Archive for the ‘Food & Wine’ Category
December 09, 2008
Filed Under (Food & Wine) by Morten Rand-Hendriksen
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:
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 flourOver 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!
May 27, 2008
Filed Under (Food & Wine, Shopping) by Stasia Siscoe
May 07, 2008
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.
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 »
April 15, 2008
March 19, 2008
March 13, 2008
James Nevison & Kenji Hodgson
February 11, 2008
Filed Under (Food & Wine) by Angela Chih
Courtesy of: Natalie MacLean “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.
1. Dark Chocolate and Banyuls, France 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.
December 19, 2007
Filed Under (Food & Wine, Videos) by Angela Chih
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 »
December 13, 2007
Filed Under (Food & Wine, Videos) by Angela Chih
Inspired? Well, there’s more! For additional holiday cocktail and cuisine recipes, as well as entertaining tips, check out www.bombaysapphire.com/InspiredEntertaining
December 07, 2007
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