1) Salmon tartare from Thomas Keller’s French Laundry Cookbook (Amazon also has Chef Keller’s other 2 books, Ad Hoc at Home and Bouchon, each for ~$18 off cover price).  Paired with a *delicious* Riesling Sekt from Germany produced by Sektkellerei Fitz-Ritter.

2) Warm asparagus ribbon salad with prosciutto, parmesan, and reduced balsamic. (Tip: to make ribbons, use a potato peeler to slice asparagus the long way. )

3) Butternut squash soup, served in Le Creuset mini cocottes. Paired with Poema Cava.

4) Bacon-wrapped scallops with chipotle mayo and tomato-pepper salsa.  (Tip: adding a white-wine vinegar to the salsa will cut the spiciness of the mayo if needed)

5) Rosemary pork loin, mushroom cream sauce, white truffle mashed potatoes (no photo… that whole eating thing got in the way). Paired with Cloudline Pinot Noir.

6) Dessert was made by our dear friend Topher — Rum cake. Again… that whole eating thing got in the way, so I did not get a photo of this either.

Midnight always calls for the best, and a true Champagne, so we all toasted with Veuve Clicquot.   Hope you all had a wonderful and safe New Years!

The first night she was here, I served warm smoked salmon and roe-sauce (varmrökd lax med romsås) with pear cider. Second night was roasted chicken, goat cheese cream and red beet spinach bulgar salad. We went out mostly after that, but I was so happy to serve her a few meals at home.

Oreo: Greek Guardian of Leftover Spanakopita.

This was cheaper to make than going to our local thai take-out restaurant in Malmö, and I have a feeling it was a little healthier too.  This was the first time I’d ever made anything Thai, so I may not have gotten the flavors as precisely as an authentic place, but on a budget — this will do!

Served with pork tenderloin, potatoes, herb salad and italian tonnato sauce (1 can of tuna, 1dl olive oil, 1 egg yolk, 2 T lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 2 T capers + 1 t caper “juice”, basil & parsley to taste).  I know, that sauce sounds weird if you’ve never had it… but trust me, it’s good.

First course was Salmon Tartare, but instead of making the cones (seriously, that took like 4 hours to make 16), we bought croustades.  I didn’t get a photo of these, but I’m sure I’ll make them again soon. So easy this time, and sooo delicious.

Second course was the asparagus ribbons salad with parm-reg and prosciutto. Add a little reduced balsamic vinegar and voila.

Main course was Salmon Mousse Ravioli with a lemon-butter sauce with mushrooms and capers.  We tried to make our own pasta… I promise we did. Not sure what went wrong, but we didn’t have the eggs or time to try another batch. Store-bought fresh lasagna sheets turned out to be the answer (even after the ravioli wouldn’t stay sealed and I freaked out).  A big thank you to Henrik again, for helping me create something beautiful out of what could have been a disaster.

Mmmm… Beer.

The result? A Brat-and-Chicken pasta with carrots and onions in beer-mustard sauce… Yum!  Thank you, my dear

Since traditional Osso Buco is made with veal and I was using pork, I gleaned from the following recipes for the final dish:  Giada De Laurentiis’s Osso Buco, Tyler Florence’s Osso Buco Milanese (citrus gremolata and saffron risotto also on this page), and Ethan Stowell’s Osso Buco.

Osso Buco in the Le Crueset, ready for the oven:

Saffron Risotto:

Citrus Gremolata:

All together now….

Cinque Terre, Monterosso al Mare Limoncino

Me: What do you want to eat?
Henrik: I don’t know, what do you want?
Me: I don’t know, that’s why I asked you.

…. etc., my wonderful husband picked up the nearest magazine with recipes, flipped (seemingly aimlessly) to a page, and said, “We’re making this.”

A lobster-crème fraîche base with gös (a fish in the perch family), shrimp (or crayfish if you prefer), sugar peas,  dill, lemon and potatoes.  No really, this was all kinds of delicious.