Crisp Bread

This recipe has been a big hit back in Norway over the last years. Lots of fiber, no white flour.

Ingredients;

1 cup coarse rye meal
1 cup sunflower seed
1 cup flaxseed
1 cup sesame seed
2 cups oatmeal
2 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups of water

Preheat oven to 350F.

Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir until blended. Spread dough in a thin layer on 2 baking sheets covered with parchment paper.
Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven. Using a pizza slicer cut the crisp bread into pieces of preferred size. Put the crisp breads back in the oven and continue to bake for approx. 1 hour.
Pay attention so they don't burn...

Eat alone or with your favorite topping!

Gingerbread Biscotti

With the taste and smell of Christmas these are sure to become a big hit at least at our house. Perfect for gift giving wrapped in cellophane bags.

Ingredients;

1 stick butter (113 gr)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
3 tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy and white. Add the eggs one at a time beating to blend the eggs with the butter/sugar mix between each egg. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients (I prefer to sift it but I don't think its necessary) and the vanilla extract and mix until the dough is well blended.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Divide the dough evenly in 2 equal mounds and place on the baking sheet. With moist hands space the dough evenly apart and form into 2 logs (9 by 3 inch, or longer if you prefer the biscotti not as thick).
Bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven. Cut the logs crosswise into 3/4 inch thick diagonal slices. Arrange the slices cut side down at the same baking sheet and place in the oven once more. Bake until dry and crispy. Let cool completely!

Caramelitas

As you might have noticed I don't post to many recepies for Sweet Stuff on my blog. I guess I'm more of a food person than a sweets person. This recipe though, for some reason, caught my attention and I just had to try it. Even though I'm not a big chocolate fan this is really good. The predominant taste is Caramel and that I do like...

Ingredients;

32 caramel squares ( I used some fudge like I found at Publix)

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup melted butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until caramel squares are melted and  it's completely smooth then set aside to cool. 

In a separate bowl combine melted butter, sugar, flour, oats and baking soda. Pat half of the mixture into a  8"x8" pan covered with parchment paper. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. 

Sprinkle chocolate chips over the crust then pour the caramel mixture over the chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. The edges should be slightly brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting into small squares. If the caramel still feels  to sticky put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours then try. 

Sweet dreams!! I mean sweet eats!!!

Crispy Duck

Since I'm in a duck mode these days I might as well give you this duck recipe as well. Takes a lot more time than the last one, you really need to plan ahead with this one but it's worth the time, I promise. You need to start the day before you plan on serving the crispy duck because a whole duck needs at least a day and a night in the refrigerator to defrost. Normally I buy it one day. Put it on a tray (still in the plastic cover) for the liquid when the duck defrosts so not to mess up your refrigerator. Some time in the middle of the next day I take it out and finish the defrosting on the counter to make sure it defrosts completely.

Ingredients;

1 whole duck

1/2 cucumber cut in strips lengthways
6 spring onions cut in strips lengthways
Hoisin sauce
Chinese pancakes

Trim the duck by removing the excess fat from the opening. Take out the giblets (liver, heart and gizzard) and pat dry the duck with kitchen towel (to prepare the crispy duck properly the duck is supposed to dry overnight etc. etc. but we do an easy version, it might not get as crispy but still pretty decent).

Place the duck on a rack over a deep roasting tin (I always line it with foil to ease the clean up). Roast the duck for 4 hours on 340 F. After 4 hours increase the temperature to 425 F for another half hour. Remove the duck from the oven. Transfer to a carving board and shred the duck. I use two forks and just pull at the duck so that the meat falls apart.

Serve with Chinese pancakes, hoisin sauce, spring onion and cucumber shreds. Just fill the pancakes with sauce, duck, onion and cucumber and enjoy. 

"The best way to heat the chinese pancakes is in a steamer. Keep in a damp towel after heating."

Easy Duck

Yeah, I know most of my friends here in Florida they don't like duck..... or rabbit, or moose or deer. Personally I love it all and this recipe is so easy and so good I just have to include it. Perfect for a day when you crave something fancy but really don't have the time or energy to do it. I always make sure I have duck breast in my freezer, that way I don't even need to go shopping. 

Ingredients;

Duck breast (1 per person is what I use but it really depends on the size)
Balsamic vinegar
Salt/pepper

Take the duck breast out of the freezer and put it in a bowl of water to defrost. This should only take 30 minutes. Meanwhile open the read wine, read a book or a magazine.
When the duck is ready put it meat side down in a dish and add a good amount of balsamic vinegar. It should almost cover the meat part. Please don't use expensive vinegar for this exercise, that would be a waste. Leave on the counter for 30 minutes. Take out and pat dry. If you buy frozen duck breast the skin will most likely already be scored (To make shallow cuts,usually in a diamond pattern, in the surface of certain foods, such as meat or fish. This is done for several reasons: as a decoration on some foods (breads and meats); as a means of assisting flavor absorption (as with marinated foods); to tenderize less tender cuts of meat; and to allow excess fat to drain during cooking). so the only thing you need to do is season with salt and pepper. 

Add the duck breast to a in a non stick skillet, over medium heat with the meat side up and sear until skin is golden brown, turn and sear the other side for about 3 minutes. Place the seared duck breasts in a baking dish skin side up and put in the oven. Bake until desired doneness about 10-12 minutes on 400F.Remove from oven and let rest for 5 - 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile add the balsamic vinegar from the dish to the skillet with the duck fat (from the searing) and place it back on the stovetop over medium heat. Heat, simmer, season and serve with the duck breast. (you can also add orange juice, port wine, orange zest etc. to the sauce for flavor, make sure to use whatever liquids you get from slicing the duck breasts for serving).

Slice the breasts into 1/4-inch slices on a diagonal. Pour the sauce on top. Serve with green salad, green beans, root vegetable puree or whatever you fancy. 

So something happened to my picture. I'll promise to fix that soon. 

Baked pork with pesto, mozzarella and prosciutto

This dish you can either bake in the oven or on the grill (in a baking dish as there will be a lot of liquids).
You can serve it with baked potato boats, rice or as we do most of the time, with a green salad.

Ingredients;


2 pork fillets
Pesto
2 buffalo mozzarella rounds
Basil
Prosciutto (I use Boar's Head Prosciutto but you can of course do it more luxurious and use Prosciutto di Parma!)
Salt/pepper


Trim the fillets and butterfly it. You can take a look at how to do that here (This is a pork loin so it is a little bit thicker than the fillet). Add pieces of mozzarella and spoonfuls of pesto along the middle and top with fresh basil, salt and pepper.

Roll the sides together over the filling and put the prosciutto on top and tuck under to lock the dish. Add to a baking pan for the oven or a grill pan for the grill.
Bake in the oven on 425F for at least 15-20 minutes, until the fillets are cooked all through or on the grill on high heat. The fillets will not become dry due to the filling, at least mine don't!!!

Grrrrrrr!

Mustard dressing

We eat a lot of salads at our house and so as not to get bored I have a lot of different dressings that I use. This is one of them!

Ingredients;


3 tbsp honey
1 tsp dijon mustard (or more, I not to exact when making dressing)
salt/pepper
white vinegar (white wine, white balsamic, apple vinegar or whatever white vinegar you fancy)
olive oil (I don't use expensive oil when I make a dressing like this)


First I add the honey, dijon, salt/pepper and vinegar to a bowl and whisk until combined. Taste the mix to make sure it has the right balance of sweet and sour and enough salt/pepper.

When that is done add the olive oil a little bit at a time while whisking continuously. After a while the dressing will thicken and get a more dressing like texture. Thats when you start to taste to see when you have added enough oil. This is all about preference, some use a little bit more, some less. The important thing to remember is that the dressing is not done, and it is not enough oil until it thickens. This might sound strange but you will notice....

You can also use this recipe to make a balsamic dressing, just use balsamic vinegar instead of white. You can also add garlic, herbs etc. to make it even more interesting.

Yumm!