It’s a hot and humid summer in Toronto. So easy, lazy, tasty dinners are in high demand in our house these days. I came up with the idea for these cauliflower steaks with grilled shrimp skewers and chimichurri last week when I needed a fast, healthy dinner that left me feel less guilty than devouring a beef steak with herb butter and fried potatoes. As some of you may know, I love using cauliflower when I cook. Not only does it taste amazing, it’s also a wonderful substitution for carbs. First time I came across the term ‘cauliflower steaks’, I must admit I thought it was a bit of an…
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Divinely decadent shrimp appetizer
Here is our second appetizer for our Roaring ‘20s Gatsby themed New Year’s dinner. We started out with oysters, or what we called Roaring Rockefeller oysters, and we thought that a natural next step is a fresh little bite with shrimp and herb cream with a touch of lemon and watercress. We recommend you use a very small type of shrimp, as we thought this would be one in a row of appetizers, and small shrimp will make this dish look very elegant and delicate. North Atlantic shrimp are great, or maybe you can even get your hands on a batch of Danish ‘fjordrejer’ (frozen as the fresh ones are…
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Killer soup? Well, it is Halloween
It’s beginning to look a lot like Halloween out there! I’m getting ready with my Halloween menu and thought we might warm up with this creamy pumpkin soup with scallops. In my book, this is a real killer soup: creamy, sweet, spicy with a hint of citrus, garlic and finished off elegantly with pan-seared scallops. What is not to like? Serve it before or after you go out there trick or treating with the little ones, either way it will surely make you feel warm and guard you against the chill. Without a doubt the chili and garlic will keep any monsters or vampires that might be lurking out there…
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Spooky Halloween treats
These little sweet treats are very common in Denmark, the rest of Scandinavia and Germany, but I have yet to find a similar product in an English-speaking country. The classic version is with plain marshmallow filling covered in dark chocolate. But these are fun and different little spooky Halloween treats if you want to be the favorite place for the neighborhood kids to visit on Halloween. The version I made here is with lemon, but all sorts of flavors can be added to give the marshmallow the taste of your desire. The classic plain soft marshmallow with dark chocolate cover are also very delicious, and if you want to switch…
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Let’s nail that Béarnaise!
If you are from Denmark, or have ever lived in Denmark, you will know that Danes love sauce. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Denmark came in first place on a list of most sauce eating nations in the world. (And béarnaise sauce would certainly be among the absolute favorites.) If you don’t believe me, try the cruel experiment of serving a good steak with no sauce to a Dane. I promise you the disappointment and disillusionment will be of unforgettable proportions. It’s hard to say exactly why béarnaise especially has such a dear place in the hearts and bellies of most Danes. But the strong craving for this…
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The night closes in…
As hoped for, and expected, the final season of GOT only got better with the second episode. What an amazing scene where all our beloved characters gather around the fireplace in the silence before the storm! It is bittersweet, though, because at the back of our minds we know that next Sunday these our favorites will start to go…one by one… Yes, it fills us with fear, horror and fury, but alas, that is what keeps us glued to the screen… They certainly seem convinced themselves, except perhaps for Tyrion, that they’re all going to die, so we kind of know what we’re in for this Sunday! I wish I…
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Lobster galore
The first time we made this lobster starter was for New Year’s, and it immediately became one of our lobster favorites. When Karen-Anne and I were planning our New Year’s dinner, as we always do weeks in advance, we’d already decided we were going to make something with lobster. Actually, we always make something with lobster when Karen-Anne visits. (When your friends voluntarily decide to cram themselves into a plane for eight hours just to visit you, they really deserve to be fed well!) Lobster is so elegant, festive and somewhat extravagant, but one of the perks of living in the northern part of North America is that lobster is…
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Cauliflower feel good salad
I like to start my week with a good salad. After a weekend of giving in to my less healthy food cravings, it gives me such a nice good conscience. It has to be tasty though, as there is nothing more uninspiring and tiresome than a bland salad. This cauliflower feel good salad is packed with taste as well as healthy stuff. It has crispiness, softness, sweetness, bite and crunch all in one. Exactly what a good salad should have if you ask me. I probably make this salad once or twice a month. Not only because of its great taste, but because it is so easy to make, and…
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It’s Friday!
This is just the most easy peasy simple yet addictively delicious appetizer! Perfect for a Friday night to celebrate that you’ve finally arrived at the weekend. And perfect too with a glass, or two, of bubbles. When I serve these shrimp with cilantro lemon mayo dip the main challenge is to make sure I’ve made enough. More than once I’ve found that the whole platter of shrimp and dip I just put on the table a minute ago has already mysteriously vanished! You can easily prepare the cilantro lemon mayo dip in advance, but otherwise it’ll only take you 5 minutes max to whip up right before serving. Just make…
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Zesty smoked salmon
Are you ready for spring? I know it’s only February, but I can’t wait for the sun to start warming up my patio and defrost my bones! I’ve already got the patio furniture lined up, and the rosé is in the fridge, so I thought I might just give it another notch with this savory zesty smoked salmon appetizer, or lunch if you like. Maybe it’s because I’m Scandinavian, but I could easily eat smoked salmon every day. It’s no secret that Scandinavians have had a particular liking for raw and raw cured fish since the Vikings, and some even claim that it was the Norwegians who introduced raw…
