Food & Thoughts

So. I'm a baking fanatic. You should know by now. I have a LOT of recipes bookmarked that lies in that category. And not a small part of those are recipes I've bookmarked from Ivonne - aka The Cream Puff from Cream Puffs in Venice . Is she Italian? Well, yes, but she lives in Canada. IS she in fact a cream puff? No. But I'm sure she's donning a red-chequered apron full of laces like every self-respecting Italian Momma everytime she walks into that kitchen - 'cause Baby , Cream Puff can cook ! It's not that she doesn't make ridicously good looking savory dishes (which, face it, are the ones I should be trying, seeing I seem to have no excuse for finding a way to bake - I really shouldn't be using DwB as an excuse also!) - but it's her baking that's won my heart. And when I saw it, I knew I had to try the Peach Tart she posted about. Admittedly, it's been a while since I made it - I did it shortly after Ivonnes original post, back in August...

Johnny & Denny turning towards the screen Johhny: Welcome, welcome everybody! Tonight e have one of the biggest games EVER on our hands! Denny: Thank you for joining us here in Baker's City, where tonight - people, I'm telling you, tonight - well, the results are bound to go over in history! Johhny: That's right Denny - none other than the game we've been asking, begging, pleading to see for the last couple of years - Denny: That is true - Johhny: The fight between our days biggest stars, isn't it, wouldn't you say? Denny: None other! It is game time! Johnny: But how's about a little background story for the new-comers to boxing, Denny? Denny: Sure, of course - and I'm sure noone will mind a lowdown on tonights stars! intro, flash across the screen, then... In the left corner: Mr. Manitoba - in the right, Herr Ølandshvede! voiceover, Johnny: In the left corner, we have Mr. Manitoba. A strong wheat, originally grown in the province of Manitoba, Canad...

You thought I was going to cheat, didn't you? Well, who would I be to blame you, it's happened before - but no, here we are! This week, we're going to the countryside - to be precise, we're going to visit a fellow Scandinavian in, um - Italy. Makes no sense? Well, get Ilva to explain it to you - she's the writer and photographer of the stunningly beautiful Lucullian Delights . I keep bookmarking recipes from her site and I always, but always, drool on my keyboard - seriously, how do you make something as humble as an onion look this good?? A couple months ago, she made a little number called Plum and Oatmeal Cupcakes and as I found myself with an abundance of plums on the very same day she posted the recipe, I jumped straight at it. That is, I had to ask for help - there was a couple thing missing in the ingredients list, but luckily, Ilva must have been sitting at her computer at the very same time I put in my comment, 'cause she was swift with an answer and ...

So - trying to revive a couple of the old projects here, aren't I? I told you, I do like 'em. This here is a piece of classic Danish baking tradition. A yeasty, sweet, bread-like bottom with a soft brown sugar-butter topping. Easy as pie. This is one of those cakes were the result is more than the sum of it's parts. It's good, caramelly, sugary, fingerlicking so. I remember carrying brunsviger home from the bakery every summer when I was a kid and we were on vacation in north-Jylland - the sugar smearing the paper bags so they were all see-through when I arrived home. Really, you had to make sure that the sugar didn't touch the bag too much, 'cause then there'd only be so much left on the cake itself when you were going to eat it. Yes, a delicate matter indeed, carrying these precious things home. And here's the recipe - it's a mash-up of a couple different ones I found in my cookbooks, so now it's totally how I think it should be. Brunsviger -...

No, no, no - no kissing of fish! Silly! Yes, I'm a foll ower . So sue me. But I like this idea - I'm always game for a challenge, especially the ones I impose on myself, heh! So this year, with a little inspiration from my fellow bloggers, I dare: To do more comparative cooking and, especially, baking . Why are bleached flours better in some instances? Why do a cold rise for bread, when the warm one is so much faster? What happens when you use sour dough vs. yeast vs. a biga? Hmm. Let's see if I can do this... Cook Osso Buco . The whole "big pieces of meat"-thing hasn't entered my kitchen too often, but I love me a good braise - Osso Buco could be a place to start. Make pasta Ooops. I actually did this, for the first time, for New Years Eve - and I loved it! I was given a pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid two Christmases (is that a word?) ago, so it was about time. How about this, then: to use my Kitchen Aid attachments more often - I...

It's been a while, hasn't it? So with no further apologies or ado's, I bring you DwB - once more, with feeling! This week, it's Shauna, or as you might better know her, Gluten-Free Girl that's in the spotlight. It's not like she needs her horn tooted - c'mon, the woman's got herself a bookdeal , people! - but well - this dish ( and several other on her blog - and just the blog in general, m'kay?) certainly deserves a brass band with matching chorus. This is a woman with a passion for food - taste, smell, texture and just plain writing about it. It has to be gluten-free, but that certainly doesn't leave nothing left to wish for for the gluten-eaters among us. Oh yes, and she's a little passionate about the Chef, too ;-) But this is about the food - to be more specific, it's about Chicken Thighs in Pomegranate Molasses . Ah - the dish, the dish! I'm telling you - it's good! And it was pretty fast in the making, too. I had a...