Norwegian - April 2009

Diva: Lovina

Drinks: Tamara
Fjellbekk (Norwegian for “moutain stream”)

¾ oz Vodka
¾ oz Aquavit
¾ oz lime juice
Sprite soda

Build over ice in a tall glass.

Berry soda

Wild berry nectar
Sprite Soda

Build over ice in a tall glass.

How to Skoal:






Reviewing the notes...

The Teetotaler and the Preggo give it a "dry" run

Bonnie, Lovina and Mariah Skoal with Style...

Appetizer: Colleen
Marinated Cheese (two variations)

11 oz., scant (300g) Edam Cheese - (I couldn't find Edam so I used Gouda)
1 red paprika, cut in strips (again - no Paprika pepper, so I used Hungarian Wax pepper in one and red bell pepper in the other)
1 ¼ c (3 dl) olive oil
7/8 c (2 dl) white vinegar
1 T red pepper, finely chopped (no cayenne pepper so I used red jalapeno with the hungarian pepper and serano chile with the red bell pepper mix)
1 T oregano
1 T thyme
1 T green peppercorns (couldn't find straight green peppercorns so used a mix of red, green, white, and black)
2 garlic cloves

Dice Cheese the size of Sugar cubes.
Prick with a fork to allow the marinade to be absorbed.
Mix all ingredients for marinade in a heavy-bottomed casserole and bring to a boil.
Cool.
Layer Cheese and paprika in a jar and pour marinade over all.
Cover and chill.
Keeps 2-3 weeks in refrigerator.

Flat Bread

½ c (1-¼ dl) lard, melted (I used vegetable shortening)
¼ c (½ dl) Sugar
½ c (1-¼ dl) oatmeal flour
1 c (2-½ dl) graham flour (substitute for graham flour is 2/3 c unbleached flour, 1/3 c wheat bran, 1.5 tsp wheat germ)
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 ½ c (3-½ dl) buttermilk
unbleached flour as needed

Combine ingredients, adding white flour to make dough workable.
Roll out into rounds with grooved rolling pin and a pastry cloth.
Cut into pieces and bake on cookie sheet in a 350 degrees (175 degrees C) oven for about 8 minutes or until crisp.

I'm not sure why the recipe doesn't have you add a lot of unbleached flour to begin. I ended up adding quite a bit to have it be a "workable" dough - maybe a cup or more? Also takes much more than 8 minutes to become crisp. I made some crispy and some not so crisp for a fun texture comparison.

Let's See those poses again, sistas!

Salad: Erin
Fruit salad

Mix sliced strawberries and blueberries in a bowl. Slice avocado and pineapple.

Dish strawberries and blueberries on salad plate. Place avocado and pineapple on salad plate around strawberries and blueberries. Top strawberries and blueberries with yogurt (I used one or two spoonfuls of Brown Cow Maple Yogurt). Add a mint sprig as garnish.

Soup: Stacey
Norwegian Cauliflower Cheese Soup

1 c Jarlsberg cheese, shredded (found in specialty cheese/deli section)
3 T butter
1 c sliced leeks (middle light green part only, and wash very well)
3 T flour
3 c chicken broth
3 c cauliflower, coarsely chopped
1 c ½ and ½

Saute leeks in butter until tender. Add flour, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Remove from heat and gradually blend in broth. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly. Add cauliflower, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is tender. Stir in cream and cheese. Simmer until heated through and cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 5 servings.


Side Dish: Bonnie
Burning Love (vegetarian style)

1 onion, sliced in chunks
3 c mushrooms, sliced kinda thick
2-3 apples, peeled & sliced in chunks
4-5 lb potatoes, peeled & chunked
white cheddar, shredded
soft tofu
veg broth paste
bacon salt
cornstarch
cinnamon
salt
pepper
butter
oil
milk

Drain water off tofu then press water out but placing it on a plate, between kitchen towels and weighted down with several plates. After about 20 min. Take tofu and crumble it up and add a lot of bacon salt then repeat the pressing process for at lease 30 min. When done fry in oil, remove and let drain on a paper towel.

Boil potatoes, when done make mashed potatoes and season to taste.

Sautee onion in oil until it starts to soften, add mushrooms. Cook until done then add veg broth, cornstarch, salt and pepper, cook for few minuets.

Sautee apples in oil with cinnamon until soft but not smushy.

Put potatoes in greased casserole dish then top with cheese. Add apples to mushroom-onion mixture then pour over potatoes. Bake in oven until heated through, maybe 400 for 25 min. Take out and top with tofu-bacon.

Entree: Sara
Curried Cod Cakes

4 T curry powder--you choose the spicy level
1 T Dijon mustard--dry mustard
½ c flour
1 package Panko bread crumbs
2 T paprika
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp pepper
2 avocados
3 lbs cod--poached in the oven in water at 350 for 20 minutes
3 lbs potatoes--boiled and mashed
3 T fresh mint, shredded
1 ½ c sour cream
½ c tomato diced

Make curry flour by combining the first six ingredients together.
Halve, pit and peel the avocados. Cut the halves lengthwise into thin wedges.
Combine the mint, sour cream and tomatoes. Set aside.
Gently mix fish and mashed potatoes together (you ca add onion, garlic and spices if you want)
Separate cod mixture into even balls and flatten into cakes--this recipe should make about 12 cakes 1 x 3 inch.
Dip, Dredge, or Sprinkle on curried bread crumbs
Bake at 400 for 15 minutes and flip if needed, cook for another 15 minutes.
Top each fillet with a few slices of avocado, and a spoonful of mint sour cream sauce.

Curried Potato Cakes

1 tsp canola oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp kosher salt
4 ½ c peeled shredded baking potato (about 2 pounds)
2 T chopped fresh parsley
2 T canola oil
¼ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Dash of ground red pepper
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add mustard and cumin seeds to pan; cook 2 minutes or until mustard seeds pop, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Place spice mixture and salt in a mortar; crush seeds with pestle. Set aside.

Gently squeeze potato to remove excess moisture. Combine potato, spice mixture, parsley, 2 tablespoons oil, turmeric, and peppers in a large bowl. Divide mixture evenly into 10 (1/3 cup) portions; place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Flatten to 1/2-inch thickness. Spray with a bit of oil, and dip in or sprinkle on curried breadcrumbs. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden. Turn over; bake an additional 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream.

Lemon Garlic Sour Cream

1 tsp lemon zest
1 clove garlic minced
1 c sour cream

Love Dip

1 package cream cheese or Neufechel
10 Cloves garlic Minced
3 T tomato paste
2 T fresh cilantro minced
Salt and pepper and cumin to taste (about ½ to 1 tsp of each)

Dessert: Mariah
Old Fashioned Pound Cake & Raspberry Trifle

Pound Cake

4 ½ c flour
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
2 c butter
2 ¼ c sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla (or brandy extract)
9 eggs, slightly beaten

Whipped Cream Layer

1 ½ c whipping cream
¼ c sugar

Cream Cheese Layer

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 tsp lemon juice
1 lemon, zest of, chopped
½ c sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract (or lemon)

Berry Layer

4-8 c fresh raspberries
¾ c sugar
1 c water (optional)

Sprinkle
4 teaspoons baking cocoa
fresh berries


Line bottoms & sides of three 8x4 loaf pans with parchment paper--do NOT grease; preheat oven to 325; place oven rack in lower position.

In a large bowl, mix pound cake dry ingredients; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy & fluffy, scraping bowl several times; add flavorings, then eggs three at a time--continue beating (a curdled appearance will be "beaten" out with thorough mixing).

Now begin adding the flour in about half-cup portions, mixing well after each.

Turn batter into prepped pans, quickly pushing it higher around edges than in center
(this will keep the top level).

Bake for 20 minutes, then increase oven temp to 350, bake 40 minutes longer (crack on top will be slightly browned--showing no moistness).
Cool for 5 minutes on cooling rack, then remove from pans to finish cooling--DO NOT REMOVE PAPER!

When cooled, wrap waxed paper around two of the loaves, and then plastic wrap & freeze. Slice the remaining loaf into 12-15 slices, then cubes; set aside.

WHIPPED CREAM LAYER: In a mixing bowl, beat cream with sugar until stiff peaks form; set aside.

CREAM CHEESE LAYER: In another bowl, beat cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla and sugar. Add about 2 cups of the whipped cream and the lemon zest--fold in; set aside.

BERRY LAYER: Set aside one cup of berries for garnish. Sprinkle remaining berries with sugar, then lightly mash/crush them. Let them sit for about 30 minutes to get juicy---if you're short of time, add the water and this makes a nice juice too.

ASSEMBLE THE TRIFLE: Sprinkle a layer of pound cake cubes in the bottom of a 3-quart glass serving bowl.

Drizzle 3-4 tablespoons of berry juice over the cubes.
Spread one fourth of cream cheese mixture over the cake cubes.
Sprinkle one teaspoon of cocoa over this, then some crushed berries.
REPEAT this twice. Add about half of the reserved berries to the last layer.

Top with remaining cream cheese, whipped cream and sifted cocoa; remaining berries added as a garnish before serving.

Cover & refrigerate for about 3 hours, this is ready-to-eat now (taste really does improve!).

Wild Card: Aven
Vikings

1 pound lean ground beef
½ pound ground pork
2 eggs
½ c oatmeal
1 medium onion minced
½ c canned evaporated milk
1 ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp ginger
1 T butter
krusteaz pancake mix (I substituted gluten free baking mix)

Saute onion in butter until transparent and soft.

Mix oatmeal, eggs, and canned milk until combined. Mix the beef and pork together then add the oatmeal mixture, onions and spices. Beat with a mixer until fluffy.

Using 1/3 to 1/2 cup of meat mixture (depending on how big you want your Vikings) form a ball. Place meatballs on a baking sheet or pan. Cook in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes until done. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

When the meatballs are cool enough to handle, stick a wooden "popsicle" stick in each one (you can usually buy these at any craft store).

Mix the Krusteaz pancake batter with water, make it thicker than usual so that it will coat and stick to the meatballs.

Hold the meatball by the wooden stick and dip it into the batter, then drop it into a deep fat fryer with oil heated to 375. Roll it around so all the sides cook evenly. Cook until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on a plate covered with paper towels. Serve with ketchup, mustard or what ever you want!

****For the vegan version, I substituted soy creamer for the milk and tempeh for the meat. I omitted the eggs altogether.

Lottery: Ashley (absent)

The wee male imposter!