Easter Treats

Peeps Rice Krispy Squares

These are such a fun way to celebrate Easter! We made them for Camryn’s class and they all went crazy. And they aren’t hard to make! Such a fun, colorful way to make Easter a little bit more fun for the kids. You can find the recipe here. I just added melted white chocolate to the top with Easter sprinkles. Cute as an Easter button ;)

No Bake Egg Nests

We made these for Bryce’s class. I LOVE a no bake cookie and then by adding my FAVORITE Easter candy, Cadbury Mini Eggs, these have turned out to be the best! All you need to do is follow my recipe for No Bake Cookies, found here, and plop some Mini Eggs on top. Easy peasy.

Happy Easter!!

A recipe for gluten-free hazelnut meringue roulade aka Budapestrulle (Budapestbakelse)

I am writing this post while sitting on a really comfortable bed in a brand new hotel in Helsinki, called Indigo Hotel. I'm in town for a long weekend to enjoy the Streat Helsinki street food festival. The press trip is organised and hosted by Visit Helsinki, and we have been taken very good care of. This morning Heather of Heather's Helsinki took us for a coffee and Budapest cake at Karl Fazer Café at Kluuvikatu 3. The cake in question was a Budapest slice.

It's a popular cake from Sweden, attributed to a pastry chef Ingvar Strid who was born in 1926 in Vetlanda. It's a hazelnut meringue roulade filled with whipped cream and peeled clementine slices. Delicious! The version popularised by Fazer in Finland is slightly different - the clementines/mandarine oranges are replaced with bananas and raspberries. Different - and sweeter - but still nice.

Here's my version of Budapestrulle - I make the classic Swedish version. The recipe below uses a popular and widely available Swedish product, Marsán snabb vaniljsås, but feel free to replace it with cornflour or potato starch or even all-purpose flour (in latter case it won't be gluten-free, of course).

Since 2013, May 1st has officially been the Budapestbakelsensdag in Sweden.

Budapest slice
(Besee-pähklirull)

Serves 8 to 10

Meringue:
4 large egg whites
100 g caster sugar
150 ml (about 90 g) vanilla custard powder
100 g toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped

Filling:
200 ml whipping cream
1 tsp caster sugar
300 g canned mandarine oranges/clementines, drained

Decoration:
50 g dark chocolate
some canned mangarine oranges/clementines

Heat the oven to 200 C. Grease and line a shallow Swiss roulade tin/baking tray with a parchment paper.

Using electric mizer, whisk the egg whites until stiff but not try. Add the sugar in 2-3 installments, continue whisking until the mix is shiny and white.

Combine the hazelnuts and vanilla custard powder, then gently fold into the meringue mixture. Spread the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake in the middle of pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes, until the meringue is risen and slightly golden on edges.

Take out of the oven and cool completely. Then turn over onto a new piece of parchment paper and peel off the "baked" parchment paper.

For the filling, whisk the cream and sugar until thick and fluffy, then spread over the meringue. Put some mandarine slices aside for decoration, then scatter the rest over the cream. Roll up the roulade, starting with the long end, and using the paper underneath to help. Carefully lift onto a serving dish, leaving the "seam" underneath.

Melt the chocolate, drizzle over the meringue roulade. Garnish with mandarine orange slices. To serve, cut the cake into thick slices.

The photo above is by Juta Kübarsepp, taken for my cookbook "Nami-Nami. Maailma maitsed 1" (Varrak, 2013).

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Enchilada Pasta Casserole

I love a dinner that can be confined to a casserole dish. That way I can make it in the morning, stick it in the fridge, and then all I have to do is put it in the oven and dinner is ready! I love enchiladas and pasta, so combining them can only make a delicious combo! Mommy and kid approved

1 lb ground beef (ground turkey can be substituted)

1/2t chili powder

1/4t cumin

1/4t cayenne pepper

5oz cream cheese

1/4 cup sour cream (Greek yogurt can be substituted)

1 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

1 cup corn kernels

1 (4oz) can diced green chilies

12oz egg noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook egg noodles according to package directions. In the meantime, in a large skillet, brown ground beef and drain the fat. Add chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. 

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, enchilada sauce, half of the cheeses, corn kernels and green chilies. Pour over beef mixture, stir, and let simmer for 2-3 minutes. 

Drain pasta and add it to the beef mixture, making sure everything is coated in sauce. In a large casserole dish or 9x13 pan, pour in pasta mixture and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes until cheese is completely melted and bubbly. Enjoy!

*From Table for Two

Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread

Have you ever been to Macaroni Grill? The bread they serve there is beyond amazing!! It's the perfect appetizer for hearty Italian meal. When I need a quick bread for dinner, I turn to this beauty. It’s easy to make for bread because it only rises once. It’s SOOOO GOOOOOD!!! Sometimes I just get a craving for it and absolutely have to make it. I’ve made it over a dozen times now and it’s turned out perfect every single time. The dough is so easy to whip up, then let it rise, then put it on the cookie sheet to bake. Yep, that easy.

Mmmmm…crisp on the outside and warm and fluffy on the inside. Then you just tear it and dip it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My ABSOLUTE favorite!!!

1 tbsp dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 -3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary or 2 tsp dry rosemary
1 tbsp oil, olive oil or canola
nonstick cooking spray
2 tbsp butter, melted
coarse salt

Combine yeast, sugar and warm water in a large mixing bowl. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes or until frothy. Mix in salt 1/2 of the rosemary and 2 1/4 cups flour (it’s best with a mixer fitted with a dough hook)

Mix/ knead until dough is smooth and elastic about 8-10 minutes by hand or 3-5 minutes in a mixer…you may need to add more flour. In a large glass or plastic bowl, place oil and use your hand or a paper towel to coat the inside of the bowl with the oil. Place the dough in the oiled bowl, cover and place in warm area. Allow to rise until doublesd. Approx 30-40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray (or bake on parchment paper or Silpat liners), shape dough into two small round loaves and place each one on the cooking sheet 4-5 inches apart. Use fingers to push down and leave small wells where the butter can gather.
Using a pastry brush, brush butter evenly over the two loaves. Sprinkle each loaf with remaining rosemary and about 1/4 of coarse salt per loaf.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with dipping sauce (recipe to follow) you can slice it or just rip off pieces.

Dipping Sauce:
Combine equal parts balsamic vinegar and olive oil, add some fresh cracked pepper and coarse salt if desired.

*Adapted from The Mother Huddle

In praise of Georgian food

The Washington Post muses on March 3rd, 2015, whether the Georgian food might be the next big thing. It certainly deserves much more attention, if you ask me. There was this incident almost ten years ago, when Kuidaore's Joycelyn began her cookbook meme (memes were a big thing in the early days of food blogging) wondering whether she really needs a Georgian cookbook. I left a long comment insisting she does :)

I've been a fan of Georgian food as long as I remember. The food is so flavoursome and colourful, providing plenty of textures and variety. The picture here is from the chapter dedicated to the cuisine of Georgia in my third cookbook, "Nami-Nami. Maailma maitsed 1" that was published in October 2013 (see my blog post here).  Doesn't it look really appealing and appetising?



There are 99 photos in my  Georgian album over on Flickr, most with links to the Estonian-language recipe. However, there are plenty of excellent Georgian recipes here on Nami-Nami as well for you to browse, helping you to get familiar with the "next big thing". Enjoy!

Georgian-style green beans with herbs and garlicky yogurt or mtsvane lobios borani (pictured at the bottom right, below) is a wonderful side dish (#glutenfree #lowcarb).



Beet salad with walnuts and garlic, pkhali, is a potent vegetable salad that brightens up any festive table (#glutenfree #Paleo):



Cucumber and tomato salad with fresh cilantro/coriander is a delightfully different way to serve the summer favourites, tomatoes and cucumbers.

Chicken in a cold walnut sauce, satsivi, is another winner from Georgia (pictured in the front, below). Georgian cuisine is rather unique in that they use walnuts a lot as a the main ingredient, not just to give some extra flavour or texture. Here the walnuts and mixed with spices and fried onions to form a wonderfully aromatic sauce. (#glutenfree #lowcarb #Paleo)



Creamy mushrooms with spices and herbs, is a great way to cook and serve those rather bland-tasting cultivated white mushrooms (#glutenfree #lowcarb):



Walnut and egg salad,  are here pictured on crispy toasts (#glutenfree #lowcarb):



If you can get hold of the salty Suluguni cheese, then it's excellent when fried in butter:



Yet the most wonderful way of using the Georgian Suluguni cheese is to make a Georgian cheese pie, khatchapuri. There are lots of different versions about that Georgian cheese bread. I've got three recipes in my cookbook, but the recipe you find here on the blog is the simplest one, Imeretian khatchapuri.



Chicken with herbs and tomatoes, chakhohbili (pictured at the centre, below), was the first Georgian recipe to appear here on Nami-Nami, and still finds its way to our table quite regularly (#glutenfree #lowcarb #Paleo)



So, which Georgian dishes have you eaten? Which one would you cook first from this selection here on Nami-Nami?

© 2007 Nami-nami foodblog, nami-nami.blogspot.com This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking at may be guilty of infringing upon terms of copyright.

Lemon Blueberry Cake

It’s been so warm here that I feel like it’s Spring already. Well I guess I jinxed it because it’s 39 degrees today… But to boost my spirits, I can eat this delicious and bright dessert to dream about the summery days to come. And boy is it even better the next day!!

For the Cake: 

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
1T vanilla
3 cups flour, careful not to overmeasure
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 cup buttermilk
zest and juice from 3 medium lemons
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 T flour

For the Frosting:

12oz full-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (depending on your desired sweetness of your frosting. I like mine more cream-cheesy and less sweet)
1 t vanilla
 
Directions for the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 9 inch cake pans with nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until creamy and white - about 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until everything is combined, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Set aside. Batter should be really fluffy.

In a large sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds, then add the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Remove from the mixer and stir lightly until everything is just combined. Toss the blueberries in 1 Tablespoon of flour and fold into the batter. Batter is extremely thick. Do not overmix at any point. Overmixing will lend a tough, dense textured crumb.

Spoon batter evenly into 2 prepared cake pans. Bake for about 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Directions for the Frosting:

Using a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until no lumps remain, about 3 full minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. With the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add 1 Tablespoon of cream to thin out, if desired. If you want a fluffier, lighter frosting, add 1 cup heavy cream, whipped until stiff peaks are formed. Fold this into the frosting. It lightens it up quite a bit.

Assemble the cake and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before cutting to ensure a sturdy cake. Store leftovers in the fridge.

*From Sally’s Baking Addiction

Meatball Sub Bubble Up

This is a quick weeknight meal that won’t disappoint. It’s kid friendly and takes no time at all to throw in a pan and bake. 

1 can Grands Biscuits

1 bag frozen meatballs (as many as you prefer)

2 cups spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce or marinara, whichever you prefer

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Cut the uncooked biscuits into 8ths. Place in an even layer in a greased 9x13 pan. Cover with sauce. Place meatballs on top of the biscuits in an even layer. You can fill the dish, or spread them out sparingly, it depends on how much you like meatballs. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake at 375 for about 30-40 minutes, until biscuits are cooked through. Enjoy!

*From Life With the Crust Off

Gâteau Marcel. A recipe for a delicious layered chocolate mousse cake (gluten-free)

Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovely Nami-Nami readers out there!

Today's recipe is this gluten-free and fun cake from Denmark, where it's considered to be the French chocolate cake. The recipe is from Michel Michaud, a French chef. Well, Michel Michaud was born in France in 1946, but moved to Denmark in 1971, where he introduced the Danes to the culinary delights of French cuisine. Including this cake.

I never came across this cake when living in Denmark at the tender age of 18. I only came across the cake few weeks ago, when somebody mentioned in one Danish-language Facebook group that "oh, this [cake] is very similar to Gateau Marcel." Well, I had to check out what's behind that fancy name and turned out that it's a gluten-free cake that consists of only 4 ingredients (chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar), results in three dirty bowls and one decadent two-layer chocolate mousse cake.

Intrigued? So was I - and we loved this cake a lot!

Best made on a previous day.

Gâteau Marcel 
(Eestikeelne retsept)
Adapted from several Danish-language sources, but modfied
Serves 10




200 g good-quality dark chocolate (chips/pellets or chopped)
200 g unsalted butter
200 g caster sugar
6 large eggs
a pinch of salt (optional)

To serve:
cacao powder (un-sweetened)
fresh raspberries or chocolate curls

Pre-heat the oven to 175 C/350 F.

Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a bowl set over barely simmering water. Stir until combined, then cool a little.

Separate egg yolks from egg whites. Whisk egg yolks and about 2/3 of the sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. In another, very clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then continue whisking and adding the sugar, until the egg white mixture is shiny and stiff.

(You've got 3 bowls now - one with melted chocolate and butter, one with egg yolks and sugar, one with egg whites and sugar).

Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Then fold in about a third of the meringue (aka egg white mixture) until combined, then very gently add the rest of the egg whites to the batter.

Grease a 24 cm/9 inch springform tin thoroughly with butter, sprinkle lightly with sugar or cocoa powder. Spoon up to a half of the batter into the tin, smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool a little - it'll collapse a little, which is perfectly normal.

Then spoon the rest of the chocolate batter on top of the cooled chocolate cake - this will become the chocolate mousse layer. Smooth the top, then place into a fridge for at least 4 hours or until the next day.

Before serving, remove the cake carefully from the tin and transfer onto a serving plate. Sprinkle generously with cocoa powder, then decorate with fresh or frozen raspberries or fancy chocolate curls.

© 2007 Nami-nami foodblog, nami-nami.blogspot.com This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking at may be guilty of infringing upon terms of copyright.

Oreo Pops

I LOVE Valentines Day! It’s one of my favorite holidays. I might go a little over the top, but I love it so much. This year Bryce picked Oreo Pops for his Valentine to give to his friends at school. I was just giddy because I love making things so cute.

I usually make a bunch so that we can give them to teachers and neighbors too. They’re just so dang cute!

Here’s how we attached a Valentine to the pop. It was so fun doing these with the kids and the end result is so adorable!

These are perfect for parties, showers or just because.Kids die over them, so it makes it all worth it. FYI, you can get all of these ingredients at Walmart, mostly in the cake decorating isle.

1 package Double Stuffed Oreos (I always use the chocolate cream ones)

Chocolate Melts, any color of your choice ( I usually use Wilton, they look like this)

Clear Mini Treat Bags, they look like this.

Lollipop sticks

Ribbon

Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place Oreos in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Place in oven for about 1-2 minutes, no longer. You’re trying to melt the cream a little so it’s easier to insert the lollipop stick without breaking the cookie. Remove cookies from the oven and while warm, insert lollipop sticks. Allow to harden again. 

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate melts in 20 second increments. Using a spoon, cover the Oreos with the chocolate and let the excess drizzle off. Place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sprinkles right away before the chocolate hardens.

Once all of the cookies are covered in chocolate and hardened, place them in the treat bags and tie with a ribbon. Then enjoy the delicious, adorable treat!

Cupcakes in a Jar

These are just so cute and practical. They’re also perfect for class parties and birthday parties since it’s a delicious, messy cupcake in a neat and tidy jar. 

I thought of this because it was my friends birthday and all he asked for was a batch of my cupcakes. I contemplated how I could do this since he lives back in Henderson and I’d have to ship them. That’s where I thought of putting them in a jar. They shipped GREAT and were still fresh 2 days later when they got them. I might also add that they put them in the freezer and ate them for several months. 

So whether you’re doing a party, saving a treat for later, or just want to be dang cute, make these cupcakes in a jar!!

What you Need:

1 recipe of your favorite cupcakes, mine is here

1 recipe of your favorite frosting, mine is here

Toppings of your choice, mine is Dulce de Leche

Kerr Half Pint Wide Mouth Jars, 12 count. They look like this. You can usually find them in grocery stores in the canning section. I’ve never been able to find them in Walmart or Target, so you’re better off looking in a regular grocery store. You need to make sure they are this kind or something similar to it. Make sure they have straight sides and are 1/2 pint. They are the perfect size.


Directions:

Clean out jars with hot soapy water and let dry. Mix up your cake mix. Spray jars with nonstick baking spray (I use this.) Fill jars about half full. You don’t want them topping the jar because you need room for your fillings in the jar. These were a little too full. I had to cut a little out to make all the ingredients fit.

Baking time will vary, but bake them at 350 degrees and after about 15 minutes, keep a close eye on them. Once they spring back when touched, remove them from the oven to cool for about 5-10 mintues.

Then pop them out of the jars to cool completely. They should release very easily if you’ve used the spray. You might need to run a knife around the edges to help them out. Once they’ve completely cooled, cut them in half.

Then layer them with the frosting and toppings. Start with the bottom part of the cake, pipe in frosting, layer whatever toppings you like, then put the top of the cake on and repeat the layering one more time.

It should look like this when you’re done:

Then you pop the lid on and voilà!! You have a cupcake in a jar!! It’s most cute when you cut out craft paper for the lid and decorate it with some ribbon around the lid. It’s even cuter when you attach a plastic spoon to the lid with the ribbon. PERFECT party gift!!

Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches

This quickly became a family favorite. I even made them for the masses for our Super Bowl party and a big family dinner over the holidays. It’s PERFECT for feeding a lot of people. And it’s just so simple too. I love how it’s a crockpot meal. As a busy mom, most of the time the last thing I want to think about is dinner. These are such a cinch for those busy nights…it even makes it’s own au jus!

1- 3-4 pound chuck roast, remove excess fat

Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 T olive oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

2 cups beef broth

1/2t dried, rosemary

1/2t dried thyme

1T dry minced onion

2t minced garlic

6-8 french rolls

6-8 slices of provolone cheese

Sprinkle meat with Montreal Steak Seasoning and rub in. In a heavy pan, heat 2T olive oil and sear each side of the roast. Place in the crock pot. Mix together soy sauce, beef broth, water, rosemary, thyme, garlic and onion. Pour over roast. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5-6 hours. Cook until tender and easy to shred. Shred with tongs. Strain remaining juice for the au jus. If you are serving a large crowd, double the recipe, it will still fit in a large crock pot. Enjoy!!

*Adapted from yourhomebasedmom.com

Enchilada Pork Tacos with Sweet Corn Slaw

I love dinner that goes in a crock pot. It’s so much less stress! I also love to pair crock pot meat with fresh ingredients. The contrast is so refreshing. The corn slaw just makes the dish. These also are the BEST with fresh uncooked tortillas that you cook at home. We get Tortilla Land brand from Costco and they are amazing! Really brings home that fresh Mexican flavor. So give those a try too. Here’s to a quick weeknight meal!

3-4 pound pork shoulder

1 taco packet

1 can diced green chilies

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 (10oz) can enchilada sauce

Sweet Corn Slaw

2 ears cooked sweet corn, removed from the cob

1 T olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups shredded cabbage

Juice of 1 lime

2 t seasoned rice vinegar

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Mix together taco seasoning, green chilies, onion and enchilada sauce. Pour over pork in your crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

For the corn slaw, add corn, oil, salt, pepper, cabbage, lime vinegar and cilantro to a bowl. Toss well and cover and place in fridge until ready to eat. 

When the pork is falling apart, shred with 2 forks and mix with remaining sauce in the crockpot. To eat, heat a fresh tortilla and top with meat and corn slaw. ENJOY!!

*From Betty Crocker