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Archive for the ‘Main course’ Category

Chicken and Sausage Orzo

The star of this delicious dish is Orzo which is a small rice-shaped pasta. I would like to point out that Orzo comes in slightly different sizes (from small to smaller) and so they can vary a little in cooking time. Make sure you taste the pasta for doneness and you can always add a small splash of extra chicken stock if the Orzo needs to cook a couple of minutes longer. At first glance this recipe seems labor intensive because it has both sausage and chicken in it, but really it’s not. Making the dish is simply a matter of tossing everything into one cooking pot, so clean-up is a breeze, and I just love the flavor combination that’s going on here within this dish.

Chicken and Sausage Orzo (6 servings)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 spicy italian sausages, casings removed (9.5 oz or 270 g)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (1.2 lbs or 540 g)

3 cups chicken stock, plus more if needed (709 ml)

1/2 cup tomato sauce (118 ml)

1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo (280 g)

salt to taste

1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (25 g)

a big handful parsley, chopped

Directions:

In a large cooking pot, break up sausage and cook over medium-high heat, remove sausage from cooking pot and set aside. Using the grease from the sausage, add raw chicken pieces and cook until no longer pink. Add cooked sausage back into pan. Add chicken stock and tomato sauce, lower heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Once liquid is bubbling add uncooked orzo and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until orzo is tender. Add a little more stock if liquid is cooking off too fast. Add cheese, parsley and salt to taste, stir and serve. Enjoy!

Source: slightly adapted from Food Wishes

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Stuvet Hvidkål

Stuvet Hvidkål

As a child we occasionally had Stuvet Hvidkål with Frikadeller and my Mom makes the best stewed cabbage in the world, of course 😘 I have not served this dish myself very often because my son and husband was not terribley thrilled with the idea of stewed cabbage. However, I just had such a craving for it the other day and my husband actually liked it, even told me three times that it was really delicious. So either he was starving to death or it was super delicious. I think super delicious!

Stuvet Hvidkål (4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

1 small white cabbage head

2 1/2 dl reserved water from cabbage

4 tablespoon salted butter

4 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Milk, to desired consistency

Fresh ground Nutmeg, to taste

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Discard outer cabbage leaves. Divide cabbage head into four quarters, cut out core and chop cabbage into bite-size pieces. Boil cabbage in lightly salted water for 10 minutes. Reserve 2 1/2 cups of cabbage water, drain cabbage.

Melt butter over medium heat, add flour and whisk for 1-2 minutes until roux takes on a light golden color. Slowly add milk in small increments whisking constantly until you have a thick roux, then add cabbage water in small increments continuing to whisk until desired consistency. (If Bechamel sauce is still too thick at this point you can add a little more milk). Season to taste with fresh ground nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add cabbage to sauce and simmer covered for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot with some wonderful Frikadeller. Enjoy and Velbekomme.

Bechamel Sauce

Bechamel Sauce

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Nem Leverpostej

Nem Leverpostej

There are many, many different ways you can make Danish Leverpostej, as you can see in my other recipe here, and sometimes the process can be a bit lengthy. So I have been looking for a quick and easy recipe that would still give you a delicious Liver pate, and I don’t think it can get any simpler than this wonderful Leverpostej.

Nem Leverpostej

Nem Leverpostej

A quick word about liver. In my opinion, Pork liver will give you the best flavor and texture for your Liverpostej. Calf liver is your second best choice but it has a stronger liver taste. You can also use Chicken liver but the texture becomes too “mousse like” or creamy for my taste. So my first choice will always be Pork liver even though sometimes it can be a real challenge to find.

Liver Pate (makes three 1 pint ramekins plus one small foil pan)

Ingredients:

250 gram butter (8.8 oz)

500 gram pork liver (17.6 oz)

2 medium onion

2 eggs

1 teaspoon anchovy paste

70 gram all-purpose flour (2.5 oz)

1/2 deciliter whipping creme (1.7 fl oz)

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

bacon for decoration, optional

Directions:

Melt butter. Cut onion and liver into chunks. Place liver, onion, melted butter and remaining ingredients into a food processor, except bacon, and process for 3-5 minutes until smooth. Pour liver mixture into baking dish and if desired decorate with bacon. When ready to bake Liver Pate, fill an oven-proof dish with hot water 1/2 way up the side of the baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 to 1 1/2 hour depending on the baking dish size.

If freezing raw liver pate, cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and store in freezer safe bags. Thaw liver pate in refrigerator for 24 hours before baking.

Note: This recipe will give you enough liver pate to fill three 1 pint ramekins and one small foil pan or 1 large and 1 small foil pan.

Source: adapted from foodfanatic

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Veggie Roll-up Lasagna

Veggie Lasagna Roll-up

My husband Joe is a meat lover so when I told him that I was making vegetable lasagna roll-up he immediately wrinkled his nose and I assured him that he was going to love it. And while I was cooking the sauce he kept asking me if I was adding some sausage to the sauce, but I stood my ground with a firm “no” 🙂 And when it finally came time to taste the much anticipated lasagna roll-up, guess what, he loved it and I must say that this recipe really is wonderful…even without meat.

Separate and cover noodles until ready to use. Spread ricotta cheese, roll tightly, place in pan.

Separate and cover noodles until ready to use. Spread ricotta cheese, roll tightly, place in pan.

I am always looking for good recipes that you can cook ahead, freeze and then thaw and cook for those nights when you come home tired from a long day at work. I love this recipe because it can be made into small portions, it is loaded with delicious vegetables and there is less cheese involved than a regular lasagna. Of course you can always add some meat to the recipe or change the vegetables around as you please, but all kidding aside, this recipe will definitely be a staple recipe here at our house and sometimes there may even be some meat in it.

Layer: sauce, rolled up noodles, sauce and a thin layer of cheese.

Layer: sauce, rolled up noodles, sauce and a thin layer of cheese.

Veggie Lasagna Roll-up, makes 3 foil loaf-size pans

Ingredients:

12 lasagna noodles

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 orange bell pepper, diced

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 zucchini, cut into bite size chunks

1 yellow squash, cut into bite size chunks

mushrooms, sliced or diced

1 cup white wine

salt and pepper, to taste

14 oz diced tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

For the cheese filling:

15 oz ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

large bunch fresh basil

salt and pepper

For the topping:

Your favorite Italian cheese (I used a store-bought blend of Mozzarella, Asiago, Provolone and Romano)

Directions:

Cook lasagna noodles in salted water according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water. Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap and place one layer of noodles, alternate plastic wrap with noodles ending with plactic wrap on top, to prevent the noodles from drying out. Set aside.

To make sauce: heat olive oil in a large cooking pot, add onions and bell pepper, cook until onions are starting to turn translucent. Add garlic, zucchini, squash and mushrooms, cook for a few minutes. Pour in wine and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add salt and pepper, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, your favorite marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese, simmer 15-20 minutes.

To make cheese filling: in a small bowl add ricotta cheese, egg, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and chopped basil, stir to combine.

To assemble: line up 3 loaf-size foil pans. Spoon a small amount of sauce into bottom of loaf pan. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles and spread each noodle with a thin layers of ricotta cheese mix. Roll each noodle up tightly and place on top of sauce inside foil pan. 4 rolled up noodle will fit inside each pan. Top noodles with more sauce and your favorite cheese. Close pan off with tinfoil. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cook immediately or let cool down in refrigerator before placing in freezer.

When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees F and cook covered for 40 minutes. Turn heat up to 400 degrees F and continue to cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until cheese is golden in color. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Ree Drummond

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Skidne Æg (Smiling Eggs In Mustard Sauce)

Skidne Æg (Smiling Eggs In Mustard Sauce)

I think it’s about high time that I make something Danish again and with Easter approaching I thought this lunch or dinner plate would be great. For this particular Danish dish, I choose to rename the dish rather than translating it because the name is not all that appetizing. If you google translate the name it gives you “dirty” or “filthy” eggs, and so smiling eggs sounds a little better to me.

Skidne Æg is an old-fashioned dish and today in Denmark it can still be found on the Danish Easter lunch table, but it can be served anytime really. It used to be served on the Saturday before Easter which was known as Skiden Lørdag (dirty Saturday). I should explain that in Denmark this Saturday is flanked by two holidays on either side; Skærtorsdag (Maundy Thursday) and Langfredag (Good Friday) on one side and Påske (Easter) and Anden Påskedag (Easter Monday) on the other side. So the Saturday in-between the holidays was the day when you were busy cleaning house from having company and needed something easy for dinner, and this is indeed a very easy and delicious dish.

When you make Skidne Æg you can use a spicy mustard or perhaps a milder Dijon mustard or a whole grain mustard, just choose whichever is your favorite mustard. When you cook the eggs you want them to be, what in Danish is referred to as “smiling” eggs. The outer layer of the yolk should be slightly firm and the yolk center soft, so not hard boiled and not soft boiled, but in-between. Actually, I like them a little more on the soft boiled side, so again boil the eggs the way you like them 🙂 I hope you enjoy this classic Danish dish.

Skidne Æg (serves 2)

Ingredients:

4 eggs

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1/2 liter milk (16 oz)

3 tablespoon mustard (your favorite kind)

salt to taste

Serving suggestions:

toasted dark rye bread (Rugbrød), fresh fried chopped bacon, top with chives

Directions:

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add eggs and boil until soft boiled (cooking time varies depending on egg size, I used a size large egg and boiled for 7 minutes). When done boiling, pour out boiling water, add cold water and let sit for 1 minute. Peel eggs and set aside.

Meanwhile in a small pan, melt butter. Once butter is melted add flour and whisk vigorously while cooking for 1-2 minutes. Add milk in increments while stirring until you have a slightly thick Bechamel sauce. Add mustard, stir and let simmer for another two minutes. Season with salt to taste. Add boiled eggs to sauce and allow to heat through. Serve with toasted dark rye bread and enjoy!

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Italiensk Oksebov - Italian Beef Stew

Italiensk Oksebov – Italian Beef Stew

This winter seems to be going on forever and I don’t recall it ever being this cold in Virginia before. We, of course, have not had the extreme amount of snow that the rest of the country have experienced, but we did get one big snowfall which turned out to be a lot of fun. All the neighbors in our neighborhood, got together and helped shovel snow from each other’s driveways, and the day was wrapped up with a party, with lots of good food, at a neighbors house.

And so while we all continue to hunker down inside our homes, waiting for spring to arrive, I can recommend this wonderful Italian beef stew which is sure to warm your soul. I adapted this recipe from a Danish food blog called Dalsgaard i Skivholme, which I enjoy reading. The stew is very flavorful and equally good with or without the Rosemary, so I left the Rosemary as optional. Also the original recipe had white beans in it which I left out due to danger that my cooking pot would otherwise overflow. Please enjoy!

Italiensk Oksebov – Italian Beef Stew

Ingredients:

500 gram beef cubes

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

14 oz diced tomatoes

7 oz tomato sauce

1 glass white wine

chili powder – a dash

sugar – a dash

apple cider vinegar – a splash (1-2 tablespoons)

fresh rosemary, 1 twig

Directions:

Trim beef cubes and cut into bite-size pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a large pan to medium-high heat and sear beef in small portions. After searing beef, place the meat into a large cooking pot and add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Lower heat of pan to medium-low, add a 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onions to pan and cook until translucent, add garlic and cook for 1 additional minute. Pour onion and garlic into the seared meat in cooking pot. Add mushrooms to pan and cook until slightly golden, add wine and simmer for another minute. Add mushrooms and wine into the beef mixture. Add chili powder, sugar and apple cider vinegar to beef stew. Add fresh rosemary (chopped or whole) to stew and let simmer over low heat for 1-2 hours. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Dalsgaard i Skivholme

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Garlic and Anchovy Farfalle

Garlic and Anchovy Farfalle

Now that the holidays are over and we are settling back into our everyday routines, I think we need something quick and easy on the dinner menu. And this pasta dish is so easy to make, not to mention very delicious. The recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis and I just made some slight little changes. Enjoy!

Fresh Baby Spinach

Fresh Baby Spinach

Garlic and Anchovy Farfalle (serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

1 pound farfalle pasta

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon anchovy paste

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

3 cloves of garlic, minced

5 cups baby spinach leaves (6 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook until tender. Drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

Rinse spinach in cold water, drain and set aside. In a large pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add anchovy paste, red pepper flakes and garlic, cook for until aromatic, 1-2 minutes.  Add spinach and salt, cook until wilted, about 3 minutes.

Add cooked pasta to pan, add 1/2 of the grated cheese to pasta, add some of the reserved pasta water to pan, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Pour pasta into serving dish and top with remaining cheese. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

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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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Svensk Pølseret

Svensk Pølseret

Svensk pølseret is a well-known Danish stew that I think most Danes have had on occasion. It is not a Swedish dish, as the name would have you believe, but rather it seems to have come from a summer camp experience in Sweden and was created by using up the last bits of foods in the pantry. And that is what makes this dish so great, it allows you to use up your left-over potatoes and it’s quick and very easy to make on a busy weeknight. I made it many years ago and then forgot about it until my family came to visit. Traditionally Svensk pølseret is made with paprika but in my sisters version she is using curry instead which taste absolutely wonderful and adds a nice heat to the dish.

Making Svensk Pølseret

Making Svensk Pølseret

My sister Jonna making Svensk Pølseret

My sister Jonna making Svensk Pølseret

Svensk Pølseret (6 servings)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 medium onion, diced

6-7  hot dogs, sliced

2 1/2 lbs left-over cold cooked potatoes, cubed

1 cup ketchup

2 cups milk

2-3 tsp curry

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper (optional for extra heat)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Chives, for garnish

Directions:

Potatoes are peeled, cooked and drained, placed in refrigerator overnight.

Dice onion and hotdogs. Cut cold potatoes into cubes. Mix ketchup and milk together and set aside. Cook onions in a small amount of olive oil until translucent, add hotdogs and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add curry, salt, pepper and garlic powder, cook for another minute. Add potatoes and ketchup/milk mixture, stir gently to combine. Turn heat down to low and continue to simmer very gently for another 30-45 minutes. Garnish with chives and serve with warm dinner rolls and enjoy.

Source: my sister Jonna Pedersen

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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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