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Hey! Alicia here with another recipe from a country of my ancestry. This month we're doing Denmark. Have you tried æbleskivers yet? They were so good and fun to make and eat.
This week we made smørrebrød, the Danish open faced sandwich. Smørrebrød![]()
In my research of Danish food, I kept coming across smørrebrød, an open faced sandwich that is basically the national lunch of Denmark. Believed to have started in the late 19th century when factory workers would pile leftovers onto a dense rye bread (rugbrød) to bring for lunch. From there a tradition was born, and it comes with some rules.
Smørrebrød, which literally translates to butter bread, always starts off with a rectangle of Danish rye. Rugbrød is dense and full of seeds and cracked wheat unlike what you normally think of rye. This makes using it for a regular sandwich too much. It's also difficult to find in the US so I had to opt for traditional rye. Next time I might try using a hearty wheat bread as a substitute, because when I tried to cut my rye into the traditional rectangle, it didn't work very well. Once your foundation is set, you apply a hearty layer of butter. now that your bread is butter you have smørrebrød, and now you can add different toppings. Toppings should be added with thinner toppings at the bottom and chunkier on top. If you're eating more than one smørrebrød, you should always start with the herring (the traditional starting fish of smørrebrød) and other seafood, move onto other meats next and end with your cheese smørrebrød. You don't use your hands to pick up the sandwich, rather you must use utensils to enjoy the smørrebrød. One chef I watched on Youtube said with a good smørrebrød you shouldn't be able to see the bread. ![]()
We didn't have herring, but I did get baby shrimp which I combined with hardboiled eggs and a delicious dill mayo. Our next course was roast beef with pickles, red onions, and prepared horseradish. Last we finished up with a cheese, apple, and slivered almond smørrebrød. The cheese we used was Grand Cru. It tastes similar to gruyere but is cheaper. I also found Danish bleu cheese, which I thought was serendipitous. But it is really strong so I don't recommend using as much as I did.
I love these smørrebrød! They were so delicious and filling. I love the artistry that goes into their preparation (though I think I went a bit overboard with the shrimp). I don't have any recipes for you but there are tons all over the internet. I say get creative and have fun with your smørrebrød toppings! Let us know if you give it a try!
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Alicia here with another ancestry food post. This year my family is choosing a different country from our ancestry and making one meal a week at home from that country. We choose the countries based on our family trees, and also our DNA results. We had our DNA tested with Ancestry and got the results back. There were some things we expected but also some surprises! It's been really fun doing this experiment and getting to know our ancestors through food. If you'd like to do this same experiment, Ancestry has the kits on sale right now! It's so easy (though slightly gross), all it requires is spitting in a tube and mailing it back to the company.
This month's country is France. So far we have made Gratin Dauphinois, Piperade, & Flammekueche. This week we are making a classic dish that's been around since medieval times, Boeuf Bourguignon.
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First made by peasants, this beef stew is a dish I'm sure my ancestors have tried.
Boeuf Bourguignon
Traditionally made with Burgundy wine, has a much deeper flavor than your regular beef stew. I have made this before and my husband loved it, so when we decided to do France this month he requested it again.
Last time I used cooking wine, but I couldn't find any in stores this time. I didn't want to buy a whole bottle of wine because I don't have many dishes I would use it in, so I substituted grape juice, red wine vinegar, and beef stock for my recipe. So if you are cooking for some one who has liver problems or is sensitive to alcohol, this would be a great recipe for you. If you do use wine, use one less cup of stock and omit the grape juice and red wine vinegar, using the wine to deglaze the pan. I also used baby carrots because it's fast and easy. I also love the look they give to the stew and the fact that they get soft without being mushy. I love this stew, the first time I made it, it was very labor intensive. But with the crockpot it was so easy. We are adding this to our menu meals. I would wager that my stew is much closer to what the peasants of medieval times made than the bourgeois that made it later. But it's still so delicious, it's no wonder this meal has been around so long! If you don't have a crockpot, what are you waiting for? It's my favorite thing in my kitchen. It makes me so happy to know dinner is slowly cooking away while I'm attending to other things. Especially because my kids are more fussy and needy in the evenings when I'm trying to make dinner. In the morning while they are happily playing I can get dinner started by just tossing everything in the slow cooker. I lovemine.
Let me know if you give it a try! It's pretty easy and so good.
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Alicia here to continue my culinary adventure through France.
This week I chose Flammekueche, which I have made before, and loved! Flammekueche is from the Alsace region on the Eastern Border of France by the Rhine river. The region has a long and storied history. Many wars have been fought over the region and it has been conquered or just annexed by France and Germany. Alsace even has it's own dialect (language) that is being promoted recently to be learned in schools. Alsace is part of France now, but the region still has German influences in its culture. And that's why Flammekueche sounds German, but is a French food. I figure this fusion food is perfect since we have both French and German ancestors (remember we did German food in January). Flammekueche (Alsatian Onion Pizza)
Flammekueche is a thin crust onion and bacon tarte with a cream base. But in France it's more refereed to as a pizza. And also it's really delicious!!! Full disclosure, I have made this before. Last year Adrian and I did a very similar experiment, and I made Falmmekueche. I haven't stopped thinking about it since. I don't know why I didn't make it again until now. It's actually very fast and easy. It's one of the reasons I love it. I think there's a perception that French food is fussy and difficult, but not all of it is! And this is one of those recipes that can be a regular in your menu line-up!
Last time I think I used ricotta cheese to make the cream. But this time I saw some other recipes that lightened the recipe up by using greek yogurt for the cream base. If you were in France you would probably use something likebreakfast cream, but that is not very common here in America. I decided I would just get a single serving size of 2% plain Greek yogurt, so I didn't have to have a whole carton of Greek yogurt. It was about 6oz of yogurt and 2 heaping TBS of natural sour cream. This recipe calls for nutmeg and you do not want to skip it. It is so delicious! And it compliments the strong flavor of the onion so well. I also used store bought thin crust dough because we were having a really busy day, but usually I use our crust recipe (and I like ours better). But store bought works in a pinch. I accidentally over-baked it the first time around in the oven, but even though the crust was more brown than I would have liked, it still came out quite tasty!
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So today, in our French ancestors honor we made Gratin Dauphinois (French scalloped potatoes) and roasted chicken.
Gratin Dauphinois (French Scalloped Potatoes)
Usually when I think of scalloped potatoes I think of cheese and potatoes. But to make true Gratin Dauphinois, you DON'T USE CHEESE! I know! I was skeptical at first, but really this turned out so delicious! You still get a crispy brown top from the starch in the potatoes.
Some tips for make Gratin Dauphinois
Just look at that beauty. Gratin Dauphinois was so wonderful! And the leftovers are great too. And it was really easy to make. If you con't have cream on hand, I saw some recipes where it could be made with just milk. So if you're craving scalloped potatoes, try Gratin Dauphinois, you won't regret it. Roasted Chicken
To go with the Gratin Dauphinois, I thought a roasted chicken would be delicious. I was just going to buy a rotisserie chicken from the store but then thought it would be fun to try my hand at roasting a chicken. It was so good too!
I did look up how the French roast chickens but I didn't have time nor ingredients for Julia Child's recipe. So I'll just say the flavors are French inspired though not classically French at all. I don't have a recipe for you, but I rubbed my chicken with butter, and sprinkled it with thyme, salt, and pepper. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some extra pats of butter finished up the outside of the bird. I rubbed up under the breast skin with butter and stuck some cloves of garlic up there. Inside I stuffed it with lemon, garlic, and bay leaves. I meant to grab some rosemary from the plant outside but I forgot. I tied the legs together with some baker's twine. Then roasted it at 400F for 20 minutes. After that I reduced the temperature to 375F for another 90 minutes. I had a 5 pound bird that came out with nice crispy skin and beautifully moist meat. It was so delicious. With the leftovers we made chicken tacos the next night.That's the great thing about this chicken the flavors are subtle enough that the leftovers can easily be transformed.
So I hope you give those Gratin Dauphinois a try. They're so delicious! Best scalloped potatoes I've ever had. If you do let us know in the comments how you liked it!
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
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Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
July 2024
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