This is hardly rocketscience food for the swedes, i know. It is a healthier version of swedish meatballs. You see... I am trying to cut out all the half-prepared or readymade meals out of my diet, but im just too lazy to roll all the little meatballs in neat little balls and then fry them all in the pan a few at a time. For one... I have done so, and it always ends with me going stircrazy and all my meatballs ending up flat anyways. I do not have the patience for that. Instead I have been experimenting with preparing hamburgertype patties in the oven. With great success I might add, because this has turned out to be one big success in my family. And I always make enough to freeze and use as panic-prepared lunches and omg-mommy-feed-me-now dinners.
This is what I do.. some might want to add some sort of breadcrumb/milk mixture to it as classic recepies calls for (just google swedish meatballs), but I kind of like having the protein undialuted.
My flat swedish meatballs
1200 grams of lean ground beef (10% maximum is what I use... you may use mixture of pork and elk, or pork and redmeat.. but I keep it simple. )
1 large onion, grated
salt
pepper (white and black)
worshestershire sauce (I dont measure, just drop some on.. tablespoon or more)
bullionsauce or a bullion cube if you have it.
2 eggs
soysauce
1 large ovenpan (use the deep one that comes with the oven) and paper it.
I start with peeling the onion and then I grate it roughly. This makes the onionpieces small enough not to meddle with the shapes of the meatballs afterwards. Also it makes fussy little kids eat without hesitating over the big pieces of onion I otherwise would be serving.
First I put some meat in a large bowl (preferably a bowl dedicated to use for meats.. or a stainless steel one to make sure you can clean it easily. Yes, I am germ-phobic.) and add some of the onion, salt and pepper, more meat and then onion and more seasonings. Then blend it all together well with a spoon or a large wooden fork. Do not overmix, but make sure it is all nicely mixed. Add the worshestershiresauce, bullion and a few drops of soy also, and more seasoning.. dont be afraid of pepper and salt. It needs a lot. Don't tell me if you taste the batter, because i dont want to know. It is just wrong. I wing it, I have never oversalted the meatballs. Crack the eggs and mix them into the batter. Time to shape it. Put the oven on now to 250 degrees celcius (high heat).
If I would make meatballs, i would make them tiny with like just a tablespoon meatbatter. But I am making big honking meatpatties instead, so I use the icecreamscooper to make balls in the same size. Place them close together on the ovenpan. This batter usually make about 30 big balls. Which I then promptly flatten with a spatula. Then I pour a few drops of dark chinese soy ontop and paint them with a brush and once the oven is ready I shove the pan in there somewhere in the uppermiddle and put the timer on 15 minutes. They litterary manage themselves in the oven. I took my time taking care of the kitchen and the dishes while they cooked. After those 15 minutes I turn them over (lots of liquids have spread around the pan now, which you could prolly use as a saucebase if you want to. I don't) and lower the heat slightly to 175 and keep it in the oven for antoher 10 minutes.
These are valuable minutes where you can prepare the rest of the dishes. I suggest veggies such as green beans or broccoli... Tonight I took a very big shortcut and used instant mash potatoes (with a little extra milk and a spoon of butter, little salt and pepper to make it nicer), an instant cream sauce and lingonberry jam. There was also pickled cucumber on the table. Nice nice nice. And the whole batch served 5 adults and 1 kid and there was enough patties left over for another dinner at dads place tomorrow. If I was cooking at home the natural sidedishes would be fullgrain macaroni or bulgur together with veggies or corn. Which incidently is what I am having for lunch tomorrow at work.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Cooking over at my dads place..
Little more than a year ago, my beloved mother suddenly passed away, and left a pretty much devestated family behind her. We can be as many as 17 people around the table somtimes.. on normal days we are atleast 5.. I do not live with my father, only a couple of my brothers does.. but it is a familytradition ever since as long as I can remember, that we often gather for dinner sometimes every day. This is great for me, the single mom with a desire to cook elaborate and calorieheavy desserts, and try them on the pickiest people ever. My older brothers are merciless and tells it as it is. I sometimes rebell against how it is always the womens responsibility to cook whenever one of us sticks our nose in the door... but considering how good they are to me (hey.. they took care of my dentistbills without blinking) i really should be thankful my sole responsibility is to cook every once in a while.
Anyway.. other times my retired dad does the cooking, and this is the funny part. My dad is the type that absolutly could not cook. I have deliberatly tried to forget all the retch-worthy dishes he tried out before mom died. The last year before mom died, she got sick, and he helped her cook while she told him what to do, and I have taught him even more afterwards. Now dad will happily buy cookbooks (I inspirerd him to do that. I am always hanging out in the cookbooksection when we go shopping) and try new recepies. Some really good stuff is being made in his kitchen nowadays. Some old dishes from his past still stays with him though. Like "moms" macaronicasserole. I was making him that yesterday, and while i was chopping the onion and preparing everything he was chatting about how that dish came to be. When my dad was doing his tour of duty in the finnish army, he had written to mom and said that he really missed his moms macaronicasserole and how he wished she could make him something like that on his next visit. Well my mom apparantly braved up and asked her motherinlaw for the recepie. This was way back in the early 1950's and pasta was pretty exotic in the cold north of Finland. Mom had to go to town and specifically buy that, because people just did not have that laying around at home. And ever since that time every time my dad wanted something special he would get this macaronicasserole. It is simple every day type of food, and nothing special for us pasta every day type of people at all if you ask me. I grew up on it, and it is childhood and moms cooking to me. It tastes nice, and even better so the next day when you fry it in a pan. But it just shows how different things are. This dish has been loved by my dad and our family for over 50 years. That is special, and I have never enjoyed this dish more than yesterday when I made it and it tasted exactly how mom made it.
Makaronilaatikko (Macaronicasserole in finnish)
400 g dry macaroni (half a large package here in Sweden, I use Ideal macaroni)
1 large yellow onion
500 grams of ground up beef
salt
white pepper
a little blackpepper
3 eggs
1 liter of milk
salt and pepper
breadcrumbs
an ovendish of some kind. I use an oval pyrexglassdish for this.
Put the water on and halfcook the macaroni, drain the water away and put the macaroni back in pot.
Chop the onion and fry it in a little butter and pour in the beef. Fry it hard, and for a long time.. it should be really dry and even almost reach the point of "burnt". The only seasoning you use is generous ammount of salt and white pepper and a little blackpepper.
Pour it into the macaronipot and blend it with the macaroni. Pour into the ovendish.. the mixture should almost reach the edge of the ovendish. It is fine.
Whisk together eggs and milk, salt and whitepepper. Use alot.. the "eggmix" eats salt like crazy. And pour this over the macaronimix. The mixture should cover the macaroni, but not drown it. Then you sprinkle dry breadcrumbs ontop of the entire dish.
Bake in the middle of the oven on 200 degrees celcius for 40 minutes until the top is a nice browncrisp color and the eggmixture is not runny.
For variation, you can exchange the meat for ham, salami and bacon, or use cheese ontop.
Anyway.. other times my retired dad does the cooking, and this is the funny part. My dad is the type that absolutly could not cook. I have deliberatly tried to forget all the retch-worthy dishes he tried out before mom died. The last year before mom died, she got sick, and he helped her cook while she told him what to do, and I have taught him even more afterwards. Now dad will happily buy cookbooks (I inspirerd him to do that. I am always hanging out in the cookbooksection when we go shopping) and try new recepies. Some really good stuff is being made in his kitchen nowadays. Some old dishes from his past still stays with him though. Like "moms" macaronicasserole. I was making him that yesterday, and while i was chopping the onion and preparing everything he was chatting about how that dish came to be. When my dad was doing his tour of duty in the finnish army, he had written to mom and said that he really missed his moms macaronicasserole and how he wished she could make him something like that on his next visit. Well my mom apparantly braved up and asked her motherinlaw for the recepie. This was way back in the early 1950's and pasta was pretty exotic in the cold north of Finland. Mom had to go to town and specifically buy that, because people just did not have that laying around at home. And ever since that time every time my dad wanted something special he would get this macaronicasserole. It is simple every day type of food, and nothing special for us pasta every day type of people at all if you ask me. I grew up on it, and it is childhood and moms cooking to me. It tastes nice, and even better so the next day when you fry it in a pan. But it just shows how different things are. This dish has been loved by my dad and our family for over 50 years. That is special, and I have never enjoyed this dish more than yesterday when I made it and it tasted exactly how mom made it.
Makaronilaatikko (Macaronicasserole in finnish)
400 g dry macaroni (half a large package here in Sweden, I use Ideal macaroni)
1 large yellow onion
500 grams of ground up beef
salt
white pepper
a little blackpepper
3 eggs
1 liter of milk
salt and pepper
breadcrumbs
an ovendish of some kind. I use an oval pyrexglassdish for this.
Put the water on and halfcook the macaroni, drain the water away and put the macaroni back in pot.
Chop the onion and fry it in a little butter and pour in the beef. Fry it hard, and for a long time.. it should be really dry and even almost reach the point of "burnt". The only seasoning you use is generous ammount of salt and white pepper and a little blackpepper.
Pour it into the macaronipot and blend it with the macaroni. Pour into the ovendish.. the mixture should almost reach the edge of the ovendish. It is fine.
Whisk together eggs and milk, salt and whitepepper. Use alot.. the "eggmix" eats salt like crazy. And pour this over the macaronimix. The mixture should cover the macaroni, but not drown it. Then you sprinkle dry breadcrumbs ontop of the entire dish.
Bake in the middle of the oven on 200 degrees celcius for 40 minutes until the top is a nice browncrisp color and the eggmixture is not runny.
For variation, you can exchange the meat for ham, salami and bacon, or use cheese ontop.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
File medallions in mushroomsauce
One of my favorite easymeals for the whole family has got to be medallions of porkfile in a cream and mushroom sauce served with either bulgur, or for the "exotic foods" challenged family of mine, rice. I made this dinner tonight for me and my kid and it got the thumbs up this time too. You can make double or even triple the portions.. just make sure you make the final sauce in a large pot instead of straight into the pan. That is actually how I most of the time make it, since I have an obnoxiously large family.
Porkfile and cream..
serves 4
1 porkfile sliced (or porkchops works just as well)
butter for the pan
salt and whitepepper (finely pulverised)
1 onion, chopped
1 small can of mushrooms (any kind you like, fresh even if you got them.)
2.5 dl of creme (lowfat works very well. I used Mildas mat with 7%)
soysauce (chinese) a few drops for desired colour
boullion (i use bong, touch of taste.. ox.. about a spoonful or more, i never measure.)
a little blackpepper
This is how you do it:
Start with the sidedish. Put the water on for the bulgur or rice. They will be done just about the same time if you have everything already chopped and prepared.
Fry the porkslices in a little butter until they are done (it takes about 3 minutes per side for me). Season them with salt and pepper ofcourse. Don't fry them all in one go, that will only boil the meat instead of giving it good texture and colour. Just put the finished one to the side until they are all done.
If the pan is very messy, rince it with water. Drop another miniknob of butter in there and fry the onion and the mushrooms, season them with salt and some pepper. Toss all the meat in and pour the cream over it all. Add the soy and bullion.. some more salt and pepper if needed. Let it simmer until it is all good and gooey. If you feel you have too little sauce, feel free to add more cream or milk, creme fraiche other types of dairy.. even garliccreamcheese works like a charm in this. Done just about the time it will take for you to put out the dishes, get some rice and veggies ready.
Enjoy!
I am camera challenged right now, so there will be pictures added at a later time, not to worry.. This dish comes around very often in my family. It's kinda funny actually... It was my mom that showed me how to make it from the beginning, but as soon as I had learned it, she claimed she had never ever made it! Just because this would be a dish that I would be incharge of cooking instead of her when my brothers came and asked for it. My mom was funny that way.
Porkfile and cream..
serves 4
1 porkfile sliced (or porkchops works just as well)
butter for the pan
salt and whitepepper (finely pulverised)
1 onion, chopped
1 small can of mushrooms (any kind you like, fresh even if you got them.)
2.5 dl of creme (lowfat works very well. I used Mildas mat with 7%)
soysauce (chinese) a few drops for desired colour
boullion (i use bong, touch of taste.. ox.. about a spoonful or more, i never measure.)
a little blackpepper
This is how you do it:
Start with the sidedish. Put the water on for the bulgur or rice. They will be done just about the same time if you have everything already chopped and prepared.
Fry the porkslices in a little butter until they are done (it takes about 3 minutes per side for me). Season them with salt and pepper ofcourse. Don't fry them all in one go, that will only boil the meat instead of giving it good texture and colour. Just put the finished one to the side until they are all done.
If the pan is very messy, rince it with water. Drop another miniknob of butter in there and fry the onion and the mushrooms, season them with salt and some pepper. Toss all the meat in and pour the cream over it all. Add the soy and bullion.. some more salt and pepper if needed. Let it simmer until it is all good and gooey. If you feel you have too little sauce, feel free to add more cream or milk, creme fraiche other types of dairy.. even garliccreamcheese works like a charm in this. Done just about the time it will take for you to put out the dishes, get some rice and veggies ready.
Enjoy!
I am camera challenged right now, so there will be pictures added at a later time, not to worry.. This dish comes around very often in my family. It's kinda funny actually... It was my mom that showed me how to make it from the beginning, but as soon as I had learned it, she claimed she had never ever made it! Just because this would be a dish that I would be incharge of cooking instead of her when my brothers came and asked for it. My mom was funny that way.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The unremarkable fishgratine
Everyone needs to eat more fish, right? My shameful secret is that i don't actually have a good clue as to how to prepare fish. I can do fishsticks in the oven, and i can on rare occations, muster up a lovely salmon. But lets face it. Ordinary fish.. not really a big favorite for me.
Well.. this block of whitefish have been sitting in the very back of my freezer for so long, it was nearing my personal "omg, cannot eat somethign thats been in my freezer that long" level. And since I am a frugal and pennypinching taurus, that means that I had to find a recepie and I had to do it now. I started early this morning, preparing kiddo about the coming fish for dinner, and he looked at me and reminded me it has been a very long time since we had pizza. But no can do!
Tonight I served Fishgratine with lemonsauce and cheese, together with potatoes and green beans. And kiddo ate it all, without complaining. Could have something to do with dinner being almost 30 minutes later than usual *sheepish grin*.
I loved it though and will have to repeat this.
Lemonfishgratine (serves 2-3 depending on how large portions you want)
about 15 cm of leek, thorolly rinced and cut up.
1 block of "white" fish, such as Cod (just this once.. it was already too late for these fish to make a political statement regarding the overfishing of our waters..) 600 grams.
lemonjuice
salt
lemonpepper
1 piece of fishbroth (as power)
250 g of minifraiche (5% fat cremefraiche. I am sure you can use anykind of cremecraich, or ordinary cookingcreme)
1 tetra (2.5 dl) of pre-made lemonsauce (Keldas is the brand I used)
small handful of grated cheese ( i used lowfat cheese 12% )
Chop up the leeks and cover the bottom of a small ovensafe dish while you thawing out the fish a little in the microwave until you can separate the fish it into 4 pieces. Place the fish ontop and pour generous ammounts of lemonjuice, and seasoning ontop of the fish. Cover with cremefraiche and pour the sauce over it. Into the oven at 225 degrees celcius until the fish is done.. Start cooking the potatoes and veggies of your choice. After about 20 minutes you can take out the ovendish and cover with a little cheese.. this will give the fish a little more color and a great flavor since the sauce will basically "melt of the fish and not be much of a nuisance at all except as a flavorful cookingliquid, which is wonderful for anyone like me that hate having sauce stack up the calories. Once the cheese has a good color (10-14 minutes) you can consider the fish done. I turned the oven off at this point, keeping the food warm for a little longer until the potatoes were done.
Tasted wonderful, and I wish I had taken a picture, but i was leaning towards "failure" all the way until I ate it.
Kiddo ate it all without hesitation, and rated it "great", which is always a plus. A negative factor to a meal like this is that it wont make me stay full for long. But that is what dessert is good for I guess. Fish is so slimfood anyways.
Cannot be served to the dutchman. He hates fish.
Well.. this block of whitefish have been sitting in the very back of my freezer for so long, it was nearing my personal "omg, cannot eat somethign thats been in my freezer that long" level. And since I am a frugal and pennypinching taurus, that means that I had to find a recepie and I had to do it now. I started early this morning, preparing kiddo about the coming fish for dinner, and he looked at me and reminded me it has been a very long time since we had pizza. But no can do!
Tonight I served Fishgratine with lemonsauce and cheese, together with potatoes and green beans. And kiddo ate it all, without complaining. Could have something to do with dinner being almost 30 minutes later than usual *sheepish grin*.
I loved it though and will have to repeat this.
Lemonfishgratine (serves 2-3 depending on how large portions you want)
about 15 cm of leek, thorolly rinced and cut up.
1 block of "white" fish, such as Cod (just this once.. it was already too late for these fish to make a political statement regarding the overfishing of our waters..) 600 grams.
lemonjuice
salt
lemonpepper
1 piece of fishbroth (as power)
250 g of minifraiche (5% fat cremefraiche. I am sure you can use anykind of cremecraich, or ordinary cookingcreme)
1 tetra (2.5 dl) of pre-made lemonsauce (Keldas is the brand I used)
small handful of grated cheese ( i used lowfat cheese 12% )
Chop up the leeks and cover the bottom of a small ovensafe dish while you thawing out the fish a little in the microwave until you can separate the fish it into 4 pieces. Place the fish ontop and pour generous ammounts of lemonjuice, and seasoning ontop of the fish. Cover with cremefraiche and pour the sauce over it. Into the oven at 225 degrees celcius until the fish is done.. Start cooking the potatoes and veggies of your choice. After about 20 minutes you can take out the ovendish and cover with a little cheese.. this will give the fish a little more color and a great flavor since the sauce will basically "melt of the fish and not be much of a nuisance at all except as a flavorful cookingliquid, which is wonderful for anyone like me that hate having sauce stack up the calories. Once the cheese has a good color (10-14 minutes) you can consider the fish done. I turned the oven off at this point, keeping the food warm for a little longer until the potatoes were done.
Tasted wonderful, and I wish I had taken a picture, but i was leaning towards "failure" all the way until I ate it.
Kiddo ate it all without hesitation, and rated it "great", which is always a plus. A negative factor to a meal like this is that it wont make me stay full for long. But that is what dessert is good for I guess. Fish is so slimfood anyways.
Cannot be served to the dutchman. He hates fish.
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