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Zubrówka
Our friend Russel is growing Sweet Grass (or bison grass) in his garden. Sweet grass is the main flavoring in M:s and my favorite vodka, Zubrowka. Zubrowka is based on rye distilled vodka and the grass gives it a smooth herby taste with a touch of bitterness. The smell is grassy and has a barely noticeable vanilla accent.
Sweet grass has been used for ages by the Native Indians for ceremonies and healing rituals. In many places it’s still grown for basketry. In the 70-ies the US discovered that Sweet grass contains a small amount of coumarin and decided to ban the import of Zubrowka. Coumarin has the ability to thin your blood, the same effect Aspirin has. Well whenever I will need to prevent my blood from clotting, I will prefer a Zubrowka to an aspirin. I also think a cold Zubrowka goes better with herring. Today you can find artificially flavored “Zubrowka” in the US but it’s very distant from the real thing.
In some parts of the world, Sweet grass is growing wild but you can also find Sweet grass clogs on the Internet. Russel planted his clogs last spring and was able to harvest his first straws in September the same year. Russel grew up on a farm so we were quite certain the result would be lovely. As the Sweet grass is a perennial, Russel will soon be able to harvest it again. This time we think the result will be even better as the straws will be fresh and delicate!
for the essence you will need
1/3 liter rye vodka (however we used the wheat grain vodka, Svedka)
8 fresh blades of sweet grass cut into one inch lengths
Let the blades soak in a the vodka in a sealed glass jar for seven days. Any longer and this ‘essence’ tastes too bitter. Take the blades out, filter the essence through a coffee filter and mix approximately two parts vodka with one part essence.
If you mix Zubrowka with apple juice topped with a slice of lime you will have the cocktail that we call a boy scout. In Poland they call the cocktail tatanka or szarlotka (apple pastry).
There is off course other ways to make your own Zubrowka.
Raw Stirred Cranberries (rårörda tranbär)
When I was a child, I often helped my mother picking lingonberries. Unfortunately we didn’t live in the north where there are lots of them so it was kind of tedious. I also didn’t like the taste so I couldn’t really get the point of wasting my time. It was different with blueberries.
Well it is even harder to find fresh lingonberries in NYC. But luckily there are plenty of cranberries. You may even find organic berries. Uncooked Cranberries Preserved Jam or what you may call, Raw Stirred Lingonberries (rårörda lingon) is a very common side dish to plenty of Swedish dishes. I have also heard that it is very similar to a cranberry and orange relish that is common on a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. In my jam or relish I used lime instead of orange and (of course) sucanat instead of white sugar.
½ kg (1 lb) cranberries or lingonberries
150 ml (0.6 cup) sucanat
peals of one lime
Rinse the berries carefully. Crush the berries with a potatoes masher to make the berries softer. Add the sugar and start stirring with a big spoon. Keep stirring and stirring and stir until the sugar is completely melted and you have a nice consistency. For quicker results, run the berries very briefly in the food processor before adding the sugar. It will make it easier to stir. But please don’t use the food processor too long as it will mash them and its nice to see some whole soft lovely berries in the jam. Finally add the lime peals and let the jam rest overnight.
Serve the jam with duck, chicken, turkey, meatloaf, body cakes (kroppkakor), potaoe panncakes, patties or meatballs. M likes it on his breakfast oatmeal (if there is any left…)
Apple and Prune Stuffed Chicken
I am not used to celebrate Thanksgiving with all that goes with it. But as many people leave town to be with their families, we nearly always arrange something for those friends who are still here. I am not a turkey fan; I prefer goose, duck or even chicken. Last year our dear friend Russel brought two gorgeous chickens. The chickens came from Iowa, where they were brought up in a tree. Not really true, but as they were always outside, they flew up into the tree during the night so the fox couldn’t reach them. Anyway, Russel got them and the dinner was absolutely delicious.
one organic chicken
one apple
dried prunes
salt and some pepper
thyme
lemon
Clean the chicken and rub it with a piece of lemon, both inside and outside. Rub also the chicken with a mixture of salt and pepper. Fill the stomach with thyme, apple pieces and prunes. Take an oven safe string and bind the legs of the chicken. Grease an oven tin with butter and bake the chicken in the oven at 175° (350 F) for 1-2 hours. The time depends on the size of the chicken, I always count 1 hour per kilo (about 2 pounds), but with the filling it can take even longer. The chicken is done when you can easily loosen the legs. To give the chicken a great golden brown color, poor the fat over it from the bottom of the tin. Let the chicken cool down a little before cutting it.
Heat up some of the fat from the chicken. I always let some of the apples and prunes cook in the fat for a greater taste. Filter the sauce before adding some milk or cream. Heat it up again and when it starts to boil lower the temperature and season with salt, pepper and some lingonberries or cranberries. Serve with boiled potatoes, the sauce, sour pickled gherkins, lingonberries and a salad.
This recipe is from my mother, its how she would prepare a goose. I think many prepare their Thanksgiving turkey in a similar way. This year I will do duck.
Fresh Shrimps with Lime
Some days ago we went into our favorite fish shop. We were actually supposed to have beetroots with goat cheese but as we are afraid our fish shop will close down we just had to support them. Oh well… we found some nice raw shrimps and some organic shampoo (as they have other things too) and went home.
Years ago I had a similar dish together with my cousin in Spain. Then we were sitting outside and fried the shrimps directly on a table cooker. Instead of lime we used lemon. This was not bad at all. Either then or now!
raw shrimps
olive oil
garlic
chili pepper
fresh lime
Heat up the olive oil and add chopped garlic and the chili pepper. When the garlic starts to get golden brown add the shrimps. Fry them quickly and serve them with finger salt and a slice of lime.
The shrimps are great as a starter with some cold white wine. They are also great with fresh pasta. Use the fry-juice from the shrimps together with cream. Add some salt and pepper, white wine and fresh herbs (such as dill, thyme). When the sauce start to boil, lower the temperature and add some Parmesan or other similar cheese. Poor the sauce over the shrimps and serve it with pasta and lime.
See also Grilled Spicy Shrimps