#3627: Not only does Pingu feed himself his baby food with a spoon, he spoon feeds me as well, and I accept the food so that I don't get him too upset or offended.
He's getting better at getting food from the bowl onto the spoon and into his mouth, but he still needs a lot of practice ;-)
#3628: At some point during dinner, Pingu decided to stuff his food-slathered hand into my mouth. I licked the food off his hand in order to get it clean. At least cleaner than before... nom nom nom nom baby food...
Showing posts with label rof. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rof. Show all posts
25.4.11
Salma colada
I made this the other day using some of the salmalaks we hoarded; it was a very random experiment. I'll formalize the recipe some day, but in case you're good in dealing with haphazard recipes you can try it yourself...
Start cooking the sauce:
- 200 ml coconut milk
- juice from 1 can pineapple chunks (from those 3-pack things you get in Norway, can edit with more info later) - ca. 100 ml. Be sure to save the pineapple for later.
- 2 shots rum
- 2 tsp soy sauce
Bring to a boil, reduce to about 2/3 of the original amount. Add pineapple chunks.
Dust four pieces of Salmalaks (salmon) @ ca. 125 grams each with flour and fry in butter (not oil, not margarine... butter!), medium heat, to get the sides brown. Add sauce to fish and let simmer until sauce is thick. Serve with rice and black beans.
Next time I'll double the sauce.
Start cooking the sauce:
- 200 ml coconut milk
- juice from 1 can pineapple chunks (from those 3-pack things you get in Norway, can edit with more info later) - ca. 100 ml. Be sure to save the pineapple for later.
- 2 shots rum
- 2 tsp soy sauce
Bring to a boil, reduce to about 2/3 of the original amount. Add pineapple chunks.
Dust four pieces of Salmalaks (salmon) @ ca. 125 grams each with flour and fry in butter (not oil, not margarine... butter!), medium heat, to get the sides brown. Add sauce to fish and let simmer until sauce is thick. Serve with rice and black beans.
Next time I'll double the sauce.
19.4.11
salmon and vegetables in spicy Thai-style blood orange sauce
One of the grocery stores here had this really fancy salmon (Salmalaks) on special and I bought a few pieces. We usually use it for sashimi but it's nice for other dishes as well...
Tonight I made a sort of Thai-like curry with the salmon. And some blood oranges I had to get rid of. Here's what I did:
- Squeezed out the juice of three blood oranges. Put the juice in a saucepan, boiled, and allowed to reduce to about half the original amount.
- In another saucepan I fried a shitload of garlic (5 cloves finely chopped), a shitload of ginger (about 2 tbsp finely chopped), and 2 finely chopped red chiles in some coconut oil. Medium heat, for about 5 minutes. I added some keffir lime leaves and stirred this mixture for about a minute.
- Then I added the blood orange juice and a can of coconut milk. Added a splash of soy sauce, a splash of fish sauce, mixed, brought to a boil, and then reduced heat and allowed to simmer.
- Once the sauce was simmering I fried some bean sprouts and julienned red pepper and carrots in some coconut oil, until the carrots started getting soft. I strained the sauce into the vegetable mixture. (You don't have to strain the sauce; I just didn't want to deal with bits today.)
- After a few minutes I added the salmon (I think it was around 450 g), chopped into cubes. I mixed the salmon carefully into the vegetable and sauce mixture, and then turned off the heat and allowed things to take care of itself (salmon doesn't need much cooking time).
- Cooked up some rice noodles to go with the "curry". Dinner served!
*burp*
Maybe some day I'll formalize this recipe a little bit more. Not today :-)
Tonight I made a sort of Thai-like curry with the salmon. And some blood oranges I had to get rid of. Here's what I did:
- Squeezed out the juice of three blood oranges. Put the juice in a saucepan, boiled, and allowed to reduce to about half the original amount.
- In another saucepan I fried a shitload of garlic (5 cloves finely chopped), a shitload of ginger (about 2 tbsp finely chopped), and 2 finely chopped red chiles in some coconut oil. Medium heat, for about 5 minutes. I added some keffir lime leaves and stirred this mixture for about a minute.
- Then I added the blood orange juice and a can of coconut milk. Added a splash of soy sauce, a splash of fish sauce, mixed, brought to a boil, and then reduced heat and allowed to simmer.
- Once the sauce was simmering I fried some bean sprouts and julienned red pepper and carrots in some coconut oil, until the carrots started getting soft. I strained the sauce into the vegetable mixture. (You don't have to strain the sauce; I just didn't want to deal with bits today.)
- After a few minutes I added the salmon (I think it was around 450 g), chopped into cubes. I mixed the salmon carefully into the vegetable and sauce mixture, and then turned off the heat and allowed things to take care of itself (salmon doesn't need much cooking time).
- Cooked up some rice noodles to go with the "curry". Dinner served!
*burp*
Maybe some day I'll formalize this recipe a little bit more. Not today :-)
31.3.11
comfort food
Today is one of those not-so-nice spring days. You know, the one that is more of a winter day than a spring day...
I'm making meatloaf for dinner tonight, served with mashed potatoes, green beans, and brown gravy. I haven't made meatloaf in ages, and it's the right kind of day for a meatloaf meal...
What comfort foods do you enjoy? And what's for dinner tonight?
I'm making meatloaf for dinner tonight, served with mashed potatoes, green beans, and brown gravy. I haven't made meatloaf in ages, and it's the right kind of day for a meatloaf meal...
What comfort foods do you enjoy? And what's for dinner tonight?
10.1.10
birthday RoF stuffing - Statholdergaarden!
As tradition dictates (gourmet RoF-stuffing rather than gifts), husband of feitpingvin took me to Statholdergaarden for my birthday dinner. Statholdergaarden has one star in the Michelin Guide; they are located in the city center, in a building originally built for the Master of the Mint in 1640...
We had quite an excellent evening; both we and our RoFs were very satisfied. Dinner included the following:
Aperitif (house specialty) – Tia Maria and bourbon topped with Cava
Amuse bouche #1: Salmon tartar with dill cream.
Gone in one bite ;-)
Amuse bouche #2: If I remember correctly: a mussel and a tiny salad in the spoon; creamy seafood soup; veal croquette.
We ate them in the “wrong” order – just as well to eat the hot food first – and started with the croquette. Yummy. The soup was like drinking a tasty bowl of seafoody cream :-D
First course: Grilled scallop served with artichokes, cauliflower, and marinated snow peas. Pomegranate vinegar and saffron foam.
Wine: Weingut Knipser Riesling Kabinet trocken 2008
The scallop was perfectly prepared. It was seared just so on the edges, but raw inside, although warm. The wine was very citrusy and refreshing, and went nicely with the scallop...
Second course: Foamy shellfish soup served with halibut, fennel and feve. (husband of feitpingvin had king crab instead of halibut because the fish was encrusted with nuts)...
Wine: Vicar's Choice Sauvignon Blanc 2009
More creamy seafoody goodness, this time with tasty bits of perfectly cooked fish. The (NZ) Sauv Blanc was absolutely lovely. We really should do a wine safari in New Zealand...
Third course: Fried cod served with Welsh shallot cream and a spinach and leek- tomato samosa. Garlic sauce.
Wine: Meursault Domaine Michelot 2006
We also got a glass of Terras Gauda Albarinio Rias Balixas 2008 since we told them we aren't overly crazy about Chardonnay. We thought this was a better match...
This was in the running for favorite dish of the evening. The cod was very fresh and perfectly cooked; the skin was nice and crispy too. The shallot cream was flavorful and caramelly savory-sweet. The samosa was crispy on the outside, flavorful on the inside... wonderful! I could have easily gobbled down several more servings!
~ Peach ice and blackberry sorbet ~
The sorbet was especially lovely... mmmmm....
Fourth (main) course: Honey and lime-glazed breast of duck served with glazed quince, pickled oyster mushrooms, walnut purée (husband of feitpingvin got a similar purée, but without the walnuts), and bok choi. Cranberry sauce.
Wine: Barbera d'Alba Carlo Giacosa Lina 2007
This was probably my favorite dish; it helps that duck is one of my absolute favorite meats! The walnut purée was especially amazing with the tasty, tender, perfectly prepared duck meat...
Om nom nom nom!
Fifth course: Well-ripened cheeses garnished with banana bread and fruit compote. (We each got different cheeses due to allergy issues.)
Wines: Markus Molitor Riesling Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Auslese 1994 and Pineau des Charentes Lheraud
My cheeses were very delicious, and husband of feitpingvin was also very happy with what he received. Also, I really liked getting two different wines for this, one to go with the first two, the other to go with the other two. The Pineau des Charentes Lheraud was especially interesting. It is made from the same grapes used to make Cognac. It smelled like Cognac and tasted like Cognac, minus the high amount of alcohol. I really enjoyed this one. But the Riesling was also quite excellent...
Sixth course: Cherry mousse on mazarin and blood orange, crispy almond pastry, and yoghurt sherbet.
Wine: Tokaji Aszú Royal Tokaji 5 Puttonyos 2005
I got my dessert with 'Gratulerer!' written in chocolate. For my birthday and all :-) My favorite part of the dessert was the pieces of blood orange. I could have dropped the rest of the dessert stuff and just eaten a big bowl of the blood oranges... yum! The wine was also quite nice, very cloudberry-caramelly... :-)
Coffee, amaretto for me, whisky for husband of feitpingvin, petits fours
Aside from the meal, the service was amazing. Our main waitress was actually an apprentice (she wore a badge that indicated this), but if she were not wearing the badge I would have never guessed.
Oh, and here's a crap photo of yours floozie. Bad angle, hair from hell (hat hair + winter static electricity), but otherwise not bad for 39, right? ;-P
11.1.09
quack quack nom nom
As tradition dictates, husband of feitpingvin and I celebrated my recent birthday by going out to eat at a gourmet restaurant. This year, we went to Le Canard (anda/the duck), which has one star in the Michelin guide.
The restaurant itself is located in Briskeby, one of the posh parts of Oslo. The dining room is spacious and airy; there is ample space between the tables. The tables are also spacious (you're not elbow-to-elbow with the person next to you, and there's plenty of room for the food and wine), and the chairs are very comfortable. Leading to the dining room is a bar with a fireplace; it is possible to come just to sit at the bar and enjoy a glass of wine or whatever.
Anyway, we started the evening with a glass of champagne, which we sipped as we studied the menu. This was served along with a little plate of thin potato chips with a truffle cream; I was told that the truffles used were winter truffles from Piemonte. I really don't know what truffles are supposed to taste like (for some reason, I think "mushroomy") and while the cream did have a distinct flavor, it wasn't an overwhelming flavor...
We ended up ordering the 6-course menu of the week. No regrets at all! Here's what we got:
Amuse bouche
Warm king crab salad, topped with foam. A tasty start!
First course
Butternut squash soup, scallop (from Trøndelag), mushroom & truffle ravioli
Wine: Albarino 2007 Lagar de Costa Rias Baixas
This was my favorite dish. Everything was perfect - the soup was pleasantly sweet and creamy, the ravioli was perfectly cooked, and the ravioli filling was very tasty, as with the scallop (I love scallops!). I enjoyed the wine almost as much as I enjoyed the food; it's one I plan on buying in the future. It had some fruity sweetness but at the same time it had a pleasant bitterness (grapefruit/pomelo peel) that made it a perfect match to complement the sweetness of the butternut squash. It's also something I could very easily and happily quaff on its own.
Second course
Roast halibut (from Langesund), braised endive, caper & clam beurre noisette
Wine: Chablis Dom. Chantemerle 2006
Halibut is one of my favorite fishes. I wasn't overly crazy about the sides, but the fish itself and the bit of shellfish that was with the side dishes were perfect. The wine was an excellent match, but it's not one I could drink on its own.
Third course
Cocoa crusted sweetbreads, parsnip puree & licorice jus
Wine: dom. Michel Juillet Mercurey Clos des Barraults 2005
OK, so sweetbreads are the thymus gland of the animal (veal in this case) and that kind of thing freaks some people out, but I think they're quite OK. The sweetbreads we were served were very delicate and pleasant, and the parsnips and liquorice sauce were an excellent complement. The wine was also an excellent match. I'm also interested in buying some of the wine. It was served from a half bottle; our waiter told us that wine matures faster in a half bottle.
Cleaning the palate
Shaved ice flavored with Earl grey tea and cranberry. Mmm...
Fourth (main) course
Venison from Røros with caramelized apple, red cabbage, chestnut & red wine jus
Wine: Chocapalha 2001 Vinho Tinto
Delicious! The venison was so tender that it melted in my mouth. The only "complaint" I have is that the wine (which was amazing!) was better suited to the caramelized apples than to the venison itself. Not that it was a bad match, but I think it could have been a little better. (And yeah, I want to buy this wine too! :)
Fifth course
Cheese from Affineur H. Mons
Wine: S.A. Prüm 2007 Riesling Spätlese Graacher Himmel
Cheese is one of those things where we always have to make sure they don't throw in anything that will make us sick. I can't eat blue cheese, husband of feitpingvin can't eat chèvre. So I got the chèvre, he got the Roquefort, along with some other very tasty cheeses (don't remember what they were... grr... there's one in particular I'd like to sink my teeth into again), as well as some nut bread and apricot jam. Yum yum! And the Riesling... sweet but not nasty sweet, balancing well with the tanginess of the cheeses. I love how Riesling is versatile like that...
Pre-dessert
A little cone filled with a refreshing apple and basil sorbet. This was quite cute!
Sixth course
Chocolate crème brulee, passionfruit sorbet & foam
Wine: Capitel Santa Libera 2004 Recioto Classico
The chocolate crème brûlée was amazing, and I really liked that they didn't spare the vanilla. The passionfruit sorbet was pleasantly tart; I'd like to be able to make something like that at home! It was served with some kind of crispy chocolate "ribbon." We also got some kind of passionfruit mousse topped with chocolate cream. The wine was nice too...
We ended the evening with coffee - I got amaretto coffee and husband of feitpingvin got an Irish coffee - and petits fours.
It was a very enjoyable evening. As were were on our way out, husband of feitpingvin and our waiter discussed whiskies (he had commented the bottles that were at the bar), and our waiter let husband of feitpingvin taste a Bruichladdich from 1973 :) He says it was absolutely lovely.
My general impression is that Le Canard is more on the "traditional" side of gourmet, unlike Restaurant Oscarsgate (also with one Michelin star) is a bit more "playful creative" (we got a gourmet mini hot dog there, among other things). Not that I'm going to complain about it ;-) It's nice to try the different places with their different ways of doing things...
Next up... Bagatelle? Or The Fat Duck? (to continue on the duck theme hehe)
The restaurant itself is located in Briskeby, one of the posh parts of Oslo. The dining room is spacious and airy; there is ample space between the tables. The tables are also spacious (you're not elbow-to-elbow with the person next to you, and there's plenty of room for the food and wine), and the chairs are very comfortable. Leading to the dining room is a bar with a fireplace; it is possible to come just to sit at the bar and enjoy a glass of wine or whatever.
Anyway, we started the evening with a glass of champagne, which we sipped as we studied the menu. This was served along with a little plate of thin potato chips with a truffle cream; I was told that the truffles used were winter truffles from Piemonte. I really don't know what truffles are supposed to taste like (for some reason, I think "mushroomy") and while the cream did have a distinct flavor, it wasn't an overwhelming flavor...
We ended up ordering the 6-course menu of the week. No regrets at all! Here's what we got:
Amuse bouche
Warm king crab salad, topped with foam. A tasty start!
First course
Butternut squash soup, scallop (from Trøndelag), mushroom & truffle ravioli
Wine: Albarino 2007 Lagar de Costa Rias Baixas
This was my favorite dish. Everything was perfect - the soup was pleasantly sweet and creamy, the ravioli was perfectly cooked, and the ravioli filling was very tasty, as with the scallop (I love scallops!). I enjoyed the wine almost as much as I enjoyed the food; it's one I plan on buying in the future. It had some fruity sweetness but at the same time it had a pleasant bitterness (grapefruit/pomelo peel) that made it a perfect match to complement the sweetness of the butternut squash. It's also something I could very easily and happily quaff on its own.
Second course
Roast halibut (from Langesund), braised endive, caper & clam beurre noisette
Wine: Chablis Dom. Chantemerle 2006
Halibut is one of my favorite fishes. I wasn't overly crazy about the sides, but the fish itself and the bit of shellfish that was with the side dishes were perfect. The wine was an excellent match, but it's not one I could drink on its own.
Third course
Cocoa crusted sweetbreads, parsnip puree & licorice jus
Wine: dom. Michel Juillet Mercurey Clos des Barraults 2005
OK, so sweetbreads are the thymus gland of the animal (veal in this case) and that kind of thing freaks some people out, but I think they're quite OK. The sweetbreads we were served were very delicate and pleasant, and the parsnips and liquorice sauce were an excellent complement. The wine was also an excellent match. I'm also interested in buying some of the wine. It was served from a half bottle; our waiter told us that wine matures faster in a half bottle.
Cleaning the palate
Shaved ice flavored with Earl grey tea and cranberry. Mmm...
Fourth (main) course
Venison from Røros with caramelized apple, red cabbage, chestnut & red wine jus
Wine: Chocapalha 2001 Vinho Tinto
Delicious! The venison was so tender that it melted in my mouth. The only "complaint" I have is that the wine (which was amazing!) was better suited to the caramelized apples than to the venison itself. Not that it was a bad match, but I think it could have been a little better. (And yeah, I want to buy this wine too! :)
Fifth course
Cheese from Affineur H. Mons
Wine: S.A. Prüm 2007 Riesling Spätlese Graacher Himmel
Cheese is one of those things where we always have to make sure they don't throw in anything that will make us sick. I can't eat blue cheese, husband of feitpingvin can't eat chèvre. So I got the chèvre, he got the Roquefort, along with some other very tasty cheeses (don't remember what they were... grr... there's one in particular I'd like to sink my teeth into again), as well as some nut bread and apricot jam. Yum yum! And the Riesling... sweet but not nasty sweet, balancing well with the tanginess of the cheeses. I love how Riesling is versatile like that...
Pre-dessert
A little cone filled with a refreshing apple and basil sorbet. This was quite cute!
Sixth course
Chocolate crème brulee, passionfruit sorbet & foam
Wine: Capitel Santa Libera 2004 Recioto Classico
The chocolate crème brûlée was amazing, and I really liked that they didn't spare the vanilla. The passionfruit sorbet was pleasantly tart; I'd like to be able to make something like that at home! It was served with some kind of crispy chocolate "ribbon." We also got some kind of passionfruit mousse topped with chocolate cream. The wine was nice too...
We ended the evening with coffee - I got amaretto coffee and husband of feitpingvin got an Irish coffee - and petits fours.
It was a very enjoyable evening. As were were on our way out, husband of feitpingvin and our waiter discussed whiskies (he had commented the bottles that were at the bar), and our waiter let husband of feitpingvin taste a Bruichladdich from 1973 :) He says it was absolutely lovely.
My general impression is that Le Canard is more on the "traditional" side of gourmet, unlike Restaurant Oscarsgate (also with one Michelin star) is a bit more "playful creative" (we got a gourmet mini hot dog there, among other things). Not that I'm going to complain about it ;-) It's nice to try the different places with their different ways of doing things...
Next up... Bagatelle? Or The Fat Duck? (to continue on the duck theme hehe)
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