These are some photos from prior trips taken in Gothenburg and Stockholm.
Well folks I’m off to Sweden, the land of the Midnight Sun. I will try to post via the Go.Blogger and Blackberry route(nix that, way to expensive with international roaming charges) or my friends computer.If not I will have a full recap of my adventures when I return. I plan to meet up with two fellow Daring Bakers in Stockholm and look forward to getting to know them. The rest of the week will be occupied with moving into Certain Someones summer house and a wedding.See ya when I get back.
PS:
We all love contests and chances to win free stuff!How apropos Sweden,Salmon,Salmon,Sweden….. Check this out:
WIN A SUMMER OF WILD SALMON CONTEST
Please submit your best salmon recipe to MarxFoods.com by Friday, June 20, 2008. Salmon should be the star of the dish, but the recipe can incorporate any variety of salmon—fresh, frozen, smoked, canned, pickled, etc.
The creator of the winning recipe will receive three separate 5 lb. shipments of wild salmon fillets (15 lbs. total); one in July, August, and September, 2008, on the date of the winner’s choosing. Each shipment will contain a different type of wild salmon, varying by species and river origin.
The winning recipe will be judged by the MarxFoods.com staff on deliciousness and originality. Please only enter a recipe that can be created in a home (vs. professional) kitchen.
Results will be announced on Wednesday, June 25.
I submitted mine! Good Luck and see/read you when I get back.
Glamah
Category: Misc.
Cheers,It’s Friday Cocktail Hour…News,Prizes,Contests,and Bellini’s!
Wow, this week has buzzed by and I’m no where near ready for my trip Saturday. I almost forgot about my little Friday Cocktail Hours. Today I decided to mix some bubbly stuff with some fabulous white peaches in my CSA box. I have an abundance of produce as its only me for the past week. As I was slicing my peaches for freezing, I thought of the Bellini! Perfect.First a few things before we toast.
I am horrible with the whole award /meme thing. It doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. I just may forget to pass it on or write about it because my time is spent trying to hit all your wonderful blogs between posting, living life, and taking care of Certain Someone.I will go through a little blog withdrawals next week, but that will be good. The wonderful Marye had passed along the Blogging with Purpose award to me a few weeks back. I love Marye and feel she’s a real , down to earth ,caring, honest person who truly has a healthy handle on life. I look forward to her daily posts.
And Gabi kind of reminds me a little of myself for various reasons I have observed over the months.She’s an awesome cake decorator. She awarded me the Yummy Blogs award.
So I cant even begin to think who to pass these on to because I love everyone I read. I really consider you virtual friends and all of you have a purpose and are Yummy. Or else why would I tune in? So these awards go to all of you. Feel free to pass them on.
I also won 2 prizes last week. I never win. First Andrea informed me that I won “Spain and the World Table by the Culinary Institute of America”! Then Bren is sending me some fantastic goodies from her recent trip from Trinidad Tobago Culinary Festival. I guessed the two ethnic groups and national dish of Trinidad Tobago. OK it took me two tries on the National dish. But I won some!
If your feeling a little competitive and want to score some free salmon, check this out from Marx Food:
Wild Alaskan Salmon is in season and MarxFoods.com is seeking out new and exciting recipes and applications. Please submit your favorite salmon recipe below by Friday, June 20, 2008. Salmon should be the star of the dish, but the recipe can incorporate any variety of salmon—fresh, frozen, smoked, canned, pickled, etc.
The creator of the winning recipe will receive three separate 5 lb. shipments of wild salmon fillets; one in July, August, and September, 2008, on the day of their choosing. Each shipment will contain a different type of wild salmon, varying by species and river origin.
The winning recipe will be judged by the MarxFoods.com staff on deliciousness and originality. Please only enter a recipe that can be created in a home (vs. professional) kitchen. Each contestant is limited to entering one recipe.
A winner will be announced on Wednesday, June 25.
TO ENTER
Submit your salmon recipe in the comment section below. Please include a recipe name or title. Stories are welcome and if you have an accompanying photo, please e-mail it to us and we’ll add it to your post.
The creator of the winning recipe will receive three separate 5 lb. shipments of wild salmon fillets; one in July, August, and September, 2008, on the day of their choosing. Each shipment will contain a different type of wild salmon, varying by species and river origin.
The winning recipe will be judged by the MarxFoods.com staff on deliciousness and originality. Please only enter a recipe that can be created in a home (vs. professional) kitchen. Each contestant is limited to entering one recipe.
A winner will be announced on Wednesday, June 25.
TO ENTER
Submit your salmon recipe in the comment section below. Please include a recipe name or title. Stories are welcome and if you have an accompanying photo, please e-mail it to us and we’ll add it to your post.
Now onto the Bellini’s!What better perfect summer cocktail than the Bellini! If you have fresh white peaches or frozen peach puree, give it a shot. Don’t use yellow peaches. I was always under the mistaken impression that the alcohol base was Champagne. A true Bellini uses a Prosecco or other Italian dry sparkling wine. They were created and made famous at the famous Harry’s bar in Venice. Cheers.
Bellini Serves 1
2 parts white peach puree(make your own if you can while you can get them this summer!)
4 parts Prosecco,or other sparkling wine, preferably Italian( although I could see a nice Spanish Cava being used in a pinch).
dash of cherry juice or grenadine optional.
Pour peach puree in a flute and top off with the sparkling wine.Sit back , relax,and take a deep breath.
And finally a interesting tidbit I got via email from a friend.Don’t know if its true or not, but it’s somewhat funny and food related.
WANTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER (the actual AP headline) Linda Burnett, 23, a resident of San Diego, was visiting her in-laws, and while there she went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries. Several people noticed her sitting in her car with the windows rolled up and with her eyes closed, with both hands behind the back of her head. One customer who had been at the store for a while became concerned and walked over to the car. He noticed that Linda’s eyes were now open, and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay, and Linda replied that she’d been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in for over an hour. The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors were locked and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head. When they finally got in, they found that Linda had a wad of bread dough on the back of her head. <>A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot, and the wad of dough hit her in the back of her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt the dough and thought it was her brains. She initially passed out, but quickly recovered and tried to hold her brains in for over an hour until someone noticed and came to her aid. Linda is a blonde and a Republican, but I’m certain that’s irrelevant. Practice random acts of kindness!
Playing Around With Country Bob’s Original All Purpose Sauce
A few weeks back, the people at Country Bob’s emailed me and asked would I mind reviewing and talking about their product.Would I mind? Send it on over.
The promptly sent over 2 bottles of their Original All Purpose Sauce. Come to find out they are based in Illinois! With all my cake projects, etc I was to busy to cook. Certain Someone was leaving for Sweden and I relented and let him have his Harold’s chicken. He’s addicted to this South Side Specialty. Normally they drown the chicken and fries in either a hot or BBQ Sauce.Its unbelievable. I told him to order it plain and undressed so we could add the Country Bobs to it. 
On first taste it pretty good. Not as sweet, thick, and gooey as most BBQ sauces. I actually described it as cross between a Steak Sauce and a BBQ . I liked. I just felt eating it with the chicken, I poured more on as it was a thinner sauce.
On first taste it pretty good. Not as sweet, thick, and gooey as most BBQ sauces. I actually described it as cross between a Steak Sauce and a BBQ . I liked. I just felt eating it with the chicken, I poured more on as it was a thinner sauce.So then I decided to actually cook with it. If you visit their web site, they have a lot of great recipes. On a leisurely Sunday with the man away I decided to make Chicken Sausage. With that I was going to make Chicken Meatballs baked with Country Bobs! I much preferred using Country Bobs Original All Purpose Sauce as a cooking sauce , but it was good as a dunking sauce too. I definitely would like to try their other products.
Here is my quick Chicken Sausage Meatballs recipe:
Chicken Meatballs
4-5 chicken thighs
1 leek
1 apple
1 egg
1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 bottle of Country Bob’s Original All Purpose Sauce
olive oil
Spices to season:* play around with your qty’s to suit your tastes
Maple Sugar
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt
Smoked Paprika
Cumin
Run the Chicken Thighs, leek, and apple through your Kitchen Aid Meat Grinder. Season with your spices. Add egg and breadcrumbs. Mixture is slightly runny, but able to handle with oiled hands to form balls. Place formed meatballs in a pre oiled baking dish. Bake at 350 for approx 25 minutes. Pour 1/2 bottle of Country Bobs and toss the meatballs. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Serve as appetizers, as a sandwich, etc.
Sorry you missed it Honey!
The End Of The Era…The Last of Greats Is Gone
The last of the great designers is gone. Yves St . Laurent passed away today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/style/01cnd-laurent.html?hp
He was my main inspiration as a child to pursue fashion. I even lived across the street from his Fashion house on a small street next to the Avenue Marceau. I have long since given up fashion design. Perhaps because fashion such as the one Mr. St. Laurent created doesn’t exist anymore. Nowadays any pop tart of rap artist can call themselves a designer. Oh the watered down interpretations will live on in tribute,but we need more magicians such Yves.They don’t come like that anymore.
It Looks Cute… But This Sweet Pea Cake Tried To Give Me Trouble
Babies are so cute. But behind all that cuteness they can be some messy trouble!My good old friend S (who looks like Liza Minnelli in her Halston/Cabaret days) is going to young hot grandma!And she asked me ( OK I suggested and hinted) to make her daughters Baby Shower cake. The child( yes I still think of her as a child) wanted a Sweet Pea themed cake. Gender neutral( I feel its going to be boy as I type this). Damn! I remember giving the girl Spice Girl clippings from my old magazines. I’m old. I’m not up on Mommy culture and all things baby, so I had to sleuth to find Sweet Peas cakes and deigns. Not much out there but yet its a popular theme.
So I went to Cake Walk , my favorite store, and purchased what I needed. I normally use mixes to provide protection against any disasters. But I loved that Perfect Party Cake recipe from Dori Greenspan. I wanted to use the sponge and butter cream.Normally I use Wilton butter cream made with shortening, but my taste buds wanted the real deal. Who know it would get so warm! In the fridge,out the fridge…… The Mama to be wanted a marbled cake( just divided the batter in to two and added cocoa)
, strawberry filling, and coconut butter cream. OK , she’s pregnant! But her wish was my command. . I used Coconut extract for LorAnne Oils and Creme of Coconut as well. I forgot to get a divider as I was making tiers. So I fashioned one from heavy Styrofoam plates and lollipop sticks for support. And you know what it worked!. My issues were my layers crumbled apart as I tried to rectify a mistake. I pieced it together and filled it up with butter cream and filling. Then I I realized my top layer on the bottom tier had filling on top and no cake. I wasn’t thinking!Quick something. I had some fondant that I placed over the filling. It worked. Then I added the second tier, careful to have 3 layers of cake this time. Some more crumble, but it took and was sturdy. This cake wasn’t going to master me. and I wasn’t going to let my friend down. Thank God I started the day before , because it was more time consuming than normal. I crafted the sweet peas from pastillage and gum paste. I wasn’t happy with the cracking of the pastillage. But I was experimenting. I found some great new product that provides the airbrush effect in a can. Its a life saver to hide messy mistakes, smudges, etc. I let it rip.
I had to clear the fridge to house the cake as this was real butter cream. Doesn’t my sweet pea on top look like Chucky. Wasn’t intentional. But in the end it cleaned up good and is cute. Whew! Now the hour and half drive!
, strawberry filling, and coconut butter cream. OK , she’s pregnant! But her wish was my command. . I used Coconut extract for LorAnne Oils and Creme of Coconut as well. I forgot to get a divider as I was making tiers. So I fashioned one from heavy Styrofoam plates and lollipop sticks for support. And you know what it worked!. My issues were my layers crumbled apart as I tried to rectify a mistake. I pieced it together and filled it up with butter cream and filling. Then I I realized my top layer on the bottom tier had filling on top and no cake. I wasn’t thinking!Quick something. I had some fondant that I placed over the filling. It worked. Then I added the second tier, careful to have 3 layers of cake this time. Some more crumble, but it took and was sturdy. This cake wasn’t going to master me. and I wasn’t going to let my friend down. Thank God I started the day before , because it was more time consuming than normal. I crafted the sweet peas from pastillage and gum paste. I wasn’t happy with the cracking of the pastillage. But I was experimenting. I found some great new product that provides the airbrush effect in a can. Its a life saver to hide messy mistakes, smudges, etc. I let it rip. I had to clear the fridge to house the cake as this was real butter cream. Doesn’t my sweet pea on top look like Chucky. Wasn’t intentional. But in the end it cleaned up good and is cute. Whew! Now the hour and half drive!