Herring on rye

Sometimes (not always) it is ridiculously easy to be healthy. With a little help from local bakeries and fisheries; moist, delicious rye bread (from Charles&De) and elegantly spiced herring (Utsira-sild from Haugesund´s Sildakongen). Serve with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a steaming hot cup of joe.

In Norway herring is very popular around Christmas, but herring is something that could and should be enjoyed all year. Healthy, easy and good! Decorate and lift the flavor with dill or parsley.

Or how about your own mustard herring?

Bangin´ blinis

Blinis look surprisingly much like the Norwegian “lapp” or “svele”, but these buttery, elegant cousins take it to a whole ´nother level when topped with lovely Norwegian smoked salmon, salmon roe tasting of the ocean, velvety sour cream – freshened up by the sharpness of the red onion, the lemon and the dill! Accompanied by excellent Champagne, of course… It is the perfect dazzling, bite-size hors d´oeuvre to serve your guests as they arrive at your party. Or you can make them a bit bigger (and a little less risky) and serve on a plate with cutlery as an appetizer. Either way; delicious!

Ovenbaked turbot fish in saffron beurre blanc

Slice your knife through the flaky, delicate puff pastry to get to the delicious, elegant treasure hidden within. Once your fork is loaded, give it a good, long dip in the buttery, light sauce and I promise instant happiness! No kidding!

A few days ago I unplugged my stove (in the middle of redoing my kitchen). I am hoping it won´t be too long until it/I am up and running again… Thanks Astrid, for giving me inspiration and inviting me to cook with you! 🙂

Snow and sushi

The “crossing” from 2011 to 2012 was of course not done without a proper feast. A sushi workshop / feast among good friends to be exact. It was so delish that when 12 o´clock rolled around, we glanced at each other, raised our glasses, then continued eating!

Scandinavian (mashed) potato flat bread – a two-for-one

Sorry for the somewhat weird title, potetkake doesn´t (I discovered) have a really good English translation. Lompe is another Norwegian name for this funny looking, traditional, yet scrumptious whatchamacallit. Since another Norwegian synonym probably doesn´t help you much, I am just gonna call it potetkake for the rest of the post, ok?

And I will do my best to explain to you what it is and I will present one very traditional way to use it, and one untraditional (at least in my region!). Both delicious!

Herring in mustard

One of the things that is Christmas to me, growing up on the Norwegian south-west coast, is pickled herring. I think pickled herring is something you either love or don´t like at all. I´ve inherited my dad´s taste buds, and we love it!

For the first time ever I´ve made my own. A good friend of mine and myself dove into printed and electronic media, did some research, decided on three different types of herring, popped open a couple of Christmas beers and got to chopping and mixing. It was much easier than we thought! Let me present the first of the three: creamy, delicious, slightly spicy herring in mustard. Oh yeah.

Salmon sashimi with ponzu dip

Of all the food I love, sushi is waaay up there on the love-list. Here is a beatifully simple way to make a melt-in-your-mouth salmon sashimi dish. The ponzu dip is so good that you´ll be tempted to drink the leftovers…

From the north of America to the south of Spain

I feel like the start of the fall has been spent on the road. From lovely, busy days in New York City (with time for good food, of course) to lazy, sunny days in the south of Spain. While in transit I have been sampling everything from lovely Nouveau American cuisine in the West Village to equisite sushi, Asian/French fusion in the Meatpacking district, tasty tapas in Malaga, traditional Spanish Paella and the freshest of fish in Pedregalejo. Not to mention all the magnificent grilling on the roof terrace in the little lazy town Almayate.

I bought a new camera (yay! but unfortunately toward the end of my stay) in New York, so instead of pics of the food, I scored some menus… :D. The food in Spain is well documented though 🙂

BBQ skewers

Forgive me reader, for I have sinned, it has been 22 days since my last blogfession. You see, we have been on a internet free vacation and otherwise just sporting a busy summer. Yeah, excuses, excuses…

But here is hopefully a little inspiration for the grill. Succulent, tender, creamy, tangy yoghurt marinated chicken. Hot and sweet chili scampi. Rich and sweet BBQ pork. Crunchy, sweet vegetables…Go get fired up!

Sumptuous ceviche

Ok. My absolute favorite this summer is the Latin American dish ceviche. Hands down. I suspect many different interpretations of ceviche will swim out of my kitchen this summer!

This one is quite basic, however a bit untraditional as I´ve used salmon rather than a white saltwater fish. The elegance of the “raw” fish, the tang of lime, the crispness of koriander and the slow, warm heat of the chili is perfect as a lunch snack in the shade – accompanied by ice-cold beer and some salty tortilla chips!