Tasting Estonia

In previous post I promised to show you some food goodies from Tallinn. Since we have spent only half a day there, there is not that much to blog about, but well here it is We had a dinner in Beer House restaurant. It prides itself as  the only micro-brewery restaurant in Estonia. They brew 7 sorts of beer and as you might have guessed, it was a difficult choice so… we bought a tasting set We liked the most Beer House Premium and Märzen Speziel. Medovar Honey was also really good, but I think it should be enjoyed by itself,  cause in combination with other beers it seems to be a tad too sweet. One can  see the brewery vats through the windows next to restaurant’s entrance.

Tallin takes pride in its Hanseatic history and many restaurants advertise their medieval dishes. Beer House is no different and not only it is stylized as a tavern but it also serves a wide variety of dishes that probably are similar to those from the past. For a beer snack we chose pig’s ears. Doesn’t it sound fun ? It is something really interesting to try, but for sure I won’t crave for it For main Mr No Onion Please opted for ribs, while I got sausage of game with potato and forest-mushroom pocket, beet and horse-radish terrine, mustard sauce and fresh сranberry sauce.

I guess the most common food souvenirs one brings from any country are sweets and alcohol. Well, we are no different. That’s usually the first things we think of bringing back with us as well. When it comes to Estonia, the staple food souvenirs are Kalev chocolates and marzipan and Vana Tallin liquor.

I’m not a great fan of Kalev milk chocolates, but I must admit, they really know how to make good white ones. Both me and Mr No Onion Please adore the white chocolate with dried blueberries and crisps. Mr No Onion Please is also a fan of white chocolate with strawberries and cookies, while I prefer the one with dried cranberries and coconut. When we went to Kalev store, I have spotted a new milk chocolate with almonds and gooseberries. Oh my, I love gooseberries, of course I had to buy it! It is a nice chocolate, though, to my disappointment it doesn’t contain dried gooseberry bits (or not at least visible ones). I would also like a tiny bit more of the gooseberry flavor in it, but in general I was pretty happy with the taste and will definitely buy it again.

Another “souvenir” that one just has to bring from Estonia is Vana Tallinn liquor. As much as I  can’t really handle the original liquor (too strong), I really adore its cream and coffee cream versions. There is a tiny bit of rum and vanilla flavor with some  delicate citrus aftertaste. Definitely one of the best cream liquors I’ve ever tasted. They are absolutely delicious! Since I got now a new bottle (my stock always replenishes so fast ) I’m planning to use it in  cheesecake, oh boy, can’t wait!

Now, something about Estonia’s national food product, that won’t be commonly found in a visitor’s bag – kama. It’s a mixture of roasted barley, rye, oat and pea flour. Historically, it has been used as a stomach-filling snack that could be quickly prepared by mixing it with lard. Nowadays, it is usually enjoyed  simply mixed with buttermilk and some berries. You can read more about it here and search for kama recipes on Nami-Nami blog. In fact, this ingredient is so popular, that Kalev has made a “chocolate”, using kama instead of cocoa. Actually, Kamatahvel is a fortunate outcome of Soviet times experiment. You see, during communism it was very difficult to get cocoa beans, so people started to search for alternatives. Of course kama could never substitute the real cocoa, but the outcome was not only interesting but also pretty tasty. It reminds me somewhat of a similar product invented in Poland during those times. Not only cocoa was a deficit  food product, it was also very difficult to get coffee. Similarly to kama, so called grain coffee was invented. It constituted of roasted barley, rye, sugar beets and chicory and despite it was barely reminiscent of real coffee, it remained popular not only through communism but also nowadays you can buy it as INKA grain coffee. Quite amazing what people can think of, when they are in need!

Though I bought kama just several days ago, I’ve already used 2/3 of the package (I guess it means another Tallinn trip quite soon ). Apart from mixing kama with my morning muesli, I’ve decided to try out a recipe for kama mascarpone truffles – kamakäkid. I have substituted raisins with dried cranberries, as I’m much more keen on those. Thank you Pille for the recipe, we have enjoyed it together with our friends a lot!

INGREDIENTS

250 grams of mascarpone
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp chopped dried cranberries
3 tbsp chopped hazelnuts
3 heaped tbsp kama flour
a generous dash of Vana Tallinn cream liqueur (can be substituted with eg. Baileys)

Mix everything together, put into the fridge for a while. Form into small balls, roll in kama or cocoa powder and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Chocolate creme brulee for my Valentine

This post is for my Valentine, with whom I unfortunately can’t be today. Luckily for Mr. No Onion Please, I’m the kind of person who even if is forced to miss some fest, simply will celebrate it before. And so he enjoyed his Valentine’s treat yesterday. And believe me he enjoyed it a lot. Not only because it is so heavenly good. There is also another reason. I just got myself a kitchen torch and guess who was the first to run around with it  trying it out (also attempting to set  chicken drumsticks on fire). Ohioh, my big man has a small boy inside, who likes to take charge, and that’s why I love him so much

The recipe comes from a book called “Pure Chocolate” and I found it on Not So Humble Pie blog.

INGREDIENTS

5 egg yolks
4 tbsp sugar + some more for caramel topping
500ml cream
1/2 vanilla pod (or 1tsp of vanilla paste)
125g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), broken to pieces

1. Heat the oven to 150C. Assemble six shallow ceramic tarts in a roasting pan.
2. Stir the yolks with 2 tbsp of sugar, beware not to incorporate air into the mixture.
3. Heat up the cream with 2 tbsp sugar and vanilla. Once it begins to foam, remove from heat and fish out the vanilla bean. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the cream and discard the pod. Add the chocolate to the mixture and stir until completely melted and smooth. Coll it down slightly.
4. Slowly add small amounts of cream to the egg mixture. Mix well and repeat till you whisk in everything.
5. Pour the mixture between the tarts, tapping the roasting pan gently on the counter to settle the custard and remove any air bubbles. Pour hot water into your roasting pan so it comes up roughly as high as the custard.
6. Transfer to the oven and bake till they are set 20-35min (for my size of ramekins 25min was enough).
7. Take them out, once they are cooled down to room temperature, transfer to the fridge (I find it is best to keep them overnight before you eat them).
8. An hour before serving toss some sugar on the top of each creme brulee and carmelise it with kitchen torch. Cool it down in the fridge again before serving.

 

How to make decorative nuts:

1. Place a toothpick into each nut

2. Dry carmelise sugar, dip the nuts into it

3. Poke vertically placed cardboard with the other side of toothpicks and let the nuts dry, gravitation will force caramel down, forming decorative tail

Easy peasy strawberry dessert

I guess you all know the food mood change kind of thingy. You shop thinking of what would please your palate the most for several next days, come back happily home with a bunch of goodies and next day you realize that you actually would prefer to eat something else. Well…. that’s what happened last week to my cannelloni plan… Was supposed to stuff them with a mixture of ricotta, rucola, capers and smoked fish and ended up having creamy spaghetti containing those things but yeah…. ricotta was still left out in my fridge. Nothing particularly worrying in that, just that the “best before” date was approaching quite fast. I “foodgawkered” for desserts with ricotta and found this amazingly fast and simple recipe from Lucullian delights. The original called for classic dark chocolate and mint combo, I decided to try out also less orthodox version – basil, white chocolate and strawberries mixture. Mr. No Onion Please and I had quite different opinion on the dessert variations – he loved the mint version, I went fully for basil option, each of us munching  happily upon our own bowls, not having to share with the other one And who said that disagreements ruin relationships?

INGREDIENTS:

250g ricotta
200ml fresh cream
3tbsp sugar
fresh strawberries, sliced

shredded mint leaves
dark chocolate, grated

OR

shredded basil leaves
white chocolate, grated

1.  Press the ricotta through a finely meshed sieve into a bowl and stir very well.
2. Whip the cream with sugar until it is stiff and delicately fold in ricotta.
3. Mix with strawberries and preferred chocolate-herb combo

Chocolate chip and cranberry cookies

Wohoo, it’s nearly Easter time and No Onions are going for a week of holidays! YEY! I’ll be away for a while, but expect soon some mouthwatering pictures from one of the most known food capitals in Europe. I’m getting so excited, just 16 hours and I’ll be in a place without snow (is that even possible ?). Have to pack and still run around to organise some stuff…. huh I looove to go on holidays, but who doesn’t Don’t tell it to my boss, but my biggest motivation to work is to think that I’ll go on vacations I was recently pretty busy and haven’t done much cooking. Those cookies I’ve baked together with my friends already pretty long time ago, thanks Linda for great photo! See you soon!!!

This recipe comes from “Apples for jam, recipes for life” cookbook.

INGREDIENTS:

75g butter
50g brown sugar
50g caster sugar
1 egg
several drops of vanilla oil
160g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
70g derk chocolate chips
70g dried cranberries

1. Mix butter and sugar till smooth.
2. Add the egg and vanilla oil, mix.
3. Fold in flour, baking powder, chocolate chips and cranberries.
4. Scoop the dough with teaspoon, roll in your hands till round, flatten and place on baking tray.
5. Bake in190C for12-15 min.

Brownies with dulce de leche

There was supposed to be an introductory post here. Was supposed to be … Cause there is nothing else that needs to be said when a heavenly combo of chocolate and dulce de leche appears. There are some recipes that  need no further advertisement as there are some people who’s recipes are always no-fail showstoppers. This amazing brownie recipe I have found on David Lebovitz blog. I must say it’s an evil place, makes you salivate and crave for goodies but worst of all there is some voodoo magic going on that will shrink all your clothes at a glance. Beware….

INGREDIENTS

115g butter, cut into pieces
170g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
25g unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs
200g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
140g flour
optional: 100 g toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 can (around 390g) Dulce de leche

1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Prepare 20cm square pan – grease it well, you can use aluminium foil or baking paper for lining.

2.Melt the butter and add the chocolate pieces. Once everything has melted remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, stir in the sugar, vanilla and then the flour. Mix in the nuts, if using.

3. Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan. Drop one-third of the Dulce de Leche over the brownie batter, then drag a knife through to swirl it slightly. Spread the remaining brownie batter over, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining Dulce de Leche in dollops over the top of the brownie batter. Use a knife to swirl the Dulce de Leche slightly.

4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. INDULGE

Chocolate fondants

I”ve found this recipe in one of the BBC Good Food issues (introduced by Ramsay of course, that’s why it works so brilliantly). It was the first time I was making fondants and I was really amazed how an impressive dessert can be made with such a few amount of preparation and effort. Moreover, you can make it a day before and let it sit in the fridge or freeze it for couple of months in advance. That’s why I really advise you to make a whole batch of those and store it for gloomy days when you need an immediate choco boost to make your day work (I filled 10 fondant moulds from the recipe below).

Ingredients:
- 200g good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 200g butter, cubed
- 200g golden caster sugar
- 4 eggs + 4 yolks
- 200g flour

If you don’t have silicon moulds you will need additionally butter and cacao. Butter the moulds first, put cocoa in. Leave them in the fridge for 10 min. Sprinkle inside second portion of cocoa. Only then they are ready to use.

Preparation:
1. Melt the chocolate together with butter in water bath.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with yolks and sugar, till the mixture becomes whitish.
3. Slowly add there melted chocolate.
4. Mix and pour into the moulds. You may freeze fondants at this point or just leave them in the fridge till next day.
5. Bake in 180C for 10-12 min or untill tops start to detach from edges of moulds. If you have frozen fondants, add still 5 minutes to the baking time.
6. Wait 2-3 min, take fondants out of the moulds. Serve with ice cream.

White chocolate lime cookies

I must admit, till recently I wasn’t so keen on citrus scents in sweets, particularly in combination with chocolate. I remember that as a child I was always leaving lemon and orange wine gums in the pack and to my despair one shouldn’t open new one till everything was eaten. That’s how in the age of 7 I proclaimed single-mindedly that the most important feature for a boyfriend is to like citrus sweets, and through my childhood I was perceiving it as a must. God bless Mr No Onion Please not only gladly shovels down whatever I leave inside the wine gum pack, but he actually even likes those tastes!

Nevertheless, this is not a post to tell you about kinky partner preferences in my adolescence times. I just want to say that I’ve converted! (not fully, but still). I start to appreciate more citrus flavors and in particular those that are combined with chocolate. Everything started when Bea has posted her Christmas chocolate and orange cookies. I’ve done them only because they were so pretty and anyway I’d planned to bake something as Christmas gifts for my coworkers. But once the marvelous orange scent filled the kitchen I knew I have to try one. They were simply DELICIOUS. They barely survived to be wrapped into cellophane. And that’s how I started to put more attention to choco-citrus sweets. When I saw those white chocolate lime cookies on Have Cake Will Travel I knew I just have to make them. And there was no disappointment here either. They are fantastic! Definitely I’ll be making them often. And definitely I’ll continue my search for more citrus flavored sweets.

WHITE CHOCOLATE LIME COOKIES

130 g butter
140 g sugar
zest of 1 lime
lime juice from 1 lime
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
50 g white chocolate chips
1 to 2 tablespoon(s) milk

Preheat oven to 180°C. Cream together butter and sugar. Stir in zest, juice and extract. In another bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Fold dry ingredients into wet. Add milk, as needed and fold in chips. Scoop up 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons worth of dough. Flatten a little, as the cookies don’t spread a lot while baking. Bake for 14 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown or if you want chewier cookies, aim for 12 minutes  instead.