127 replies to this topic

[Anna N]

Many thanks, Squeat, Toliver, Bleudauvergne and Rachel.

Rachel,
Most of my dishes are either garage sale finds or bargains from kitchenware stores. It always amazes me what people will give away.

I have never had and have never wanted a "dinner service" but enjoy a variety of mismatches. I think it's a Freudian thing - in our home when I was growing up, because we had a pub and catered weddings, there was a full set of now priceless Crown Derby china. It was an old pattern, I think it was called something like "1184". As the business and the home fell apart, the set slowly disappeared. Throughout my childhood I listened to blame being equally showered on all and sundry for the loss of this china...

[misgabi]

Excellent blog Annna. Your pictures are really beautiful and even the "not plated" dishes beat mine hands down.

Would you mind sharing what is in the cauliflower casserole? It looked delicious.

[snowangel]

Anna, glad to know another grandparent spends as much time sweeping up the fairy dust as do my parents.

And, it is time to spend some time in the kitchen with Miss Jess telling her stories and teaching her how to do what you do, as my grandmother did for me when I was just 4 of 5 years old, and as has my mother has done for my children.

Frugality. It's the difference in me being home and working outside the house. Waste not, want not. One of those sayings of my grandmother, just as was "the good dryer gets what the washer misses."

[Anna N]

Tonight I am just too beat to report on dinner. I promise to do so tomorrow morning complete with photos -but for now, "Goodnight sweet Princes (and Princesses).

[lovebenton0]

Anna, pics are beautiful. It's so good to see I'm not the only eG'er with a kitchen comfortably packed.   

Fettucini with EVOO, anchovies, garlic, red pepper, and Parmigiano was the first meal my now-husband ever cooked for me. He still does that one by request when I want a night off. 

And please, what is your special recipe for the Danish meatballs -- including ritual of course.

I am at my daughter's house at the moment but let me see if I can give you the recipe and the ritual.

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 medium onion
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 eggs
3 T flour
3 T breadcrumbs
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
35% cream -lots (at least 1/2 cup)

The ritual. Chop the onion very finely. Combine the meats, the onion and the salt and knead together with your hands until very well mixed. Rest -both you and the mixture for about an hour - the meat should go in the fridge but you don't have to.

After an hour add the eggs, flour, bread crumbs, pepper and at least 1/2 cup of cream. Beat this mixture for a long time until it is light in colour and quite sloppy. You might need to add more cream or if you are scared of cream then some good beef broth can be used for part of the liquid.

Rest as before for at least an hour.

Take a small scoop of the mixture and saute it in butter and oil so you can check the seasoning - often it will need more salt and pepper. Then, when you think you have it seasoned right for your taste, cook the rest as below.

Wet your hands and scoop up about 1/3 cup of the mixture - it should be sloppy and just able to hold its shape. Shape it into "eggs". Heat some butter and a bit of oil in a large saute pan until the butter just barely starts to color. Add the "eggs" without crowding the pan and saute, turning as they brown until done. They should be cooked right through so cut into one and make sure.

Serve hot or let cool completely and then slice and serve on open-face sandwiches. The texture is less like a meatball and much more like a pate.

Tomorrow I will post photos of the finished dish.

Thanks, Anna. I missed a couple days of life and your blog this week around dental emergency. Meatballs look luscious. And the red cabbage.

I've got to do these soon.

[Anna N]

As promised I am here bright and early. It's 4:30 am more or less and I logged on to my computer to find a request for some urgent work that must be done this morning. Should be fun as Miss Jess will be here by 9 AM and will stay until noon. So, I will be posting yesterday's food photos and then editing until she arrives.

Here are the ingredients for the Danish apple cake - bread crumbs and sugar that have been sauteed in butter until golden and crispy, chunky applesauce made from the apples my daughter gave me, the red currant jelly leftover from the red cabbage I made and some whipping cream. Always, when I make this, I realize I don't have the right dish for it. It needs to be in glass so you can see the layers but one of my glass bowls is too small and one is too big. I made do by putting some in this smallish bowl and the rest in individual dessert bowls. The red currant jelly went into the individual dessert dishes as a small surprise in the centre of the layers.



And here is the finished cake. There are many other recipes around and I have tried a few of them but this is the one The Dane expects and so it is the one I always make now.



Dinner itself posed a few logistical problems. The Dane does not eat asparagus or broccoli, Miss Jess refuses anything with sauce on it and is suspicious of new food. She eats an enormously varied diet for someone who is not yet 5 including lobster (her favourite), shrimp, crab and most vegetables. But she will have nothing to do with potatoes in any form. I made chicken fingers for Miss Jess, potatoes for The Dane and the other veggies for me and my daughter. Both my ovens were occupied with chicken in sauce, chicken fingers and roasted asparagus so the potatoes were "roasted" on the stove top. The broccoli was steamed.

These are boneless, skinless chicken breasts (Jinmyo please avert your eyes! ). I rarely use them but my daughter is getting a new freezer in two weeks and so we are trying to use up the meat in her current freezer and guess who getst to cook it?



And here is the dispenser of fairy dust herself. Danish apple cake is new to her so we asked that she try one teaspoon and then let her have a lime creamsicle for dessert.



Today, Friday, is always a strange day around here. The Dane normally only works until 1 PM but there is always the likelihood of overtime on Friday and today it is almost certain. He will not take a lunch sandwich just two snacks and a coke.

We reserve Friday night for ourselves. Family and friends know that the phone is turned off about 4 PM and we are unreachable until Saturday morning. We have a special meal with candlelight and wine and kick back with some soft music and let the week melt away.

[bleudauvergne]

We reserve Friday night for ourselves.  Family and friends know that the phone is turned off about 4 PM and we are unreachable until Saturday morning.  We have a special meal with candlelight and wine and kick back with some soft music and let the week melt away.

Now that's a great idea.

[Anna N]

We reserve Friday night for ourselves.  Family and friends know that the phone is turned off about 4 PM and we are unreachable until Saturday morning.  We have a special meal with candlelight and wine and kick back with some soft music and let the week melt away.

Now that's a great idea.

Well we've been married (to each other!) for more than forty years and I credit all the good times to Friday nights! I recommend it to partners of every ilk.

[Anna N]

Breakfast - no photo out of respect for all of you, was leftover broccoli, topped with leftover mushroom sauce - eaten cold! My boss hit me with a couple of urgent jobs and I knew I had to have something to eat and that was it!

[Toliver]

Okay, this picture just made my day and my week! She is adorable! I've got the biggest smile on my face now, thanks to her.

[Daddy-A]

Well we've been married (to each other!) for more than forty years and I credit all the good times to Friday nights!  I recommend it to partners of every ilk.

J & I have only been married for 3 years, and we have the same Friday night tradition. I hope that's a good omen!

Wow, 40+ years to a Dane! I'm Norwegian, so I know that's no easy task!

A.

[eunny jang]

Anna -

This blog is marvelous. I've read your Dinner posts with lots of admiration and appetite.

That apple "cake" looks delicious!

[Anna N]

Okay, this picture just made my day and my week! She is adorable! I've got the biggest smile on my face now, thanks to her.

No one will believe a prejudiced grandparent but she really is as adorable as she looks - 99% of the time. The other 1% - we have urged her parents to start her college fund NOW and ensure there will be enough for her to attend Osgoode Law School when the time arrives. When she wants something, she can martial more evidence in her favour than Clarence Darrow.

[Anna N]

Anna -

This blog is marvelous.  I've read your Dinner posts with lots of admiration and appetite.

That apple "cake" looks delicious!

Thank you.

[Anna N]

Well breakfast might have been a bit questionable so I made up for it with lunch:



No, it is not a usual lunch for me but I wanted to try out a recipe for tonight's appetizer - shrimp in a spicy sauce. It needed some beer and it seemed a darn shame to waste the remainder!

I made some ice cream this morning - a new flavour for us - lemon and it is very good. I am always amazed at how flavours change when you combine them with other things - naive I suppose - but always a surprise to me.

The ice cream maker was one of those appliances that I just HAD TO HAVE. All the time I lusted after it, I also suspected that I would use it initially and then it would collect dust on the shelf. Far from it. It has been mine for close to two years now and is used at least twice a month and often weekly. We love trying out new ice cream flavours and have quite a collection of favourites now.

That's about it for now - need to get back to work and do some housecleaning before dinner tonight. It may be just the two of us but I still insist that the house looks as decent as it would if we were having company.

[Smithy]

Well breakfast might have been a bit questionable so I made up for it with lunch:



No, it is not a usual lunch for me but I wanted to try out a recipe for tonight's appetizer - shrimp in a spicy sauce.  It needed some beer and it seemed a darn shame to waste the remainder!

I made some ice cream this morning - a new flavour for us - lemon and it is very good.  I am always amazed at how flavours change when you combine them with other things - naive I suppose - but always a surprise to me.

The ice cream maker was one of those appliances that I just HAD TO HAVE.  All the time I lusted after it, I also suspected that I would use it initially and then it would collect dust on the shelf.  Far from it.  It has been mine for close to two years now and is used at least twice a month and often weekly.  We love trying out new ice cream flavours and have quite a collection of favourites now.

That's about it for now - need to get back to work and do some housecleaning before dinner tonight.  It may be just the two of us but I still insist that the house looks as decent as it would if we were having company.

At last, I have a new excuse for beer at lunch time!

I too love my ice cream maker. I don't use it as often as I'd like because I'm the only ice cream eater in the house (and I shouldn't eat it too often). Still, it's great fun and the results are very rewarding - especially when the stone fruits are available. How did you make the lemon ice cream? I haven't tried that.

[bloviatrix]

Oooo, lemon ice cream. I love lemon ice cream.

[Anna N]

Well breakfast might have been a bit questionable so I made up for it with lunch:

At last, I have a new excuse for beer at lunch time!

I too love my ice cream maker. I don't use it as often as I'd like because I'm the only ice cream eater in the house (and I shouldn't eat it too often). Still, it's great fun and the results are very rewarding - especially when the stone fruits are available. How did you make the lemon ice cream? I haven't tried that.

If you need more excuses for beer at lunch, I have a book full of them - it's too hot, it's too cold, I'm too tired, the sun is shining, the sun isn't shining, the sun is over the yardarm - somewhere in the world........................

The lemon ice cream was made quite differently than any I have tried before. You mix lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar together and then heat until the sugar is melted. You add this (once cooled) to a mix of milk and heavy cream and then churn. Miss Jess got to "lick the bowl". Man she was one happy camper. She loves anything that is as much sour as sweet.

[handmc]

I have really enjoyed this week. I dare say I am intimidated by some of the dishes I have seen rolled out on the blogs. This week was comforting and everything looked yummy.

The Friday night plan, I wish I had thought of that! Now if I can only get my "phone junky" wife to unplug the thing

Thanks for bringing us into your home

[Smithy]

If you need more excuses for beer at lunch, I have a book full of them - it's too hot, it's too cold, I'm too tired, the sun is shining, the sun isn't shining, the sun is over the yardarm - somewhere in the world........................

The lemon ice cream was made quite differently than any I have tried before.  You mix lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar together and then heat until the sugar is melted.  You add this (once cooled) to a mix of milk and heavy cream and then churn.  Miss Jess got to "lick the bowl".  Man she was one happy camper.  She loves anything that is as much sour as sweet.

WowWowWow that ice cream sounds good! No eggs? Any chance of telling the proportions of juice to sugar to dairy, or would that be giving away a recipe?

Has Miss Jess discovered lemon curd yet? I bet she'd love it. How about lemon meringue pie?

Any finally, thank you for even more excuses...yep, it's really wet outside today, and going to be cold tonight. Hauling wood is thirsty work!

[Lexica]

The lemon ice cream was made quite differently than any I have tried before.  You mix lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar together and then heat until the sugar is melted.  You add this (once cooled) to a mix of milk and heavy cream and then churn.  Miss Jess got to "lick the bowl".  Man she was one happy camper.  She loves anything that is as much sour as sweet.

Ooh, that sounds good. I love sour things (as a child, I would peel lemons and eat them segment by segment). Since we don't have an ice cream freezer, it'll have to be Monkey's sorbet in a sack technique. (Hey now - I just realized that I actually have all these ingredients on hand.)

I'd love to know more about the cauliflower casserole, too.

[Susan in FL]

Anna, I was away for two days and one of the things I looked forward to the most when getting home was catching up on your blog. I am enjoying it so much, and if I posted my comments and compliments each time I thought them, I would be flooding the thread!
I love your presentations and your traditions. You write it well, and the great photos somehow show how good-tasting your food is.
I also loved your comment about doing some housecleaning before your dinner tonight because you insist that the house looks as decent for the two of you as it would if you were having company. I'm the same way, and for the candles and table settings, etc., too. Isn't it a wonderful advantage of an empty nest?! I must say I don't get the house as cleaned up as I would like on the days I work, but my intentions are there.
Oh yeah, and speaking of the Scandanavians and potatoes, do you ever make Hasselback potatoes?

[snowangel]

Could you elaborate more on the spicy shrimp?

[Smithy]

Here we all are, peppering Anna with questions, and she has the telephone unplugged for the evening! Imagine the flood of questions she'll have by morning!

Edited to add: but I too think the Friday evening tradition is an excellent idea.

Edited by Smithy, 22 October 2004 - 02:30 PM.

[Fritz Brenner]

it *is* a great blog, AnnaN. i love reading about the danish food, i'm of swedish origin, and ithe scandinavian flavors remind me of my grandmother.

two totally off-topic things: did i notice an IKEA Poang chair in the background of one of your photos? we've got one too, and i love it.

more importantly: i've always loved your avatar. you may have shared its origin elsewhere, but if you felt like sharing again, i'd love it.

thanks for blogging.

[Dian]

Does the Dane just hate lunch, or is he a small eater? Does he eat breakfast? I can't imagine not taking much breakfast or lunch!

ooh, and I second the request for the background on the avatar.

Edited by Dian, 22 October 2004 - 07:16 PM.

[BettyK]

Anna, I'm really enjoying your blog. Thanks for sharing your week with us.

Miss Jessica looks a lot like her grandma.

[Anna N]

Good morning! First, let me say that I WILL answer all of your questions in due time but I have to get my priorities straight this morning. There is a garage sale starting at 7:00 AM and I intend to be there.

Dinner last night was very simple: a shrimp appetizer, steak with a Caesar salad and home made lemon ice cream.

This oven-cooked bacon for the salad looked so good that I just had to show you. I love cooking bacon this way because it needs so little attention, the splatters are confined to my self-cleaning oven and it always cooks more evenly than on the stove top.



We had a pre-dinner drink. This stuff is more precious than gold because we can only get it when someone is willing to bring it back from Denmark. My brother-in-law used to send us a bottle occasionally but he died a year or so ago. It is truly an aquired taste. The first time I took a sip I cursed and called it "swamp water" and spit it out! It has a somewhat medicinal taste that I think brackish swamp water would taste like if I were to try it. Unfortunately, I have acquired the taste.



The Gammeldansk was followed by an appetizer of spicy shrimp washed down with a cold beer. We usually eat our appetizer and dessert at the coffee table.



Then we move to the dining table for the main course. The Dane's contribution to dinner? The candles, the candlesticks and the Caesar. The "steak" was a joint affair. It was really a tiny prime-rib roast about 3 inches thick. We usually go for one that is closer to 2 inches thick so we consulted on how to cook this baby. We settled on putting it on the BBQ, searing both sides for 3 mins each and then moving it over to other side of the BBQ with the heat off and letting it bake until it reached 120F. Not bad for a couple of novices I think.

We are heretics to wine lovers. We don't really know the first thing about "good" wine and we are not fans of red wine. This is a home-made white - the Dane and my daughter make all our wine and it suits our palate and most of all, our budget!




Here's a closeup. There was plenty leftover and it will make some yummy lunches. Bloggers must surely be allowed a bit of bragging and I want to point out the only expensive table ware we own - the black-handled cutlery is by Georg Jensen and we purchased it on a trip to Denmark. Nothing too remarkable about that BUT when we came to pay for it, our charge card was refused. We were so embarrassed! But Christian, my much mourned BIL, paid for it and we were able later to sort out the mess and repay him.



Back to the coffee table for dessert - the lemon ice cream. This was amazingly creamy considering that it did not have a custard base.



After the sale I will start answering all your questions.

[Anna N]

WowWowWow that ice cream sounds good!  No eggs?  Any chance of telling the proportions of juice to sugar to dairy, or would that be giving away a recipe?

Has Miss Jess discovered lemon curd yet?  I bet she'd love it.  How about lemon meringue pie? 

Any finally, thank you for even more excuses...yep, it's really wet outside today, and going to be cold tonight.  Hauling wood is thirsty work! 

Hey we share here! The proportions for the ice cream are as follows:

(I halved the proportions for my batch as I only have a 1 quart ice cream maker and these proportions will make 1.5 quarts)

1/4 cup very finely grated lemon zest
2/3 cup lemon juice - freshly squeezed is best
2 cups superfine sugar (I used ordinary table sugar)
3 cups well-chilled heavy cream (I used 35% whipping cream)
1 cup whole milk
1/4 t salt

Whisk the first 3 ingredients together in a saucepan and cook over mod. heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves - takes about 10 mins depending on how high you have the burner. Let cool completely. Whisk together the remaining ingredients and keep them chilled. Add the cooled sugar/lemon syrup to the milk mixture stir well. Put into ice cream maker and churn away.

You know I have not had lemon curd since I left England and I used to just love it. Have never made it but lemon curd tarts are beginning to sound like a must-do!

Used to make lemon meringue pie frequently but have been a very poor pastry maker and always suffered from weepy meringue - guess I lost my confidence - recently have turned to lime pie in a graham cracker crust instead.

[Anna N]

I'd love to know more about the cauliflower casserole, too.

I have posted the ice cream recipe in another reply. The cauliflower casserole is really easy.

Steam bite-sized florets from a head of cauliflower for 10 minutes. Put them in an oven-proof casserole. Make a cheese sauce by sauteeing some chopped onion in butter until just softened, add flour and cook briefly but don't let it colour very much, add hot milk and make a white sauce which will coat a spoon, add some old cheddar cheese, some mustard powder, salt and pepper and cook until the cheese melts then pour over the cauliflower. Mix together some bread crumbs (fresh is best but dry will work) some grated parmesan and some chopped parsley, and sprinkle over the top. Bake at 400F until bubbly and the top is golden brown - about 15-20 mins. I find I have to put some foil on top at the halfway point else it browns too much before it is good and hot all through.

(If you need more than this then PM me and I will try to help.)