Tag Archives: Johanna Kindvall

Murder Cookies (guest post)

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For a long time I’ve had the idea to invite friends and others I think are fantastic food personalities to post here. The idea is to have them write and me illustrate the post.

My first guest is the Swedish food journalist Alice Brax and the woman behind my absolute favorite Swedish food blog Brax on Food. Alice blogs about  restaurants, food shopping, seasonal food products and whats happening behind the scenes as a food journalist in Stockholm. We met for the first time through our blogs in 2005  at the cafe Vetekatten in Stockholm. Since then we have shared many fantastic food moments, either in our own kitchens or in restaurants in NYC and Sweden. At the moment Alice Brax is visiting NYC.

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Murder She Baked
by Alice Brax

I spend my summers in a small red cottage near Sweden’s biggest lake Vänern. During the long summer nights, it has become a tradition to make cookies while watching British murder mysteries on TV, such as Miss Marple or Midsomer murders. A murder mystery takes about an hour to solve, as does a batch of cookies. At least if you like your cookies pretty and your murder mysteries wrapped up nicely.

Traditionally in Sweden, you are supposed to offer your guests at least seven different kinds of cookies. But who has the time for that much baking? My secret is to use Swedish classic dough to create at least seven different kinds of cookies.

seven types of cookies
(this dough makes about 80 small cookies in different colors and shapes)

3 ½ sticks of butter (14 oz)(400gr), room temperature
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
4 cups (950 ml)  flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp water

Mix butter, sugar and flour into a dough. Put aside two thirds of the dough. Stir cocoa with water and mix with the remaining dough until it becomes brown.
Put the two pieces of dough in plastic bags and let them rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. This makes the dough easier to handle.

Seven Variations

schack

Chess Squares
Take 3 oz (85 gr) of each dough. Form two ¾ inch (2 cm) rolls out of each of them. Put the four rolls together to form a small chessboard (2×2). Carefully press the roll against the table on all four sides to form a square roll. Cut less than ¼ inch (0.7 cm) thick cookies and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes at 400°F (200°C) – they should not get much color! When I really want to impress my guests I make the chessboard 3×3 instead, still keeping the cookie the same small size.

thinkpink

Think Pink
½ cup (120 ml) sugar
4 drops red food coloring
Form 5 oz (140 gr) of the light dough into a 1 ½ inch (4 cm) thick roll. Mix sugar and food coloring until it becomes pink. Pour the sugar on a plate and role the dough until it is covered with sugar. Cut less than ¼ inch (0.7 cm) thick cookies and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes at 400°F (200°C) – they should not get much color!

CAVE

Jam Caves
4 tbsp of your favorite jam
Form 5 oz (140 gr) of the light dough into a 1 ½ inch (4 cm) thick roll. Cut ½ inch (1 cm) thick cookies and place on a greased baking sheet. Use your little finger to carefully make a dimple in the middle of the cookie. Fill the dimple with less than half a tsp of jam. Bake for 10 minutes at 400°F (200°C) – they should not get much color!

tanned

Tanned Top
Form 3 oz (85 gr) of the light dough into a 1 inch (2,5 cm) thick roll. Roll out 1 ½ oz (ca 40 gr) of the dark dough 3 inch (5 cm) wide and as long as the roll (about ¼ inch thick). Roll the dark dough around the light roll. Cut less than ¼ inch thick (0.7 cm) cookies and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes at 400°F (200°C) – they should not get much color!

pigsnose

Pig’s Nose
Form 2 ½ oz (ca 70 gr) of the dark dough into two thin rolls. Roll out 4 oz (113 g) of the light dough 4 inch (10 cm) wide and as long as the two dark rolls. Roll the light dough around the dark rolls, one at a time. Cut less than ¼ inch (0.7 cm) thick cookies and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes at 400°F (200°C) – they should not get much color!

FINSKPINNE

Finish Cocktail Sticks (Finska pinnar)
½ cups almond
2 tbsp pearl sugar
Roll out 7 oz (200gr) of the light dough to a 5 x 5 inch big square (about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick). Chop the almonds coarsely. Sprinkle almond and pearl sugar on top of the square and pat it in with your palm. Cut the dough into 1 inch thick strips and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes at 400°F (200°C) – they should not get much color!

JITTERBUG

Jitterbugs
It’s not only a swing dance, it’s a classic Swedish cookie as well.
1 egg white
4 tbsp sugar
6 drops red food coloring
Roll out 7 oz (200gr) of the light dough into a 7 x 5 inch (18×13 cm) big square. For the meringue, beat an egg white with an electric beater. Gradually add sugar, and beat until the meringue is shiny and very stiff. Add the food coloring and stir carefully until the meringue is pink. Spread the meringue evenly on the dough and loosely roll together. Wrap in saran wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes in the freezer. Cut the dough into 1 inch thick strips and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 350°F (175°C) – they should not get much color!

Tips!
1. Don’t use too much flour. If the butter is too warm the dough feels sticky. Try putting it in the fridge for a while.
2.  Don’t overwork the dough or you will end up with chewier cookies.
3.  Size matters! The cookies shouldn’t be bigger then 1 ½ inch in diameter.
4. You can make the dough in advance. Form it into a roll, cover with saran wrap and put into the freezer. When you want to make cookies, just take out the dough, cut them up and bake them.

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Follow Alice on twitter, @BraxonFood

Spicy Sorrel Pesto

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Some may think its silly to grow your own sorrel when you have it growing wild just around the corner. Well in Sweden they warn you not to eat the wild sorrel as it contains too much oxalic acid to be healthy. I don’t think that’s a worry when it comes to the milder cultivated sorrel, but I’m not sure.

Anyway this pesto was one of my absolute favorites last summer. For some unknown reason I  forgot to post it until now. However sorrel is in some places in season again so here it is.

about 2 cups (about ½ liter) of young Cultivated Sorrel leaves
2 garlic cloves
a hand full of walnuts
fresh red chili to your own taste (I used about ½” = 1.3 cm)
½ cup (100 ml) grated parmesan
olive oil
a few sprigs of parsley (optional)
season with: salt and pepper

I picked about 2 cups of very young Cultivated Sorrel leaves. Rinse the leaves in cold water and drain while you prepare the other ingredients. Chop the walnuts and the chili a little. Grate the Parmesan roughly.
When the sorrel is dry, run them in the food processor (or use a mortar and pestle). Add chopped garlic and run the machine a bit before adding chili, walnuts,  (parsley) and parmesan. Drizzle some olive oil over. Blend the mixture carefully as it should have a crunchy texture. If necessary add some more olive oil. Season with salt and fresh pepper. Serve the pesto as an appetizer on crackers. I also think the sourness in this pesto works terrificly well with fish.

This pesto is also a great summer present, especially when you have a garden like mine where sorrel or lettuce grows much better than most flowers.

Nutty Bacon Quinoa

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I have some non-vegetarian friends who don’t eat bacon.  I have no problem with that, I have my own principals. For example I try not to eat any meat that has been fed hormones or antibiotics (tough here in the US). Anyway, I didn’t know about their attitude to bacon when I recently served them my nutty Bacon Quinoa. The funny part was they kept eating even when I told them that it contained bacon. I guess they liked my standpoint in cooking!

This recipe is perfect when you have some left-over Quinoa.

(serves 2-3)

8 slices of bacon
one onion
¼ – ½ fennel root
one cup brown quinoa (dried)
one teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted and ground
one teaspoon coriander seeds, roasted and ground
one teaspoon mustard seeds, roasted and ground
chili flakes
oregano
garlic, crushed
salt

fresh cilantro
toasted walnuts

Chop the onion finely and slice the fennel into thin strips. Sauté on low heat with butter until soft and almost transparent. If you want you can add some of the left-over bacon fat to the onion mixture. Slice the bacon and sauté in a separate pan until a little crisp. When ready add the bacon to the onion mixture. Feed the mixture with chili, cumin, coriander and mustard seed. Raise the heat and let cook for about 2 minutes and then add the garlic, oregano and finally the cooked quinoa (see below). You may need to add some olive oil or a splash of water if it gets too dry. Season with salt. Top with fresh cilantro and toasted walnuts.

I have also made this with other vegetables such as: celery, kale, spinach and cabbage

my way of making quinoa
I cook quinoa a little bit like I cook rice by using a 1:2 ratio (one cup quinoa gets two cups of water). Rinse the quinoa and put into a pot together with water and some salt. Cover and bring to a boil and then let the covered quinoa simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. The quinoa should start to “sprout” (not really but you should see their curly germs). Turn off the heat and let stand covered until all the water has dissolved. With this method your quinoa will not be over-boiled and can be sauted with the recipe above.

Lemon Tart

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Whats the point of using sucanat in a lemon tart filling? Isn’t it supposed to look gorgeously yellow against the golden brown crust? I guess it should… but I kind of like the sour surprise, when my guests take their first bite in something that looks like a pumpkin or a caramel pie! (and the taste is fantastic).

almond dough

100 ml (about ½ cup) regular flour
225 ml (about 1 cup) milled almonds
60 g (2 ounces) butter
5 tablespoons sucanat
a splash of water

lemon filling

3 eggs
150 ml (2/3 cup) regular sugar (probably recommended even if I use sucanat)
75 g (2.65 ounces)  butter, melted
fine peel of one lemon
juice from 2-3  lemons (depends a little how large the eggs are that you use)

Start to mix together butter, flour, almonds and sugar. When the butter is well divided add a splash of water. Work the dough together and let it rest in the fridge for at least one hour. Line a 9 ½ inch pie form. Pre-bake @ 175°C (350F) with pie weights to avoid the dough slipping down or bubbling up (I use dried chickpeas on top of aluminum foil). Remove the pie weights after 10 minutes and keep baking the pie shell for about 5 minutes. The crust should have got some color. Let cool.

Mix egg and sugar in a blender. Melt the butter and add it to the filling before adding lemon to your taste. Blend to a smooth filling. Pour it over the pre-baked pie shell and bake in the oven at 175°C (350°F) until the filling is firm, about 15-20 min.

Let cool. I think this cake is served best plain at room temperature (but it would’t hurt to shave some bitter sweet chocolate on top).

See also recipe for Ginger & Lime Tart

Mushroom Risotto

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For Mushroom Risotto I take whatever mushrooms I have at hand, fresh or dried.
Fresh mushrooms I cook as follows: Chop the mushrooms into smaller pieces. Heat up a pan without any oil or butter. Place the mushrooms into the pan and let their own liquid slowly cook into the mushrooms. When dry add plenty of butter. Cook until mushrooms have got some color and season with salt, thyme and just a touch of pepper.
Dried Mushrooms: Soak dried mushrooms for at least 30 minutes until soft. Drain and reserve the mushroom water for the stock. Sauté the soaked mushrooms in butter on medium heat until done. Season w/ salt, thyme and just a touch of pepper.

To make Risotto you will need plenty of stock, I suggest you make your own vegetable or chicken stock. For rice I use arborio rice or a brown, short grain rice (excellent but takes longer time to cook).

Above you can see a flowchart of  two of my favorite feeding options for Mushroom Risotto. I serve it w/ extra Parmesan and toasted walnuts… Enjoy!

If you never done a risotto I suggest you check out a basic recipe such as this one before you start.