Grilled apples with serrano ham & maple syrup # 45

Grilled apples with serrano ham & maple syrup

Apples with high acidity
Serrano ham
Maple syrup
Black pepper
Olive oil

This works really well instead of the Italian classic with Parma ham and cantaloupe. And if you´re feeling really hungry just make a bunch and serve for breakfast with pancakes the day after.

Cut the apples in thick slices and brush with olive oil on each side, grill on high heat without letting the apple cook all the way through. Cut the slices in 2-3 pieces per slice. Wrap a piece of ham around each piece of apple. Drizzle some maple syrup and black pepper on top.

Crayfish with crostini & chili mayonnaise # 44

This is a great way to serve cooked shellfish, if you can´t find crayfish than just replace it with your own favorite, crab or shrimps works great for example.

Crayfish with crostini & chili mayonnaise

Baguette

Peeled cooked crayfish
Mayonnaise
Tabasco
Dried chili flakes
Romano lettuce
Salt, pepper
Parsley

Slice the baguette and toast the bread. Combine mayonnaise with tabasco and chili flakes, season with salt and pepper. Chop the lettuce, spread some chili mayonnaise on each slice of toast, put lettuce and crayfish tails on top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and some chopped parsley.

Rye bread with liver paté and pickles # 43

Rye bread with liver paté and pickles

Dark rye bread or pumpernickel
Liver paté, any kind you´ll like
Cucumber pickles
Red onion
Parsley

Cut the bread in squares and put the paté on top, slice the pickles and put one thick slice on each piece. Cut the onion in rings and put onion rings and parsley on top.

Raw asparagus salad with lemon & parmesan # 42

Asparagus served raw is a great way to change up your normal asparagus recipes. It´s easy to do, tastes great and there is a chance a lot of your guests may not have tried it. I used both white and green asparagus when I did it but using only one kind works good too. Rinse the asparagus in water before you slice them, if you rinse them after they will get a bit crispier but you will wash away a lot of the flavor.

Raw asparagus salad with lemon & Parmesan

Asparagus
Olive oil
Lemon
Parmesan
Salt, pepper

Thinly slice the asparagus lengthwise with an vegetable peeler, toss in olive oil and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper. Grate Parmesan on top. Serve.

Rice balls with cilantro & chili soy dip # 41

Rice balls with cilantro & chili soy dip

Cooked basmati rice
Fresh cilantro
Dried chili flakes
Japanese soy sauce
Sesame seeds
Sriracha sauce (or any other hot chili sauce)
Sesame oil

Finely chop the cilantro, save some leafs for decoration. Combine the chopped cilantro with the rice and form round balls.

Combine soy, sesame seeds, sriracha sauce, sesame oil and chili flakes into a dip. The soy is the base so this should be the dominant flavor and go easy on the sesame oil because it can easily get to dominant.

Decorate with some sesame seeds, cilantro leaves and chili flakes. Good luck.

Blue cheese with fresh dates # 40

Every Christmas I buy one big box with fresh dates that I plan eat during the holiday, usually I eat one or two and then they somehow end up in the back of the pantry until my wife decides to throw them out sometime during the summer. Here is another way you could serve dates that hopefully will make them disappear a bit faster.

Blue cheese with fresh dates

Fresh dates

Blue cheese

Cut the dates in half and remove the pit, cut the blue cheese in small pieces and put a piece of cheese on each date. Voila!



Nachos with peppers & avocado mayonnaise # 39

Nachos with peppers & avocado mayonnaise

Nachos
Red peppers
Tomatoes
Minced beef
Sriracha sauce (or any other hot chili sauce)
Iceberg lettuce
Cheese
Chilipowder, cumin, garlicpowder
Mayonnaise
Avocado
Lemon
Salt, pepper

Finely dice the peppers, tomatoes, lettuce. Put the mayonnaise and avocado in a blender and blend until smooth, season with lemon juice, salt and pepper

Fry the minced meat and season with chili, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Put some meat on each nacho and grate cheese on top, bake in oven for a few minutes. Take out and put tomatoes, peppers and lettuce on top, finish with the avocado mayonnaise and sriracha sauce, enjoy.

Polenta with chorizo and raw fennel # 38

Polenta with chorizo and raw fennel

Polenta
Chicken broth
salt, pepper
Chili powder
Butter
Chorizo, dried sliced
Fennel
Olive oil

Bring the chicken broth to boil and add polenta, lower the temperature and simmer for fifteen minutes constantly stirring. Season with chili powder, salt and pepper. Pour the creamy polenta an a plate and leave to cool.

Once cold cut in squares and fry in butter on one side until golden.

Put a slice of chorizo on each polenta square. Slice the fennel as thin as you can, put one or two slices on top of the chorizo, add a few drops of olive oil.

Roasted carrots with cheddar dip # 37

Roasted carrots is a great way to transform a simple vegetable into something really tasty, here I roasted the carrots in a pan until they are almost cooked through, that way they get some of their sweet roasted flavor but still maintain a little bit of a crunch.

As you can see in my photos I used carrots in some different colors, if you have a good grocery store nearby they should have or be able to get some other varieties of carrots. Each color is a bit different in both taste and texture but I you don´t find any you can of course use regular ones.

Roasted carrots with cheddar dip

Carrots
Sour cream
English cheddar
Garlic
Salt, pepper

Peel and cut the carrots in quarters, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and roast in a pan until almost cooked through.

Grate the cheddar and mix with the sour cream, season with crushed garlic, salt and pepper.

Serrano ham with peppers & tomato salsa # 36

Serrano ham with peppers & tomato salsa

Serrano ham
Red peppers
Sundried tomatoes
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Herbs, for example chives, thyme, parsley
Garlic
Salt, pepper

Cut the ham in smaller bite size pieces. Chop the tomatoes, peppers, herbs and slice the garlic, combine with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Put a spoonful of salsa on each piece of ham.

Iceberg lettuce with blue cheese # 35

Iceberg lettuce with blue cheese

Iceberg lettuce
Blue cheese
Cremè Fraiche
Garlic
Olive oil
Pepper, salt

Cut the lettuce in wedges, make sure to keep a little piece of the stalk because it will hold each wedge together so you can pick one at the time. Combine cremè fraiche with a little bit of oil some crushed garlic and blue cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the lettuce on plates or a serving tray, add som dressing and crumble some extra blue cheese on top, finish off with freshly ground pepper.

Bresaola with parmiggiano reggiano & lemon # 34

Bresaola with parmiggiano reggiano & lemon

Bresaola
Lemon
Parmiggiano Reggiano
Olive oil
Spring onion or some fresh herbs

Buy slice bresaola, it´s very difficult to slice it thin enough with just a knife. Arrange on a plate and grate the cheese on top, add the onion or herbs, season with some olive oil and black pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.

Toast skagen # 33

Toast skagen

This is problaby the most common starter in Sweden and there are some variations but in a good one there´s usually only shrimps, mayonnaise, dill, lemon, salt and pepper, in supermarkets and cafés you´ll find all sorts of stuff in it so make your own.

One thing that is missing from mine is a healthy spoonful of bleak roe that you top it off with but I skipped that this time. I also grated in some fresh horseradish.

Mayonnaise
Fresh peeled shrimps
Lemon
Horseradish
Salt, pepper
Dill
Bread

Roughly chop the shrimps and dill, add mayonnaise and combine. Season with horseradish, lemon, salt and pepper. Toast the bread, cut som wedges of lemon, put the skagen on the toast, garnish with dill and lemon.

Grilled corn on the cob with chili & parsley # 32

Grilled corn on the cob with chili & parsley

Corn
Chili
Parsley
Butter
Oil
Salt, pepper

Cut each cob in 2-3 pieces, toss in some oil and then grill on each side until done. Melt some butter and add the chopped parsley, chili, salt and pepper. Add the corn and toss in the butter.

Spicy crayfish # 31

Spicy crayfish

Cooked crayfish
Oil
Parsley
Garlic
Fresh chili
Onion
Paprika powder
Salt, pepper

Split the crayfish in half, chop the onion and slice the garlic and chili. Heat oil in a pan an fry the chili, onion and garlic for about a minute, turn up the heat and add the crayfish and spices. Roast for about thirty seconds constantly stirring. Serve.

Mushrooms with herb & garlic cream cheese # 30

Mushrooms with herb & garlic cream cheese

Mushrooms
Butter
Thyme
Cream cheese
Parsley
Chives
Garlic
Salt, pepper
Oil

Slice the mushrooms and fry with butter, oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper until golden. Chop the herbs and mix with the cream cheese, add salt and pepper if necessary.

Arrange the mushrooms with the herb cream cheese.

Boquerones # 29

Boquerones is a spanish traditional tapas made from sardines, this recipe is with fresh herring wich has a slightly different taste but either one works fine.

Fresh herring filets
Lemons (for lemon juice)
Olive oil
Parsley
Chili
Garlic
Salt, pepper

Pull the skin of the herring and rinse in cold water, marinate the herring in lemon juice until the flesh has turned white all the way through the filet. Discard the lemon juice and marinate the herring in olive oil, chopped parsley, chili and a little bit of garlic. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper before serving.