Loving the winter with tartiflette aka cheesy potato gratin

It's been a funny little winter this year in Finland. I take pride in not complaining about the weather, but this year even I've had to complain a bit. I'd love the winters to be "normal", which to me means snow (from just some to a lot, I don't complain), minus degree celsius (from just some to a lot, I don't complain) and overall enjoyable winter. This year we've been getting mostly rain and ice. And seeing as one of my hobbies is outside horseback riding... Well. Snow and minus degree is good, ice is not.

Just hoping our lovely globe doesn't get much too much warmer...

Either way, any type of weather you'll be happy with once preparing yourself a lovely "little" tartiflette! If you haven't tried, it's high time. It's originally from Alps, which means you really do need to get Reblochon as the cheese. It won't do with a substitute. But as it's readily available in good cheese shops, even it isn't a problem.

Tartiflette aka cheesy potato gratin

1,5 kg potatoes, peeled
1 slide onion
200g smoked bacon or other such meat (such as lardonnes)
fresh thyme spring
1 dl white wine / broth (I used a mix of white wine vinegar, sherry and water)
(raw sausage such as chorizo*)
2 tsp crushed garlic
500 g piece of Reblochon cheese
salt
black pepper

Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes or so, until slightly soft. Drain, let cool and slice.

Cook the bacon and raw sausage. Put to wait on side and soften the onions in the fat left from bacon and sausage. When onions have softened, put the bacon and sausage back on the pan. Add the thyme, wine/other liquid and seasonings, simmer for 5 minutes, then remove the thyme.

Heat the oven to 180 C. Layer the oven dish with half the potatoes, top with the bacon mixture and follow with the remaining potatoes, making another layer. Or else just mix all of it together.

Place the whole piece of cheese** in the centre of the dish on top of the potatoes. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes until golden. It looks like this before the oven:

* You don't need to add this, but it makes it even better. You can use any type of sausage, but if you use raw sausage, cook it before adding to dish. Pre-cooked sausage you can just add when putting the dish together.
** You do need to use the cheese as WHOLE. We've been trying to use less, but it does not melt as it should and the result isn't anything as good. 


If you can imagine potatoes and meat with cheese.... you'll love this! The Reblochon melts and creates a type of "cheese sauce"... I'm getting hungry just by thinking of it! We'll definately do another batch during this wintertime still 💓

Teriyaki salmon bowl

I'm trying to start to eat better and overall take a bit better care of myself - part of which I need to eat more. I eat to little during the day, I can skip all meals during a day due to busy schedules, which means I stuff myself during the evenings and eat wrong because I'm too hungry.

So maybe this excellent bowl is one step closer to the new me - or actually sort of the old me :) But rest assured, even if you are all well with your diet, you're bound to enjoy this 😍 Recipe credits to Soppa365.

Teriyaki salmon bowl (for four)

400 g salmon (lax)

1 tbsp butter

3 dl sushi- or jasmin rice

Teriyaki sauce

1 dl soy sauce

¾ dl sugar

1 dl dry white wine or sherry (or sake)

1 tl sesame oil

1 tl grated fresh ginger

Salad
salad of your choice

cucumber sticks

cherry tomatoes

avocado (half for each person)

Salad dressing

1 ½ tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp dijon mustard

Garnish with

fried sesame seeds

spring onion
sriracha dressing (your choice)

Start by boiling the rice of your choice according to the recipe in the package. Then mix together the indegrients of the teriyaki sauce, pour into a frying pan and heat up, keep boiling and stir. Let it simmer down and thicken, but not too much (totally sticky is a bit too much; it should be somewhat runny still). Pour to a bowl to wait.

Cut the salmon into serving size (four pieces). Heat butter in a frying pan and fry salmon pieces for a few minutes. Pour the teriyaki sauce into the pan. Fry the sauce and the salmon (not too high heat) for 5-7 minutes (or as the salmon is to your liking), turning the salmon over once. Keep pasting the salmon while frying.

Cut the indegrients of the salad to your liking and mix the salad dressing. You can either mix the salad together with the dressing, or do as I did, and arrange the salad in the bowl and pour the salad dressing on them. Either way, leave room for rice in the bowl.

Put the rice on the bowl too, top with the salmon. If you've left the teriyaki sauce sufficiently not-too-thick, you can also you it as the sauce for the rice (highly recommended!!). Dress with sesame seeds and spring onions (unless you forget them.......).

Now the only thing to do is to enjoy! It's the perfect mix of sweet, fresh and salty... Love.

So it was Christmas

Phew! What a December it was... I was running to catch my tail at work as well as on my free time - but happily I'll tell you I was fairly successful :) But it meant I unfortunately had to drop out all of the not-priority-number-one actions, such as this blog.

But now I'm back :) We did eat in December and Christmas time, as well as we've been already eating in 2018 (btw WHO can believe it's already 2018!!!?). Will get you up to speed :) To start, here's what we enjoyed after new years' with guests: home-made blinis with champagne and "all-the-fixins": salmon roe, vendace roe, diced onions and sour cream (with the roe), gherkins and honey, cold-cured salmon, cold-cured reindeer-mayo salad and mushroom-mayo salad. Yum!

Happy New Year 2018!

Imam bayildi - The Imam Fainted (aka ground meat stuffed eggplant)

I work hard and don't take enough time for lunches with colleagues. Once in a blue moon I  manage to surpass myself and even meet an old friend or a colleague for a lunch. Last time I did so it was summer, August I think. I haven't seen him for years, so it was extra fun. He suggested a small café and lunch place is the very center of Helsinki, Café Rouge.

Café Rouge describes themselves: "Good food ends with good talk! Come and enjoy our delicious homemade food, great coffee and friendly service. We heartily welcome you!" And so it was! I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and almost came fast friends with the owner Maggie 😊

But the food, that's the point, non? I ate "the imam fainted" dish for lunch - a dish which I had heard of, naturally, but had never had before. As it was my only experince until now, I can't really compare that much, but I can say, I have not been able to forget it since.

On Tuesday I had a package of ground meat and nothing else. I was fresh out of ideas of what to do until I saw aubergines (i.e. eggplants) in the shop! Not in season, but when I remembered the imam's predicaments, I just had to have this.

Saved my Tuesday. Will save another Tuesday. Very quick, supeeeeeeer tasty. Go, do. Have a happy Friday 💓

PS This recipe is based on multiple ones in the web, overridden all and handcrafted by me. I can take no account of how this is supposed to go. I think it shouldn't originally include meat - but it was in the Café Rouge's one and so it is on mine too.


The Fainted Imam (Pyörtynyt imaami)

1 eggplant per diner (it feels a lot but you'll be bound to eat it)
~100 g ground meat per diner
1 onion, diced
garlic
tomatoes (maybe 4)
tomato pyré
paprika powder
chili powder
cumin (juustokumina)
coriander powder
sumac
pepper
salt
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of sugar

First, wash the eggplants. Put on a pan as they naturally lie and cut lenghtwise almost in half, but don't cut through! Take off. Put olive oil in the pan and heat fairly hot (you're not deep frying, so not that hot). Put the eggplants on the pan, be careful, the oil might "jump". Put on a lid and let be until softened; until they sort of form a "pocket". But do not cook through yet. I have no idea now long mine were on... maybe 10-15 minutes? They need to soften considerably.

Meanwhile, on another pan, sauté diced onion until translucent, then add garlic and ground meat. Then add tomatoes, tomato puré and all of the seasonings. This is up to your taste, I'd say at least 1/4 teaspoon of all. You can let this sauce stew until the eggplants are ready.

Once you feel the eggplants are ready, put on a oven-proof pan (if they aren't already on one). They have "opened up" like you see on the pic. Scoop a good amount of the sauce in the eggplant. Bake in a 180 C oven for about 20-30 minutes.

I was VERY happy with mine! They maybe went a bit over as I was paddling on with something else, but it didn't affect anything. The pic is not much to look at, but it gives you an idea - I'm so hoping you'll taste these! :)

Review: Brasserie Kämp at Hotel Kämp, Helsinki

Helsinki is the largest city and the capital of Finland. In Finland there's about 5,5 million of us, and in greater Helsinki area (Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa which are very, very side by side to each other) there lives about 1,1 million of us.

We have one hotel above others in Helsinki. It's Hotel Kämp, established in 1887 by Carl Kämp. It has been a luxury hotel and place-to-be-seen for all Finnish socielites from the beginning - and is still today - although it did function as office building during 1965-1999. Luckily it was restored to be a hotel again. It's the most know five-star hotel in Finland and all of the stars stay there when visiting Finland (e.g. Madonna, Bruce Springsteen...).

I have always wanted to stay in Hotel Kämp. I live close by and work in the Helsinki area, so I don't need to stay in Helsinki hotels for the sake of not being able to go home. But we do enjoy Helsinki and mini-vacation in Helsinki every once in a while. Sometimes just for not having to drive to home, for example when a long-drawn wine dinner is in program 😊

Last February, we stayed overnight in Kämp for our anniversary - oh my! Kämp did not let me down. I loved the overall atmosphere - I mean there was a green rubber duck in the bath! - but also and perhaps even mainly for the service. I'm always happy to pay more, even much more, for exellent service.

I do visit every once in a while otherwise too, for their lovely Kämp Bar, or sometimes After Work Jazz at Upper Lounge. It's always such a comfort to go to Kämp - a bit like coming to home somehow. (No, we do not live in a house like Kämp.)

As Hotel Kämp was established in 1887, they are having their 130 anniversary this year. To celebrate, we went for late lunch (at 16.00 / 4 pm) on Saturday. We were having a lovely Christmas shopping day, and we really had a very jolly good feeling when going into Kämp.

Kämp's restaurant is Brasserie Kämp, and it's made up from basically two different atmospheres and rooms: luxury restaurant inside and a bit more modest, but still luxurious terrace - which actually means it's all indoors really, warm and all, but you have big windows to the street. I prefer the terrace, and we did get a table there.

We started with Ruinart Champagne (myself) and cava (for him). I had pre-ordered the Kämp 130 menu, so no choice was required at this time (always nice, not having to decide). The three-course menu is 46 €, which is not bad at all. Ofter times people see Kämp as more high-priced place, I suppose for the look and feel, but it really isn't. Though 21 € for a glass of Ruinart is a bit rich - even if it is one of my favorite champagnes.

The menu started with smoked eel with pickled leeks and mustard seeds. What enjoyment! Ruinart worked really nice with it too. Although so did his chardonnay (I was driving, so not for me). Most of the times the starters are the highlights of the dinner, this time too. The dish sang to us. The only problem was the waiter - we had to wait many minutes before receiving his wine, while the food was already there. Luckily this was a cold dish.

The main was red wine braised brisket with champignons and shallots (and carrots). Oh what a jus this came with! I could have drank it, I'm sure. We both had red wine with the main, but what it was we'll never know - the waiter did not introduce the wine to us. Also this time we waited some five minutes to get the wine - the waiter went so far as to bill another table before coming to pour us the wine. The dish went a wee bit cold, while waiting. And it's a principle of mine not to start eating before the wine is there. Still, not get to get caught on the small stuff - it was enjoyable.

The dessert was Kämp 130 chocolate cake with blackcurrant sorbet. Very, very good - and this from someone who does not really like sweets or desserts 😊 He had dessert wine as well, Finnish blueberry wine called Sametti (velvet in English). The cake was beautiful velvety consistency too.

It was an enjoyable evening. Alhough the wine pouring wasn't quite right, the waiter was very nice and good in his job otherwise. It would take more to upset me from my love to Kämp.

It's funny, how some places - and some people too - just feel right. When that happens, you should enjoy it and allow that sometimes things are not fully perfect. But almost perfect still.

Happy birthday Hotel Kämp 130 years old! I will be back yet again 💗

Keywords: #hotelkamp #kamp130menu #kamp130years

Onion soup - the correct recipe

What very hectic few weeks. Hope it gets normal about now, and there's again more time for cooking...! Although as you may have noticed from my Instagram account, I haven't been exactly starving over the weeks and weekends either :)

Today I want to post the only correct onion soup recipe. So pay attention now! In short: you don't need any extra sugar. You should not add any extra sugar. In any format. No. Just say no.

If you cook it properly, the onions have exactly the correct amount of sugars in them naturally. And oh boy it's good! But you need some patience, and lots of time. Actually, you can make it day or two ahead of serving too.

Onion soup for two to three (or more as a starter)

500 g yellow onions
3 cloves of garlic
5 dl consommé (or 6 dl if you don't want to use wine)
1 dl white wine
2 bay leaves
1 star anise
fresh thyme branches
salt
(25 g) butter
(olive oil)
pinch of black or white pepper

Gratin

(slightly stale) sourdough break

Guyére, Comté or such cheese (grated)

First, peel the onion. Then cut in full rings or half rings. Remember: you need a sharp knife and good ventilation! Or else, you know, crying is a cleansing feeling. Mince the garlic too.

Put a lush amount of butter on a pan and melt. (Or you an use olive oil or a combination.) Add onions, garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Sauté for a few minutes until translucent, do not brown. Lower heat, put the lid on, let simmer for 15 minutes. Again, do not brown yet. Stir every once in a while.

Once you've had your quarter of an hour of proofing the cooking wine, take off the lid, turn heat higher and brown until golden. Now this you have to pay attention to: they have to be well cooked. I mean well cooked. Browned. Golden brown. But not burnt!

Here you see what you start with and what's close to target state. (The black you see on the target is the pan, not something burnt 😊 )

 

 

When you feel comfortable with the target state, add your consommé and wine and let simmer (so turn down the heat) for as long as you have. At least on hour. If you want really good onion soup, you can do 8 hours of slow cooking (or even low-heat oven). But an hour or two will do. 

Finally, taste to salt and pepper. Remove thyme and bay leaves. Put on plates or bowl of choice. Add a piece of break to the bowl, top with grated cheese and gratinate in oven (high heat, only minute or few). 

Serve. Wonder why onion can be so good. And so cheap. Maybe you can live on onion? Remember to drink the wine you opened too (no point of it going to waste). Receive bravos from diners. Be happy.

Brussels sprouts ceasar "salad" and Mondays

I'm very partial to brussels sprouts, I've always been. Even when I was young and fairly picky - I picked even the smallest onions from any food etc. - I always loved brussels sprouts. Go figure.

As you might have read, I've been travelling quite a bit during the last few weeks (five cities in three weeks). Now it's all week at home for at least a few weeks! While I like to travel somewhat for work, it's not really much more than offices, airports and not-too-healthy dinners. All made better by interesting work and colleagues of course :)

Either way, now that I'm at home I have soooooo long to-do list! But I do look forward to it :) Some nights it'll be going out in business or with friends, or some Christmas stuff - I'm crazy for Christmas! - but tonights I started to tackle to-do's.

That meant that I needed something quick but really good (as it's Monday etc.). One of my old (=young) colleagues has a blog too, and I saw this brussels sprouts ceasar salad in there about a month ago. I've been pretty much thinking about it since :) So at last I cooked some up today.

Never mind I say "salad" instead of salad. It's a salad, still. But no worries losing any weight with the one I make! :D But you'll enjoy yourself much more than any calories can count. (Except if you don't like brussels sprouts. If not, move along to the next recipe then.)

Brussels sprouts ceasar "salad"

Brussels sprouts, as much as you can eat
Chorizo
OR Bacon
(Or you know, why not, go crazy, add both!)
(Olive oil, sea salt)

The sauce

1 minced garlic clove
1-2 anchovy fillets (sardelli in Finnish)
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp grainy dijon mustard
½ juice of a lemon
3 tbsp grated parmesan
pinch of salt

Start by washing and cleaning the brussels sprouts. Put on an oven pan with sliced chorizo. Or you can use bacon too. Put on a pre-heated oven of 225 C. I cook both for about 5 mins, took the chorizo out, rolled the brussels sprouts in the chorizo fat (mmmmmmmm) and cooked the sprouts for some 10 minutes still, until a bit scorched. Seeing as chorizo has a lot of flavor (and salt) in it, I didn't use other oil or salt.

When the sprouts and the chorizo (or bacon) are cooking, prepare the sauce: just mix everything together. Taste and adjust as needed.

Once the sprouts have cooled down a bit, mix everything togerher. Garnish with some (more) parmesan and enjoy!

Mondays could be worse.