This morning I woke up to a gusting wind that was blowing the redwood trees back and forth, and sending our neighbor’s leaves all over our backyard. But my cousin and I were perfectly warm inside, drinking coffee and baking up these irresistible sticky rolls to start our day. A simple no-yeast dough and gooey maple syrup topping makes it easy to bring bakery-taste to your own kitchen. We ate one and a half each for breakfast, along with flutes of sparkling grape & blood orange juice (in lieu of mimosas), and I froze the rest to make a morning in the near future extra special.

Pecan-Maple Sticky Rolls

(From the September 2009 Food & Wine)

3/4 cup whole pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 sticks salted butter—1 stick cubed and chilled, 4 tablespoons melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup

• Preheat the oven to 425°. Spread the pecans in a pie plate and toast for about 6 minutes, until fragrant; let cool slightly (alternatively, we toasted them in a skillet, stirring occasionally over medium-low heat).

• Meanwhile, grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter (or cooking spray).

• In a food processor, pulse the flour with 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda and salt.

• Add the cubed butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Add the buttermilk and pulse a few times, just until a soft dough forms.

• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 3 times. Pat or roll the dough into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.

• In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle all over the dough. Beginning at a long side, roll the dough into a tight cylinder and pinch the seam closed. Cut the dough into 12 slices.

• Divide the maple syrup and the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter among the cups. Scatter the pecans in the cups and top with the dough pinwheels.

• Bake for about 18 minutes, until golden; place a baking sheet below to catch any drips.

• Invert a rack (we used a cookie sheet) over the rolls and invert them onto the rack. Replace any pecans that get stuck in the cups and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 12 rolls.

Last Monday was a drizzly day. The overcast sky and the crisp air meant a dinner that was warm, comforting, and (given my current cravings) cheesy. I had just gotten home from lunch with Nikita when we decided to flip through old Gourmet magazines for dinner inspiration (oh Gourmet, how we will miss you when you are gone!!! ) Nikita came across this recipe. It fit my criteria so off to the store I went to grab Italian sausage, mushrooms, cream, and fresh mozzarella. Dustin liked it and said it reminded him of stroganoff, one of his favorite meals. I loved how it tastes like it’s been baking for an hour, when really most of it is done on the stove top and it’s finished off under the broiler – all under 30 minutes. We ate our penne gratin with a salad of baby spinach, apples, and hazelnuts (a lovely fall combo I first had at my parents’ house the night before, but I loved it so much I recreated it). The recipe below serves 4-6. We halved it and still had enough leftovers for Dustin to take it for lunch two days in a row (lucky him). Try this recipe sometime this fall when you’re in need of something comforting and cheesy. And enjoy it with a glass of red wine for me, will you?

Sausage & Mushroom Penne Gratin

(From the November 2008 issue of Gourmet)

1 pound dried penne
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound sliced mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
8 ounces shredded whole-milk mozzarella, divided

• Cook penne in boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta and transfer to a flameproof 3-quart baking dish.

• Preheat broiler.

• Meanwhile, cook sausage in 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up any large pieces, until no longer pink. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl, leaving fat in skillet.

• Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet along with mushrooms and garlic, then cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden, about 3 minutes.

• Return sausage to skillet along with cream, reserved 1/2 cup cooking water, a rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and boil over high heat, stirring once or twice, until thickened, about 4 minutes.

• Pour over pasta, then stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and salt to taste. Spread evenly in baking dish and top with remaining mozzarella.

• Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat until golden brown in spots, about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it so you don’t burn your cheese!

• Serve with my new favorite salad: combine baby spinach leaves (or mixed greens) with a sliced apple, and a couple handfuls of roasted hazelnuts. Toss with a dressing of red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper. I also added a little agave syrup for sweetness.

Lots has been going on around here! I’ll give you a hint – I stopped liking cooked vegetables or anything sautéed with garlic. I haven’t been wine tasting at Bonny Doon or had a pint at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing for months. I’ve been eating Pillsbury toaster strudels for breakfast and an occasional Jack ‘n the Box “Homestyle Ranch Chicken Club Sandwich” for lunch. These days I could live on cereal, bagels with cream cheese, and raw, sliced tomatoes and red bell peppers. Oh, and after making these almonds, add them to the list! Are you catching on? It appears this is the cause of my food issues:

We’re having a baby!!! This picture was from 12 weeks … can’t wait to meet this little guy/gal around April 22nd! Now, I hope that you’ll forgive the lack of blog updates lately. Finally, I have a good one for you.

A few weeks ago, Dustin and I drove down to Banning, CA to learn how to can from his Grandma. We helped make strawberry Jam, bread & butter pickles, and Gram’s famous chile sauce. It was a fun family weekend! After our canning work was through, and the men left to go golfing, my sister-in-law Courtney and I needed a snack. She had brought 2 huge bags of fresh almonds from the orchard in Modesto and we immediately thought of honey-roasted almonds. After looking at several recipes, we decided to trust Blue Diamond’s recipe – can’t go wrong with the ingredients: almonds, honey, butter and sugar. It uses turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw) which is actually better for you than white sugar, so they’re *slightly* more guilt-free. It was really hard to stop eating these, so I used the excuse of having to eat for two We actually made two batches of these; in the second batch we added some cinnamon to the ziplock bag at the end. We definitely recommend trying both versions!

Honey Roasted Almonds

2 cups whole, raw almonds
1/4 cup honey
2 TBS. butter
1 cup turbinado sugar (“sugar in the raw”)

• Spread almonds in a shallow baking pan. Place in cold oven; turn oven to 350°F and roast 12 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until well roasted.

• Over medium heat in a medium saucepan, bring honey and butter to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Add almonds; simmer and stir 2 minutes.

• Using slotted spoon, transfer almonds to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray; spread in single layer and cool slightly.

• Pour the sugar into a large Ziplock bag. Add the almonds, secure bag tightly, and shake until well coated with sugar. Transfer to a bowl and enjoy (with some self-restraint — you’ll need it!)

Melty chocolate chips and spicy little bursts of candied ginger are a match made in muffin heaven, unless you’re Dustin (who isn’t the biggest ginger fan). Oh well. More for me. Today’s slightly overcast weather inspired me to take on a new baking project, and I had chocolate on the brain, as well as some candied ginger to use up. Trader Joe’s sells conveniently resealable bags of crystalized candied ginger that’s coated in sugar. In my opinion it’s a little too strong to eat by itself, but when finely chopped, it worked perfectly in this recipe. Try these muffins for a quick chocolate fix in the morning (or a decadent snack), and make sure you eat them while they’re still warm so the chocolate chips are still gooey. I found the recipe on Baking Bites, and made only a couple changes (which are marked with asterisks below).

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 TBS sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger*
1 cup oats**
6 TBS butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk***
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, dark or semisweet
3/4 cup candied ginger, finely chopped

* I didn’t have any ground ginger, so I used ground nutmeg
** not in the original recipe,  but I wanted to throw some in there!
*** I also didn’t have any buttermilk, so I used plain yogurt

• Preheat oven to 375. Line a muffin pan with paper liners (I simply buttered my silicone muffin pan).

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground nutmeg, and oats.

• In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, egg, yogurt, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients and stir just until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in chocolate chips and candied ginger.

• Divide batter into prepared muffin pan, overfilling each muffin cup so that the batter slightly rises above the top of the pan.

• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

• Cool on a wire rack. Serve slightly warm. Makes 12 muffins.

Of course the day I choose to write about this dish, it’s like freaking 95 degrees outside and the last thing I want to think about is a baked comfort food dish. But once the sun goes down and the fog comes creeping in, I’ll remember why it was so good. Dustin created this for me when I requested something “comforting and cheesy, involving chicken and rice” (hence, the not-so-creative title). We rarely eat casserole-type dishes, so I’m no expert, but it tasted like something that a sweet old church lady would bring to a potluck (which is a good thing – I have fond memories of church potlucks). The little bits of bell pepper were a great addition, and you could add all sorts of chopped veggies, depending on what you have in your fridge. Next time maybe I’ll suggest we add some chopped broccoli.

1 chicken breast half
1 cup water or chicken stock*
1 cup of rice
2 cloves of garlic, 1 halved and 1 minced
1 small white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
a splash of white wine
a few splashes of milk or cream
salt & pepper to taste
a generous amount of grated jack cheese

*we used the liquid in which we boiled the chicken

• Butter a casserole dish. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add some salt, a few peppercorns, a halved garlic clove (if desired) and any other spices you want. Add the chicken breast. Simmer until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken, shred, and set aside. Reserve the now-flavorful water.

• In another saucepan, combine the rice with 1 cup of the reserved water. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is done, about 15-20 minutes.

• Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, saute the garlic in a little olive oil for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant and golden. Add the onion and cook for another few minutes. Turn off the heat.

• When the rice is done, fluff with a fork. Add the shredded chicken, diced bell pepper, sautéed garlic/onion, wine, milk (or cream), salt & pepper, and a small handful of cheese. Mix well. Scrape the rice mixture into the buttered casserole dish. Top with more cheese.

• Bake, covered, for about 30 minutes. Finish it off under the broiler for a few minutes to make the cheese bubbly and slightly golden.  Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Can you believe we’ve never made a frittata before!? Well, that’s not true. In Japan we tried to make one once, but when we added the egg mixture to the skillet, we had the heat up too high and ended up burning the bottom before it even went in the oven. The top was edible, but …. yeah, anyway … we definitely redeemed that tonight! We had fresh eggs from TLC Ranch, potatoes, young white onions, and arugula from Live Earth Farm (our friends graciously allowed us to consume their veggies while they’re on vacation!) and one fat zucchini that we grew in our own backyard! Instead of starting the frittata on the stove top and finishing in the oven, we baked the entire thing in the oven — much easier this way (though it took longer than we expected).

Frittata makes a great breakfast, dinner (we ate it with a salad and some buttered sourdough toast – comfort food!), or appetizer (make ahead of time, cut into squares and serve room temp). And of course, use whatever veggies and/or leftover meat you have on hand! What a versatile dish. This recipe serves about 4. We made extra because we wanted to eat leftovers for breakfast

6 eggs
a splash of milk
salt & pepper
a small handful of Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling on top
olive oil
2 medium potatoes, washed well and cubed
2 small white onions (or 1 medium), diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
a few big handfuls of arugula

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

• In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, salt & pepper, and cheese (and whatever other spices you like in your eggs). I think we added a few dashes of Tabasco sauce as well! Set aside.

• In a frying pan over medium high heat, sauté the potato in some olive oil until starting to turn golden. Transfer to a large bowl.

• Add a little more olive oil to the same pan and sauté the onions until translucent and starting to turn golden. Transfer onions to the same large bowl.

• Sauté the zucchini and also add to the bowl.

• Finally, add the minced garlic (add more oil, if needed) and cook for 1 minute. Then add the arugula and cook until wilted, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and arugula to the bowl.

• Allow the veggies in the bowl to cool a little bit, then pour into a buttered baking dish (we used a 9” round glass baking dish). Pour the egg mixture on top of the veggies, making sure the egg is evenly distributed. Sprinkle the top with some more cheese.

• Bake until set, about 50 minutes. If the top is still not set, you can turn on the broiler to finish it off at the end, but be sure to keep an eye on it.

• Slice and serve warm or at room temperature. As you can see, I doused mine with plenty of Sriracha:

Do you ever go to the store with no idea of what you want to make for dinner? Last Monday was one of those days. I went to the Butcher counter and started to panic because it was almost my turn and I couldn’t focus: Hmm…that fish looks nice and fresh…So do those steaks…Dustin would like steak…But I feel like chicken…hmm…boneless and skinless chicken thighs…Would those be good on the BBQ?…no…oh, ground meats…what about … ?? “Can I help you?” The butcher asked, startling my train of thought. So I asked for the thing that was right in front of me – ground turkey thighs. Whew. Now that the protein was taken care of, things started to fall into place in my brain. I remembered that we had fresh basil at home, as well as tons of mizuna so I immediately thought of pesto and went straight to the bulk aisle for walnuts to add to it.

So that was my boring thought process of how I ended up mixing pesto into our turkey burgers. The result was a really moist, flavorful burger. I called Nikita (if you haven’t noticed, we love to cook and eat dinner together) to inform her of the menu, and soon she came over to enjoy them with us, bringing with her some summery micro brews and a bag of Kettle Chips (our favorite flavor “Buffalo Bleu”). We ate our burgers on sesame-wheat buns (brushed with olive oil and lightly grilled), with sliced tomato, grilled white onions, and mayo. They were sort of messy (think Carls’ Jr. ads) but delicious. I can’t wait to see what happens next time I’m under pressure at the meat counter!

2-3 cups of basil leaves, washed and dried*
a big handful of walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a skillet
1 clove of garlic
a handful of Parmesan cheese
juice of 1/2 a lime
about 1/4 cup of olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 lb. ground turkey
hamburger buns of your choice
1 sweet white onion, sliced into thick rings
tomato slices
mayo

*I didn’t have quite enough basil, so I added some mizuna leaves. It gave the pesto a wonderful bite to it. You could also add arugula for the same effect.

• First, make the pesto: Combine the basil, mizuna (if using), walnuts, garlic, Parmesan, and lime juice in a food processor. Process until smooth. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil, until it reaches a good consistency. Season with salt & pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Pour pesto into a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until use (Makes about 1 cup – more than needed for the burgers, but you can freeze it if you want).

• Place the ground turkey in a large bowl. Season the top with salt & pepper. Add 3 or 4 heaping spoonfuls of pesto to the bowl. Mix with your hands until pesto is incorporated into the meat. Divide meat into 4-5 portions (depending on how thick you like your burgers), form patties, and place on a plate. Cover and chill while you prepare the grill.

• Brush the tops and bottoms of the buns with olive oil and set aside. Brush onion slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Grill onions until nice and charred, about 3-4 minutes on each side.

• Grill burgers about 4-5 minutes on each side. When the burgers are almost done, grill the tops and bottoms of the buns until golden and toasty.

• Assemble burgers how you like – we used this order: mayo, patty, grilled onions, tomato. Dig in!

  

One of our favorite Thai dishes was the inspiration for this meal, except that we used regular basil instead of thai basil – the kind that everyone has tons of right now that screams caprese salad or pesto. Well, we wanted to do something a little different with ours. We found it was the perfect addition for a stir fry! Mizuna, carrots, and green beans were sitting in the CSA box waiting to be used, which we coated in an almost-perfected sweet/spicy/salty sauce. As usual, the measurements I’m giving you aren’t specific, but there are some guidelines. Trust your tastebuds! When we were done, it tasted pretty darn close to Thai take-out! If you desire to give your basil a break from Italian food, we recommend this dish.

sesame oil and canola oil
1 large clove of garlic, minced
a spoonful of hot chile paste and/or 2 small dried chiles, sliced
2 scallions, white and light green parts chopped, and dark green parts chopped and reserved for garnish
a couple generous handfuls of mizuna leaves (it cooks down a lot, so don’t be shy)
4-5 small carrots (or 1 large) , sliced into medallions and blanched for 1-2 minutes (you can skip the blanching if your slices are thin)
a few handfuls of green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
soy sauce
rice vinegar
mirin
fish sauce
brown sugar
a handful of fresh basil leaves, washed, dried, and sliced

• Heat a splash (about 2 tsp.) of sesame oil, and a bigger splash (about 2 TBS) of canola oil in a wok until very hot.

• Add the garlic, chile paste and/or dried chiles and stir fry for 1 minute.

• Add the scallions and stir fry for another minute.

• Add the mizuna and green beans and stir fry for 3-4 minutes until mizuna is wilted and green beans are still slightly crisp. Add the carrots and cook a minute or two longer.

• Add about 1 TBS each of soy sauce and rice vinegar. Add about 2 tsp. each of mirin and fish sauce. Add about 1-2 tsp. of brown sugar. Stir everything together.

• Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking (remember, fish sauce is salty so don’t add too much without tasting!)

• Turn off the heat and stir the basil into the stir fry until it’s wilted.

• Serve on top of steamed jasmine rice and garnish with reserved green part of scallion.  A dry Riesling would go great with this meal.

After weeks of writing about Swedish food and travel adventures, it feels both strange and comforting to once again be blogging from our own kitchen! This is a meal that we made a few days after returning home, but it had to wait in line until now! My cousin Nikita came over to cook dinner with us and this is the menu we came up with together.

Red Trout is a delicious, mild fish that goes well with whatever seasoning you choose. We decided to pan fry the fillets in a skillet, marinated in a garlicky-lime concoction that Dustin threw together in the food processor. The salad was Nikita’s creation – I love fresh mizuna because of its mildly spicy flavor. The cubes of manchego cheese add great texture and earthy flavor to the salad. The mango provides the sweetness to offset the slightly spicy-citrusy dressing. We served the fish and the salad with simple steamed white rice. And don’t forget the cocktails – the combination of mango, lemonade, and ginger beer is really refreshing. Serve over ice and sip in the backyard before dinner!

Pan-Fried Red Trout Fillets with Citrus & Garlic

1/2 a white onion
4 cloves of garlic
zest of 2 small limes*
juice from 1 lemon
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 trout fillet per person

*We used lime zest because we needed the juice for our salad dressing. You could use the zest of the lemon in its place.

• Combine the onion, garlic, lime zest, and lemon juice in a food processor, and process for about 5 seconds. While machine is running, add some olive oil until it becomes the consistency of a paste. Season with salt and pepper.

• Spread the mixture over the trout fillets and place in a Ziplock bag to marinate for a bit.

• When ready to cook, heat a pan or skillet over high heat. Add a little olive oil to coat the bottom. Remove fillets from bag and place in the pan skin side down.  Cook for about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for another 2-3 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve with steamed rice and the delicious salad below.

Mizuna-Mango-Manchego Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

a few big handfuls of mizuna, washed and dried
1 mango, cubed
about 4 ounces of manchego cheese, cubed
olive oil
juice of 2 small limes
cayanne pepper to taste
paprika to taste
salt & pepper to taste

• Place the mizuna in a salad bowl. Add the cubes of mango and the manchego.

• In a small jar or container with a tight-fitting lid, combine some olive oil, the lime juice, cayenne, paprika, and salt & pepper. Shake vigorously. Taste and adjust seasonings (and amount of oil, if needed).

• Pour over salad and toss gently.

Mango-Lemon-Ginger Cocktails:

Mango Vodka (we used Absolut – it’s from Sweden! )
Lemonade
Ginger Beer
Ice

• Fill a highball glass with ice. Add a shot of mango vodka. Top with lemonade and then ginger beer. Stir and serve. See? That was simple!

Simply put, Stockholm is a beautiful city – water everywhere you look, the stately palace, narrow stone streets shaded by tall, old buildings, churches, and gorgeous scuptures. The Grand Hotel wasn’t too shabby either

We headed to old town Stockholm (Gamla Stan) after checking into our rooms, where we saw the King’s palace and the changing of the guards. Then we entered an old square with impressive statues, and picked one out of many sidewalk cafes in which to eat and view all the amazing buildings around us, as well as the crowds of tourists.

When I saw Swedish meatballs on the menu, I knew exactly what I was getting. I had checked almost everything else off my list of “must-try Swedish foods”  (pickled herring, salted salmon, absolute vodka, etc.) but had not yet seen meatballs! See how excited I was?

They were covered with that delicious, creamy gravy (yep. Just like at Ikea, but better) and served with mashed potatoes, and lingonberries. Yum. Comfort food.

We moved away from the square and walked down narrow streets to one of the most touristy streets we’d ever been on. But it’s all part of the experience, and we went into shop after shop buying Swedish souvenirs just like everyone else, such as earrings made by a Swedish craftsman made out of recycled forks and spoons.

By mid-afternoon we had worked off our meatballs and were ready for fika (remember? The traditional coffee break?) One minute we were enjoying an espresso and little almond cookies at a sidewalk cafe …

The next minute we were caught in a downpour! The umbrellas started giving out, spewing us with water as the wind swung them back and forth. The man at the table next to us was desperately trying to hold one up as two of the bus boys ran around trying to take them all down before they broke. We watched people scramble through the square holding newspapers (or whatever they had) over their heads. Soon, were one of those people too, because we had to get back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and had not thought to bring the complimentary umbrellas sitting by the door. What an exciting afternoon. We safelty returned to the hotel after splashing our way down a few streets. It was absurd, but all we could do was laugh, and then change our clothes.

We ate in our first Michelin star rated restaurant that night – Mathias Dahlgren. The main restaurant “Matsalen” has recently been granted its second Michelin star. “Matbaren” – the food bar – holds one Michelin star and is known for a more casual setting. Both dining experiences are in “à la carte style,” which means you get to choose from many exquisite small plate options, going at your own pace until you are extremely full (at least that was our experience). The restaurant is also known for its extensive wine list. It was fabulous, as one would expect! The low lighting only allowed us to capture a few pictures, I hope you’ll appreciate my descriptions!

We sat down at a long table next to the bar, taking in the modern decor, low lighting, and vast amounts of wine bottles displayed above the bar. An eclectic soundtrack played in the background – everything from jazz, to techno, to country was heard throughout the evening, and we really wanted to ask for a copy of the playlist! At each table setting was a wooden tray, lined with a rustic paper menu (containing both food and drinks on one easy-to-read page). Next to the tray was a little paper bag tied with a string. We curiously opened the bags and found several varieties of freshly baked cracker-breads inside. A small pad of butter on top of a cool stone was served alongside. We ordered a bottle of rosé wine and felt spoiled already.  The atmosphere felt even more relaxing when our waiter explained that we could order things as we go, rather than in courses. No pressure here.

We loved the simplicity of the menu. Items were divided into 5 categories:  From Our Country, From Other Countries, From the Plant World, From the Pastry, and Dairy Products & Cold Cuts. First round, I ordered “Fried sepia from Italy” – lightly pan-fried squid with garlic, parsley, and lemon. Usually, I’m freaked out by the texture of squid (either too chewy, or too creamy) but this was perfect. I could hardly even tell I was eating squid. The flavor was subtle and the accompaniments were light and refreshing. Equally light and refreshing was my dad’s “Leaves, sprouts, herbs from Ekerö,” – served with a dressing on the side of olive oil, vinegar, salt, and black pepper, and tasting like everything had just been pickled from the garden.

Dustin ordered “Horseradish herring from Simrishamn” – served with baby potatoes, whitefish roe, browned butter, and chives. It was layed out beautifully on the narrow plate.

Another favorite (that was so good, it was ordered twice at our table) was “Beef Dahlgren” – my brother’s self-proclaimed “perfect meal,” a perfectly cooked fillet of beef (this is the kind of place where they don’t even bother asking how you like your steak cooked), served with potatoes, truffle gravy, and a 63° egg on top. Ok, I must digress for a minute because we were all fascinated by this egg! Apparently 63° is the magical temperature that yields a soft yolk, a completely cooked white, but with a creamy texture. When you cut into it, you think “wait, this egg is not cooked,” but when you take a bite, you realize that the creaminess is a result of the way it was cooked – slowly in a water-bath, from what we understand. I wish I was more of an expert to explain more, but I’ll let you ponder the magic the way we did at the table.

We were amused when our menus (which conveniently doubled as place mats) were replaced between each plate that we ordered (unless you were successful in not dropping or spilling anything on yours, and then they let it be).

I wish I had pictures of our second round of dishes. My mom and I split the “Dumplings of pork” – the most delicate, flavorful dumplings we’d ever had, swimming in a broth with vegetables, sweet & sour syrup sauce, and lemon rind. As someone who is a huge fan of Asian food (as you know from this blog), I hope you can truly believe me when I say that this was THE best Asian dish I’ve ever had in my life!!! Really. Way to go, Chef Dahlgren!

After the dumplings went away (I don’t think we spared a drop in the bottom of the bowl), we devoured a selection of cheeses from a Swedish dairy, Vilhelmsdals. Toasted bread, a small bowl of jam, and cold-pressed locally grown rapeseed oil was served with the cheese.

After two dishes each, lots of fork passing (because of course we all had to try everything) and 3 (4?) bottles of wine later, we were on to dessert (and yet a 3rd replacing of our menus — don’t worry. They’re made of recyclable paper). I was so full that I chose what the waiter called “a good, light option” – a martini glass with yogurt on the bottom, followed by a layer of nuts, olive oil, and sea salt. On the top was a scoop of peach sorbet. Beautiful. Simple. Stunning. I want to make that at home sometime. We also tried the “Rhubarb crumble pie” with vanilla sauce, strawberry sorbet, and clove. Amazing flavors. The boys went straight for the “Baked wild chocolate from Bolivia” – basically a chocolate cake with a molten center, served with sour cream, toffee ice cream, and nuts. And when our dessert plates were empty, our champagne flutes were dry, and the house-made Limoncello had been downed, they brought out a bowl lined with more paper menus filled with little goodies – chocolate truffles on sticks, and bite-sized madelines.

Whew. Now that was a meal – one of those that will probably go down on that list of “best meals of my life.” I feel really fortunate to have been able to eat there!

What better way to end our time in Stockholm (and Sweden) than walking along the bridge by the Grand Hotel, taking in the view of the city lights. The moon rose close to 11pm, and we talked about our favorite places and favorite dinners. We also joked with my mom about why our Swedish ancestors had decided to leave! What an amazing country, and a relaxing trip – a chance to go back our roots, eating and exploring in the same places that my Great-Great-Grandfather and his family might have gone.