Glögg
December 31, 2015
From Nordstjernan
- Half cup (4 oz) vodka or whiskey or brandy
- 5 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp crushed cardamom kernels
- 1 orange peel
- Mix vodka & spices in covered jar in refrigerator overnight, filter. Then add to wine and sugar, heat.
- 1 bottle wine (burgundy/cab sav/merlot)
- 1 cup sugar
- vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla sugar)
VERSION 2.0 another version (change spices – like when making aquavit)
- 4 oz vodka (or whiskey or cognac)
- 5 cinnamon sticks
- 20 cloves
- 1 piece ginger (peeled)
- 1 tsp crushed cardamom pods
- 1 piece orange peel
Mix vodka & spices in covered jar in refrigerator overnight, filter with coffee filter. Then add to wine and 1 C sugar and 1 tsp vanilla sugar, heat.
SERVE WITH
- blanched almond slivers
- raisins
Creamed Spinach
February 28, 2015
Z and Cam made this December 2014. Serves 4-6 (Peter Luger steakhouse NYC 1890s) Spinach wilts down to nothing – use all 20 oz.
- 2 (10 oz) packages fresh spinach (remove tough stems)
- 3 Tb butter
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3TB + 1 tsp all purpose flour
- 2 C milk
- ½C grated Parmesan cheese
- salt & pepper
1. Cook spinach:
- Boil 1 inch water,add spinach, cover, steam until wilted 3-5 min.
- Drain, rinse cold water, press out water (squeeze),
- chop on cutting board.
2. Make cream:
- melt butter on medium heat, sauté onion and garlic until softened about 4 min.
- Stir in flour – cook 1 minute.
- Whisk in milk and cook until hot and thickened.
- Stir in cheese.
3. Add spinach and cook until hot about 2 minutes. season salt & pepper.
(Can make ahead – butter a casserole dish, add cooked spinach, sprinkle with bread crumbs, refrigerate until 40 min before serving. Bake at 350°F about 30 min until hot and bubbly.)
Aquavit
December 9, 2014
“Mock Aquavit” by Andreas Viestad 2014
Fylgia #119 Norcal scandi.
try playing with spices to get that OP Anderson taste for a Julbord
- 2 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 TB coriander seeds
- 2 tsp dill seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 star anise
- 1 whole clove
- 2 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
- 1 750 ml /liter bottle potato or other good vodka
Open the vodka bottle, add all the remaining ingredients and cover tightly (Note: option to warm all the spices in a dry frying pan until they begin to release their essence)
Let stand in a cool, dark place for 1 to 2 weeks, gently shake every 2 or 3 days. How long you let it sit depends on how strong you want it, so taste it after 7 days to see if you want to let it go longer. Strain the solids through a sieve and discard them, then transfer the aquavit back into the bottle. If it becomes too strong, you can dilute it with a little plain Absolut or other vodka. (optional- add dash Marsala wine)
You can add a little orange or lemon rind. A little goes a long way.
To serve: place your aquavit in the freezer until chilled.
Ted’s Glögg
November 20, 2014
Glögg Serves 15
Need large stainless steel pot, steel strainer to flame sugar cubes, small steel pot to warm vodka to flame sugar, medium strainer to filter wine if cheese cloth not used.
Basically equal parts red wine and port, (e.g. 1 750 ml bottle wine and 1 750 ml bottle port and up to 1 bottle 750 ml vodka). Simmer with spices:cinnamon stick, cardamom seeds or pods, cloves, orange peel, vanilla bean, fresh ginger. Caramelize some sugar either flaming cubed sugar with vodka or simmer in a pot to caramelize sugar. Serve with raisins soaked in brandy and slivered blanched almonds.
WINES warm wine and spices in large stainless steel pot for 1 hour. Do not boil.
- 1 bottle 750 ml red wine (burgundy or merlot or claret)
- 1 bottle 750 ml ruby port
SPICES – put all (except whole orange) into cheese cloth or strain later using a medium sieve .
- 1 tsp about 20 Cardamom seeds, crushed with pestle
- 1 vanilla bean sliced open and scrape seeds
- 15 whole cloves
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 inch fresh ginger (grate or slice thin)- optional
- thin peel of an orange (save some peel to caramelize with sugar)- stud peeled orange with cloves and put orange into pot of wine
Carmelize Sugar – Two options: use stainless strainer, small stainless pot to warm vodka OR caramelize in saucepan
- 750 ml vodka
- ½ LB sugar cubes
- Option One: Flame sugar cubes in strainer method: stack some cubes sugar in flat strainer over pot of wine. Pour warmed vodka over sugar, light with BBQ lighter. wait until all blue flames gone, repeat sugar stack, vodka, lighting flame until all sugar carmelized. OR
- Option Two: Carmelize sugar in in pot with vodka. Warm over med-low, stir until golden syrupy. Simmer 15 min until large bubble form – now you have carmelized sugar, pour into warm wine quickly before sugar gets hard.
Garnish – serve Glögg warm, let guests add almonds & raisins.
- 1C raisins (cover with vodka or brandy, warm in microwave, store in jar in refrigerator)
- 1 cup slivered almonds
Olsson Swedish Meatballs
January 29, 2013
This is adapted from the red “Swedish Food” cookbook, 1951 (4th edition)
Basic recipe ratio 3:1 ground beef:pork.
- ¾ LB ground beef (can use some veal)
- ¼ LB ground pork
- 1/3 C bread crumbs (or slice of old bread)
- 1 C water or milk (or soda water)
- 1 TB finely chopped onions, sautéed in 1 TB butter until golden
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper (optional additions: or savory add dash of: marjoram, basil, thyme OR for Julbord: dash of ground cloves, allspice & ginger)
- 1 egg
Mix bread crumbs with water/milk, then mix all ingredients together.
Shape into SMALL balls, dip into water to keep spoon from sticking.
Fry in 2-3 TBS butter until evenly brown, shake pan continuously to keep balls round.
Swedish Meatballs
May 28, 2012
Pelle’s basic recipe: 60/40 beef/pork
red wine redux, veal bone glacé, cloves, all spice, ginger, white pepper.
(poached salmon- sauce blanche, caper, dill, lemon)
Olsson Recipes 