Almond Praline Buttercream Macarons

Ah, macarons again! I actually made these quite a while ago, but I haven't gotten around to posting about them since the recipes are so long. Regardless of that, macarons are fun to make and easy to love. If you haven't yet, do give them a try!

I've made similar macarons before, but this time I'm folding the almond praline into a buttercream rather than into a chocolate ganache. They're simple, clean-tasting and rather crunchy. And delicious, but I don't need to tell you that.

Due to very popular demand, I might invite some people into my kitchen for very tentative "classes" on macarons. We'll see how that turns out...

Macarons:
3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar (or in my case, homemade vanilla sugar)
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched

Combine powdered sugar and almonds in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of almonds. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the almond-sugar powder, and fold together. Don't overmix this - most seem to say that you should use less than 50 strokes. (You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.)

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. If you'd like, sprinkle some extra ground almonds on half of them. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 10 minutes or so. (I have a convection oven, and in my earlier attempts, I baked them for 15 but am now down to about 10.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.

Almond Praline Buttercream:
1/2 recipe for buttercream
100 g almond praline

Almond praline:
100 g sugar
65 g almonds, blanched and peeled

Lightly toast the almonds, either in the oven or in a dry frying pan. Chop coarsely.

Place the sugar in a heavy saucepan, and heat (on medium heat) until it's starting to melt. Don't stir it! Shake the pan lightly to help the sugar melt evenly, and when it's all turning golden brown, quickly add the almond and stir. Pour onto a silpat or teflon mat, and try to make it as thin as possible. (It's very very hot, so do this by covering with a second silpat or teflon mat, and press with an oven mitt.)

When the caramel has cooled, coarsely chop it and place in a food processor. Run into a very fine powder. This is your finished praliné - keep it in a tight-lidded jar.

Buttercream:
3 egg yolks
75 g sugar
82 g corn syrup (or if you're in Sweden, white baking syrup works perfectly)
225 g unsalted butter, softened

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Pour over the egg yolks and beat at high speed until fully cooled. (Try not to get any on your beaters, or it will spin to the sides of your bowl.

Add the butter, a pat at a time, until fully incorporated. Divide into half, and mix one half with the almond praline. (The other half keeps well in the fridge or freezer, but might need to be re-beaten before using.)

Spread - or pipe - the cream onto half of the macaron shells, top with the remaining shells. Eat right away or freeze.

Recipe in Swedish:
Macarons med mandelsmörkräm

Philly Cheese Steak Pasta

Thank you for all the kind words concerning my daughter! She appreciated them too!


Our very first meal here in Philly was, of course, the Philly Cheese Steak. But when you live in Philly, they're not called Philly Cheese Steak, they're just called "steaks." You learn these things. And when you go to the famous Pat's or Geno's, there's a very specific way of ordering them. You can't use a lot of words, and you can't hesitate. You use the term "wit" if you want onions, specify what kind of cheese you want, and you get the heck out of the way, otherwise their is going to be trouble. It's a very serious business.

I LOVE our city's sandwich, especially with bacon, ohmygosh, drippy, greasy goodness. But as you can imagine, when you eat one, it's there to stay, usually right in my thighs, so I don't eat them often.

Instead, it's fun to find substitutes like this, still delicious, still cheesy and flavorful, but a lot nicer to my hips.

Philly Cheese Steak Pasta
Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients

3 cups uncooked dumpling or wide egg noodles
1 lb beef boneless sirloin steak, about 3/4 inch thick
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium onions, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
14 oz can beef broth
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup fat free half and half
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350. Spray 11x7 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package.

2. Meanwhile, remove fat from beef. Cut beef into 3/4 inch pieces. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook beef and pepper in skillet 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown. Stir in onions and bell pepper. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon into baking dish.

3. In medium bowl, beat broth and flour with wire whisk until smooth. Add to skillet; heat to boiling. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens; remove from heat. Stir in half and half and mustard. Spoon over beef mixture. Stir in cooked noodles.

4. Cover and bake 40 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered about 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly.

Serves 6: 1 1/3 cups

Per Serving: 260 cal, 5g fat, 2g fiber, 24g prot, 30g carb

Our Philadelphia Family!

The simplest of dinners...

One cool thing about having an old, well-established food blog is that I get samples. And it's fun trying out things that I would perhaps have overlooked in the store, or just to find out about new stuff before it hits the market. I don't write about that many, and I never ever promise to write when the PR agencies ask me, but sometimes I find stuff blog-worthy. I hope you readers are ok with that policy.



Anyway. Recently I got two things in the same day - a lovely prosciutto di parma (which is my favorite anyway - I love that it doesn't contain any additives and is a natural product of protected origin), with grissini, and a new cheese for grilling from Swedish dairy-giant Arla. The latter also came with pears, melon and lime, so we quickly decided that dinner would be finger food.



And since you can never have too much cheese, we went to a lovely cheese store in Stockholm called Gamla Amsterdam ("Old Amsterdam") and bought a hard goat's cheese and the one in the picture above: Reypenaer. And wow, it was amazing. In the end, that and the prosciutto were my faves. The Apetina cheese was too tasteless - it was salty but that was really it. I prefer halloumi, if I want fried cheese. (And don't get me wrong, I love fried cheese!)

Barbie Kitchen

My new favourite - Barbie Kitchen!!!

Yes, I am KIDDING!  It's not that type of Barbie Kitchen I'm talking about, it's this kind:

Chinese Spicy & Barbie Kitchen is a new Szechuan eatery that has opened in Flemington/Kensington (I get so confused which side of the street is which) and is already one of my all-time favourite restaurants.

Firstly the menus are gorgeous - big shiny pages with droolworthy pics and not so drool-y names like "saliva chicken" (better translated as "mouthwatering chicken").  So many non-Anglo restaurants have very perfunctory menu descriptions - you know, "chicken on rice" or "spicy fish" - that if you want to branch out and try something new, you're never sure if your dish will be big, small, swimming in chilli or full of offal.  Barbie Kitchen's pics mean it's easy and exciting to try things you might not otherwise place a bet on.

The fitout is simple but it works - big, satisfying, hand hewn-look wooden tables with low, cushy chairs, perfect for adults and kids alike. 

Themed tissue boxes, aesthetically-pleasing tableware and decor and the cleanest high chair this side of Chengdu.  With all this relative luxury, it would be easy to assume that Barbie Kitchen is not authentic, too expensive or both, but far from it.

A complimentary appetiser - thick kelp-like seaweed dressed with chilli, garlic and a hint of sesame.  Gorgeous!  The menu here features traditional Szechuan dishes, what I think of as Northern-Chinese style fat white dumplings, as well as a whole selection of BBQ-grilled meats and vegies (the latter only available at dinner time).

Dry fried string beans, $14.80

This is a classic - well-fried green beans and pork mince with XO sauce, which is an umami-rich blend of dried seafood, Chinese prosciutto-like ham and chilli.  This was a truly awesome version - sweet mince, fresh beans and lots of rich, satisfying, lipsmacking hum from the XO.  It wasn't too hot for the kids who loved it (this is very easy to make at home although I don't deep-fry the beans!  Fry garlic, brown pork, add beans, add couple spoons XO, season with soy and perhaps a little white sugar, done!)

Spicy eggplant, $12.80

This is a first for me and I am a total convert.  The eggplant has been peeled and I suspect fried, to emerge velvety-soft, sweet, slippery and luscious.  The sauce is pleasantly oily, sweet, with a hint of vinegar.  If you want to know how good it was, my 3-year-old could not stop eating it.  We had these with bowls of rice for $1 each.

Leeks, $3 per "string"

The first of our BBQ dishes - these were delish.  I'm not sure what sort of leek they were as they seemed like a cross between a sping onion and a chive, but they were fabulous.

Lily mushroom pork, $2.50 each and squid, $2 each

These were both lovely - the "lily mushroom pork" (which I wouldn't have ordered but for the photo, which showed it as pork wrapped around enoki mushrooms) was a delicious contrast of textures and flavours, while the squid was tender and tasty.

Chilli, $1.50

All the BBQ dishes were dusted with a rustic chilli-and-cumin blend which was delicious and seemingly very un-Chinese, but it did get a bit same-same over time.  In my opinion, just order a few select BBQ dishes and round out your meal with selections from other parts of the menu to get the most flavour variety.  Perhaps the BBQ'd chicken skin next time?  Take that, KFC Double Down "burger"!

Pork dumplings, $7 for 15!!!

LURVED these dumplings.  They are really a huge step up from the likes of Camy - the meat inside is luscious and juicy, like Hu Tong's dumplings - no hard meaty nuggets.  The pastry is just feather-light, not at all leaden or chewy as these can sometimes be.  There's also a vegetarian option (which I always think are best pan-fried).

Steamed buns, $9.8 for 6

These are somewhat like xiao long bao but are juicy rather than soupy.  The same sweet, tasty filling of pork and spring onion/leek-y vegetable.  Apparently these differ in that they are made with self-raising flour, giving them a more bun-like consistency.  I prefer the former simpler version.  Still, these were delicious!

Laoshan Haisheng Pie, $2

Yum yum yum - again, the pork and vegetable filling, this time in a large pupusa-like parcel panfried and squished down.  Super juicy, crispy - fabulous!

At the risk of being disloyal to my local non-Cantonese Chinese restaurants, 1+1 and Dumplings and More, Barbie Kitchen is, I have to say, far superior.  I haven't had Szechuan food this good in years - I normally prefer Cantonese as it seems less oily and lighter/more complex in flavour, but this was unreal.  I honestly can't wait to go back.  Even if it had wonky chairs and greasy chopsticks I would love it, so the decor is the icing on the cake.

This is definitely my kind of Barbie Kitchen - although I do like that the Barbie has a glass of champagne on the counter - that much is realistic!

See Billy and Bryan for more thumbs up.  Billy has a new address and look - check it out!

Chinese Spicy & Barbie Kitchen

311 Racecourse Rd, Kensington (map)

Phone:  9372 5218

Hours:  7 days, 11:30am-3:00pm, 5:30pm-11.00pm

Wheelchair Access
Level entry 

Wednesday bookmarks, May 18

Time to share some more bookmarks! I'm seeing all sorts of summery things in the blogosphere, so that's the focus.

First - and some would say most important - how about a drink? Smitten Kitchen posted about Vermontucky Lemonade and I can't wait. I also love her super cute glasses. Perfect!

Then, three chicken recipes in a row. Salsa Ranch Wraps from Kitchen Simplicity/, a Pot Pie with Cream Cheese and Chive Biscuits from Joy the Baker, and a wonderful-looking Slow-Cooked Chicken Marbella.

Can't resist sweet stuff. Ever. How about Congo Bars from Curvy Carrot? It's a bar cookie with all sorts of goodies - dark chocolate, white chocolate, coconut, almonds... I'll try it sometime.

Here's something simpler, but quite intriguing: Cake Batter Chocolate Bark from Live Love Pasta. It uses ordinary cake mix to flavor chocolate bark. Weird! But certainly interesting...

Chocolate might not be what you're craving for summer, but how about gelato? This raspberry version from Apple a Day looks yummy, and since it doesn't need to sit overnight like egg-based custard ice cream it's quick and easy to make.

Want more? I keep all of my bookmarks here. For non-food-stuff, I've just started using Pinterest!

Quinoa Jambalaya

This recipe is the first thing I tried from Jacob Wismar's book that I wrote about here. It's a riff on a classic jambalaya, but with many differences. We liked it - it was a good weeknight dish that didn't take a lot of time to cook, and it felt fairly healthy as well. Quinoa is one of my favorite grains, and it works well here! I've mostly used it for cold salads before.

Beware of the spice measurements. I've adapted the original recipe to my taste and to fit the heat level of the spices I use, and I suggest you adapt as well. You might very well have spicier chili and curry than I do, and then using my amounts might make your dish very hot. Just saying!

Quinoa Jambalaya
Serves 4-6

1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tbsp chili powder
200 g chorizo sausage, diced
200 g chicken (I used a boneless thigh), diced
1 red bellpepper, in strips
1 large carrot, coarsely grated
1 small sweet potato, diced
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
400 g crushed tomatoes (1 tin)
200 ml quinoa
300 ml water
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt, pepper

Start by rinsing the quinoa well, or it will taste bitter.

Next, heat the oil in a pot (you'll need a lid later!) and fry the curry and chili for a minute. Add the chorizo and chicken and fry along with the spices for a few minutes. Add the bellpepper, carrot, sweet potato and onion, and fry for a few more minutes.

Add garlic, tomatoes, quinoa, water and lemon. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with a dollop of yummy aioli.

Recipe in Swedish:
Quinoajambalaya

Portobello Mushrooms and Sirloin Strips over Spinach Pasta

Life definitely has a sense of humor. My last post I complained about my awful day, which, let's face it, involved a wet bathroom floor and a whiny son. Two days later we ended up in the ER with our daughter who had insane stomach pains. We were admitted, a million tests were done, and nothing could explain why she was in so much pain. The pain lasted for days and was incredibly stressful. Thankfully she's better, back to school and happy as ever. I'll tell you one thing though...

It made my last "bad day" post look like a walk in the park. It was a good lesson to learn, I'll be a lot slower to whine about the everyday inconveniences, that's for sure!

On to the food...

I have this big red cookbook that doesn't have a single picture in it. Being the five year old that I am, I've never used it. If there's not a big pretty picture next to a recipe, how can it possibly be good?

Turns out, it can.

This was a really fun recipe because of how different it was. Tangy sauteed steak and portobello mushrooms over a bed of spinach fettuccine. It was packed with great flavor and very filling. The whole family slurped it up.

Portobello Mushrooms and Sirloin Strips over Spinach Pasta
Adapted from The New American Heart Association Cookbook

Ingredients

12 oz boneless sirloin steak
1/2 cup red wine
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
6 medium cloves minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoons dried oregano, crumbled
12 oz portobello mushrooms, sliced
8 oz dried spinach fettuccine

Directions

Trim all fat off steak, slice into strips.

Combine wine, soy sauce, Worcestershire, garlic, olive oil and oregano in a large plastic bag. Add mushrooms and beef to marinade. Seal and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, turning often.

Prepare pasta according to directions.

Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for one minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer half the beef mixture to the skillet. Cook for 4 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside. Cook the remaining beef mixture.

Return the reserved beef mixture with any juices to the skillet. Increase the heat to high. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.

To serve, spoon the pasta onto plate. Spoon the beef mixture and sauce over the pasta.

Serves 4

Per Serving: 381 cal, 29g prot, 47g carb, 4g fiber, 7.5g fat

Lemon Buns

I threw a small birthday party for my sister last month, right before we went off to Spain. It was a simple cake-and-coffee affair, and because I really didn't feel like actually making a cake, I focused on buns instead. Namely, these deliciously spring-y lemon buns. I used a normal yeasted bun dough with cardamom, then filled the buns with lemon curd. (Oh, go ahead and use homemade if you have it, but I didn't.) After baking, I dipped the buns in melted butter and sugar. Absolutely great.

I don't think they'll keep very well though. I sent what few leftovers we had home with my guests, so I can't really say, but I strongly suspect they're best on the day they're made.

Lemon Buns
makes 24

25 g fresh yeast
200 ml cold milk
1/2 tsp salt
70 g glucose - I use white baking syrup, I suspect corn syrup will work as well
1 egg
1 tsp cardamom
zest from 1 lemon
500 g all-purpose flour
100 g cold butter in thin slices
1-200 ml lemon curd

For serving:
melted butter
sugar

Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Add some of the milk and stir until the yeast has dissolved. Add the rest of the milk, then the salt, syrup, the egg, cardamom and lemon zest. Stir well. Add the flour, gradually, and at last, the butter. Work into a smooth and supple dough. I used my Kitchen-Aid for about 6 minutes on medium speed.

Let the dough rest for about an hour, covered with a kitchen towel.

Divide the dough into two parts. Roll out the first part into a rectangle. Divide into twelve squares. Place a small spoonful of lemon curd on each, and fold the corners towards the middle, so you end up with a ball. Pinch the seams, and place, seam-side down, in a cupcake liner. Keep going with the remaining dough.

Let the buns rise, covered, for 45 minutes. Heat the oven to 225°C, and bake for 7-8 minutes.

Before serving, dip the top of the buns in melted butter, and then in sugar.

Recipe in Swedish:
Citronbullar

Happy belated Mothers' Day

The kids at my daughter's kindy had to write something about their mum and find a picture of her in a magazine:

Awww!  I do hope though that this blog will be something for my kids to remember me by, so that they can know what their mother was like at their age some day (not 13, incidentally).  I have a page now called "My Scrapbook" where I am keeping scans of various articles about the blog - you can see it above the date of this post, next to the word "Home".

I want to say sorry that I have been a really useless blog reader and commenter lately.  I'm also sorry I haven't been replying to comments promptly - various family logistical issues mean that I have had to cut down on my "me" time.  I appreciate you all still visiting and commenting so much though!

In other news, Footscray Food Blog has been selected to be archived in perpetuity by the National Library of Australia's web archive, Pandora.  The archive "aims to build a comprehensive collection of Australian publications to ensure that Australians have access to their documentary heritage now and in the future".  I am very flattered to be part of it - if only to be remembered as being obviously as hot as Venus Williams.

Etna Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria @ Upper East Coast Road

It was another weekend of indulgence. This time we decided to venture East to a warm and cosy casual Italian diner in Etna Restaurant and Pizzeria. The ambience was a change from the glitz of the MBS restaurants that we had in the last 2 weekends. This Etna outlet is located in Siglap, a district that is more laid back and definitely more down to earth than MBS. It was a good change though. 

Prosciutto e Melone - Slices of fine Parma ham and rock melon served with rocket salad. We had been avoiding this dish for sometime as we noticed that it's always on the table whenever we visited an Italian restaurant. Revisiting the refreshing taste of sweet melon with savory Parma was revitalizing!

Mozzarella di Bufala - Fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese with cherry tomatoes and rocket salad drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.  The lightly salted buffalo mozzarella cheese was not too bad but just not as smooth as the scoop that was on the Parma ham that we had in Pizzeria Mozza.

Linguine con Capesante - Flat Pasta with scallop and pink lobster sauce. We did order linguine, flat pasta, which turned out to be more like spaghetti. HY didn't like the sauce to be too cheesy but I find that it was not bad. 

Tagliatelle al Funghi e Salsiccia - Homemade egg pasta with light spicy Italian sausage and mushrooms. The tagliatelle was al dente, the sauce was light and infused with the fragrance of mushroom.

Spaghetti alle Cicale - Spaghetti with crayfish and basil in tomato sauce. This was my order and I thought that the basil and tomato sauce was made in texture that was perfect for me. Not too thick nor too diluted. The crayfish was tender. HY swapped her linguine with me and polished off half of my spaghetti.

Etna Pizza - Mozzarella cheese porcini mushrooms, Parma ham, cream cheese, pistachio. Actually, I suggested going to Etna for the pizza. However, we came to the wrong outlet for pizza. The Etna that was listed as one of the Top 10 pizzeria in Singapore in the Epicure magazine was Etna Restaurant and Pizzeria in Duxton Road and not the one in Siglap. My bad. Anyway, I thought the pizza here was a miss. The crust wasn't anything to rave about and what snubbed the pizza was the cloying taste of overpowering mozzarella cheese. The taste of the the ingredients seemed to be overwhelmed by the cheese.  

Etna Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria had a homey feeling and was quite popular with the locals who live nearby and there were quite a number of Caucasians among the almost filled restaurant. Service was average, you'll have to ask to get your glasses filled. I wouldn't mind going  back for the pasta if I'm around the area but I don't think I'll order the pizzas.

110 Upper East Coast Road
Singapore
Tel : +65 6444 9530

Happy birthday, Titus!

Titus is turning two today! How is that possible? Time is flying.


may, 2011


may, 2010


His very first day. May 14, 2009.

Chess Pie...Old School

CHESS PIE

this could just be the surprise winner of the year.  

it figures...a good old classic like Chess Pie.

simple ingredients, simple flavors...

SIMPLY DELICIOUS !

what a fabulous, unique pie...naked with nothing on...

or...all dressed up for the party with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and toasted pecans. 

i made 2 of these in a week and they disappeared faster than any other dessert i've made all year...and i make a lot of desserts.

the beautiful cracked top is like a baked meringue cookie and the inside is a soft sweet melt in your mouth custard.

the name is a little odd because it has nothing to do with the game of chess...
i guess there are many controversies about the origin of the Chess Pie.
 it's a Southern specialty, but some say it came from England and evolved from a similar cheese tart...this being "cheese-less"...some say it was named from a piece of furniture that was common in the early South called a pie chest or pie safe (pies under lock and key?!)
or the one i like is the theory that it was originally called "just pie" because it was so simple and plain and the named morphed into "jess-pie"...or Chess pie.
i'm sure there's more theories out there.  i just grabbed a few from Wikipedia and What's cookin' America.

there are a few variations out there that add vanilla, brown sugar, four and or some cornmeal, but i wanted to go with the flat out basic - simple - easy...and you can't get any easier than this.  i'm even proud to admit i went for the store bought pie crust for the first try.  hey...this recipe calls for it.  don't be afraid to take the easy route...the crust is not the star of the show here.  it's all about the cracked meringue top along with the custardy sweet filling.  

i must add that the second pie was made with a crust from my in-house pastry chef, master pie crust maker...MOM...and it did push the pie over the top.  photos are of the store bought because the second one disappeared before i could take a shot.

4 things is all you'll need for 

AUNT MARY'S EASY CHESS PIE

recipe copied below and found at Tasty Kitchen submitted by Sweeteater

4 Tablespoons softened butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 whole pie shell, frozen

cream the sugar and butter together

add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition

pour into unbaked pie shell

bake at 350 F degrees for 35-40 minutes

cool completely before serving

BBQ potatoes

YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS!

Sorry, I don't usually shout. But really. This time. You have to.

This is the perfect side dish to go with grilled meat (or chicken), and it's absolutely great now that new potatoes are starting to pop up in the stores. There are a few unusual ingredients - chipotle paste which is a smokey chili paste, and smokey paprika which is really lovely and you should seek it out. There are two versions - picante (hot!) and dulce, and this time, I used dulce.

It also went really well with this parmesan sauce.

BBQ potatoes
serves 6-8

1,5 kilo new potatoes
2 red bellpepeprs
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp chipotle chili paste
2 tsp smokey paprika powder (Pimentón de la Vera)
1 tsp salt
4-5 tbsp canola oil



Clean the potatoes and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut the bellpeppers into large dice or strips, and add those. Mince the garlic, and mix with chipotle, paprika, salt and oil in a bowl. Toss with the potatoes - it's easiest if you use your hands.

Roast at 200°C for about 30 minutes.

Recipe in Swedish:
BBQ potatis

Wednesday bookmarks, May 11

Time to share a few new bookmarks again! It's a bit cake-heavy, since we have a lot of birthdays coming up in May. Titus is turning two and I'm turning.. 25, is it? Again? Anyway.

I'm thinking about making this Hummingbird Cake, from Bluebonnets & Brownies. Doesn't it look good? I've never tried one, but apparently it's like a sweet, fruitier carrot cake.

Another option, provided I can get some decent strawberries, is this gorgeous Strawberry Cornmeal Pound Cake! If not now, I'll definitely make it later in the summer.

I'm not the biggest pizza lover, and as it turns out, Titus won't eat it at all. Despite that, I'm eager to try this homemade pizza crust from my blogging friend Kari at Spisat.se - he blogs in Swedish - since it looks so good.

And pasta always looks good to me. This Tagliatelle with Orange Zest and Prosciutto? Oh, divine. Must try! It's from Bon Appétit, via The Bitten Word.

And finally, something to snack on, that's actually good for you! Honey-roasted chickpeas with cinnamon, anyone? They're from one of my fave mom-bloggers, Weelicious.

More bookmarks here.