The world cuisine chosen for January's My Kitchen, My World was from the country of Denmark.
At the beginning of the month, I promised myself I would not let time get away from me and really embrace this country's cuisine, hoping that I would get something posted early. Hmmm...the month got away from me and today I was frantically searching for something, anything at all that I could make and post albeit a day late. Actually this turned out to be not a bad deal as I have two quick side dishes and a dessert that take no time to prepare and represent Denmark quite nicely.
The first is Danish Blue Cheese Salad and not only does it taste great, but the ingredients are ones that are easily found fresh this time of year (no trying to incorporate those mealy dry tomatoes that taste like nothing resembling a summer tomato).
I did manage to find some Danish Blue cheese (Rosenborg) as I thought that would be fun to try and I am very fond of that now. The cheese has that tangy blue cheese flavor and yet it has a creaminess that melts in your mouth and tastes of grass-fed summertime cow's milk (okay, you might have to be a farm chick from Iowa to understand this, but I know of what I speak in this regard).
The second recipe is Sweet-Sour Cucumber Salad, which from everything I have read, is a staple in one form or another on every Danish/Scandinavian table pretty much every day. I love things with a vinegary taste and that coupled with the little bit of sweetness in the dressing for this salad from the sugar, was a nice refreshing dish to accompany our Ruben sandwiches (not Danish but perfect on a rainy snowy sleety day).
The third recipe is Rodgrad med Flode (Red Fruit Pudding with Cream) and oh was this good. I liked that it was made with frozen raspberries so you can make it any time of the year, like now for instance when the red raspberries in the store are like the red tomatoes in the store, sort of tasteless and not worth the money or effort to coax them along. This dessert is a perfect way to end a winter meal with something bright, beautiful, and delicious!
So there you have it, a small taste of Denmark which will leave you wanting to keep exploring more complicated recipes and realizing that even the easy ones are tasty and delightful.
Danish Blue Cheese Salad
Serves 4
1 quart small butter lettuce
1 small bunch radishes, thinly sliced
2 inch length of cucumber, sliced paper thin
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/4 pound crumbled Danish Blue cheese
Pinch of salt, pepper, dry mustard and sugar
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 Tablespoons salad oil
Wash and dry the lettuce and turn it into a bowl.
Add the radishes, cucumber, and onion.
Sprinkle with blue cheese.
In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, mustard, sugar, and vinegar. Whisk in salad oil.
Just before serving, whisk gently again, and pour over the salad.
Sweet-Sour Cucumber Salad
Serves 12
2 large European-style cucumbers
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of white pepper
4 teaspoons dried dill (or 4 Tablespoons fresh new dill)
Scrub the cucumber and slice paper thin. Place the slices in a medium size bowl.
Mix the vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper and pour it over the cucumbers.
Sprinkle with the chopped dill.
Refrigerate for three hours to allow flavors to blend.
Drain, garnish with some fresh dill sprigs, and serve.
Rodgrod med Flode (Red Fruit Pudding with Cream)
Serves 6
2-10oz packages of frozen unsweetened raspberries (or any other berry you wish)
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons arrowroot
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup cream
Place the berries in a 1-1/2 quart saucepan and stir in the sugar.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Mix arrowroot into cold water until it is a smooth paste.
Stir arrowroot paste into the pan of berries and let mixture come to a simmer (do not let it boil).
Stir until it thickens the mixture and remove from heat.
Pour pudding into a bowl to chill for at least two hours.
Spoon pudding into individual dishes and pass a pitcher of cream separately for each person to add themselves.
