Dad’s Fish Cakes

November 21, 2013 ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

Chris is working the night shift these weeks so we don’t see each other that much and we don’t cook and eat together 😦 I don’t know why, but I rarely make a proper meal when I’m alone, so yesterday my parents decided to feed (properly a good ideas as I have been living of popcorn, meringue kisses and macarons the few days).

For a looooong time my dad has claimed that he makes the best fish cakes in the world, so last night wanted to prove it… and he was right!! It is without doubt the best fish cakes I have ever tasted (and I have tasted many many many variations of fish cake)! And I am not alone with that opinion… On my way home from my parents, I stopped at Chris’ work with dinner and he loved them too 🙂

Three things that make these fish cakes better than other fish cakes is: 1) the fish is chopped and not minced which gives a more fluffy and light texture, 2) bacon – everything with bacon tastes fabulous! and, 3) it contains spring onions instead of regular white onions, giving it a bit more fresh taste!

I hope that you’ll try this recipe so that my dad’s fish cake recipe can go all around the world 🙂

Ingredients (18 fish cakes)

2 pounds cod filet

6 tbsp. bread crumbs

2 eggs

4 large spring onions

15 slices bacon

5 tbsp. milk

Salt & pepper

Cut the fish into small cubes and chop it finely. Do the same with bacon and spring onions – but for God’s sake don’t blend it!! If you blend the fish toy will end up with heavy and sticky fish cakes instead of light and textured.

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Let rest in the fridge before dividing it into 18 equally sized pieces. Form each piece into a ball and press it flat – approximately 1/2-inch thick.

Fry in butter for about 4 minutes on each side. Let rest for a few minutes before served. These were served with cooked potatoes and white parsley sauce 🙂

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (18 fish cakes)

900 g cod filet

6 tbsp. bread crumbs

2 eggs

4 large spring onions

15 slices bacon

5 tbsp. milk

Salt & pepper

The Famous Pulled Pork Burger

November 17, 2013 ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 4 Comments

It’s sunday – it’s hangover time – it’s burger time! And nothing beats a perfect pulled pork burger?? We have made pulled pork for years – even before it was know in Denmark. We make it from a whole ham, which we smoke at a low temperature for 18-20 hours before it’s pulled and eaten. Most people in Denmark use a pork collar which they prepare in the oven or in a charcoal grill, but rarely in a smoker! Actually many famous Danish chefs recommend using pork collar and we couldn’t disagree more!! The biggest difference between the methods and meat cuts is the taste. Smoking the meat for hours and in a proper smoker gives the meat so much flavor and a beautiful beautiful color which you will never e able to obtain in the oven or in a charcoal grill.
But enough about our complaints and disagreements, and on to the pulled pork burger 🙂

We often make burgers: blue cheese burger, peanut butter burgers, cheese burgers etc. but this is without doubt our favorite burger in the whole world – and many of our friends seems to agree with this 🙂 You should try it – we’ll guarantee that you will LOVE it!

Ingredients (2 burgers)

1 1/2 cup pulled pork

1 cup coleslaw

2 burger buns (ciabatta is preferable)

1 tbsp. mayo

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. whisky bbq sauce

Heat the pulled pork in a sauce pan and add 1/2 cup bbq sauce – stir to combine and remove from heat when the bbq sauce begins to caramelize.

Cut the buns in two and heat them in the oven. Spread mayo on the bottom half and 1/2 tbsp. bbq sauce on each top half.
Place coleslaw on the bottom bun followed by pulled pork and the remaining bbq sauce and the top bun!

Serve on a hot summer day, a hangover sunday or any other day of the year 🙂

This is without doubt our favorite burger – actually it is our favorite dish! Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do 🙂

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (2 burgers)

3.75 dl pulled pork

2.5 dl coleslaw

2 burger buns (ciabatta is preferable)

1 tbsp. mayo

1.25 dl + 2 tbsp. whisky bbq sauce

Crunchy Romanesco Salad

November 15, 2013 ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

Romanesco broccoli (or as some call it, romanesque cauliflower) is a lovechild between broccoli and cauliflower and belongs to the group of edible flowers. In its taste it is milder than cauliflower but more powerful than broccoli, and then it just look fabulous! Some say that taste is everything, but we believe that good looks give the dish the final touch that contributes to the over all experience – and romanesco broccoli is one of the vegetables that makes the food look fabulous 🙂

We have made this salad a dozen times before but haven’t had time to take pictures before now. It only contains a few ingredients, only takes a few minutes to make and tastes fabulous. So if you see a romanesco broccoli next time you buy groceries, buy it and try it!

Ingredients (3-4 servings)

1 Romanesco broccoli

1 large red onion

1/2 cup cashew nuts, roasted

Dressing

1 tbsp. dijon mustard

3 tsp. honey

1 tsp. olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Clean the romanesco broccoli and cut it into small bite sized bouquets. Cut the onion into small pieces and place in a bowl together with the romanesco bouquets.

Place mustard, honey and olive oil in another bowl and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well. Let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, mixing once or twice to divide the dressing.

Arrange the salad on a plate or in small serving bowls. Chop the cashew nuts roughly and drizzle on top of the salad.

Goes great with a medium/rare steak and salt baked potatoes 🙂

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (3-4 servings)

1 Romanesco broccoli

1 large red onion

1.25 dl cashew nuts, roasted

Dressing

1 tbsp. dijon mustard

3 tsp. honey

1 tsp. olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Red Cabbage Salad with Peanut Butter and Blackberries

November 11, 2013 ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 1 Comment

A while ago my cousin Connie send me the recipe for the fabulous salad with red cabbage, peanut butter dressing and blackberries. She know how we love all kinds of food and she often recommends recipes she have tried herself.

Red cabbage is one of those cabbage types which the Danes eat a lot in the autumn and winter periods – especially around Christmas where we serve it with oven roasted duck, cooked potatoes, potato chips and gravy (hopefully I will get the opportunity to take some pictures of the food this Christmas).

Red cabbage tends to be quite bitter when eaten raw, but combined with both sweetness (e.g. peanut butter), freshness (e.g. pomegranate seeds, apple- or orange slices) and crispiness (e.g. roasted nuts) it can be the perfect side dish for all kinds of flavorful meat types like duck, venison, bison or wild boar.

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 handful parsley

1 red chili

1/2 lemon, juice

1 tbsp. peanut butter

2 tbsp. honey

2 tsp. salt

1/4 red cabbage

1/5 cup pumpkin seeds, salted

1/2 cup blackberries

Chop the parsley and chili finely. Combine peanut butter, honey and lemon juice in a small mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the chopped parsley and chili.

Remove the stem from the cabbage and slice it into thin small pieces. Combine with peanut butter dressing and let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

While the salad is resting you can roast the salted pumpkin seeds on a hot pan for 5-6 minutes or until they begin to get golden. Stir once in a while to avoid burning.

Arrange the rested salad in a beautiful white plate and decorate with roasted pumpkin seeds and blackberries. The perfect salad for duck, venison or other very flavorful meat types 🙂

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 handful parsley

1 red chili

0.5 lemon, juice

1 tbsp. peanut butter

2 tbsp. honey

2 tsp. salt

0.25 red cabbage

0.5 dl pumpkin seeds, salted

1.25 dl blackberries

Chocolate Orange Cookies

November 10, 2013 ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 1 Comment

We both love chocolate cookies as they are, but sometimes it is funny to experiment and make new variations of old recipes. As christmas is coming up, I wanted to try a version with orange as it reminds me of my childhood where my mom had oranges with cloves hanging in the windows.
Last year I bought a few tablespoons of orange purée and it was very expensive, so I decided to try and make my own this year. It turned out to be great and will definitely recommend that you make it yourself (it is very easy). Putting my home made orange purée into these cookies has been nothing less than a hit and I am without doubt going to make them for christmas 🙂

Ingredients (16 cookies)

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate (I prefer Amedei Toascano Black 70%)

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (— // —)

1 tbsp. butter

1 egg

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. orange purée

Melt chocolate and butter together slowly in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Be careful not to get any water into the bowl, as it will ruin the chocolate.

In another bowl whisk together egg, sugar, vanilla sugar and orange purée. Whisk until combined and add the melted chocolate (before adding the chocolate, make sure that it is not warmer than room temperature, otherwise it will ruin the batter).

Combine until smooth before shifting in flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk again until combined and then add the chocolate chips (if your chocolate chips are large, it is good idea to chop them roughly, before adding them to the batter).

Put teaspoonfuls on a baking tray, and bake at 350F for 12-13 minutes.

And VERY IMPORTANTLY – don’t forget to lick the bowl, spatula and spoons so that nothing goes to waist 😀

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (16 cookies)

100 g bittersweet chocolate (I prefer Amedei Toscano Black 70%)

50 g bitterweet chocolate chips (— // —)

1 tbsp. butter

1 egg

85 g granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla sugar

40 g flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. orange purée

Orange Puree

November 10, 2013November 10, 2013 ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 1 Comment

This is by far the easiest thing I have ever made!! And tastes even better than the expensive two tablespoons I bought last christmas. And the best thing is that you get all the antioxidants from orange peel AND it is totally organic – what a great deal!

I have frozen a majority of the portion for christmas treats, and used a bit for chocolate orange cookies which tastes nothing less than FABULOUS!!

Ingredients (2 cups)

4 organic oranges

Wash and dry the oranges carefully before cutting the top and bottom off. Cut the oranges in half and remove all seeds (if any) and the stem. Cut the oranges into smaller pieces and place them in a hand blender. Blend until the purée has the wanted consistency.

Place the purée in an air tight container and fridge if you are going to use it within days. If not, divide in smaller portions – use an ice cube tray if you have one – and freeze until use 🙂

Use in chocolate orange cookies, christmas treat or in your christmas gravy!

Bon Appétit!

Our Growing Edge: Autumn Beer Cheese Soup

November 10, 2013November 10, 2013 ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 3 Comments

This post is part of the monthly link up party Our Growing Edge. This event aims at to connect food bloggers from all over the world and inspire us to try new things.
This month is hosted by my utensil crock – a full-time attorney with an enterprising cooking habit 🙂

We’re been talking about beer cheese soup for a while but never really took the time to find the perfect combination of ingredients. Then a few days ago we were encouraged by the wind and rain to make soup and having all the ingredients in the pantry made it a quite easy soup choice 😀

W chose to submit this exact recipe to Our Growing Edge as the recipe and combination of ingredients is totally new to us and it turned out to one of the best soups we have ever made!!

For some it might sound strange with beer and cheese in a soup, but we promise that it tastes fabulous and can be served both as a week night dinner or as a starter when having guests over for dinner.

Hope that you we will love this soup as much as we already does, and if you have any suggestions for other variations of this recipe, you are welcome to leave a comment 🙂

Ingredients (6 servings)

2 pounds potatoes, peeled

3 large onions

2 tbsp. butter

4 tbsp. flour

1 tbsp. cayenne pepper

3 cups beer

2 cups chicken stock

3 cups whole milk

1 cup aged cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt & Pepper

Garnish

15 bacon slices

1/2 cup aged cheddar cheese, shredded

2 slices rye bread, cubed

Slice the onions and cube the potatoes. Sauté both in melted butter for 3-5 minutes before adding the cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.

Sprinkle the flour on top of the sautéed vegetables and stir a few times before adding all the beer. Let reach the boiling point before turning down the heat a bit.

The add chicken stock and milk and let simmer for 30-40 minutes before adding the shredded cheddar cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

While the soup is simmering you can fry the bacon and make the rye croutons. Cut the bacon slices into smaller pieces and fry it. Use a fork or spoon to transfer the fried bacon to plate with paper towel – leave as much bacon fat on the pan as possible.

When all the bacon has been removed from the pan you can add the rye bread cubes to the bacon fat. Let fry until crisp and season with salt.

Remove the soup from the heat and blend it until smooth and thick. Put the lid on the sauce pan and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Garnish the soup with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon crisp and rye bread croutons and serve with a good glass of red wine 🙂

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (6 servings)

900 g potatoes, peeled

3 large onions

2 tbsp. butter

4 tbsp. flour

1 tbsp. cayenne pepper

7.5 dl beer

5 dl chicken stock

7.5 dl whole milk

2.5 dl aged cheddar cheese, shredded

Salt & Pepper

Garnish

15 bacon slices

1.25 dl aged cheddar cheese, shredded

2 slices rye bread, cubed

Spaghetti Meat Sauce Pie

November 5, 2013 ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ 1 Comment

I have for years – and years is no exaggeration – wanted to make a spaghetti meat sauce pie, but I have alway been bad at making a good pie dough. Now that I have found the perfect recipe for pie dough, I had no excuse not to make make it 😀

Spaghetti meat sauce is one of those dishes that tastes great and making enough it tastes even greater the day after so we sometimes make it, if we know that we will be busy and unable to cook for a few day. Putting a regular spaghetti dish into a pie raises the level of deliciousness just a bit and I will definitely try it with some of my other week night dishes that needs to be spiced up a bit 🙂

Ingredients (4-6 servings)

Pie dough:

2 2/5 cup flour

2/3 cup butter, cold

2 small eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 lemon, juice

1 egg, beaten (for brushing)

Meat sauce:

1 pound minced beef

1 tbsp. butter

2 onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. dried oregano

1. tbsp. dried thyme

1 tbsp. dried basil

2 red chilis, chopped

2 cups red wine

Salt & pepper

1/2 pound dried spaghetti

1 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions

Pie dough: Cut the butter in to small cubes and place it in a mixing bowl together with flour and salt. Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer to mix until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Add the two beaten eggs and the lemon juice and mix until just combined. Pour the combined dough on to slightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Make sure that there are no lumps in the dough – it should be smooth. Wrap in plastic foil and fridge while making the spaghetti and meat sauce.

Meat sauce: Melt the butter in a sauce pan and sauté onions and garlic for a few minutes. Add the minced meat and fry until the meat is browned. THen add dried herbs, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and chillies and red wine. Stir to combine and let cook for 20-30 minutes at medium heat or until almost all the red wine has evaporated. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Cook the spaghetti as recommended on the package and add it to the meat sauce when cooked. Stir to combine. If you have trouble combining it, try and cut the spaghettis in smaller pieces with a kitchen scissor.

Cut the pie dough into two pieces – 2/3 and 1/3. Roll the largest piece out until it is large enough to cover a the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie dish. Place the rolled dough in a greased and floured pie dish. Pour spaghetti meat sauce into the pie and sprinkle with the shredded parmesan cheese. Grease the edges with beaten egg.
Roll out the remaining dough, cut a few holes in it so any remaining liquids can evaporate, and place on top of the spaghetti meat sauce. Press the dough together with your fingers or a fork. Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg.

Bake at 400F for 30-35 minutes and let rest on a wire rack for further 15-20 minutes before serving.

Serve with a crispy and fresh salad like raw brussels sprouts salad, roasted cauliflower salad or maybe a cauliflower and roasted almond salad.

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (4-6 servings)

Pie dough:

300 g flour

150 g butter, cold

2 small eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 lemon, juice

1 egg, beaten (for brushing)

Meat sauce:

450 g minced beef

1 tbsp. butter

2 onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. dried oregano

1. tbsp. dried thyme

1 tbsp. dried basil

2 red chilis, chopped

5 dl red wine

Salt & pepper

225 g dried spaghetti

2.5 dl parmesan cheese

Raw Brussels Sprout Salad

November 3, 2013 ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

Many people have the idea that brussels sprouts taste bad and we could not disagree more with that statement!! We just love the little green ball vitamin bomb and we serve it in many different variations for all kinds of meat and seafood 🙂 Actually we believe that any vegetable tastes great if you make it the right way – so don’t reject it if you have had one or two bad experiences with a vegetable. Keep trying and find your own favorite 🙂

Among our favorite recipes containing brussels sprouts is our honey glazed version together with this raw salad with honey/mustard dressing and roasted cashew nut. This salad does not in any way taste like brussels sprouts as most remember them from their childhood (cooked to death), so there is no excuse for not trying it….

If you have a great recipe containing brussels sprouts you are welcome to leave a comment or mail it to us (foodondemant@gmail.com).

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 pound brussels sprouts

1 red onion

3.5 oz. feta cheese

1/2 cup cashew nuts, roasted

Honey/mustard Dressing

1 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. mustard

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 lemon, juice

Clean the brussels sprout by removing the outer layer of leaves. Cut the brussels sprouts in thin slices, chop the onions, feta cheese and roasted nuts and combine it all in a mixing bowl.

Combine honey, mustard, olive oil and lemon juice in another mixing and season with pepper. Stir until evenly combined. Pour the dressing over the salad, stir to mix and let rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Serve as a side dish for all sorts of meat, seafood, pies or whatever you have for dinner – and we promise you, that your kids will love it 😉

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (4 servings)

450 g brussels sprouts

1 red onion

100 g feta cheese

1.25 dl cashew nuts, roasted

Honey/mustard Dressing

1 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. mustard

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 lemon, juice

Salad with Pearl Barley, Apples and Bacon

November 3, 2013 ~ Ann & Chris Demant ~ Leave a comment

Looking through our recipe index you will find a large number of high fat recipes, but we are not alway eating unhealthy 😉 We often make salads and monday through thursday we try to avoid wheat – notice the ‘try’ 😀

Salad inspiration is often found on other blogs or through television cooking shows, but we are not that good at following recipes and often we just don’t have the required ingredients, meaning that we just use what we have in the fridge/pantry.
The inspiration for this salad comes from Salattosen – a Danish salad creator with huge success due to her innovative ideas and good looking pictures. There is no doubt that she has made us eat vegetables that we didn’t even know before visiting her site. So thank you Mette!

Ingredients (2-3 servings)

1 cup pearl barley

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 lemon, juice

1 red onion

1 apple

1 cup cilantro (or other fresh herbs)

8 slices bacon

Pepper for seasoning

Rinse the barley in cold water and cook as described on the packages (approximately 45 minutes). Let cool if you want a cold salad, otherwise you can make the salad immediately.

While cooking the barley you can fry the bacon slices. Let drip off on paper towel when fried to remove the dripping fat.

Add the olive oil and lemon juice to the barley and stir. Chop the onion, apple and cilantro, add it to the barley and stir. Taste and season with if necessary.

Crumble the fried bacon and add it to the salad just before serving. The salad can be made hours before serving, but the we would recommend that you add the bacon just before serving as it otherwise looses its crispiness. Id you are a vegetarian you can leave out the bacon and season with a bit of salt instead.
The salad is suitable for all sorts of meat, but this times we served it with home made fish fingers 🙂

Bon Appétit!

Ingredients (2-3 servings)

2.5 dl pearl barley

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 red onion

1 apple

2.5 dl cilantro (or other fresh herbs)

8 slices bacon

Pepper for seasoning

Food on Demant

by Ann & Chris Demant

Month: November 2013

Dad’s Fish Cakes

The Famous Pulled Pork Burger

Crunchy Romanesco Salad

Red Cabbage Salad with Peanut Butter and Blackberries

Chocolate Orange Cookies

Orange Puree

Our Growing Edge: Autumn Beer Cheese Soup

Spaghetti Meat Sauce Pie

Raw Brussels Sprout Salad

Salad with Pearl Barley, Apples and Bacon