Grandma's Kitchen Table

My Kitchen My World: Smörgåsbord

     The world cuisine theme chosen for January's My Kitchen, My World was Smörgåsbord.  

     Smörgåsbords are always a little exciting, aren't they?  You never know exactly what you will find on one, although many items are staples, of course, there are always some surprises.  You can always find some simply prepared selections that make you think, "Why don't I make this at home, it's a perfect addition to most any meal..." 

     The recipe I chose was one of those...a cold vegetable dressed simply resulting in a nice clean taste that lets you feel like you are then able to choose more than one selection in that dessert section, because you know you will want to do that on a Smörgåsbord, right?  This recipe is simple, easy, economical, delicious, and friendly on the calorie count. 

     Next week Margaret will have a round-up of all the recipes made for MKMW this month at the MKMW site.  February's destination is Portugal.  (Anyone can participate any time with no advance or further commitment, so it you have something you would like to explore and make from Portugal, join in and leave your link!)

Dilled Asparagus

Makes a wonderful starter or finger-food appetizer.

Microwave asparagus spears for one minute and then plunge the spears into ice water to chill them quickly and help preserve their bright green color.

Make a mixture of 1 part cider vinegar and 3 parts water, a handful of fresh dill and a little salt and pepper.  Marinate the asparagus spears overnight in this mixture.

To serve:  drain the asparagus, toss the spears in a little olive oil, salt & pepper.

My Kitchen, My World: Italy

      The world cuisine chosen for February's My Kitchen, My World was from the country of Italy.  At the beginning of the month, I promised myself I would not let time get away from me (I do this every single month and it always does) 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 am posting late, but wanted to share a recipe that I found for an antipasti course offering. 

      Antipasti recipes are always fun to make, serve, and eat.  Usually they are something a little special, something a little different, something you can serve at room temperature so it needs to be something that can stand up to sitting out for a bit while people graze, something that you would not want to eat an entire plate of, and yet something to whet your appetite while you anticipate the main offerings of the meal.  This recipe does all of the above.  The taste is spicy and sweet and has a "yum factor" that will leave you wanting to "pop just maybe one more" into your mouth before moving on.  Simple, easy, economical, and delicious, definitely something you will want to make again. 

Insalata di Cipolle in Agrodolce
(Sweet-and-Sour Onion Salad)
Serves 6

l pound baby onions, peeled
1/4 cup good Wine Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Sugar
3 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste
1 Bay Leaf
2 Parsley Sprigs
1/2 cup Raisins

1-1/4 cups of water

Salt & Pepper

       Put everything in a pan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer without a lid on the pan for 45 minutes (until almost all of the liquid has evaporated).   Remove the bay leaf and parsley, check seasonings, and serve at room temperature.

My Kitchen, My World: Denmark

       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.

My Kitchen, My World: Morocco

The world cuisine chosen for September's My Kitchen, My World was from the country of Morocco.  At the beginning of the month, I didn't know anything Moroccan besides couscous.  Our library had several cookbooks featuring Moroccan cuisine and after I browsed through a few, I decided that they all pretty much had the same types of recipes and I settled on Cafe Morocco by Anissa Helou as I didn't see a single recipe in the entire 128 pages that I would not want to make or eat. 

The dinner plate of food in the photo features several of the recipes in the book.  Around the plate: Kseksu (Couscous), Shlada Dial Matecha (Tomato and Onion Salad), Qotobane del Hut (Swordfish Brochettes), Armenian Bread from Modern Baker, Fassulya Kdra (Cannellini Beans with Saffron), Khizu Mehquq (Sweet Grated Carrot Salad), and Besla M'assala (Spicy Onions with Honey). 

The Couscous I just made with the instructions from the box and then added caramelized onions, parsley, and pine nuts to it as we like it like that.

Tomato and Onion Salad (Seves 3)

1.5 pounds firm vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
1 medium size red onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice of 1 lemon
2.5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea Salt & Ground Black Pepper to taste
Combine everything in a bowl and allow to sit at room temperature.

Swordfish Brochettes (Serves 3-4)

1 pound swordfish, cut into 1" cubes
1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon dried hot chili pepper powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika
Sea salt to taste
Put cubes of swordfish into a mixing bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Leave to marinate for at least 2 hours.
Thread swordfish cubes onto skewers.
Grill 2-3 minutes on each side.

Cannellini Beans with Saffron (Serves 3-4)

One 15 oz can of Cannellini Beans
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 pinch of saffron threads
2 Tablespoons of butter
1/4 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
Sea Salt & Freshly Groud Pepper to taste
Combine all in a saucepan and cook on low 10 minutes or so until heated through.

Sweet Grated Carrot Salad (Serves 4-6)

4-6 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1-1/2 Tablespoons of confectioner's sugar
juice of 2 oranges
1-3/4 pounds carrots, grated
3 ounces minced dried dates
2 Tablespoons sliced almonds
Mix everything in a bowl, chill slightly.

Spiced Onions with Honey (serves 4)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 medium sized onions, thinly sliced (about 2 pounds)
1 1/2 teaspoons ras el hanout seasoning
Sea Salt
2 Tablespoons of good honey
Saute onions in pan with the olive oil and add 1-1/2 cups water.
Stir in the ras el hanout  and salt.
Bring to a boil, cover, and boil 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring regularly 20-30 minutes.
Onions will be mushy.
Uncover pan, increase heat to reduce liquid, about 5 minutes.
Add honey, heat through, adjust seasonings.  Serve hot.

My Kitchen, My World: Canada

This month's My Kitchen, My World selection for world cuisine was Canada.  When the country was first assigned, I immediately thought of my blogging friend, Jerry from Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants as he is Canadian and has wonderful food posts on his blog.  Actually, his blog is wonderful for lots of reasons: he writes often, he travels constantly and blogs about his trips including fabulous photos, he reviews books, movies, plays, restaurants, and it is always worth a drop by to see what's up over there.  Check it out, you won't be disappointed. 

When I emailed him to ask for some suggestions, Jerry sent me an email with five different Canadian recipes...I was hoping to get to more than one, but what can I say, it's summer and too often I choose the pool over the kitchen.  I will keep them handy, however, and try them in the future as they all looked interesting, fun, and delicious. 

The one I chose to make was a meat pie, called Tourtiere, as I knew the guys would probably love it...meat in a pastry like a pie, of course they are going to love it.  They did.
The recipe calls for making it in an 8" springform pan, so it makes a huge amount as I don't have a small springform pan to try to halve it or anything.  Fortunately, I know a family who has four boy swimmers, three of them teenagers, so I figured we would eat what we could and maybe they could help out with the rest.  (Thank you, Sue.) 

The meat filling had an interesting taste, some of the spicing was different than what I am used to, but it was pleasant.  The pastry dough was absolutely delightful.  It had lemon juice in it (yes, it was in the recipe, I didn't just add it in) and it gave it such a wonderful taste.  I will use that savory pastry dough recipe again for certain.  I used a little Maple Leaf cookie cutter for the center cutout, but it doesn't quite look like I imagined...I tried...a little salute to Canada.  Thanks for the recipe, Jerry, it was hit!

If you would like the recipe, and to read Jerry's description of the dish, including the note that Canadians like to serve this on Christmas Eve, check it out here.

My Kitchen, My World: The United States

This month's My Kitchen, My World selection for world cuisine was the The United States.  I only have one recipe this month, something that I feel represents our country as truly American.  The Native Americans were given a monopoly on the Wild Rice crops in the United States, something to help compensate them for the losses they sustained and something to help sustain them. 

I grew up in Northeast Iowa, not too far from Minnesota which harvests lots of Wild Rice.  I brought my love of it here with me and have a difficult time finding true pure Wild Rice in Indiana.  But, it can be done on occasion.  And, if not, everyone who passes through or goes to Minnesota has my standing order. 

Wild Rice is not really a rice at all, but a wild grain.  Most people don't cook it right, they don't cook it long enough to open it up in its entirety.  The trick is to soak it overnight in room temperature water, drain it the next day, and cook it a long time, until all the shape to the grain is completely gone and it has opened up showing its white parts.   It tastes best with just a little salt and butter, not too much of either so that the taste of the grain has a chance to shine.  Undoubtedly, one of my favorite foods of all time.  And, just so you know, I have NEVER had it cooked properly in a restaurant, I have long since given up trying to find good Wild Rice prepared properly on a menu.

This is a recipe I like to make at Thanksgiving time, which pairs it with another American favorite:  the cranberry.

Wild Rice, Mushroom, Carmelized Onions, and Dried Cranberries

(Serves 4, easily doubled, etc.)

4 oz. of pure Wild Rice grown in Minnesota (no wild rice mix or blend, although if you must, it works well with that, too)

1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth - Rinse rice until water runs clear; soak rice for an hour at room temp water (overnight is even better), and drain.

Put chicken broth in saucepan to boil and then add the drained rice...cover with lid, reduce heat to simmer for 50-60 minutes, shut off heat, let rice continue to sit in the pot with the lid on for another half hour to steam.

While the rice is cooking: Slice 8 oz. fresh portabella mushrooms and saute in a large skillet with 1 Tablespoon butter until they are cooked as you like them, remove from pan and set aside.

In the same skillet, cut 2 medium yellow onions into wedges, and saute with 1 Tablespoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar on medium heat until soft and caramelized (takes about 40 minutes usually).  

After the onions are caramelized, add 1/2 cup dried cranberries.  Add the cooked mushrooms and the cooked wild rice into the pan and mix all ingredients until well distributed. 

(I tend to cook with less salt, and if there is salt in the broth, this is probably enough, but you can add additional salt if you feel it needs it.)

You can make all this, put it into a covered casserole dish and reheat it in the oven when you need it if you want to prepare it ahead.  I have also microwaved it to reheat it with good results...not too long.

My Kitchen, My World: India

This month's My Kitchen, My World selection for world cuisine was the country of India, chosen by Margaret, my good cooking/baking/Twitter/Secret Baker buddy from Tea and Scones. 

My first thought was: India...are you kidding with this, I have never had much Indian food, let alone cook it.  I made a curry once, end of experience with Indian cuisine.  Until now.

Last week I suddenly remembered that I was in this group and needed to make and post before the end of the month.  So much for planning ahead and spacing it all out nicely. 

Fortunately, Leslie at Lethally Delicious, another baking/cooking/Twitter/Secret Baker buddy was up for anything I wanted to make and she knows a lot about Indian cooking.  Armed with Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking (2003), nicely scored by Mark on a trip to our local library, I started thumbing through it and realized that probably 100 recipes looked good and like I could possibly handle them.  (Okay, turns out I could not handle the Kulfi, which is an ice cream, as I burned the heck out of the milk and there was no rescuing that.) 

I started cooking and just cooked everything I could get my hands on for about four days.  This book is definitely on my Christmas list as everything was delicious and easy (and Madhur is certainly not responsible for the burned milk...my only excuse is that I was reading a book while the milk boiled and let's just say I was engrossed more in the book than in the milk boiling activity). 

Here are a few of the things I made (I figure you will only read so long, so in pictures, here we go...I recommend buying the book and just start cooking from it).  I plan to keep checking it out of the library until Christmas and continuing the process...maybe even another shot at that Kulfi.  

Hara Shorva (Green Soup) - Potatoes, Peas, Onions, Chicken Stock, Ginger, Coriander, Cumin, Fresh Coriander, Green Chili, Salt, Lemon Juice, Cream - So delicious!  

Dahi Ka Shorva (Cold Yogurt Soup with Mint) - Yogurt, Light Cream, Chicken Stock, Cumin, Salt, Pepper, Lemon Juice, Fresh Mint - Wonderfully refreshing and delicious!

Naan (Leavened Oven Bread) - Milk, Sugar, Yeast, Flour, Salt, Baking Powder, Oil, Yogurt, and Egg.  Wonderfully easy and fun...it puffs in the oven and creates big blisters on the bread.  Delicious, will make again.  

Lal Masale Wai Murghi (Chicken in a Red Sweet Pepper Sauce) - Chicken, Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Almonds, Red Sweet Peppers, Cumin, Coriander, Turmeric, Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Oil, Water, Lemon Juice, Black Pepper.   Just the right amount of spicing in this, nothing too overpowering, just a nice spicy flavor that went so well with the chicken and rice.  Definitely a repeat.

Peelay Chaaval (Aromatic Yellow Rice) - Rice, Water, Salt, Turmeric, Cloves, Cinnamon Stick, Bay Leaves, Butter.  Loved this rice, so flavorful...definitely this will find a permanent home here.

I think I can fit Indian cuisine into the weekly rotation around here...guys were loving it and I have a lot more recipes that I want to make!  Thanks, Margaret, for picking something that made me branch out into new territory this month.

My Kitchen, My World: Mexico

Mexico:  Spicy Mexican Soup with Shrimp, Steak Quesadillas, Mexican Black Bean Salad with Chili Citrus Dressing (on the right),  Mexican Corn Salad (on the left), Tortilla Chips

I know, I know, I said I wasn't going to join any more blog alongs but honestly I have to cook something for the guys to eat around here as they tend to get a little testy if I don't feed them on a fairly regular basis and this one sounded like such fun. 

Margaret happened to post and mention that she was making a meal for My Kitchen My World of Mexican food this month, and I became intrigued.  What was this?  Apparently Susan started this group sometime ago and the object is to select a country each month, make a recipe or two from that country and post about it.  This month's selection was Mexico.  Last month was Russia.  Not sure what next month is as they post it tomorrow. 

So, I decided that I still had one day left in May, still enough time to throw together something Mexican, feed it to the guys, and post about it.  Lunch...lunch is usually quick and easy and just bits of this and that.  So I found four easy and quick recipes that seemed Mexican (what do I know, honestly). 

Spicy Mexican Soup with Shrimp

1/2 pound shrimp deveined, heads and tails removed

1 large diced tomato

1/4 cup diced onion

1 clove of minced garlic

1/2 chopped chipotle chili (or more to taste)

1-2 T Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup water 

Saute the onion, garlic, chili, and diced tomato in the olive oil.  Add shrimp and cook just until done, add water and broth.  Taste for seasoning, cover and simmer for a few minutes before serving.  Serves 4. 

Mexican Corn Salad

4 oz canned corn kernels, drained

1 (15 oz) can of great northern beans, rinsed and drained

2 sliced scallions

2 Tablespoons minced cilantro (I used parsley)

1/4 diced red onion

1/2 diced yellow pepper

1 small seeded and diced tomato 

Combine all of these ingredients in a bowl 

In a separate bowl combine: 1/8 t. salt, 1/8 t. pepper, 1/4 cup salsa, 1-1/2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar and pour this over the corn mixture. 

Refrigerate for an hour before serving with tortilla chips.  Serves 4. 

Mexican Black Bean Salad with Chili Citrus Dressing

8 oz canned black beans, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup cooked corn kernels

2 T mined chopped cilantro (I used parsley)

3 sliced scallions

1 large tomato, seeded and diced 

Mix all of these in a bowl. 

In a separate bowl mix together 1-1/2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder, and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and then gradually whisk in 1/4 cup vegetable oil.  Pour dressing over bean mixture and refrigerate for one hour.  Serves 4. 

Steak Quesadillas

These were simply sliced grilled flank steak, sliced grilled peppers, sliced grilled onions, and Mexican cheese sandwiched between two whole wheat tortillas and baked at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, flipping once.

A great lunch, something I would make again as the guys were thrilled.  If you would like to check the blogroll and see what others made with their Mexican assignment, click here.