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1 Year Blog Anniversary

May 3, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Happy Blogaversary to me! 🙂 May 1st marked the One Year Anniversary for My Danish Kitchen and it’s hard to believe how fast it went by. 84 posts and 778 comments later I can honestly say that this has been an incredible ride. The biggest surprise has without a doubt been, that I did not expect to be making so many new friends, not to mention, all the very kind comments that people has left on the various posts. Thank you for your kindness.

I was looking at my Stats to see which posts got the most views. They all pleased me, but one surprised me. My Danish Agurkesalat – Cucumber Salad came in as #2, really ? It’s wonderfully refreshing, crunchy and delicious, don’t get me wrong, but it surprised me that it was a salad that was the second most viewed food on My Danish Kitchen. If I would have guessed on which food got the most views I would have guessed KoldskĂĄl since it seemed to get a lot of Buzz at the time and it is such a unique dish. Now that I see it was the Cake Balls that came in as #1, I am not surprised because they were indeed super-duper delicious and I was also so pleased to see the Danish Kiksekage being high on the list, since it is one of my favorites. Actually, they are all my favorites! In any case, here are the Top 10 posts from My Danish Kitchen from my first year of blogging.

#1 Red Velvet Cake Ball

#2 Agurkesalat – Cucumber Salad

#3 KoldskĂĄl

#4 Kiksekage – Chocolate Bisquit Cake

#5 Ris a la mande

#6 Florentine Cookies

#7 Napoleon Hats

#8 Pebernødder

#9 Risengrød

#10 Fruit Tart

My Danish Kitchen

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CitronmĂĄne – Lemon Moon Cake

April 25, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

CitronmĂĄne – Lemon Moon Cake

First of all, I want to say Thank You to everyone for your well wishes to my husband. These last couple of weeks have indeed been trying times but I am glad to say that he is slowly getting better. It is heartwarming to see the closeness and kindness there is within the Food Blogging community and it was something that I did not expect to find when I first started my little food blog. And so, now that I am going to start doing some blogging again, it may not be quite as frequently as in the past, I am very excited to show you this Danish CitronmĂĄne which I translated into Lemon Moon Cake. A while back I got several inquiries about this particular cake but it was not a cake that I had any particular memories attached to. But I got curious and started researching different recipes. Then I came across this one and it sounded very delicious, and when I made it, it did not disappoint. It is moist, lemony and very zesty. I used Danish Marzipan with 60 % Almonds and Danish Butter, but I’m sure any old butter will do just fine. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Marzipan and Danish Butter

Dough A

Dough A and Dough B combined

Ingredients:

Dough A:

125 gram marzipan (4.4 ounces)

85 g. sugar (3 oz.)

50 g. butter (1.8 oz.) (room temperature)

75 g. whole egg (2.6 oz.) (room temperature)

Dough B:

250 gram butter (8.8 oz.) (room temperature)

1 whole vanilla bean

125 g. confectioners sugar (4.4 oz.)

125 g. sugar (4.4 oz.)

150 g. whole egg (5.3 oz.) (room temperature)

100 g. egg yolks (3.5 oz.) (room temperature)

190 g. flour (6.7 oz.)

65 g. corn starch (2.3 oz.)

1 organic lemon ( zest and juice)

Lemon glaze:

150 g. confectioners sugar (5.3 oz.)

1 organic lemon (zest and 1/2 lemon juice)

very small amount of cold water, if needed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).

Dough A: Knead marzipan and sugar together using hands. Knead butter into marzipan in small increments. Add egg and knead into marzipan mixture, set aside.

Dough B: Cut open vanilla bean and scrape out seeds. Place butter, vanilla seeds, confectioners sugar and sugar into a bowl and mix together until creamy. Add eggs one at a time while mixing just until combined. Sift flour, corn starch, add lemon zest and lemon juice  into wet ingredients and gently incorporate using a spatula. Add Dough A to Dough B and stir just until combined.

Pour dough into a greased spring-form and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back when lightly touched in the center. Let cool completely.

Lemon glaze: Zest from one lemon is spread out on a small plate and allowed to air dry until cake is ready to get glazed. Mix confectioners sugar, juice from 1/2 lemon and a few drop of cold water if needed. Gently warm glaze in a small pan and quickly spread out over cake. Immediately sprinkle with dried lemon zest. Enjoy.

CitronmĂĄne in springform pan

CitronmĂĄne

Source: Det Søde Liv

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Posted in Cake, Danish, Dessert | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Æblekage med Makroner – Apple Cake with Macaroons

April 4, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Æblekage med Makroner og Flødeskum

Here is a Danish Apple Cake with crushed Macaroons. It is not a “cake” per se but rather a sweet, cold and refreshing dessert. Make sure to adjust the amount of sugar to your liking, taking into account that the macaroons are also very sweet. The macaroons I used here are very crisp and crumble easily. This dessert is easy and quick to make, not to mention delicious and often served for afternoon or evening tea/coffee in Denmark.

Ingredients:

6 sweet apples, peeled and sliced

2 cinnamon sticks

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out

1/2 to 1 cup sugar, to taste

1/4 cup of water

macaroons

whipping cream

Directions:

Peel, core and slice apples, place in a cooking pot. Add cinnamon sticks, scraped out vanilla seeds and vanilla bean, sugar and water to the pot. Heat to medium heat and cook covered for 10 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks and vanilla bean. Place apples in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Place in refrigerator and allow to cool.

To assemble Apple Cake in a serving dish or glasses start with a layer of apple sauce then a layer of crushed macaroons. Repeat layers making sure to end with a layer of apple sauce. Before serving beat whipping cream until desired consistency and layer on top of apple sauce. If desired, you can place small dollops of your favorite preserves for decoration. Enjoy!

Peeled, cored and sliced apples

Danish Makroner (Macaroons)

Æblekage med Makroner

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Posted in Danish, Dessert | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Chicken Pot Pie

March 28, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Chicken Pot Pie in ramekin

Chicken Pot Pie is a regular visitor at our house especially during the winter months when you need some warm comfort food. However, I have been known to serve piping hot pot pie  in the middle of summer if the mood strikes. Recently we’ve had some nice warm spring days here in Virginia but then it turned cold again (they even threatened us with snow) and so the mood was set for a wonderful warm Chicken Pot Pie.

In this post I wanted to share two different versions of my Pot Pie. They are both equally good, one is just quicker than the other. I like to use either Cilantro or Thyme but you can use whatever is your favorite herb. Sometimes I make it as a 2 crust pie, sometimes in ramekins with a top crust, which is what I did in this recipe.

Here’s a little interesting Pot Pie trivia for you. Did you know that the crust in pot pie was typically not eaten but placed there to keep the taste of the iron pot away from the food. “ONE CRUST OR TWO?” Leslie Land, Los Angeles Times, September 24, 1992 (p. H11)

Chicken Pot Pie Ingredients

Ingredients:

3 skinless boneless chicken breasts, diced

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 small onion, chopped

2-3 tablespoon dry sherry

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen carrots

4-5 sprigs fresh Thyme or Cilantro

Pepperidge Farm puff pastry

1 egg, for glazing pie crust

Quick version sauce:

1 – 2  cans Cream of Chicken with Herbs (10 3/4 oz cans)

Homemade version sauce:

5 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup flour

chicken stock

Chicken Pot Pie filling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degree F.

Clean chicken and cut into bite size pieces. Season chicken with salt, pepper. Spray pan with cooking spray and lightly brown chicken, remove from pan and cover with foil to keep warm. Add chopped onion and cook over medium heat until translucent. Add chicken back into pan and then add sherry and simmer for 1 minute.

For quick version sauce: add cans of Cream of Chicken with Herbs, peas, carrots and Thyme. Simmer covered 10-15 minutes.

For homemade version sauce: in small saucepan melt butter, then add flour and whisk until combined, simmer 1-2 minutes to remove flour taste. Add chicken stock while whisking until desired consistency. Add sauce to onions in pan. Then add peas, carrots, Thyme and simmer covered 10-15 minutes.

Add chicken filling to ramekins. Unfold puff pastry and cut out circles 1 inch bigger than ramekin size. Cover filled ramekins with circles of dough. Beat egg with fork and brush onto dough to give a nice golden finish. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. If dough is browning too fast cover loosely with foil. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy.

Chicken Pot Pie made as a 2 crust pie

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Posted in Chicken, Comfort food, Main course, Pie | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments »

Cookie Shop Chocolate Chip Cookies

March 21, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Cookie Shop Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of my favorite baking books is The Good Cookie book which was given to me a long time ago. This is my “go to” cookie book and I have used it time and time again. I particularly love this Cookie Shop Chocolate Chip Cookie because it has rolled oats in the dough. What’s not to like about wonderful oats:)  Helpful hint: when shaping the dough try to handle as little as possible. If the dough becomes warm, it is more likely to spread and the cookies will loose their shape.

Oats and chocolate chip

Ground oats and chips

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels, divided

1 cup (2 sticks) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature 

Directions:

Place two racks near the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a food processor, combine oats and 1/2 cup chocolate morsels and process until finely ground, about 45 seconds. Stir the oat mixture into the flour mixture and set aside.

In the bowl of an electrical mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides as needed. At low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the remaining 2 cups chocolate morsels.

Measure out rounded tablespoonfuls of dough and, using wet hands, roll each portion into a ball. Arrange balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten the balls into 1 3/4 inch disks.

Bake the cookies, two sheets at a time, for 9 to 13 minutes, just until golden brown. Switch positions of the baking sheets halfway through baking time. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

Cookie Shop Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: slightly adapted from The Good Cookie

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Posted in Chocolate, Cookies | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Chicken Parmesan

March 14, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Chicken Parmesan

Yesterday turned out to be the most beautiful Spring day and you could almost palpate the excitement in the air. Flowers have started to bloom and it was mild and warm. You saw people out and about everywhere, smiling, walking, some daring to dress in shorts and flip-flops. Joe and I ventured to Lowe’s and picked up a new swing for the front porch. This particular swing folds down so you can stretch out and take a nap on it. Boy oh boy, I can hardly wait to be gently swinging, reading a book and dozing off in the summer breeze 🙂

So what does that have to do with Chicken Parmesan? absolutely nothing! But I have been messing around with this dish for quite some time now, trying to drive in the flavor to what I consider the perfect piece of Chicken Parmesan. Tender, yet crisp, with just the right amount of that wonderful Parmigiano Reggiano flavor in the breading. This is what I have come up with and it is very delicious, if I may say so myself. Happy Spring everyone.

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper

1 cup flour

2 eggs

1 cup plain bread crumbs

3/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated, plus more for topping

2 teaspoons italian seasoning

extra virgin olive oil for frying

mozzarella cheese, shredded, for topping

your favorite Marinara sauce, preheated

Directions:
Rinse chicken with cold water and cut away any remaining fat. Place each of the chicken breasts, one at the time, in a large zip lock bag, close and pound the chicken flat to approximately 3/4 inch thickness. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Mix together bread crumbs, cheese and italian seasoning and set aside. Dip chicken in flour and shake off excess. Next dip chicken breast in eggs, let excess drip off. Then place chicken in bread crumb mixture and coat to cover. Place chicken on a clean plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts.

Preheat a large pan to medium-high heat. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place chicken breasts in pan and brown, 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and place chicken in an oven proof dish. Pour your favorite preheated marinara sauce over and around the chicken breasts, top with mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Finish cooking chicken in oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through.

Chicken Parmesan

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Posted in Chicken, Italien, Main course | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Tortellini Soup

March 7, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Tortellini Soup

I was searching high and low for something to make for dinner when I came across this recipe. It’s a wonderful Tortellini soup that is so quick and easy to make, perfect for when you get home from work and you’re too tired to make anything that requires any complex thinking. The ingredients are simple and you probably already have most of them on hand. I used a three cheese tortellini which brought a wonderful subtle cheese flavor into the soup but any type of tortellini would do great. An added bonus is that the soup also is perfect for left-over lunch the next day 🙂 

Ingredients:

olive oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices

4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock

9 oz. tortellini

3 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed

salt and pepper, to taste

Parmesano reggiano, grated for serving

Directions:

In a large pot heat olive oil to medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Mix in dried oregano and diced tomatoes. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Add tortellini and cook according to package directions. When tortellini is cooked, add baby spinach and remove from heat. Once the spinach has wilted, 1 to 2 minutes, serve warm with grated Parmesano reggiano cheese. Enjoy.

Source: originally from The Well-Fed Newlyweds via Annie’s Eats

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Posted in Comfort food, Italien, Lunch, Main course, Quick and Easy, Soup | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Cremelinser – Custard Filled Tarts

February 28, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Cremelinser with Cherry Sauce

As you may have heard me say before, I am a big sucker for Custard. Whenever I make something with Custard I always make sure to leave one or two big spoonfuls in the bowl for me to taste. Well I have been craving that sweet vanilla flavor lately and when I came across these delicate little cremelinsers I knew that I had to make them immediately. And so I did. The Custard did not disappoint, it turned out fluffy and creamy. I thought the Cremelinser’s should be served with a sauce  and what I wanted to make was a raspberry sauce, but I was not able to find any plump fresh raspberries so I made a cherry sauce instead which was equally delicious. Please enjoy!

Cremelinser

Ingredients:

For the dough:

150 grams cold butter (about 10 tablespoons)

250 grams flour (1 2/3 – 2 cups)

60 grams sugar ( 1/3 cup)

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon cold water

For the Custard filling:

2.5 deciliter milk (1 cup)

1/2 vanilla bean

2 tablespoons sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

Making the filling:

Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds with the tip of a knife. Place vanilla seeds, bean and milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale in color and fluffy. Add cornstarch and mix together. While continuing to beat the eggs, slowly pour half of the hot milk into the eggs to temper it. Then pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan and return to low temperature on the stove. Continue to whisk mixture over low temperature until the custard starts to thicken, making sure the custard does not boil. Remove from heat, place in a small bowl, cover with cling wrap directly on the custard surface to prevent a skin from forming and place in refrigerator to cool.

Making the dough:

Cut cold butter into small cubes, add to flour and crumble butter and flour together. Add egg yolks, sugar and cold water and quickly bring dough together using your hands. Form dough into a flattened disk, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit)

Dust working surface with flour and roll out dough to about 3 mm thickness. Using a 10 cm (4 inch) circle cut out ten circles. Spray five 9 cm (3 1/2 inch) tart forms with cooking spray. Place a round circle of dough in tart form and gently press dough into form. Fill dough tart form with custard up 2/3 to the top and place a second circle on top, pressing down gently to close. Pinch off excess dough around the edges. Makes 5 tarts. Place tarts directly onto the rack in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool down completely before removing from tart form and serve. Enjoy.

Cremelinser

Dough filled with Custard

Put a lid on it

Source: adapted from Grydeskeen

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Posted in Danish, Dessert | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments »

Beef in Paprika Sauce

February 21, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Beef in Paprika

The nice thing about living in Virginia is that Spring comes early and fall stays late. Our winter is short and yes we did get a fair amount of snow this year but the snow melted away within a couple of days. And so now that Spring is slowly approaching (we have already had a couple of wonderful warm days in the 70’s 🙂 yes we are lucky indeed) but before Spring really takes a hold on us I think we can squeeze in one more dish of what I consider a comfort food. This is a wonderful beef stew with a mild and sweet paprika flavor, onions, tomatoes and tender mushrooms. It becomes even more delicious when served with a slightly perfumed Jasmine rice…my all-time favorite rice. So before the tiny buds burst into brilliant green and we all start sneezing again there is still time for one more hardy meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs cubed beef

1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika

1 teaspoon salt

olive oil for browning

1 onion, diced

6 large mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken stock

3 sprigs fresh thyme

salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoon sour cream

water and cornstarch

Directions:

Trim off excess fat and cut beef cubes into bite size pieces. Season meat with paprika and salt. Place beef cubes in hot pan and brown, careful not to crowd the pan. You may have to brown meat in batches. Once meat is browned remove to a plate and set aside.

Add onions to pan and cook until translucent, then move onions to outer edge of pan and add mushrooms. Cook mushrooms until they just start to soften. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.

Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, chicken stock and thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover and let simmer for 1/2 to 1 hour. Add sour cream and stir. Mix cold water and cornstarch in a cup to make a slurry and add into simmering beef stew in small increments until desired thickened consistency. Serve over Jasmine rice. Enjoy!

Beef in Paprika

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Posted in Beef, Comfort food, Main course, Stew | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments »

Smørrebrød – med Rejer (with Shrimp)

February 14, 2011 by mydanishkitchen

Smørrebrød – med Rejer

Sometime during the Fall Joe and I stopped in at one of my favorite stores IKEA to do some shopping. Of course we had to have lunch at Ikea…its a must, you know.  They had a wonderful piece of Smørrebrød loaded with egg and shrimp, simply delicious. And so this is my recreation of that wonderful piece of Smørrebrød. It has since then become a weekend lunch favorite at our house. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 slice Rugbrød (dark Rye bread)

butter (at room temperature)

lettuce

1 hard-boiled egg, sliced

salad shrimp

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt and pepper

mayonnaise

Directions:

Place salad shrimp in a small bowl and toss with lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread a thin layer of butter onto rugbrød (if desired) and place lettuce on top. Then top with sliced egg, shrimp and mayonnaise. Enjoy.

Source: My Danish Kitchen

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Posted in Danish, Seafood, Smørrebrød | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments »

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