Whoope Pies, attempt 1

I've had a, rather reluctant, love affair with macarons for a while now. This is not something I'm proud of. Everything having to do with macarons is so ridiculous. They are ridiculously coloured, ridiculously pricey and ridiculously hip. But still, with a black cup of coffee, a sweet little something to go with it, I can't think of anything better than a macaron.

I've been considering making them at home, but since everybody says they are so hard to get right, I haven't bothered. But then I heard of Whoopies. A distant American relative of the macarons.  Two soft cookies slammed together with a generous slab of creamy goodness in between. Bigger and not with the same level of sophistication (the way a lot American relatives tend come across) but more easygoing and great tasting nonetheless.

So I got Sara Billingsley and Amy Treadwells book "Whoopie Pies" to get myself aquinted to the subject. It's an inspiring little book.  There are 21 recipes for different cookies to use and 29 recipes for fillings. They are all listed separately, with some good combos listed, but mostly the user is encouraged to mix and match on her own. I really like that. The only objection I have is that the fillings are way too sweet for me, I think that's another Europe/American thing. But, hey, it the filling gets too sweet, just add more of everything else :)

The recipe we tried were lemon whoopies with chocolate buttercream filling. Not that I thought it would make the best combo, the choice was solely based on my sons whims at the time. But it worked out fine in the end. The cookies are a bit bigger and chunkier than intended (compare with the cover of the book above), while juggling two kids and baking at the same time I tend to take whatever short cuts there are... I'll definitely be refining the recipes to get something that works for European palates as well, cutting the sugar and adding more of whatever flavouring that seems like a good idea to use.

My X-mas present to myself - Cookbooks

I recently discovered that the Swedish webshop Bokus carries most of Amazon US titles. The books themselves are a little bit pricier than in the US, but when you throw in no tax, free shipping and predictable shipping times you suddenly have a bargain.

I decided that I needed a little something for X-mas for myself as well, so I have ordered the following:

• Whoopie Pies by Sarah Billingsley
• Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen
• Home Sausage Making by Susan Mahnke Peery
• Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll
• Thai Street Food: Authentic Recipes, Vibrant T... by David Thompson
• Enklare bröd : recept på knådfria bröd med och... by Martin Johansson

Should be 3 more days now until they arrive...

Black X-mas Pork

There is this flavour that I've been missing since I moved from Thailand. It's sometimes found in dark sauces served over pork on rice in tiny market stalls. And it's similar to the flavour of the broth usually served with duck noodles. It's not to far from Hoi Sin sauce and it's related to "5-spice" spice mix, but I've never been able to pin it down or find out what it's made from. Until now, that is.

Last Sunday my local Swedish newspaper had this feature on "X-mas dishes with an Asian touch" and there was this recipe named "Black X-mas Pork" that I decided to try out. I didn't follow it to closely, that just wouldn't have been me, but when I was done I nearly fainted. It was THAT TASTE. I had recreated it without having a clue in the world what was going on.

Black X-mas pork, picture is from www.dn.se

So here is the, improved by me, recipe:

Black X-mas pork

1/2 kg meaty pork ribs 
3 dl soy sauce
1 dl sugar
10 cm ginger, sliced into 1,5 cm slices
10-15 schezuan peppercorns
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and bruised
3 stars of anise
1 cinnamon stick
A generous splash of chinese black vinegar
Spring onions for decoration, cut into small pieces

Cut the meat into serving sized pieces.

Put meat along with all other ingredients, except the spring onions, in a pot.

Boil for about half an hour or until the meat is done.

Serve with rice and sprinkle the spring onions on top.

Clearing out the freezer

About a month ago I set out to clear out all those freezer jars full of leftovers. I'm all for reusing food. One days tortilla stuffing meat will make a grand contribution to next days chilli. But some stuff just doesn't get picked. Like those kids that are not very good at sports at gym classes. It just sits there at the back of the freezer, looking sadder and sadder every day.

So, I decided that I should try to make an effort to clear out all of them to make room for the upcoming X-mas leftovers, preferably by eating them. But the strange thing is, even though I thought, several times, "Ok, now I've cleared them all out", new (or actually older) jars seemed to appear the next time I opened the freezer door. Why I hadn't seen them before I do not know, probably something Freudian, but there they sat, staring at me with their sad, cold imaginary eyes.

This isn't a new phenomena for me, I remember thinking I had something like 3 freezer bags of rhubarb, but somehow, with me making rhubarb ice cream and cakes nearly every weekend, they lasted for about half a year. I remember thinking about Jesus and the fishes, but I really don't think there was anything like that involved.

But now, finally, I REALLY have cleared out my freezer. There is just lots of space, waiting for something new to happen. I'm so much looking forward to cook new fresh food again, not just coming up with ways to make unidentifiable brown mush with ice crystals on it seem appealing. YAY!!!

Black Currant Liquorice Ice Cream

I've been wondering why there is plenty of black currant sorbet to go around but hardly any ice cream made with milk or cream. This is a mystery that just wouldn't leave me alone so I decided to make a batch of whole fat, creamy black currant ice cream to try out.

Included in this post is the recipe I used. I found that the dairy somewhat took the edge off the black currant flavour, but nonetheless, this turned out into a great ice cream. Black currants can be very dominating, so having them a bit mellowed down is not a problem for me.

And about the liquorice. After having mixed all ingredients for the regular black currant ice cream I started thinking, it tasted great, but maybe a bit predictable. Black currant and liquorice are two flavours that often come together in wines, especially in some very good  Australian Cabernets I've had. How would they work out in an ice cream?

They were spectacular! At first, putting the ice cream into my mouth I just felt the black currant fruitiness, but after a second or so the liquorice caught up. After swallowing, there was a lovely mix of sweet, tart and a little bit salt lingering in my mouth. This is defenetely a flavour combo I'll be working on.

Black Currant Liquorice Ice Cream

Serves 4 as a dessert.

250 gr. black currants
1/2 dl water
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 dl sugar
2 dl milk
1 tablespoon liquorice powder
2 dl heavy cream

Boil the blackcurrants in the water until mushy. Should take about 10 minutes.

Stir the egg yolks and the sugar in a bowl until foamy.

Heat the milk in a pot until it simmers.

Slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture, stirring meanwhile.

Pour the eggs and milk back into the pot. Heat carefully, stirring constantly, until "custard thickness" is reached. The eggs must not be overheated, as that will make them scramble, ruining the "smooth custard thing" we're trying to accomplice.

Pour the custard back into the bowl.

Add the berries by straining them through a sieve. Use the back of a spoon to press out all the juice.

Add the cream.

Stir in the liquorice powder.

Chill until "refrigerator temperature" is reached.

Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the instructions.