Christmas Eve Dinner

Most Norwegian families eat ribbe on Christmas Eve (Wikipedia tells me 60%). I think the best translation for this is pork loin, but do correct me if you know better. It's pork at least! And it's soo good.

Here you see how Lars' family enjoys ribbe year after year. In the top right hand corner you will see peeled, boiled long potatoes, or almond potatoes (langpotet/mandelpotet), from the neighbors' farm. This kind of potato is essential to most Norwegian Christmas meals and comes from the same region as Lars and his family!

Clockwise from the potatoes is a juicy piece of ribbe, a julepølse (Christmas sausage), three brussel sprouts and a small helping of homemade sauerkraut (surkål). Not pictured is tyttebærsaus (lingonberry or cranberry dressing) and ribbefett (gravy/fat).
 
Ribbe gets better and better each time I eat it. I am even starting to like all the tilbehør (side dishes)!

Merry late Christmas!
And Happy New Year while I'm at it!

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Thanksgiving?

It's already 2011!
I came to Norway for the first time in 2008. Unbelievable. I can't believe how time flies.

It's also impressive to me how many small things have changed in my life and also how easy it was for me to adjust to those changes (not to mention how normal it seems now).

One of those many "small" things are the way we celebrate holidays. Obviously traditions change naturally over time, as you grow up, move out of your parents house, when you are in a relationship and so on. I would also argue that moving to another country quite possibly makes for the biggest change of all!

Thanksgiving for example--how does one go about celebrating an authentic American holiday that falls on a Thursday in a different country without anyone that really has a connection to it? It doesn't happen on it's own, that's for sure. This November there was no Thanksgiving, no turkey and no pumpkin pie. I worked through the holidays--blinked, and they were gone. Luckily I put it an extra effort last year with paper turkey hats and other foolishness haha!

However, I am not sure what will happen to a person if they go an entire year without a good-sized portion of stuffing...so Lars and I decided to host a combined Thanksgiving\New Years dinner party.

Our turkey was a tad bit dry, there was no cranberry sauce and still no pumpkin pie PLUS there were quite a few family members missing. However, it was easily the best Thanksgiving\New Year's party I have ever experienced! And I think our guests had a good time too. Check out all those empty plates! That's gotta be a good sign! ;)

At midnight there was the necessary champagne, sparklers and romantic kiss from Lars (all three things that are now a must on Thanksgivings to come).

We played Trivial Pursuit into the wee hours, boys against girls, according to my family tradition. We don't need to mention who won. ;)

All in all, it was a great evening. And morning. I don't remember crawling into bed before 5am.

Maybe we'll even combine next year...who knows!?

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Pizza master

I came home Sunday evening to a rockin' home made pizza crafted by Lars. It was seriously sooo tasty...

He has always been good at making pizzas but this one was extra impressive. We didn't really have any sauce or sauce ingredients at home but Lars just whipped up a special sauce with ketchup and leftover salsa!

It was a tad spicy yes (keep in mind I'm a wimp when it comes to hot foods), but sooo good! Experiment with pizza! For real! It's easy, delicious and versatile! And a great way to use up what's hanging out in your fridge.

Go ahead, try something new. We have seriously never ruined a pizza and are definitely not gourmet cooks (to put it mildy).

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Oreo Cake

This is one of my absolute favorite cakes of all time, and is not difficult to make. Even though it uses good 'ol American cookies, this recipe is Norwegian as far as I know. I picked it up from a family member of Lars' and have only made it European style, so you get to deal with grams and deciliters my American friends. Sorry (but I don't think it's that picky really. Anything amounts you combine with these ingredients is bound to be good, so just go for it!).

• ~25 Oreos
• ~70g melted butter
• ~225g cream cheese
• 3 dl powdered sugar
• 3 dl cream
• 3 ts vanilla sugar (do we have this in the US?)
• Chocolate mousse (small bag of instant does the trick)

Crush the Oreos and mix them with the melted butter to make a crust. Do not put any sort of baking paper or aluminium foil etc. under the cake; it's best straight into your pan.

Beat the cream cheese together with powdered sugar and add the cream and the vanilla sugar after a bit. Spread this mixture onto your cookie crust.

Then prepare the chocolate mousse, and spread that on top too. I saved a cookie or two to crush and sprinkle over the top to give it some extra pizazz:

Let the cake hang out in the fridge for a day or so before you eat it. That's when it's at its best! :)


Kortversjonen på norsk:
25 Oreo kjeks (to pakker) knuses og blandes med ca 70g smeltet smør. Dette legges i bunnen av en kake form (uten bunn, rett på et fat). Pisk 1 pakke Philadelphia ost sammen med 3 dl melis. Dette blandes med 3dl pisket krem og 3 ss vanilje sukker. Legges oppa Oreo kjeksen. Og da er det bare sjokolademousse på toppen! Pynt gjerne med mere knuste Oreo kjeks eller sjokoladesaus (som stivner)!

P.S. September?! How the hell did that happen!?
I'm leaving for the US in 5 days!

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Fiesta fiesta

I mentioned that we would be hosting a Mexican fiesta for the soccer girls. Well that went down last Friday. There were ponchos, sombreros and enchiladas galore!

We decided to divide our team into groups and mimick a Norwegian television show called Fire Stjerners Middag (literally Four Stars Dinner, but star more like celebrity here). It's a relatively new program where four celebrities take turns hosting each other for a three course meal and entertainment at their respective houses. A professional cook gives them points and the goal is to create the best possible overall experience for your guests.

(Head Coach Odd Einar)

The first group hosted an Italian mafia night that I missed out on because of work. And we went Mexican: tortilla chips and homemade dips as an appetizer, enchiladas served with the works for the main course and some homemade ice cream with strawberries for dessert. I poured hours of my life into crafting a pinata that was fairly successful and provided a chunk of entertainment.

We also had a chili eating contest, which while definitely not something I would have wanted to participate in, was actually ridiculously entertaining.

There was also a costume contest, lots of prizes awarded, some great music, funny jokes and games, and overall a good time had by all. I think we must have scored pretty well ;)...and I definitely had a good time (that's what matters).

But I sure am looking forward to next month where I get to be a guest and not a host! I was soooo tired after working the day and then serving my teammates all night long!

Sweeping up and signing off----
¡Adiós!

P.S. We won our game on Sunday 12-0 against what is arguably the best team we've played against so far! I am telling you, the score really doesn't reflect the tempo of the game. We just rock, and score a lot of goals!
P.P.S. I started. And played most of the game.

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How Valentine's Day Should Be...

I have never been so huge on Valentine's Day. Well, I suppose that's not entirely true...it was the bee's knees when I was in elementary school. There was nothing better--everyone would make Valentine's for everyone in the class. Free candy, a break from school work and cheesy lines of friendship? Yes please! It really doesn't get much better.

But after that phase of my life was over *sniffle*, Valentine's Day just didn't do so much for me anymore. Sure it's cute and all, but I have never been one of those girls that anticipated the day, that hoped for red roses, a big huge heart full of fancy chocolates, an expensive night out, a life-sized teddy bear or even a gift at all to mark the 14th of February. And above all, I never judged how much someone loved me by their efforts on that day! Love isn't about one day in the year, or a series of holidays. To me it's the little everyday things that happen all year long that really count. And I think Lars and I are good at those, and to me, that's what really matters...

...like scratching each others' backs when you have an itch--anytime of the year, not just Feb. 14th. Like working hard and supporting your partner when they don't have an income--all year long, not just on Feb. 14th. It's preparing food with care, cleaning your home, going out of your way for each other--everyday, not just Feb. 14th. It's kisses on the forehead and hugs when you need 'em (or want 'em!), it's reaching the flour from the top shelf when you can't or opening a stubborn jar that you can't muscle off--any day of the year, not just the 14th! It's being honest with each other, it's putting someone else's needs first, it's making each other laugh--well, it's just so many things! There are so many ways to show your love everyday. No need to save up for holidays, right? :)

So I guess it's good I found a European who doesn't think so much of Valentine's Day either, right? We spent our Valentine's Day in a similar fashion to our last couple Sundays--we went for a long ski on Mjøsa and a enjoyed a relaxing evening afterwards in our sweatpants watching the Olympics. BLT sandwiches for dinner is romantic, right? Right?!?! I guess the point is our Sunday was romantic to us. Romance means something different to everyone I suppose. And to each his own!

At the same time, I cannot say I have kicked VDay out of my life; it was such a part of my life growing up in the US that I don't want to ignore it completely! So I acknowledged the commercialized day of love by baking some sugar cookies (recipe and inspiration courtesy of Home Cooking with Sonya) and decorating them in the Valentine's Day spirit.

I even got a bit carried away. I frosted on a sexy thong and bra onto two heart shaped cookies especially for Lars. :) I will only display the PG-13 cookie here (plus Lars are the thong one!):

Lars recognized the day as well. Or at least he did something a little more special than normal. ;) He made a big breakfast spread for me Saturday morning before I even woke up! I am not a huge fan of being woken up (ever) but waking up to the excitement on his face and the obvious effort on the living room table was a wonderful gesture of love.

Last year Lars and I didn't do anything too crazy for VDay either. I did however buy him a very romantic, prickly cactus that remains with us to this day. I think I unknowingly started a tradition as we now have a plant for each year that we have been together! On Saturday we picked up another green friend to stand for our third year. Lars picked out the plant, I picked out the planter! Our team effort resulted in a colorful Anthurium for our living room.

We don't know a ton about plants and so we tend to pick ones that are fairly low maintenance (i.e., Val the cactus and Ajeet who we only have to water once a week!). So basically any happening involving plants teaches me new things. Like, did you know Anthuriums are commonly called Flamingo Flowers? You probably did, but I didn't and it cracked me up, especially since I saw it in Norwegian, and anything I get in Norwegian that's humorous is twice as funny! Meet Flamingo (Ingo for short):

Looking at this picture of Ingo now I see that her leaves are almost heart shaped! I wondering if Lars had that in mind when he picked this plant out? Maybe we were more in the spirit than I even realized!

So ♥Happy Valentine's Day♥ whether you like it, celebrate it, have a Valentine or NOT!

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Grandma's Cheese Pie

As per requested, I will indulge my Grandma's Cheese Pie recipe. However, be careful with its powers. It is technically one of those secret family recipes that should only be handed down from generation to generation, and should be treated with the due respect it deserves.

By the way, my grandma's name is Patricia...so it you feel like jacking the recipe but aren't quite comfortable saying it's Grandma's Cheese Pie, then go for Patrica's Cheese Pie or something similar. :)

Grandma Pat's Cheese Pie

CRUST:

10 rectangular graham crackers, crushed.
3/4 cube butter, melted.

Mix together and line a 10" pie tin.

FILLING:

1lb soft cream cheese (go ahead, splurge on Philadelphia, you won't regret it).
2 eggs, beaten.
3/4 sugar.
1/2 tsp. vanilla.

Beat together with a mixer until smooth. Pour into crust.
Bake 15 minutes at 350° F.

TOPPING:

1 small container (8 ounces) sour cream.
2 tbsp. sugar.
1/2 tsp. vanilla.

Mix gently, pour and spread over warm pie.
Return to oven at 375° F for 5 more minutes.

When cool refrigerate for 8-12 hours.
Devour.

This pie here has a bit too thick of a crust, or not enough topping--however you want to look at it. The proportion is off a bit because I used a dish that was a bit too wide and only increased the amount of cookies for the crust ( I needed more butter in my crust too but that's what I get for not following Gma's recipe!).

The good news is that it is not so finicky. You can have a thicker or thinner crust based on your taste, or more or less sugar, butter, vanilla etc. I have not bombed on this pie yet! I have also always made the pie the night before I plan on serving it which helps. If you do end up screwing it up then you have time to come up with something else! I think that is generally a good rule. I also try to make sure there will be lots of other people invited to help me eat the pie. Also a good rule.

I haven't been able to find graham crackers in Norway. I suspect they don't exist. So when making the pie on this side of the Atlantic, I use some oat-y cookies called Bixit and I think that might make the pie EVEN BETTER (I never thought that would be possible).

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3rd time's the charm

Victory!

I have officially made some candy. And it is delicious. Dangerously delicious.

I tried three times before I made anything edible. I was using a recipe from Ann Asher, the mom of one of my favorite friends. Turns out I was impatient; I didn't have a candy thermometer (which as it turns out, is not a necessity) and just plain 'ol didn't cook the business long enough. Her recipe was not flawed, I just hadn't honed my skills yet. Anyway, I read most likely 50 different recipes on the net and ended up making my own that went a little something like this--

Almond Roca

• 2 cubes butter

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 1/2 tsp water

• some sliced, chopped or hacked toasted almonds
(use more or less to your taste, I used about two cups)
(if you're tempted to use untoasted almonds go ahead, but you'll miss out on some serious flavor)

• chocolate, broken into bits
(chocolate chips would be awesome)
(if of course the country you are living in has those !$%&# and then a bag or so will suffice)

Melt butter, add sugar and water. Make sure to mix well together. Have a wooden spoon and be prepared to get your stir on from the time this mixture comes to a soft boil until it turns caramelish brown. I read this can take anywhere from 5-12 minutes so see what happens for you--but whatever you do--WAIT until it turns color. Seriously, WAIT...

Then add most of your almonds and stir. Pour onto a greased baking sheet (I actually used parchment paper underneath just in case). Let it sit for some seconds (like 18) sprinkle on your chocolate bits or chips or chunks. Let those sit for some seconds as well (more like 30) and then spread them to cover. Sprinkle with the rest of your almonds and then wait. Seriously, WAIT. Be patient, let it sit.

Then you should be able to break it apart no problem. If you are like me the first two times I attempted and you didn't cook it long enough, it won't harden and it will taste like elf poo.

But the third time, after some heartache and some wasted butter, chocolate and sugar I was patient and there was Roca. And it was good.

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Weekend happenings

Another weekend, come and gone. And what do I have to say for myself?

As far as productivity goes, not a whole lot. I made an awesome loaf of banana bread Friday afternoon and for Sunday night dinner had the best taco salad I have ever imagined. Seriously, anytime I can add a crunch to a salad (sunflower seeds, tortilla chips, croûtons, pretzels, you name it) I am in heaven!

Weekend excitement not related to food you ask? Hmm....well it snowed maybe a total of 5 inches (maybe more) on Friday afternoon/evening. We went for a walk as it began Friday, and another when it was finished and had covered Hamar in white Saturday midday. It warmed up a lot throughout Saturday and all of that beautiful snow has since melted into mush and slush on the streets.

But really other than that, and a quick reunion with some soccer girls and some other friends at the re-opening of Siste Indre (one of our favorite bars) we didn't do much of anything. Which was awesome, by the way.

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Reker og røye

Do these look appetizing?!?

This would be what I had for dinner Saturday night with Lars' family. Lars is not a big fan of seafood at all so since he was not there the fam had to expose me to the Norwegian way of eating shrimp one night and fish the next.

Don't get me wrong, I love shrimp...but something about having to look your food in the eye before you eat it gets me a tad bit squirrelly in the stomach. And it wasn't just staring into their beady eyes, afterwards you had to deshell them--rip of their heads, slip off their tails and basically get rid of all the nasty business that was not so edible as the rest. Then it was recommended to rinse your fingers, you know, just in case you still had some brain goo on them. Don't want to accidentally ingest that!

These shrimp, or reker in Norwegian, were a bit stronger tasting than the shrimp I have eaten before. The way to eat them is to put them on a slice of white bread (loff) with your choice of toppings: lettuce, dill, tomato, lemon, and of course sauces (sour cream dressing, mayonaise) and\or spices (lemon pepper being the most popular at the Kindølshaug's table).

Even thought they were a bit strong and I felt like a mass murderer, it was good to have a bit of variation in my diet. Sunday Randi's (Lars' mom) parents came over and we had a delicious fish dinner. On our plates after being cooked in foil on the BBQ was some Artic Charr, or røye (closely related to salmon and trout) from the nearby lake. Man oh man was that delicious!! Jan (Lar's dad) was a bit worried that I wouldn't like it, but I happily helped myself to seconds!

Here you can see a picture of the lake, Savalen, where delicious fishies live! I am really looking forward to learning how to fish sometime there...I am hoping to get in some ice fishing in when I come back in the winter!

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Pannekaker

As per Sheena's request, here is a tried and true "Swedish" pancake (pannekaker) recipe:

• 1 1\4 cups flour
  
• 2 cups milk
  
• 1/2 ts salt
• 3 - 4 eggs
• butter
  

Mix flour, milk, salt and blend well together. Mix in eggs.

Ideally let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes or even longer (not the end of the world to just use it right away).

Make sure your pan is on medium heat and buttered. A pan that is too hot will ruin the pancakes. Remember these are not American pancakes and they are supposed to be THIN. Pour enough batter into the pan to cover the bottom. Flip to cook both sides (extra points for tricks mid-air). A good pancake is mostly beige with brown spots...but don't be discouraged--even if they look a bit funny they will still taste good.

Serve warm. It is normal to spread a bit of white sugar or jam (strawberry usually) over the pancake and then roll it up into a skinny burrito shape. I would definitely encourage some fresh fruit, cream, syrup or even tomato soup to accompany the pancakes! They are versatile and you can make them your own! Get creative!

Good luck! :D

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REAL kebab

According to my Iraqi friends most western cultures have got the kebab all wrong! They say that most of the kebab shops around town actually serve shawarmas. I understand their frustration, but I also understand where the confusion comes from. Kebab in Iraq refers to some meat mixture on a skewer or a stick, and it must be grilled, just like those tomatoes above. A döner kebab however (means rotating kebab in Turkish) is actually much more similar to what is sold to many drunken partiers around 3 a.m in the morning...and it is basically the same as a shawarma, at least to my insensitive eye. So as I said, it is easy to see why non-Iraqi can lump all these delicious variants of meat, veggies and tortilla\bread\pita into one scrumptious category.

Luckily for me, it was important to my friends that us non-arabic speaking folk understood the delicacy of the Iraqi kebab. Last Wednesday we were treated to an evening in the park filled with kebab eating, random Arabic lessons (did I mention I am learning Arabic? haha), bike riding, a spontaneous game of soccer and a lot of good laughs.

Jean Claude brought a six pack of beer to a gathering hosted by our Muslim non-drinking friends. Hilarious. Surprisingly, he wasn't the only one to indulge.

The weather has been a bit schizophrenic lately..bright sun turns into rain showers with the turn of a hat. At least we got a sweet rainbow out of the deal. I'm going to miss these people.

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Lunch with Linda

So Lars was gone this whole weekend for a training camp with his soccer team...which meant I had the apartment all to myself! Don't get me wrong, I love living with Lars and I did miss him (even though he was only gone for 51 hours (who's counting?)), but it is always great to have some alone time. I read, watched some movies, went for a walk, checked out the library, baked a cake and accomplished a lot of stuff that has been in the back of my mind for awhile now.

For one, Meredith's Jello Cake, which I will always refer to as the Jello Poke Cake (because you literally poke holes in a finished cake to make room for the Jello-y goodness). I was so intrigued by the adding of mixing cake mix and Jello that I couldn't resist. However, in Norway there is no Jello (instead there is something almost exactly the same called Gelé) and boxed cake mixes are not as aplenty as they are in the States (so I used muffin mix instead). The cake turned out ok, and I have faith that upon another attempt it would go from good to awesome.

The cake is super moist and seems like it will keep well (really hard for Jello to dry out, ikke sant?). Over all the cake was a success. I think with a repeat bake, I would choose a Jello that color-contrasts with the color of the cake, so you can see the cool swirls of the jello throughout. Meh, live and learn.

The frosting I made rocked, however. I took normal do-it-yourself whipping cream (called fløte here in Norway) but added some powdered sugar and lemon juice to make it a bit sweeter (it has no taste on its own) and to help it match my lemony creation. Mmm mmm mmm--it was really good and it matched the cake perfectly!

So then I had a hole cake and I was all alone haha. I didn't want to eat it all myself, so I invited Linda over to have some lunch. It was about time I returned the favor anyway; the salmon dinner with rosemary potatoes and salad that she made me awhile back still lingers in my mind! ;) I had cooked a lot of extra pasta accidently during the week, so after a quick email to Elaine the Step-Up Mom (try to avoid the term Stepmom, it just doesnt do her justice) for the best Italian pasta salad recipe in the universe, I tried to duplicate that here in Norway. Easier said than done. The finished product (served with garlic bread and sliced chicken) was quite tasty, but just not the same as the salad I knew and loved as a Washingtonian. I ditched the artichoke hearts and added some cheese cubes, which for me personally was a big improvement.

After lunch, the sun came out and Linda and I moved it on out to the balcony for cake, kakao (hot chocolate) and good conversation. She is an absolute delight and it was really nice to take in some rays and people watch the poor Hamarians that were late for the train. Before we knew it, three and a half hours had absolutely flown by!

And that settles it--time really does go faster when you are having fun.

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Banana bread

First I had these nasty brown bananas, and then...an hour and a half later they had magically transformed into this!

The piece I sliced off when it was fresh from the oven was delicious! I am worried, however, that since I forgot to cover the bread and just left for several hours that the bread is probably as hard as a rock, and thus inedible. Guess there is always still that option of throwing it out the window. Will let you know how it goes over on Lars's sister and mom who are coming to visit within the hour. I am sure they will give me positive feedback; I am thinking they are too polite to do otherwise.

In general, baking has been a bit of a challenge for me (especially at home) in Norway. At work, it was allright because we have a lot of tools and a kitchen scale. But at home and because of the stubborn American measurement system that I grew up with it has been a bit of a challenge. It is hard to convert cups into deciliters and teaspoons and tablespoons into grams! Why can't Americans start using the metric system? Everyone else in the world (besides Liberia and Burma) does!! For example, this recipe that I found on the internet (which saved my life) has two different ways of viewing their delicious treats: metric or US. Ridiculous.

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Valentine's Day

Even though Valentine's Day is no where near as big of a deal in Norway as it is in the States, Lars and I took some time on the 14th to celebrate anyway. Sleeping in was the first wonderful step of the day and we continued with a lazy morning watching skiing on TV and reading the news. Then we ventured out into the streets of Hamar; the weather was incredible. Neither of us had to wear our winter jackets, and the sun was shining!



We walked around town, stopping into whichever shops struck our fancy. On our way back home we stopped by Poesi and got some delicious (and reduced price!) coffee, waffles and cakes. We relaxed there for quite awhile. Lars humored me as I read every single set of trivia questions we could find in the Norwegian magazines and newspapers that were lying around. As we said goodbye to my coworkers, we realized it was almost three o'clock and that we really had to get a move on if we wanted to make it to the Vinmonopolet (aka liquor store) before it closed! Lars wanted to get some red wine for the dinner he had planned to make me (grocery stores can't sell wine in Norway).

Luckily we just made it, and we had the wine for the delicious dinner that Lars thought up! He made an awesome elk steak which would have made my Dad so jealous, accompanied by some steamed broccoli, grilled onions and mushrooms and some delicious sauce to top it all off. I made some scalloped potatoes which were also pretty tasty if I do say so myself! It was really fun to see the way Lars displayed his meal--I have never seen him so conscious of the way dinner looked! He really made it special for me!

I thought the dinner, and the thought behind it, was a wonderful Valentine's Day present. Sure beats what I lightheartedly gave him: a Donald Duck comic book, some sweethearts and a cactus. I told Lars he had to name him since I named our other plant (ridiculous, I know) but I don't think he was that into it. He jokingly said he chose My Valentine as a name for the prickly little fella. I really meant that he had to choose, so I guess that's his official name. We'll call him Val for short.

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