The Swedish Chef Diaries – Dill Chicken with Leeks and Potatoes

As I mentioned last time, Sam got lucky with chicken breasts on sale during her visit. I don’t think that chicken was a major staple protein of the Vikings, and I couldn’t really find anything that jumped out at me from the Swedish blog or the Annesfood blog. This is when I had to expand my search to “Scandinavian” recipes. It worked like a charm – like going from “Georgian” recipes to Southern. All of a sudden there were TV shows, tons of cookbooks and a bunch of options.

I found one that seemed pretty good on the website for a PBS show – New Scandinavian Cooking. When they said that “you can’t use too much dill”, I figured it was my kind of recipe (no measuring).

This one was actually really easy – just a lot of dill and cutting up everything. Drop it all into the casserole dishes and coming back in 30 minutes.

Overall it as good – I might not be a HUGE fan of dill, but considering chicken is on sale once every 10 weeks, I don’t think it will overwhelm us.

Jon – 3 BORKS

Lisa – 4 BORKS

Samantha – 4,5 BORKS

http://www.newscancook.com/recipes/dill-chicken-with-leeks-and-potatoes/

The Swedish Chef Diaries – Swedish Pork Chops

We don’t eat pork chops too often, but figured we would give them a try when I saw them in the weekly flyer yesterday. As with almost every meal now, I just type “Swedish XYZ” into Google and see what pops up. This recipe was on food.com, but referenced the New Scandinavian show that I had found, so I figured it was worth a try.

The recipe called for Roquefort cheese, and considering I can’t find basic things in the store, there was little to no chance of me finding that. While I gave a valiant effort, I eventually just bought the feta that was on sale as well. The only other change was that we added mushrooms to the onion mixture – I think that ‘shrooms go with every Swedish dish.

Overall the recipe was pretty simple and the roasted potatoes we made on the side came out pretty solid. Feta makes everything better. When asked for her review after dinner, Lis went on a 10 minute mini-tirade against pork chops (too fatty, not enough meat, etc), before giving the meal a 4 out of 5. Imagine if she liked the meat!

Oh, and in case Lis brings it up – yes, I almost burnt the house down during this recipe. We got a phone call half way through from our potential landlord and I had to do some negotiations. I admit, I lost a littttttle bit of leverage when the smoke detector went off during my dissertation on why we would take good care of their home. But danger made the pork really come alive!

Score:

Jonathan – 2,5 /5 Borks (nothing bad, but nothing really special about it)

Lisa – 4/5 (wants to retry with a tenderloin)

http://www.food.com/recipe/swedish-cutlets-or-pork-chops-375678

Increasing EU - US Relationships (aka French Dislike is Universal)

During my Swedish class the other day, I was talking with the 22 yr old german dude and the 20 yr old French guy (trying to get the hook up for where the coolest parties are in Stockholm – but they weren’t going to give up that info to a 30yr old, married father). I was asking them about Vienna (where Lisa and I are visiting in a few weeks), and the Parisan said that it was a gorgeous city, but that Austrians were all jerks. He had to leave after that, so I asked the German what was wrong with the Austrians. He explained that Austrians were fine, but that everyone in Europe hated the French, and therefore the French probably think the rest of Europe was filled with rude people. We then bonded over our mutual distrust of French people (although the kid in my class seems fine). Evidently they are all snotty, refuse to learn/use any other language and think they are better than everyone. We did some good solid french bashing until the train came - good to know that anti-francophiles are not just a US thing…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francophobia

(finding the pictures for this blog was a good time, not going to lie)

The Swedish Chef Diaries – Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy (and lingonberry jam)

Samantha was the first brave soul to visit us out here, coming in all the way from LA. I knew that there was only one option to greet her at the door when she arrived after a long day in the air. The original Swedish dish - MEATBALLS

Evidently the grocers were taking care of Sam (not a fan of seafood) and had chicken breast and ground beef for sale during the week. First time I had seen either of those options discounted, so we wanted to take full advantage. After some quick research I found a traditional Swedish recipe at the Annesfood blog (link below) and went to work.

I’ve made meatballs pretty often – usually using recipes from my mom or the Giovanello’s family secret. This recipe was a lot different with much “sweeter” spices used (probably not the correct word). Instead of basil and oregano, it called for cinnamon and allspice (among others). One problem we’ve run into so far is that our spice rack is still in route – so we haven’t bought too many temporary replacements. We have pepper, salt, paprika and an Italian mix. After checking out the spices and potential substitutes, I figured that I could just buy cinnamon and it would give a pretty good replication of the taste.

I decided to traditionally fry the meatballs, and they were just finishing up as Sam walked in the door. I quickly transitioned to the gravy (using greek yogurt instead of cream), and the mashed potatoes. Gravy – solid. Potatoes – oddly shiny….not sure why, probably bought the wrong type of potatoes?

Overall, we had a few substitutions and some things that didn’t exactly as planned, but I think it was a pretty solid “welcome to swwwweeeeeden”

Overall Score (out of 5)–

Jon – 4 BORKS

Lisa – 3,5 BORKS (the potatoes really hurt the overall score)

Samantha – 5 BORKS!!!

http://annesfood.blogspot.se/2006/12/swedish-meatballs-oven-baked.html

The Swedish Chef Diaries – Swedish Pancakes

Swedes LOVE their pancakes – but they aren’t the bisquick and aunt jemima kind. At the ericsson cafeteria, every Thursday is “pancake and pea soup” day – which is evidently very traditional.

In the spirit of going local, we substituted these pancakes for our normal betty crocker recipe the other day. Not going to lie, not the best Swedish recipe we’ve made yet. The recipe created a very liquid-y batter that made a much more “crepe-like” pancake. They did not look appetizing, but were kind of tasty. We ate them all (obviously), but will probably go back to our good ole ‘merican style pancakes going forward.

Or next time we will have to make some pea soup on the side….

Jon – 2 Bork

Lisa – 3,5 Borks

http://annesfood.blogspot.se/2007/02/swedish-pancakes.html