Moms Barbecue Burgers

And I return after a ridiculously long hiatus and just a little late for the 4th of July. This is a recipe that my mother invented for one of my brothers birthdays and has been a stapple summers dish ever since. We bake the hamburgers in the oven because it saves time when you are making a lot of them and it doesn't dry them out as much as frying or grilling can do.

(excuse the blurriness, was using my brothers phone at the time)

500g of minced beef or a even mix of pork and beef
1 egg
2dl ketchup
1dl vinegar
1dl water
1 onion, finely chopped
3tsp brown sugar
3tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Mix together the meat with the egg, some salt and pepper and any other flavorings you want.

Shape the meat into relatively thin patties and place them on an oven pan.

Bake them at 175ºC for about 30min.

Melt some butter in a large pot and fry the chopped onion in it until it goes soft and transparent (you don't want them too brown for this, you want them to almost disappear in the sauce later.)

After the onion goes soft add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil then let simmer for a little while to reduce the sauce.

Taste the sauce often and add more of an ingredient if you think it needs it until you get the right tanginess you want.

Place the burgers in the simmering sauce, if there isn't enough sauce add more water to it and reduce it again until all the burgers are evenly coated.

Serve with a nice potato salad, some nice buns and something cold to drink.

Enjoy!

Moving time

I wont be posting any recipes for a few days as I move out of my apartment.

White Chocolate And Caramel Sauce

A rich, smooth sauce that is perfect with ice-cream and/or fresh fruits and berries. You can of course easily skip the cognac.


1 1/2dl cream
4tbl unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3tbl sugar
175g white chocolate, broken into chunks
2tbl cognac


Pour the cream into a heat resistant bowl and place over a pan of barely simmering water.

Add the butter and sugar and stir until smooth.

Remove the bowl from the pan.

Mix in a few pieces of chocolate at a time and wait until they have melted before adding more.

Pour in the cognac once the chocolate is all mixed in stir the sauce smooth.

Let cool off until it's at room temperature.

Serve with ice-cream, fresh fruits and berries or with a sweet pie or crumble.


Enjoy!

Tortellini Salad

A nice hefty salad that makes for a great party dish. Fresh fruit works very well as a dessert afterwards as it complements the salty and savory flavors of the salad.


1 bag of cheese filled tortellini (ca, 250g)
ca, 1dl Italian dressing
2 bell peppers, cut into strips (one red and one yellow looks best)
8-10 cocktail tomatoes, cut in half
ca, 20 olives, mixed and seedless
2-3dl cheese, in small cubes
1/2-1dl fresh basil, finely chopped
ca, 12 salami slices


Cook the tortellini according to its own instructions.

Drain the pasta and mix it with the dressing while still warm in a bowl and set aside a let cool.

Prepare the vegetables and mix them into the cooled off pasta together with the cheese and basil.

Roll the salami slices into cones and push them into the salad so that they stick upwards like tasty flowers.

Serve with some nice bread to soak up the dressing afterwards.


Enjoy!

Russian Mincemeat Pan

While not genuinely Russian this pan uses red beats and is served with sour cream for that faux Russian experience.


400g mince meat
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
1/2 salt
1 pinch of black pepper
2tbl soy
2dl pickled red beat, finely chopped
1dl pickled cucumber, finely chopped


Fry the onion and then add the meat.

Once the meat is done flavor with salt, pepper and soy.

Mix in the red beats and cucumber and let simmer for a few minutes.

If the pan seems a bit dry add a little water to it.

Serve with boiled rice and sour cream.


Enjoy!

Sponge Cake

This simple sponge cake is delicious on its own but can easily be flavored with vanilla or lemon, and just as easily be turned into a Victoria sponge or used as the base for a cake. To make a Victoria sponge simply slice the cake in half, so you have a top and bottom, and fill it with any jam that you like and let stand for a while so that the jam can soak in a bit.


200g butter or margarine, room temperature
2dl flour
2dl sugar
4 eggs
1tsp baking powder


Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Beat everything together using an electric whisk until creamy.

Pour into a greased or non-stick cake tin.

Bake in the oven at 180ºC for 15-25min until it is a light golden brown.

Let it cool off on a wire rack.

Serve slices of it plain with tea or coffee or with some fresh berries and whipped cream.


Enjoy!

Prince Bertils Filled Minute Steaks

It took me a while to find a translation for the Swedish "lövbiff" (leaf beef) but I finally found out that it was usually called minute or cube steak.


8-10 slices of minute steak (ca. 500g)
1 red onion, finely chopped
3-4tbl blue cheese, grated
2-3tbl unsweetened mustard
salt
pepper


Fry the onion in a little bit of butter for a few minutes and then let it get cool.

Mix together the onion, cheese and mustard.

Spread the mixture evenly between the steak slices.

Fold the steak slices in half and fasten each one with a toothpick so they don't come apart when you fry them.

Fry the steaks for about 1 1/2 minute on each side. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with boiled or fried potatoes, green peas and blackcurrant jelly.


Enjoy!

Sesame Salmon With Lemon And Cucumber Sallad

A very easy and uncomplicated recipe for when you have the urge to eat a nice fish dish.


600g salmon fillet (if frozen thaw before using)
1dl sesame seeds
1 cucumber, grated
2dl crème fraîche (sour cream works but you wont want as much because it will make the salad runnier)
juice from 1 lemon
zest from about 1/2 lemon


Roll the salmon in the sesame seeds so that it is as covered by the seeds as you can get it.

Bake the salmon in the oven for about 15min at 175ºC.

Mix the cucumber with the crème fraîche.

Add the lemon juice to the salad and top of with the lemon zest.

Serve together.


Enjoy!

Baked Bell Peppers

These work well as a little heavier starter or as part of a buffet. The filling can be infinitely varied with what you have or like. This a very simple variation of it.


4 bell peppers
600g minced meat (any type)
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red chili, chopped
2dl grated cheese


Cut the top of the peppers so you get a lid and clean them out so you don't have any seeds left.

Fry the meat together with the onion and chili.

Fill the peppers with the meat mixture and sprinkle the cheese on top.

Bake in the oven at 175ºC for about 20min until the cheese is nice and golden brown.

Serve on their own or with a little bit of rice or pasta.


Enjoy!

Real Chocolate Milk

For when you are feeling more extravagant than usual, this classic drink is sure to warm you on a cold evening.


40g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
3dl milk


Place the chocolate in a large heat resistant jug or pitcher.

Bring the milk to the boil in a thick bottomed pan.

Pour about a fourth of the milk over the chocolate and let the chocolate get soft.

Stir until the milk and chocolate mix is smooth.

Put the rest of the milk back on the heat and bring to the boil again.

Pour it over the chocolate mix and stir continuously until it has all blended together.

Pour into cups and decorate with grated chocolate or a dollop of whipped cream.

Serve immediately.


Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Soup

A soup with classic flavors that works well for parties and for everyday use.


8tbl butter
1 leek, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 carrots, cut into small pieces
6dl chicken stock
600g chicken fillets, cut into strips
6dl cream
4tsp chives, chopped
8tsp basil, chopped


Heat the butter in a pan and fry the leek, garlic and carrots for a few minutes.

Pour in the chicken stock and chicken strips and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Add cream, chives and basil.

Stir constantly until the soup has gotten on a nice creamy texture.

Serve with some nice bread.


Enjoy!

Bacon And Cheese Muffins

These are not true muffins, they are more like pancakes in muffin form. They are quite filling so you won't eat to many of them at a time but they are perfect picnic food. This recipe uses a lot of eggs but it is basically one egg for each muffin.


200g bacon
200g cheese , of whatever type you prefer
10 eggs
2dl cream
white pepper


Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy.

Grate the cheese.

Beat together the eggs and cream.

Mix everything together and flavor with ground white pepper.

Pour into large muffin cups or tin.

Bake in the oven at 200ºC for 15-20 minutes.



Enjoy!

Green Omelet

Simple, beautiful and with a lot of flavor.


3 eggs
3tbl water
1tbl parsley, chopped
1tbl dill, chopped
1tsp tarragon, chopped
1tsp oregano, chopped


Mix all the herbs together in a bowl.

Break the eggs into the bowl,  add the water and quickly whisk together into a green batter.

Lightly brown some butter in a frying pan then pour in the batter.

Fry as lightly as you can, you don't want it to gain much color, just to get somewhat stiff.

Serve immediately with some nice bread and tea.


Enjoy!

Italian Double Decker Sandwich

A combination of the sandwich pizza and french toast that becomes so wonderfully gooey with the mozzarella.


8 slices of white bread
4 thick slices of mozzarella
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1dl milk
salt and pepper


Cut the crusts from the bread slices.

Cover 4 bread slices with the mozzarella and add some salt and pepper.

Place the other pieces of bread on top and press together very firmly.

Mix the eggs and milk together and turn the sandwiches in it.

Fry the sandwiches until golden brown.

Serve immediately.


Enjoy!

Salmon Skewers With Saffron Sauce

Easy, simple skewers with a very tasty and simple dipping sauce.


ca. 500g salmon fillets, bone free
ca. 500g shrimps with shells left on
3tbl lemon juice
2tbl oil
1tbl soy
1tsp salt
2 pinches of lemon pepper
3dl sour cream
1 packet of saffron, powdered (ca. 1/2g)
2tbl mango chutney


Cut the salmon into cubes that are about 2cm thick and place in a bowl suitable for marinading in.

Mix together the lemon juice, oil, soy, salt and lemon pepper to make the marinade and pour over the salmon.

Clean and peel the shrimp but leave the heads on, this will ensure that they won't fall apart so easily on the skewers.

Flavor the sour cream with the saffron and mango chutney to make the dip, if the chutney has very large chunks you might want to chop them into smaller pieces for ease of dipping.

Let the salmon drain a bit on some paper towels, saving the marinade left in the bowl, before threading them and the shrimp on to skewers.

Grill for about 5 min brushing on more of the remaining marinade as you go along.

Serve with the saffron sauce and any potato or rice dish along with a green salad.


Enjoy!

Simple Applesauce

Applesauce is sometimes forgotten by a lot of people but when remembered is almost always recalled with fondness. It's quite a versatile condiment, it works well with roast pork or fowl and it is often eaten for dessert, either own its own or warmed up with ice-cream.This version does not have a lot of sugar in it so if you want to preserve it for longer than a week in the fridge you will need to freeze it.


450g apples, peeled and diced
2tbl water
1tbl sugar


Put the apple cubes and water in a microwave safe container and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. (When using plastic wrap in the microwave make sure it doesn't come in direct contact with the food and try to use a type marked microwave safe)

Heat at full effect for 8 minutes.

Mash the apples until you get it as smooth or chunky as you want and stir in the sugar.

Serve with roast pork or turkey, or have it with ice-cream


Enjoy!

Filled Dates

This is an old roman recipe from about 400 AD so it is a little vague about the amount of things.


1 package of dried dates (as non-sticky as you can get)
crushed or chopped walnuts, pine nuts or black pepper
salt
honey


Make a cut lengthwise in each date and remove the seed.

Fill each one with either the walnuts, pine nuts or a little black pepper.

Roll the filled dates in salt.

Fry them in honey in a frying pan. (The honey  flavor can be quite dominant so you only need a small layer)

Let them cool off on baking paper so that they don't stick together.

Skewer them with a toothpick while they are still warm so they are easier to eat.



Enjoy!

Spinach Salad With Bacon And Blue Cheese

People sometimes forget how tasty fresh spinach can be and if you haven't tried it why not grab a bag next time you're out shopping. I'm using pine nuts in this recipe because they contrast nicely with the rest of the flavors but you can exchange them for chopped walnuts or skip them entirely.


4 fistfuls of fresh spinach
1 packet of bacon (ca, 140g)
100g blue cheese (a mild and creamy one works well)
ca. 1tbl roasted pine nuts (optional)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar


Rinse the spinach and place in a salad bowl.

Cut the bacon into strips and fry until crispy. Let it drain in a paper towel and spread it over the spinach.

Crumble over the blue cheese and sprinkle the pine nuts over the top.

Drizzle some nice olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar over the salad.

Serve with some nice bread.


Enjoy!

Crimson Blush

This is a very refreshing fruity drink that children love. You will need a liquidizer for this recipe and it makes four servings, but simply repeat the recipe as many times as is needed.


1/4 watermelon (ca. 600g)
125g raspberries
juice from 1 orange


Scoop out the black seeds from the melon and cut away the rind.

Chop it into smaller pieces and put in the liquidizer together with the raspberries and orange juice.

Whiz until smooth.

Serve nice and cold.


Enjoy!

Pasta Au Gratin

 A dish that is nice to make fresh or to use leftover meat and pasta.


4dl macaroni or other short pasta
1 yellow onion
150-200g smoked ham or sausage
2 eggs
3dl milk
1/2tsp salt
1 pinch of pepper
1dl grated cheese


Boil the pasta according to its own instructions and then drain them and pour them in a greased casserole dish.

Peel the onion and then chop the onion and meat.

Fry the onion and meat together and spread evenly over the pasta.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper and pour into the dish.

Sprinkle the cheese over everything.

Bake in the middle of the oven at 200ºC for 40min or until the gratin has solidified and gained some nice color on top.

Serve with salad and tomato sauce.


Enjoy!