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Archive for the ‘Appetizers’ Category

Waldorfsalat – Waldorf Salad

Posted in Appetizers, Christmas, Salad, Side dish, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 1, 2017| 4 Comments »

Waldorfsalat

Waldorf salad was invented around 1893 – 1896 at the Hotel Waldorf in Manhattan NY. Danes have since then taken this wonderful salad to heart. It’s enjoyed mostly during the fall and winter months and in some families it may also be found on the Christmas table. There are of course many variations of this salad. It can be made with mayonnaise or yogurt and in Denmark some may also add a little whipped cream to the dressing. It can be served as an appetizer or as a side dish to game. This recipe comes from my sister Jonna who makes a “knaldgod” or fabulous Waldorf salad. Enjoy!

Waldorf Salad

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 deciliter Creme Fraiche (212 g or 7.5 oz)

1 1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

juice from a small 1/2 lemon

3 celery stalks

400 gram grapes (14 oz)

100 gram walnuts (5.3 oz)

2 apples (I use Honeycrisp apples)

Directions:

Combine Creme Fraiche, sugar, salt and lemon juice, set aside. Clean and cut celery into small pieces. Cut grapes into halves. Chop walnuts into small pieces. Leaving the peel on the apples, dice them into bite size pieces. Add celery, grapes, walnuts and apples to Creme Fraiche. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve on a bed of Boston lettuce or decorate with celery leaves, top with walnuts. Enjoy!

Source: slightly adapted from my sister Jonna Pedersen

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Bang Bang Shrimp

Posted in Appetizers, Asian, Seafood, tagged , , , , on April 1, 2016| 7 Comments »

Bang Bang Shrimp

Bang Bang Shrimp

If you have ever had Bang Bang Shrimp you know that they are slightly addictive. This is a copycat recipe of Bang Bang Shrimp which I have altered a little. My personal preference is to omit the hot chili sauce but of course you can turn the heat up or down as you like it. The cornstarch is what gives the shrimp a slight crunch so don’t shake off too much of it and serve the shrimp hot off the stove. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Thai sweet chili sauce

3 to 5 drops hot chili sauce, optional

1/2 to 3/4 cup cornstarch

Extra virgin olive oil, for frying

2 scallions, chopped, use as garnish

Directions:

Peel and devein raw shrimp. Mix mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce and hot chili sauce (optional) together, sets aside. Sprinkle cornstarch over the raw shrimp and toss to coat.

Add olive oil to frying pan and bring up to medium high heat. And shrimp to hot pan and cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side (total cooking time of three minutes). Remove shrimp from pan and drain quickly on paper towel. Place shrimp in a bowl and coat with the sauce. Garnish with chopped scallions. Serve and enjoy.

Source: adapted from Food

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Smørrebrød – Røget Laks (Smoked Salmon)

Posted in Appetizers, Lunch, New Years Eve, Smørrebrød, tagged , , , , , , on December 31, 2015| 4 Comments »

Smørrebrød with Smoked Salmon and Caviar

Smørrebrød with Smoked Salmon and Caviar

I think we are overdue for another piece of Smørrebrød (Danish open faced sandwich) and lets make it a festive one. I love smoked salmon and I love caviar. Of course I don’t use expensive caviar, just good old Lumpfish, and so for the purpose of this post we’ll leave the expensive stuff for the Czars and the Royals. But I am picky about my smoked salmon. I don’t care for salmon that is too soft in texture, I prefer for it to be firm and not fall apart when I separate the slices. There is nothing worse than mushy salmon. The mustard I used was a Swedish mustard with dill, but any sweet mustard will do. Happy New Years to all of you!

Smørrebrød with Smoked Salmon, Caviar and Dill Mustard

Smørrebrød with Smoked Salmon, Caviar and Dill Mustard

Ingredients: Smørrebrød – Røget Laks (Smoked Salmon)

1 slice white bread

butter, optional

dill or Boston lettuce

smoked salmon

caviar (lumpfish)

mustard with dill (or any sweet mustard)

Directions:

Butter bread if desired. Here I used dill as my base, but you could also use a nice fresh lettuce, for example Boston lettuce. Arrange smoked salmon in a decorative fashion. Top with a little caviar (lumpfish). Add a sweet mustard to the plate for dipping. Enjoy with an ice cold beer. Skål and Cheers!

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Mini Quiche – Basic

Posted in Appetizers, Breakfast, Side dish, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 13, 2015|

Mini Quiche

Mini Quiche

If you make your own Mørdej (shortcrust or pie/tart dough), typically you’ll have a little left-over dough. What I do with that dough, is rolling it out to a thin round disc, store it in the refrigerator or freezer, until ready to use. If frozen, let them thaw in the refrigerator. Then make these wonderful little Mini Quiches. They are super tasty, can be served as appetizers, breakfast or as a side dish. You can go crazy adding pretty much whatever ingredients you like, or you can make them pretty basic, as I did here. I any case, they are delicious and make great use of that left-over dough.

Making mini quiche

Making mini quiche

Ingredients: (make a many or as few as you like)

frozen dough, thawed

egg, 1 per tart

chives

a sprinkle of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter tart shells (3 1/2 inch or 9 cm) thoroughly with butter. If dough is not already rolled out, roll a small amount of dough into a thin 5 1/2 inch circle (14 cm). Fit dough inside tart shell. Line with tinfoil and beans or pie weights to prevent dough from bubbling up. Pre-bake shells in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove shells from oven, take off foil and pie weights and let rest while eggs are prepared.

Use 1 egg for each shell. Beat each egg with a fork. Add chives and sprinkle a little salt. Pour 1 prepared egg into each shell. Place shells onto a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until center is set. Enjoy!

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Rejesalat med Asparges – Shrimp Salad With White Asparagus

Posted in Appetizers, Danish, Lunch, New Years Eve, Quick and Easy, Salad, Seafood, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 28, 2014| 12 Comments »

Shrimp Salad With White Asparagus

Shrimp Salad With White Asparagus

For a beautiful, warm spring day like today I think we need a light and delicious Shrimp Salad served on a small slice of French bread. I’ve had my eye on this Shrimp Salad for quite some time now, and today is the perfect day for it. The most important thing about making it, is to make sure that you get as much liquid out of the shrimp and asparagus as possible and that is difficult to do with the fragile marinated asparagus without squashing them. I still ended up with a little too much liquid in mine but the salad was still wonderful and very fresh tasting. Perhaps next time I’ll try in addition to gently patting the asparagus dry, also letting them sit for awhile on some paper towels to try and absorb some more liquid. This is a really nice, refreshing Shrimp Salad with a hint of lemon. Enjoy!

Shrimp Salad With White Asparagus

Ingredients:

200 grams small shrimp (peeled, deveined and cooked)

16-18 thin white asparagus (marinated in water)

1 deciliter Hellmann’s mayo

1 tablespoon ketchup

a small sprinkle of fresh lemon juice

a pinch of ground chili powder

Directions:

If using frozen shrimp, defrost, drain and thoroughly pat dry the shrimp. Remove asparagus from marinade water, place on paper towel and gently pat dry. It is important to remove as much liquid from shrimp and asparagus as possible to avoid a wet shrimp salad. Cut asparagus into bite size pieces. In a small bowl add mayo, ketchup, lemon juice and chili powder, stir. Add shrimp and asparagus to mayo mixture and gently mix to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Serve with French bread. Enjoy!

Source: Dalsgaard i Skivholme

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Tarteletter med Høns og Grønærter – Tartlets with Chicken, Peas and Carrots

Posted in Appetizers, Chicken, Danish, Main course, Stock, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 8, 2013| 6 Comments »

Tarteletter with Chicken, Peas and Carrots

Tarteletter with Chicken, Peas and Carrots

Tarteletter is a classic Danish dish. It can be served as an appetizer or as the main course. The Tartelet shell is delicate, flaky and buttery. I have tried to make the tart shells in the past but so far I have not been successful. In the meantime, I purchased these tart shells online and amazingly enough they arrived without a single crack, imagine that 🙂

Tarteletter was probably my all-time favorite meal when I was a little girl and it was the dish I always requested for my birthday.  The way my parents prepared it was with a filling made up of diced ham, carrots and peas in a Béchamel sauce.  For today’s post, however, I chose to replace the ham with chicken, since I was making a chicken stock anyway. When you heat the Tartlets in the oven, make sure it’s done at low temperature and just until they are heated through. These Tarteletter turned out super delicious and it’s still one of my favorite meals.

Ingredients for Homemade Chicken Stock:

2 large split chicken breasts

4 carrots

4 celery sticks

1 large onion, quartered

2 bay leafs

10-15 pepper corns

1 small tablespoon salt

water to cover by 1 inch

Ingredients for Filling: (makes filling for 10 tarteletter)

homemade chicken stock, approx 2-3 cups

small bunch fresh parsley, chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

8-10 oz. frozen peas and carrots

1-2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

salt and pepper, to taste

Tarteletter

Direction for Homemade Chicken Stock:

Place all ingredients in a large cooking pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to medium heat and simmer for 1 1/2 – 2 hours. Strain stock through a sieve, making sure to reserve the stock for later use, refrigerate. Discard vegetables. Allow for chicken to cool completely before cutting into bite size cubes.

Directions for Filling:

Place chicken stock into a saucepan with chopped parsley and bring to medium-low heat, turn off heat and let sit.

Place butter into saucepan and melt over medium heat. Once butter has begun to bubble, add flour and stir vigorously. Allow to simmer for two minutes while stirring often. Add warm chicken stock a little at the time to butter mixture while stirring until desired consistency (a somewhat thickened bechamel sauce). Adjust taste with salt and pepper if needed. Add frozen peas and carrots, allow to heat through. Add cooked cubed chicken and allow to heat through.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place tarteletter on foil and warm in oven for 2-3 minutes.

Fill warm tarteletter with filling and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Source: My Danish Kitchen

Tarteletter

Tarteletter

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Mona’s Rejesalat – Mona’s Shrimp Salad

Posted in Appetizers, Danish, Lunch, New Years Eve, Quick and Easy, Salad, Seafood, tagged , , , , , , , on February 18, 2013| 6 Comments »

Mona's Rejesalat - Mona's Shrimp Salad

Mona’s Rejesalat – Mona’s Shrimp Salad

Once a month I get together with a group of wonderful Danish ladies. We’ll meet for afternoon coffee or dinner and we will talk and catch up on what’s going on in our lives and the world. We take turns hosting the party and there is always something delicious to eat on the table…and oh yes, we sing! 🙂 I guess that deserves an explanation. Well, at Danish parties when the company is good, conversations are stimulating, the food is delicious and maybe (or maybe not) the alcohol is flowing, we lock arms and we sing funny Danish drinking songs. It’s a riot.

Mona Eisenbaum

Mona Eisenbaum

This is the Shrimp Salad that my Danish friend Mona use to serve as an appetizer and it would always disappear very quickly. Mona has since then passed away but her Shrimp Salad lives on at our meetings. Mona was an excellent cook and she would prepare the most delicious dishes for us. She never followed recipes and she told me what was in the Shrimp Salad but no specific amounts. I had tried making it but something was missing and my other Danish friend Kaja finally helped me out with the missing ingredient…pineapple. With this recipe you can choose to turn up the pineapple flavor or the curry, it all depends on your taste buds. I like to be able to taste the curry a little.

Making Shrimp Salad

Making Shrimp Salad

When I make this I use small frozen deveined cooked shrimp. Make sure they are fully thawed and pat them dry with a paper towel, otherwise the salad will be too watery. I hope you try this delicious Shrimp Salad and enjoy!

Mona's Shrimp Salad

Mona’s Shrimp Salad

Mona’s Rejesalat – Mona’s Shrimp Salad

Ingredients:

450 gram cooked, deveined small shrimp (16 oz.)

4 thin slices canned pineapple, diced

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 – 1  teaspoon curry

Directions:

Pat shrimp dry with a paper towel. Dice shrimp and pineapple into small pieces. Add mayonnaise, ketchup and curry, stir gently to combine. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours before serving. Serve on freshly baked white bread. Enjoy!

Source: my late Danish friend Mona Eisenbaum

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Zucchinideller

Posted in Appetizers, Lunch, Main course, Side dish, tagged , , , , , on October 15, 2012| 6 Comments »

Zucchinideller

Ok, so it all started when I made the Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread and discovered that zucchini can be an exciting vegetable. Who knew! I always thought they were dull and not worthy of my attention 🙂 Now I understand why people get so excited when they tell me that they planted zucchini in their garden or that they found the most gorgeous zucchini at the grocery store. It turns out that zucchini is quite the vegetable!

Zucchinideller

So now that I am on this zucchini kick here is a wonderful little recipe for some Zucchinideller. I should probably explain the word Zucchinideller. They are like the Danish meat patties called Frikadeller except there is no meat involved here, only delicious zucchini.

Zucchinideller (makes 6 patties)

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini, grated and drained

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 small bundle chives, chopped

4 tablespoons old-fashioned oats

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 medium fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/2 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

Rinse and dry zucchini. Leaving the peel on, grate the zucchini and squeeze out excess liquid. Place zucchini in a bowl, add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Spray pan with cooking spray and bring to medium-high heat. Drop tablespoons of zucchini onto hot pan and brown both sides of patties. Serve warm and enjoy!

Source: adapted from Dalsgaard i Skivholme

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Bruschetta a la Primo

Posted in Appetizers, Lunch, tagged , , , , on May 14, 2012| 8 Comments »

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is so simple to make, I almost feel a little silly for blogging about it….almost. But with all this warm and sunny Spring weather we have had this year here in Virginia ,I feel inspired to share my Bruschetta with you. It’s a small morsel loaded with flavor. Between the juicy fresh tomatoes, fragrant basil, crunchy bell pepper and wonderful garlic it’s almost flavor overload. I would like to recommend using a flavorful aged Balsamic Vinegar because it really makes a big difference in the outcome. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Bread – French Baguette, toasted

Tomatoes

Red Onion

Yellow Bell Pepper

1 Garlic Clove (1/2 minced, 1/2 for rubbing bread)

Basil leaves

Salt to taste

Balsamic Vinegar

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Parmigiano Reggiano – shredded

Directions:

Remove seeds from tomatoes. Dice tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, 1/2 of garlic clove, place into small bowl. Chop basil leaves and add to tomatoes. Season with salt to taste. Add a small amount of Balsamic Vinegar. Toss together and drain off some of excess liquids. Set aside.

Slice french bread and toast. While toast is still hot, rub toast with the remaining 1/2 garlic clove. Top toast with tomatoes, drizzle with a little more Balsamic Vinegar, olive oil and top with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Shrimp and Crab Salad

Posted in Appetizers, Lunch, New Years Eve, Salad, Seafood, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 19, 2012| 4 Comments »

Shrimp And Crab Salad

I have been looking for a really good seafood salad and I think I finally found it. This recipe is super delicious! I kept the Old Bay down to just a scant 1/2 teaspoon because often times I think the Old Bay is just too overpowering and it ends up ruining the gently seafood flavors. And of course dill, seafood and lemon juice is a match made in heaven. The flavors enhance the more time you let it rest in the refrigerator so I would recommend you make it several hours before serving. This recipe gave me at least four generous servings. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 ounces cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp

4 ounces cooked crab-meat

1 hard-boiled egg, finely diced

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/8 cup celery, finely diced

1 small shallot, finely diced

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

1/2 scant teaspoon Old Bay

Directions:

Peel, devein and cook shrimp until pink (2-3 minutes). Once shrimp has cooled off, cut into bite size pieces and set aside.

In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, celery, shallot, lemon juice, dill and Old Bay, stir to combine. Add shrimp, crab meat and egg. Toss gently to coat with mayo sauce, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour. Serve on fresh bread, crackers, pita wedges or whatever your heat desires. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Panera

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