie, an English classic (revisited), for 4 peoples. Peel a piece (2cmx2cm) of fresh root ginger, 3 cloves of garlic . Add in a food processor half a red bell pepper and half a red oni...

A little while ago I stumbled upon a few  nice tips reusing old jars . The best one, and so far most used, is the salad in a jar. Nicely stacked, starting with the dressing, it stays fresh and doesn't get soaky, perfect to take it to work or just to eat later - with the beautiful side effect, due to the transparent glass :) Try it! Nice Caesar style salad in a jar. Quickly made in the morning using  ready fried frozen chicken bites and dressing - fantastic.

Most of you know that we love to impress each other at breakfast on weekends. This last weekend was not any different than any other. ;) Here is a nice recipe that we use to make at my Mom's place. The topping makes it very nice and crunchy. Preheat the oven at 190C and butter a 12 muffins tray. In a bowl, mix 250 ml of yogurt and a teaspoon of baking soda . Put aside. The volume will at least double, so consider this when you choose your bowl ;). In another bowl, beat 125 ml of butter and add 250 ml of sugar , beating continuously. Add 2 eggs , one at a time and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract . Mix well. In a big bowl, mix 500 ml of flour , half a teaspoon of baking powder and 200 ml of chocolate chips . Add the two wet mix to the dry ingredients and mix just enough so it's more or less homogeneous (do not beat it!). Pour the mix in the muffin tins. Mix 60 ml of chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoon of chopped nuts and a teaspoon of cinnamon . Sprea...

Over one year ago I stumbled upon this recipe. It got my attention immediately, and it was the first one I relinked on Facebook, before we created this blog. It looked amazing, and was even not too uninteresting for Italians - and this means something. We tried it the first time month later, it goes super fast, because you don't use regular Lasagne plates - it was a total success. Instead of the plates you use gyoza wrappers , which you can find in any good Asia shop. The advantage is they are already round and almost the size of a muffin form. Put one wrapper in each buttered tray, add some filling, add a second wrapper and layer and finish it with some Mozzarella (or other cheese). Bake it until the cheese is browned at 200°C. For the filling we tried two different styles: For the traditional meaty one we used fried up minced meat , a jar of a ready made pasta sauce and Ricotta for the Lasagne texture. For vegetarian style we mixed spinach, ricotta, onions and garlic ...

It's one of my Swedish favorites. I discovered it a couple of years ago when I was here for the first time, and I fell in love with it. Being a non-cardamom fan myself, it took quite a particular twist to bring me to that state! Here, you can use your favorite recipe for a sweet bun's dough, or the following (it needs to be a sweet enough dough. I found the recipe here . In a bowl, mix together 300 ml of lukewarm milk , 175 ml of melted butter (or oil) and 175 ml of white sugar .  In another small bowl, mix a liter of flour with 1.5 tablespoon of instant yeast and 1 teaspoon of cardamom (I put 1.5 to 2!) . Gradually incorporate the dry mix to the wet one, mixing vigorously at the same time. At some point, you will have to use your hands to continue the job. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, or until soft and elastic. Divide the dough in 3 equal parts and let them rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes. Once the balls have double in size, roll them into ropes and br...

In the beginning of November, we organized a Thanks giving dinner at our place. This food is delicious, the smell is intoxicating and it's also a great occasion to share a little of my "good canadien side" with others. Here is the menu (some stuff is clickable to the full recipe): Greens beans (boiled and than with just a little butter) Carrots (boiled and then caramelized in a pan using butter and maple syrup) Mashed potatoes (no trick here, just do the recipe you like) Mashed squash (traditionally pepper squash, but I just found butternut squash here, still good! Add butter, salt, pepper and a little bit of maple syrup) Turkey (including stuffing) Marinades (gherkins, olives and root beets Cranberries sauce (in a can, sorry, I have my limits!) Lemon meringue pie Pumpkin pie

Here is the recipe for the masterpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner. This is a family recipe, that was given by my step mother to me this year, because she knew how much I was craving for the special food of Thanksgiving, which I did not celebrate last year. When you buy the turkey , you should allow between 250 g and 350 g of meat per person . This seems a lot, but this also account for the part you will throw out, like the bones and stuff... Put it in the fridge a couple of days in advance to unfreeze if frozen. You will fill the cavity of the bird with some stuffing. The quantity will depend on how big your bird is! With the amount you see in the picture, we were filling a 5 kg bird. For the stuffing, chop some onions and celery and dice some bread slices . I would say that you should have something like 50% bread, 25% each of the vegetables. Add a couple of teaspoons of poultry spices and sage, some melted butter, salt and pepper . The mix should be not too dry, but not soake...

Another classic, as I was saying in the other pie post. It may seems like a strange idea at first to make a pie with pumpkin filling, but for those of you who like the gingerbread spice mix, you will also like it as the spices are quite similar. I really like the texture and taste of the pie "as is", but if you want, you should too it with some nice whip cream. Once again, use your favorite recipe to make a 9 in (23 cm) pie crust and put it in a buttered pie dish. Mix 190 ml of sugar with half a teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of grounded cinnamon, half a teaspoon of ginger and a quarter of a teaspoon of cloves . In a big bowl, beat 2 eggs add 2 cups of cooked and mashed pumpkin* . Stir in the sugar-spices mix and mix well. Finally, slowly incorporate 350 ml of milk to the mixture and pour it in the crust. Bake in the oven at 220 C for 15 min and reduce the heat to 180 C for another 40-50 min, or until a knife inserted in the middle if the pie comes out clean. Like f...

Like those of you who were there for the Thanksgiving dinner know, it's a tradition for me to have this pie as well as the pumpkin pie as a follow up to the delicious turkey. The few times I made lemon meringue pie before, I just bought a box of jello with two envelopes inside and it was ridiculously easy to make from that. Here, in Sweden, things are different and even though we found the box with the pumpkin pulp to make the other pie, I had to find another solution for the lemon meringue pie. I looked on the Internet for something easy but that seemed good too! The recipe comes from this website On the website they are doing a quite fancy crust. In our case we used the regular recipe that we also use for the salty pies, but using gluten free flour (which I don't recommend to use if you don't have to because its very painful! Thanks to Riccardo and Flavia, it went smoothly though!). Grease a 9 in (23 cm) and put the crust in. Bake it at 200 C for 8-10 min until pale...