The best thing about february ( cook, eat and make love )

Onion tart, seafood and pies 

Hallelujah January is over!

We can officially ditch the diet and get back to eating warm winter pies and slow cooked stews. Ice-cream late at night watching your favorite netflix series. 

I just finished with Big little lies - Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon - highly recommended  

There are quite a few festivals going on in February. And some funny days to celebrate if you need to have a reason..

PANCAKE DAY / on 17th 

VALENTINE´S DAY / on 14th - an excuse for either getting presents, going out drinking with your mates, or have a hot date with your lover

February is the month for all the wonderful CARNIVAL´S around Europe

Chocolate mini pies

(recipe adopted from Lomelinos Pies) 

For the crust

3 dl flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 ginger powder

150 g cold butter

3-5 ss cold water

For the chocolate filling

50 g butter

2 eggs

3 dl sugar

4 tablespoon cocoa 

2 tablespoon flour

1/4 salt

1 1/2 dl condensed milk

To make the crust

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and ginger. Add the butter and with your fingers, quickly rub the butter into the dry ingredients until well incorporated and crumbly. Add water gradually just until the dough holds together when pinched. Try to work as fast as possible to avoid over-working the dough. Alternatively, you can use a pastry cutting tool or a food processor to make the dough. 

Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to roll.

Make the filling

Melt the butter in a small pan. Wish eggs and sugar in a big bowl for about 2 minutes. Mix together cocoa, flour and salt in another bowl and add the condensed milk. Add this into the egg mixture and stir well before adding the melted butter. Mix carefully together.

Instructions: 

Preaheat the oven to 175 g

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until 3-4 mm thick. Use a round cutter or a bowl (or whatever you can find) to cut out circles, approx 13 cm in diameter. Put the circles of dough into your greased tart shell. Add 2-3 tablespoon of the filling into each tart and if you like you can add a piece of fruit ( I used a slice of peach on top of each tart ) Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40 minutes

I like to serve them with mascarpone cream ( 50/50 mascarpone and whipped heavy cream)

February is the only month that can pass with no full moon. The next February we’ll have no full moon will be in 2018. So watch out !

The birthstone for February is amethyst. The birth flower is the violet or iris. 

Onion Tart

You need:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

450 g onions, thinly sliced

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

a few sprigs of fresh thyme

230 g puff pastry ( homemade or store bought)

What to do:

Heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the onions. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden brown, about 15 min. Add the honey, balsamic vinegar, and thyme, increase the heat to high, and boil to reduce for 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool

Preheat oven to 200 g

On a slightly floured surface, roll out the dough, 0.3 cm tick. Lina a 20 x 30 cm ( or 25 cm round) tart pan with the pastry and prick the bottom several times with a fork. Trim the edges. Scoop the onion mixture into the tart shell. Bake until the pastry is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes. let cool for 5 minutes before dazzling with olive oil and serving

Adopted recipe ( with some minor changes ) from my favorite book A kitchen in France by Mimi Thorisson 

We are fish people from the north

I´m born and raised in a real fish town called Ålesund, in the weatcoast of Norway. So for me the fish meal is crucial. This is one good reason to get homesick, but not quite enough obviously, cause I´ve lived abroad for the last 10 years. But we eat seafood as mush as possible. Prepared in all kinds of ways. But I have to admit that the flavor is not as good, bought from a market here in sweden, compered to buying the food directly from the boats at the pier as we are used to. But hey, nordic seafood is high class anyway !

 

BLUE MUSSELS IN WHITE WINE AND GARLIC

 

INGREDIENTS

2 kg live mussels

4 dl  dry white wine

4 large  shallots, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1⁄2teaspoon  salt

1 dl  mixed fresh herbs (such as flat-leaf parsley,chervil,or basil,chopped)

6 tablespoons  butter, cut into pieces

DIRECTIONS

Rinse and scrub mussels under cold water.

Using your fingers or paring knife, remove beards (strings that hang from the mussel shells), and discard.

In a large stockpot set over medium heat, combine wine, shallots, garlic, and salt.

Simmer 5 minutes.

Add mussels, cover, and increase heat to high.

Cook until all mussels are open, about 5 minutes.

Stir in herbs and butter.

Remove from heat.

Divide mussels and broth among four bowls.

Serve immediately.