Dutch Baby with Lemon and Blueberries

Dutch Baby with Lemon and Blueberries

A Dutch baby is also called a German pancake or Dutch puff. It’s a mix between a pancake, popover and  a crepe. The traditional Dutch baby is baked in a cast iron skillet. The Dutch baby puffs up, but deflate as soon as it is taken out of the oven. This dish is not labor intensive, you can easily make this when you have people over for sunday brunch. The Dutch baby hangs out in the oven, and compared to pancakes you don’t have to flip it. The cast iron skillet makes the dish very forgiving too, because it keeps the Dutch baby warm for quite some time. 

I like that the Dutch baby is not overly sweet, but if you have a sweet tooth you can always pour some maple syrup over it.

Makes 1 large or 4 small

Ingrediets:

• 4 large eggs

• 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk

• 1 cup (95 g) all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup (50 g) sugar

• 1 lemon, the zest of (grated)

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste

• 125 g blueberries, save some for topping

• 1-2 tablespoons butter

• confectionary sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (205℃). Heat the cast iron skillet over high heat.

Blend eggs, milk, flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt in a blender. 

Add butter to the hot skillet, and pour in the batter, when the butter is melted, and scatter the blueberries on top, (save some for topping).

Put the Dutch baby in the oven, and bake until it's puffed and cooked through for about 20-25 minutes. 

Serve the Dutch baby with blueberries and sprinkled with confectionary sugar.

Enjoy!

The Danish version:

Tysk pandekage

Ingredienser:

• 4 store æg

• 240 ml sødmælk

• 95 g hvedemel

• 50 g sukker

• 1 citron, revet skal fra

• ¼ tsk salt

• ½ tsk vanilla paste eller kornene fra ½ vanillestang

• 125 g blåbær, gem lidt til pynt

• 1-2 spsk smør

• flormelis, til pynt

Directions:

Varm ovenen op til  205℃, og varm støbejernspanden op på komfuret på højeste blus.

Blend æg, mælk, mel, sukker, citronskal og salt i en blender.

Kom smørret på panden, og kom dejen i når smørret er smeltet. Fordel blåbærrene over dejen, og sæt panden i ovnen. Bag den tyske pandekage indtil den er gennembagt og er hævet op, det tager ca. 20-25 minutter.

Server pandekagen med resten af bærrene og et drys flormelis. Du kan også servere pandekagen med ahornsirup.

Velbekomme!

Vanilla Pepper - The New Black

Rib Eye Steak with Vanilla Pepper Rub and Roasted Vegetables 

When you think of vanilla, you’ll automatically think of desserts or cakes. But why not give the vanilla a try in the savory kitchen. It’s a uniquely flavored spice that brightens up your steaks or chops. On a visit to Oxbow Public Market in Napa,  I found a vanilla pepper rub from Whole Spice. The smell of the rub pulled me in, and I had to have it, even though it was kinda expensive. The sweet, fruity smell and the kick from the pepper made me want to go home and cook. Basically I found my new spice for this BBQ season.

We have tried it on rib eye steaks and now I'm in love with the rub. The steak gets an exotic and spicy flavor that really stands out in a very good way. The vanilla pepper rub, is the new black in my house.

I might try to make my own vanilla pepper rub. I just have to find the right balance between black pepper, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, lemon, thyme, nutmeg and cloves. Or I'll just have to order a big batch, so it will last the whole summer.

If you ever stop by Oxbow Public Market and Whole Spice, try the vanilla pepper rub, it’s to die for. You can also order it online. It's worth every penny. 

Mint Mojito Iced Coffee

Mint Mojito Iced Coffee

I went to Philz Coffee the other day, and my friend suggested I try the mint mojito iced coffee. And Oh My, I found my new favorite iced coffee. Well, I know the creaminess comes from cream, and it's not good for me on an everyday basis, but the minty, sweet, creamy drink is so refreshing and is perfect on a hot day.

Here is my skinnier take on this yummy iced coffee.

Ingredients:

• 8 mint leaves

• 1 tablespoon raw cane sugar (or some sweetener)

• 1 cup (2½ dl) brewed coffee

• 1-2 splash non-fat milk - you can use whole milk, half and half if you like your coffee creamier

• ice cubes (make ice cubes of coffee if you don' want your drink watered-down)

Directions:

Brew the coffee to you’re liking, I brewed mine in my CafeSolo coffee maker, which is pretty much the same as a french press. Put mint and sugar in a tall glass and using a muddler, or the back of a spoon, muddle the mint with the sugar so the oils are released which gives you the lovely minty taste and smell. If you don’t muddle/bruise the mint, you won't get the intense minty flavor in your coffee.

Pour the hot coffee over the mint/sugar mixture and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add Ice cubes and milk, and stir again. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Enjoy.

 Now the danish version:

Mint Mojito Iced Coffee

Ingredients:

• 8 mynte blade

• 1 spsk rørsukker eller lidt sødemiddel

• 2½ dl friskbrygget kaffe

• 1 sjat skummetmælk - Du kan også bruge sødmælk eller kaffefløde hvis du vil have en mere cremet kaffe

• isterninger (lav evt. isterrninger ud af kaffe, så din kaffe ikke bliver vandet)

Directions:

Bryg din kaffe som du best kan lide den. Jeg lavede min kaffe i min EvaSolo kande, hvilket er ca. det samme som når man brygger kaffen i en stempelkande.

Kom sukker og mynte i et højt glas, og knus/massér bladene så olierne frigives. Hvis du ikke får masseret bladene ordentligt, så får du ikke den intense mint smag. Hæld den varme kaffe over sukker-mynteblandingen og rør indtil sukkeret er opløst. Kom isterninger og mælk i og rør endnu engang. Pynt glasset med et friskt mynteblad.

Velbekomme.

Quinoa fruit salad

Quinoa fruit salad

I have a thing about colorful foods, I really like my meals to have a least 3 colors to be a healthy meal. Well, it might not hold up scientifically, but I think it's a good guideline.

When we start with the BBQ season, I like to make a good salad to eat with the meat or fish going on the grill. Today I craved fruit, and I had some cooked quinoa in the fridge, so I mixed up this fruit salad, that would go perfectly with a piece of grilled lamb.

Ingredients:

Quinoa:

• 100 g quinoa
• 2,25 dl water
• salt (to taste)

Fruit:

• strawberries
• raspberries
• blueberries 
• mango
• pineapple

Dressing:

• 1 lime, juice of
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

Directions:

Quinoa:

Rinse the quinoa. Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add salt to taste. Let the quinoa stand, covered, for 5 minutes. If any more water remains, drain it. Let the quinoa cool.

Dressing:

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.

Fruit:

Rinse, peel and slice the fruit and put them in a bowl. Add quinoa and dressing, and serve the fruit salad.

Champagnebrus - Lime/Caramel Popsicle

Champagnebrus - Lime/Caramel Popsicle

Champagnebrus is a one of the most famous popsicles in Denmark. You can buy it in almost every store.

I had to try to make this popsicle and I believe I got pretty close.

Makes 6 popsicles.

Ingredients

• 3 limes,the juice from
• 15 key limes (or another 3 limes), the juice from
• 200 ml water
• 125 g sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons caramel syrup (Starbucks)
• 1 small drop green food color
• dark chocolate for topping

Equipment

• Popsicle mold, I used a Zoku
• Ice cream maker optional, I used a DeLonghi

Directions

Juice the limes and mix the juice with sugar, syrup, water and food color. Pour into the ice cream maker and run the machine until the mixture is partly frozen. Pour the mixture into the mold, and insert the sticks in the mold. You can cool the mixture in the refrigerator instead of using an ice cream maker. When completely frozen, dip the tip in melted chocolate.

Enjoy.