2014 in one post – 2014 i ett inlägg

Last day of 2014, and I must say that blog-wise it’s been an interesting year. Not only have I moved from one apartment to a house with a break in between of being in Sweden, and finally ending my year in Florida, this of course means that the tools and kitchens I’ve been working in/with, has been very different.

Content wise I must sum this year up as quality over quantity – deliberately making less posts, but putting more effort, thought and styling in to them.

Biggest accomplishment of 2014 was making it onto Saveur’s Sites We Love – it still makes me happy that so many of you find your way here from that link. And of course – making it onto foodgawker 3 more times.

Finally, I want to thank all the 32,000 unique viewers that have read my blog this year – and hope you’ll continue to stay tuned the coming year!

Shrimp & Shiitake Dumplings – Dumplings med Räkor och Shiitake fyllning

Yesterday it was time for dumplings again, and I must say that it went much better than my previous attempts (here and here). These dumplings were made with two different fillings, Shiitake mushroom, garlic and scallion, and shrimp, scallions and peanuts. I steamed these in two ways, some of them in a real steamer (easiest) the other one’s I put on a spatula and held it over boiling water with a lid on… Both ways worked, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a steamer :). The past times I’ve made dumplings I’ve made them as small bags, but this time I folded the dough across, into a triangle, and then folded the other corners in and tightened, so that they became squares (you can see what they looked like from the pictures). All in all a very successful dinner.

Recipe / Recept 

Dumpling dough (got mine at whole foods) / Dumpling deg (kan tänka mig att det finns på asiatiska matvarubutiker) 

Shiitake filling / Shiitake fyllning

5 shiitake mushrooms / 5 shiitake svampar

6 baby scallions / 6 bebis salladslökar 

2 cloves of garlic / 2 vitlöksklyftor

1 tbsp of soy / 1 msk soya 

Shrimp & Peanut filling / Fyllning med Räkor och Jordnötter

about 0.8 ounces of shrimp / ca 400 g räkor

6 baby scallions / 6 bebis salladslökar 

1 tsp of peanut butter / 1 tsk jordnötssmör 

1 tsp of hoisin sauce / 1 tsk hoisinsås

about 2 tbsp of chopped peanuts / ca 2 msk hackade jordnötter

1. Start by cutting the mushrooms and scallions into small pieces. / Börja med att hacka svamparna och lökarna i små bitar.

2. Heat a frying pan, sauté the mushrooms, scallions and crushed garlic. Add soy. / Hetta upp en stekpanna, stek svamp, lök, och pressad vitlök. Lägg i soya.

4. Set filling one aside. / Ställ den första fyllningen åt sidan.

5. Cut the shrimp and scallions into small pieces. / Hacka räkor och lök.

6. Sauté together with peanut butter and hoisin sauce, add the chopped peanuts at the end. / Stek tillsammans med jordnötssmör och hoisinsås, lägg i de hackade jordnötterna på slutet.

7. Fold the dumplings by adding about a teaspoon of filling in the middle, watering the edges and then folding across into a triangle, holding the top tight and then folding in the corners to the middle, creating a square. / Vik ihop dumplings genom att lägga ca 1 tsk fyllning i mitten, blöt kanterna med vatten. Sedan viker du degen rakt över så att du får en triangel, håll i toppen och vik in kanterna till en kvadrat och täpp till kanterna.

8. Steam the dumplings for about 3 min. / Ånga i ca 3 min.

9. Done! / Klart!

 

Swedish Thin Gingerbread Cookies – Hemgjorda Pepparkakor

Here comes a recipe that symbolizes Christmas for me more than most things. Gingerbread cookies are incredibly delicious, but I must admit I usually stick to the store-bought dough. This year, we’re not celebrating Christmas in Stockholm, which requires some creativity. This might not be the most creative recipe, and I know that many of you probably make your own dough each year, but for us, it was a first! Make it today, and start Christmas Eve off by baking some delicious, crisp, gingerbread cookies in the morning! On the picture above, you see me and my lovely co-baker of the day, Alexandra.

Recipe / Recept 

1 cup brown sugar 

1/3 cup of water / 0.75 dl vatten

1/3 cup of corn syrup (half white, half dark) / 0.75 dl sirap

150 g of butter / 150 g smör 

1.5 tbsp of cinnamon / 1.5 msk kanel

1.5 tbsp of ginger / 1.5 msk ingefära

1 tsp of ground cloves / 1 tsk kryddnejlika 

1.5 tsp of baking soda / 1.5 tsk bikarbonat

2.9 cups of flour / 7 dl mjöl 

1. Bring sugar, water and syrup to boil. / Koka upp socker, vatten och sirap.

2. Take of the heat and stir in the butter. / Ta bort från värmen och rör i smöret.

3. Mix in all other ingredients. / Blanda i alla andra ingredienser.

4. Wrap the dough in plastic foil. / Vira in degen i plastfolie.

5. Let sit in the fridge for 8 hours or over night. / Låt stå i kylen i 8 timmar eller över natten.

6. Preheat the oven to 340 F. / Sätt ugnen på 175 grader.

7. Roll out the dough super thin, make sure you sprinkle the surface you’re baking on with plenty of flour. / Kavla ut degen, se till att ytan du bakar på är strödd med mjöl.

8. Push out different patterns with molds. / Tryck ut olika kakor med formar.

9. Bake for about 6 min or until a little brown on top. / Grädda i ca 6 min eller tills kakorna är lite bruna på toppen.

10. Let cool. / Låt svalna.

11. Done! / Klart!

Dark Chocolate Fudge with Seasalt – Mörk Choklad Fudge med Havssalt

Here’s a recipe that takes you no more than 30 min and is PERFECT for your Christmas dessert table (maybe that’s just in Sweden, but perfect for dessert anyway…). This fudge only requires a few ingredients and is hard to fail when doing! Try it yourself.

Recipe / Recept 

1.25 cups of sugar / 3 dl socker 

1.25 cups of heavy whipping cream / 3 dl grädde

0.4 cups of light corn syrup / 1 dl ljus sirap 

2 tbsp of cacao powder / 2 msk kakao

1 dark (70% or higher) chocolate bar / 1 mörk (70% eller högre) chokladkaka

50 g of butter / 50 g smör

1 tsp of salt / 1 tsk salt

sea salt for sprinkling / havssalt för strössel

1. Bring sugar, cream, syrup and cacao powder to boil. / Koka upp socker, grädde, sirap och kakao.

2. Boil until thickened, this varies in time, but about 20 min. Try if it’s ready by dripping down some of the batter into a glas with ice cold water, if you can shape the batter – it’s ready. If not – let it boil for longer. / Koka tills smeten tjocknat, det kan ta olika lång tid, men ca 20 min. Prova om den är klar genom att droppa ner lite smet i ett glas med iskallt vatten. Om du kan forma smeten, är den klar – om inte, låt den fortsätta koka.

3. Remove from heat. Stir in chopped chocolate, salt and butter. / Ta bort från värmen, rör i hackad choklad, salt och smör.

4. Pour into a brownie pan with parchment paper. / Häll i en ugnsform med bakplåtspapper.

5. Sprinkle with salt. / Toppa med salt.

6. Let cool in the fridge. / Låt svalna i kylen.

7. Cut in pieces. / Skär i bitar.

8. Done! / Klart!

Spinned Saffron Buns filled with Vanilla, Pistachios and Cranberries – Snurrade Saffransbullar fyllda med Vanilj, Pistagenötter & Tranbär

These are the winning saffron buns of all years. They turned out moist, delicious and pretty. If you haven’t tried making saffron buns before you have to do it now – nothing tastes or smells more delicious. Happy Baking!

Recipe / Recept

1 g of saffron / 2 paket saffran

2 cups of milk / 5 dl mjölk

2 envelops of yeast / 50 g jäst

200 g smör / 200 g smör

1 egg/ 1 ägg

0.5 tsp of salt / 0.5 tsk salt

1.4 cups of sugar / 3 dl socker

about 8 cups of flour / ca 20 dl mjöl 

Filling / Fyllning

Butter / Smör 

Sugar / Socker

Vanilla extract / vaniljsocker 

pistachios / pistagenötter

cranberries / tranbär

1 egg / 1 ägg

This recipe was baked with dry yeast, if using fresh, heat milk to body temp. and dissolve with yeast before adding dry ingredients.

1. Mix 4 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt together. / Blanda 10 dl mjöl, socker, jäst och salt tillsammans.

2. Heat milk, saffron and butter. / Värm mjöl, saffran och smör till ca 44 grader.

3. Pour milk mixture over flour mixture. Add the egg. / Häll mjölkblandningen över mjölblandningen. Lägg i ägget.

4. Work the dough and add more flour until the dough doesn’t stick to the walls of the bowl anymore. / Arbeta degen och lägg i mer mjöl tills degen släpper från kanterna av bunken.

5. Let rise for 30 min. / Låt jäsa i 30 min.

6. Mix about 50 g of butter together with 1.5 tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. / Blanda ca 50 g smör med 1.5 msk socker och 1 tsk vaniljsocker.

7. Roll out the dough as square as possible. / Kavla ut degen i en fyrkant.

8. Spread butter filling on half the dough, sprinkle with pistachios and cranberries. / Bred ut smörfyllning på halva degen, strö över pistagenötter och tranbär.

9. Fold the un-buttered half over. / Vik över den o-smörade delen.

10. Cut in stripes, and cut the stripes in two but not all the way, looking like a pair of pants. / Skär i strimlor och skär varje strimma i 2 delar, men inte hela vägen, ska se ut som ett par byxor.

11. Spin the legs of the pants and fold in. / Snurra benen på byxorna och vik in.

12. Let rise for another 30 min. / Låt jäsa i ytterligare 3o min.

13. Heat the oven to 440. / Sätt ugnen på 250 grader.

14. Brush the buns with a whipped egg. / Pensla bullarna med ett uppvispat ägg.

15. Bake for about 8 min. / Grädda i ca 8 min.

16. Done! / Klart!

Ginger Cookies – Ingefärskakor

This is not your classic gingerbread cookie – but a slightly spicy ginger cookie. A fast and delicious cookie that you mix together in 10 minutes, but still gives you all the delicious Christmas Flavors. Inspired by a recipe from the Swedish magazine “Hembakat”.

Recipe / Recept

2 cups of flour / 5 dl mjöl

1.2 cups of sugar / 3 dl socker

2 tsp ground ginger / 2 tsk ingefära

1 tsp cinnamon / 1 tsk kanel 

1/2 tsp baking soda / 1/2 tsk bikarbonat 

125 g butter / 125 gram smör 

1 egg / 1 ägg

1 tbsp of light corn syrup / 1 msk ljus sirap 

1. Mix all dry ingredients together. / Blanda alla torra ingredienser.

2. In a food processor, mix the dry ingredients with the butter. / I en mixer, blanda mjölblandningen med smöret.

3. Add the egg and the syrup. / Lägg i ägget och sirap.

4. Heat the oven to 320. / Sätt ugnen på 125 grader.

5. Roll small balls of the dough. / Rulla små bollar.

6. Press down gently with a fork. / Pressa ner försiktigt med en gaffel.

7. Bake for about 10 min. / Grädda ca 10 min.

8. Let cool. / Låt svalna.

9. Done! / Klart!

Delicious Christmas Saffron Cake – Ljuvlig Julig Saffranskaka

And then there was only a week left until Christmas… Time flies and yet another semester in DC has passed by, maybe the quickest one so far. In the mist of finals, there really is no time for any sort of Christmas feeling – which is sad, since december usually goes by quicker just because of that. Nonetheless, this year I’m spending the holiday’s in Florida, which comes with great light and great material for blogging… 🙂 The first thing out is a lovely saffron cake that I made today – it’s really easy and the recipe comes from the Swedish master baker Leila Lindholm. I served the cake with a salad that my mom made based on oranges and pomegranate. Lots of Christmas feeling all in all, and a great way to get in the right mode. Try it!

Recipe / Recept

3 eggs / 3 ägg 

1 cup of sugar / 2.5 dl socker 

0.4 cups of milk / 1 dl mjölk

0.5 g of ground saffron / 0.5 gram saffran 

1/2 stick of butter / 50 g smör

2 tsp of baking powder / 2 tsk bakpulver 

1.4 cups of flour / 3.5 dl mjöl

a pinch of salt / en nypa salt 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. / Sätt ugnen på 175 grader.

2. Whisk eggs and sugar until white and fluffy. / Vispa ägg och socker tills vitt och fluffigt.

3. Heat the milk and saffron. / Värm mjölk och saffran.

4. Add butter and let the butter melt. / Lägg i smör och låt det smälta.

5. Add the milk mixture into the egg mixture. / Lägg i mjölk blandningen i äggblandningen.

6. Add the rest of the ingredients. / Lägg i resten av ingredienserna.

7. Grease a baking mold. / Smöra en form.

8. Bake for about 25 min. / Grädda i ca 25 min.

9. Let cool. / Låt svalna.

10. Done! / Klart!

Mini Nutella Thumbprint Cookies – Mini Nutella Kakor

Last but not least on my cookie baking day I made these super tiny (and super cute) Nutella thumbprint cookies. These are super easy to make, and changes the game of thumbprint cookies that are usually filled with jam, and not chocolate. But, nonetheless to say, these are equally (if not more) delicious than normal thumbprint cookies. If you don’t have the patience to make mini one’s, you can just do normal sized one’s! No reason not to try them out!

Recipe / Recept 

1.8 sticks of butter / 200 g smör 

0.4 cups of sugar / 1 dl socker

1 tsp vanilla / 1 tsk vaniljsocker

1.6 cups of flour / 4 dl mjöl

1 tsp of baking powder / 1 tsk bakpulver

1 egg / 1 ägg

Nutella / Nutella

1. Preheat the oven to 430 F. / Sätt ugnen på 220 grader.

2. Mix all ingredients. / Blanda alla ingredienser.

3. Roll small balls and make a thumbprint in them. / Rulla små bollar och gör ett litet tumavtryck i dom.

4. Add some nutella to the small thumbprint in the cookies. / Lägg i nutella i de små hålen.

5. Bake for about 8 min. / Grädda i ca 8 min.

6. Done! / Klart!