One of the most fundamental traditions of the Norwegian Yule Tide celebration (the festive season still has the traditional name “Jul” rather than the christian “Christmas”) is the baking of pepperkaker or pepper cakes, arguably the best Christmas cookies around. So much so in fact that there is even a beloved children’s song based on the cookie recipe! This last weekend, Angela and I baked an insane pile of these delicious holiday treats and we figured it would be nice to share some holiday cheer with the world by offering up our fantastic recipe. I will not take credit for this particular recipe - I have no clue where I got it from - but it is exquisite in taste and fairly easy to make.

Pepperkaker or pepper cakes or cookies or crisps or snaps or whatever you want to call them are somewhat like a spicy and crispy version of ginger bread. They are very tasty and have a nice smell of Christmas.

Pepperkaker (Norwegian Christmas Cookies)

NB: This recipe is very large and is enough for a huge pile of cookies as well as a couple of houses so I suggest you reduce it to half the first time you try it.

Ingredients:

• 500 g (17.6 oz) butter
• 3 dl (1.26 cups) fancy molasses
• 6 dl (2.5 cups) white sugar
• 3 dl (1.26 cups) whipping cream
• 20 dl (8.45 cups) white / all purpose flour (you’ll probably need a lot more - see below)
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 5 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tsp baking powder (not baking soda)

Making the dough:

Mix butter, molasses and sugar in a heated pan until sugar is melted. Be careful because the mixture will be very hot and if you get it on your skin it will burn like nothing you have ever felt before! When everything is melted, mix in the whipping cream. The different ingredients do not mix well and will constantly separate. That’s normal.

While the mixture is still hot, take about 5 dl of the flour and mix in all the spices and the baking powder. This will ensure that the spices are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Mix in the flour bit by bit to ensure that the dough gets an even consistency. As you add in more flour it will get really tough so if you have one of those kitchen machines with a kneading arm I suggest you use it instead of wearing yourself out like I did.

The dough is finished when it has a light brown colour and a slightly sticky consistency. Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough, cover it with a towel and put it in the fridge for a day or so.

Making the cookies:

When the dough is well rested, cut out a fist sized piece and place it on a sheet of unwaxed parchment paper or another non-stick surface like a Silpat. When you roll it out the dough will be too sticky to lift off the surface and place on a cooking sheet so I just roll it right onto the sheet and cut the cookies there. Roll the dough out till it is about 1 - 2 millimeters thick and cut out shapes with standard cookie cutters. Pepperkaker are actually better the thinner they are so try to avoid making them as thick as regular ginger bread. They also don’t rise in the oven which helps.

Place the tray in the middle of your oven and cook for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When the cookies come out of the oven they will still be a bit soft so take them off the tray and let them rest on a cooling rack for a while minutes before putting them away or eating them.

A note on flour

Over the years I have realized that flour is different depending on what continent you are on. In Norway this recipe works fine with 20 dl of white flour, but when I made the dough this year I used close to 30 dl of all purpose flour to get the same consistency. Unfortunately this means you have to experiment. I think you’ll be safe with about 25 dl but that might also be way off.

That’s it! Good luck and don’t eat too many cookies all at once!

Move over acai. Watch out pomegranate. It’s time for the latest wonderfruit to have its fifteen minutes of fame. The latest in the long list of foods that will fight cancer and extend your life expectancy: the mangosteen. Enter XanGo, the only company out there to harness the full power of this little purple fruit. Not only have they bottled its goodness, but have gone one step further by putting it in convenient little one ounce drinkers. Somehow “a shot of mangosteen a day keeps the doctor away” just doesn’t have the same ring to it…let’s take a look. Read the rest of this entry »

How often do you find yourself driving home in the thick of traffic after an arduous day of work, and turning into the drive-thru of your neighbourhood fast food joint instead of going that extra block for the supermarket? Who can blame you! No one is up for labouring over a stove, especially when Wednesday rolls around - sometimes you just want food, grease ‘n all. But trust me, the effort that goes into preparing a proper home-cooked meal will be nothing compared to the work you’ll need put in to burn off all the calories from an instant meal made up of a long list of hard-to-pronounce ingredients.

The recipes in Everyone Can Cook Midweek Meals are designed for cooks on the run, and that includes quick breakfasts, easy to prepare lunches, and dinner entrées that you’d probably never think you could make. Me? I’m all about the dessert and I’m personally dying to try out the Moist and Delicious One-Pan Chocolate Cake - it has all the key words! I know that cooking at home more regularly can be quite the hurdle, but once you start, not only will you realize that it’s easier than you think, but you just might start enjoying it! If you’re a cooking newbie, you have to get the right book though. When you pick one up, don’t just look at the pictures. If you’ve never heard of the ingredients, step away from the book. Thankfully, not only are Eric Akis’ recipes simple, but cumin is probably as exotic an ingredient as you’re gonna get!

Stay tuned for your chance to win a copy of Everyone Can Cook Midweek Meals!

For the recipe demoed in the video (and the bonus recipe for the Moist and Delicious One-Pan Chocolate Cake), read on! Read the rest of this entry »

I have an immune system like freaking Superman. Working in an urgent care clinic for five years allowed me to develop antibodies to just about every disease known to man. Because of this, having to test Astro BioBest Maximmunité seemed like an exercise in futility. What it did allow me to do, is a little research on the claims that probiotics are a necessity in our diets. They’re popping up in all sorts of products and everyone and their brother is telling you that they are an essential part of a balanced diet. Clever marketing ploy? Or legitimate healthy endeavour? We’ll see… Read the rest of this entry »

When Mad Morten cooks (i.e. when I let him), you can be sure every pot and pan within reach will be “essential” in his “culinary masterpiece.” Were I in charge of dinner, the kitchen would be spotless and the cleanup a breeze. Granted, I use the take-out menus more than the spatulas but when free time is a luxury, I just don’t want to waste it on complicated and time-consuming food preparations. That’s why I’m drawn to cookbooks with titles like “One Pot Italian Cooking.” In it, Massimo Capra (of Restaurant Makeover fame) showcases authentic Italian cooking that makes the best use of a single saucepan, skillet, soup kettle or bowl. Recipes range from the very simple Risi e Bisi (Rice & Pea Soup) to the sublime Beef Braised in Barolo, and every one of them will draw cooks to the stove, eager to stir, serve and savour the tasty results. Colourful and flavourful, One Pot Italian Cooking features more than 100 recipes developed by a master chef for everyday home cooking. For sample recipes, read on! Read the rest of this entry »

What appears on the wine label counts. You can learn a lot about a wine before you buy. The trick is to know what’s worth reading. Wine label literacy can go a long way to increasing wine enjoyment and decreasing buyer remorse.

James Nevison & Kenji Hodgson
Co-authors, “Had a Glass” Annual Series

Read the rest of this entry »

Courtesy of: Natalie MacLean
Sommelier and Author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass

“Wine is liquid sensuality: Its heady bouquet stimulates the appetite and its velvet caress soothes that desire,” says Natalie MacLean. “What other drink is described as both ‘voluptuous’ and ‘muscular’? And when you pair wine with the mouth-coating luxury of chocolate, the combination is impossible to resist.”

The creamy flavors of chocolate go best with sweet, full-bodied, high-alcohol wines, MacLean notes. She suggests wines to complement 50 chocolate dishes in her online matching tool. Just click on “desserts” to find pairings for chocolate mud pie to chocolate cheesecake.

Natalie’s Top 10 Wine and Chocolate Matches:

1. Dark Chocolate and Banyuls, France
2. Chocolate-Covered Biscotti and Recioto Della Valpolicella, Italy
3. Chocolate-Orange Cake and Liqueur Muscat, Australia
4. Chocolate with Nuts and Tawny Port, Portugal
5. Milk Chocolate and Tokaji, Hungary
6. Bittersweet Chocolate and Amarone, Italy
7. Chocolate-Dipped Fruit and Icewine, Canada
8. Chocolate Ganache Truffles and Sauternes, France
9. Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake and Framboise, California
10. Chocolate Hearts with Cream Filling and Cream Sherry, Spain

Natalie’s online food-and-wine matcher doesn’t just focus on chocolate. The interactive tool has thousands of wines to pair with any dish: meat, pasta, seafood, vegetarian fare, pizza, eggs, cheese and dessert. You simply choose the food or wine from a drop-down menu to get the pairing suggestions. There are also lots of recipes for those planning a romantic meal.

In Red, White and Drunk All Over, Natalie discusses how to match food and wine in greater depth, including wines for a multi-course dinner. There’s also a chapter with advice on pairing wine with five challenging foods: chocolate, cheese, spicy dishes, vegetables and fast food. Got a dish or a wine to stump Natalie? Just e-mail her and she’ll suggest a match for you.

Hosting a holiday party doesn’t mean you have to slave away in the kitchen preparing a full turkey feast with all the fixins’. A well thought-out tapas spread can be just as delicious but without all the hassle and time. Just go get a generous assortment of mouth-watering, ready-to-eat appetizers and bump it up a notch by preparing these home-made sauces that will take you minutes to whip up. You can even put your guests to work by having them circulate the trays. It doesn’t get easier than this!

If you are still keen on a proper dinner and would like a lighter alternative to the conventional bird, Solène Thouin, who develops recipes for M&M Meat Shops introduces a Salmon & Saffron Pasta in the video as well.

For the full recipe, read on. Read the rest of this entry »

Inspired? Well, there’s more!

For additional holiday cocktail and cuisine recipes, as well as entertaining tips, check out www.bombaysapphire.com/InspiredEntertaining