Fried Carrots with Garlic Yogurt - Stekta morötter med vitlöksyoghurt

FRIED CARROTS WITH GARLIC YOGURT
Stekta morötter med vitlöksyoghurt

Serves 4

1 1/3 lbs carrots
oil
3 to 4 garlic cloves
salt, pepper

Garlic yogurt:
1.2 cups yogurt, preferably thick, Greek yogurt
salt, pepper
3 garlic cloves


Mix yogurt with spices and crushed garlic and store in the fridge.

Peel and split the carrots once or twice lengthwise. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. Fry the carrots with some chopped garlic until they're still crunchy, then put them (still warm) on a serving plate and pour the cold garlic yogurt on top.

Serve as an entrée or as an accompaniment to sausage or meatballs.

Enjoy!

Bella

Nicole's Saturday Shrimps - Nicoles lördagsräkor

NICOLE'S SATURDAY SHRIMPS
Nicoles lördagsräkor

A little festive mix that you can make when you feel like something tasty on a Saturday night, or as an entrée when you have dinner guests. Easy to make and based on such nice ingredients that it can't be anything but good - if you are among the majority who can eat shellfish. (I'm not.)

Serves 4

9 to 11 oz fresh mushrooms
4 finely chopped shallots
butter or margarine
0.4 to 0.6 cup white wine
0.8 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream
salt, white pepper
14 oz un-peeled shrimps


Peel the shrimps. Finely chop the onion and melt it in the fat until golden. Trim the mushrooms, split them if they're large and let them sizzle with the onions - without browning - until the moisture has gone away. Dilute with wine and crème fraîche or cream, little by little, and let simmer slowly until the sauce is creamy.

Flavor to taste with salt and pepper, add the shrimps and heat it up just to boiling point. The shrimps will be tough if they're allowed to boil. 

Serve with salad and bread.

Enjoy!

Bella

Filled mini petits-choux - Fyllda mini-petits-choux

FILLED MINI PETITS-CHOUX
Fyllda mini-petits-choux

Small petits-choux with some great filling are excellent to serve as an entrée or as a snack with a drink or with soup. Just remember not to open the oven door until they’re almost ready as they might sink and become flat! If you remember a dessert I posted some time ago, fruit with wine jelly (very decorative), that we made at university when I studied to become a dietician and we were assigned to make a wedding menu for a man who was only allowed to eat so and so many grams of fat per day, this was his entrée.

Approx 30 petits-choux

½ cup water

1 oz butter or margarine
1/3 cup flour
2 eggs

Caviar filling:

¾ cup crème fraîche
4 tablespoons caviar of your choice
3 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped onion

Ham filling:

¾ to 1 cup processed cheese
4 slices chopped smoked ham
4 to 5 tablespoons mustard, not the strong
Dijon mustard but a milder, sweeter type
2 sprigs chopped parsley

Decoration:

parsley or dill

Bring water and fat to a boil. Add all the flour at once and beat vigorously (and I mean really vigorously!) until the batter releases the bottom of the saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add the eggs, one by one, and beat well until the batter is completely smooth before you add the next egg. Beat until smooth and glossy.

Dab or pipe out the batter on a greased baking plate (or use baking paper) in the shape of small balls. Bake in the middle of the oven at 390F for 15 to 20 minutes, until the petits-choux have puffed up and feel light. Cool on the plate for a few minutes, then gently transfer to a rack.

Filling: Blend together the ingredients to one of the fillings (or both, of course!). Use a scissors to cut an opening in the side of each petit-chou and insert the filling. Decorate with parsley or dill.

Enjoy!

Bella

Crunchy crab cakes - Frasiga krabbkakor

CRUNCHY CRAB CAKES
Frasiga krabbkakor

Lovely crisp crab cakes taste best if they’re fried just before serving. Prepare them in advance and keep in the fridge until it’s time to fry them.

12 cakes

2 cans crab meat, approx 12 oz

1 egg
1/3 cup dried breadcrumbs
1/3 cup chopped spring onions or leek
1/3 cup finely chopped dill
½ to 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1½ teaspoon French mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine for frying

Mayonnaise:

2 egg yolks
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon mustard
salt
¾ to 1 cup oil
cayenne      
¼ cup chopped dill

Drain the crab meat well. Stir in all ingredients for the crab cakes in a bowl, flavour to taste and adjust if necessary. Shape the batter into 12 cakes. Put them on a dish, flatten them slightly and store cold for about 30 minutes.

Mayonnaise:

Beat together egg yolks, lemon juice, mustard and salt, preferably in a food processor or mixer. Add the oil while beating vigorously, first dropwise and then in a fine but steady stream. Beat until the mayonnaise thickens. Flavour with cayenne and dill.

Heat the fat in a frying pan and fry the crab cakes for about 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Put them on a serving plate and serve with the mayonnaise, a green salad and lemon wedges.

Enjoy!

Bella

Bacon and cheese appetizers - Aptitretare med bacon och ost

BACON AND CHEESE APPETIZERS
Aptitretare med bacon och ost

Scrumptious appetizers with bacon, cheese and tomatoes. If you prefer a milder taste you can use black pepper instead of cayenne.

4 servings

8 slices bacon

7 oz Cheddar cheese
cayenne
8 cherry tomatoes

Cut the bacon slices in half and the cheese in small cubes. Sprinkle the cheese cubes with a little cayenne. Wrap the bacon slices around the cheese cubes and secure them with toothpicks. Put them on an oven-proof dish and grill them high up in the oven for about 1 minute. Turn them over and grill for another ½ to 1 minute or until the cheese starts to melt.

Split the tomatoes and put half a tomato on each cheese cube. Serve and enjoy!

Bella

Ham and cheese snacks - Skink- och ostsnacks

HAM AND CHEESE SNACKS
Skink- och ostsnacks

Small bread snacks with cheese and ham are just as good with a drink as on the buffet table. Serve while still hot.

Approx 40 snacks

1 ¾ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3½ oz smoked ham
3½ oz butter or margarine
¾ cup grated cheese
2/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon French mustard

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Finely dice the ham. Cut the fat in pieces and finely crumble it with the flour. Add ham and cheese. Mix milk and mustard and stir this into the batter, then work to a dough. Add extra flour if the dough is sticky.

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to a ¾ inch thick cake, then measure out small “bread rolls” with a cake measure or a glass, diameter approx 2 inches. Put them on greased baking plates and bake in the middle of the oven at 390F for about 12 minutes. Let cool slightly, then serve and enjoy!

Bella

Lovely Ham Rolls - Fina skinkrullar (retro)

LOVELY HAM ROLLS

Fina skinkrullar

In the 70s, we loved making stuff with puff pastry in Sweden, and I dare say this is a typical 70s recipe. And it's delicious!

Makes 1 roll, serves about 6 people

1 frozen puff pastry plate

Filling:
1 small leek
1/3 cup smoked ham
1/3 cup strong grated cheese
spice mix, Italian, French or whatever
a few drops of water

Take out the puff pastry and leave for about 15 minutes. Make the filling.

Shred the leek and sautee in a frying pan. Shred the ham and let sizzle with the leek for a bit, then flavor to taste with spice mix and cheese. Add a little water, so that the mixture becomes firm but still juicy.

Roll out the puff pastry to measure about 8 x 9 inches. Spread out the filling over the surface, roll it up and put the roll in a lightly greased oven-proof dish or on a baking plate. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with some poppyseeds.

Bake at 400F for 25 to 30 minutes or until nicely colored.

Enjoy!

Bella