Black Onion Relish – I’ve Never Wanted a Hot Dog So Badly in My Life!

This quick and very dirty recipe for black onion relish was quite delicious on grilled salmon, but with every bite I became more and more agitated, thinking about how utterly perfect this would have been on a grilled hot dog.

If you’re one of these enlightened souls that enjoy grilled onions on their ballpark franks, you will love this sweet and smoky condiment. 

There’s something about how the onion roasts in its own charred skin, buried in the white-hot coals, which brings a goodness not achievable in a pan. Believe me when I say, my next hot hog WILL be wearing this relish.

As usual, I played it straight with the seasonings, but if I had a dollar for every way you could adapt this relish recipe, I’d have enough money to pay someone to think of a real ending for this post. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 1 1/2 cups:
2 yellow onions

1 red pepper

chopped parsley, to taste

cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

*Dress with oil and vinegar to taste - I used about 3 tbsp olive oil and 3 tbsp vinegar

Taste and adjust!

View the complete recipe

mid-week links

It's been a busy week, and I keep fighting the urge to cuddle up with my son during his nap time.  But, there are things to do and blogs to write and cookies to bake.  Don't even try and stop me.  Let's check out the world wide web, shall we? 

Try whipping up your own hamburger buns for your next BBQ!  Perfect way to make your friends who like to wrap theirs in lettuce feel guilty about not eating the real deal.

    

Ever wonder what your state's signature sandwich is?  Check 'em out here.  I could go for Minnesota's Fried Walleye seen above.

I've been enjoying one too many of these: Decaf Mocha Light with Whip.  Ok someone bring me one NOW.  Only 130 calories for a grande!  Well, then the whipped cream...

...and don't even get me started on these...  

Ate my way through a whole bag of those in a few short days.  Pure evil.

Sprinkles Cupcakes now has ice cream and cookies!!  GAH!  DROOL!  Take me there!!  I think that's some sort of red velvet madness above.  Speaking of... check back here tomorrow for something along those lines... goodbye.

I Promise I Haven't Left You...

Although I'm sure it feels like that!  In all honesty, I considered going on a long blog hiatus, but I just can't stay away!  Life did get a bit crazy for a while though.  Between a trip home to Idaho, family and friend visits, an amazing day of watching my husband complete four years of dental school, and an exhausting move, the blog was the last thing I was able to think about.  I can't say that I'm back for good, in fact, tomorrow we're loading up for a road trip down to Texas, but I do plan to be back.  I have some goodies waiting for you!  I'll do my best to pop in on your blogs to say hello, I've really missed you guys.  In the meantime, enjoy your summers, soak up the glorious sun, and keep making delicious food!

Del Popolo Pizzeria

Del Popolo might look like a pizza truck, but according to the proprietors, it's a mobile pizzeria. At a reported $180,000 to build the thing, I think they can call it whatever they like. It's a refurbished shipping container with an actual pizza oven inside plus minimal prep space for a couple of cooks. 

The menu is short and sweet, just two pizzas in one size. There's the classic Margherita, the pizza by which all pizzas should be judged, and when I was there a white pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, basil and garlic.

Will people stand in line to buy a pizza? On the streets of San Francisco? Oh yes, they will!

This is the set up. A mini kitchen and pizza oven and a window where orders are taken and pizza "delivered." 

They offer some wacky sodas including Cheerwine, Manhattan Special and Empire. But being parked across the street from a supermarket, there was no shortage of choices. 

So how was the pizza? Excellent. There was a nice char on the crust, but not too much. I'd call it a Neapolitan style crust, airy and chewy. The sauce and cheese were flavorful and in good balance. The sauce was very fresh  tasting and they didn't skimp on the basil. I'd order this pizza again.

The white pizza was a little more substantial with generous dollops of fresh sweet ricotta and plenty of garlic. Not in the least greasy, it was rich from the cheese and yet somehow light at the same time. Recommended.

Where to find it? It's not on the namesake square in Rome, so you'll have to check Twitter to find out...

Dinner

Chicken wrapped in Parma ham, braised in apple cider, and served with a risotto Milanese.

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Why is "bundt" spelled like that?  It makes me want to say the word with a stutter.  Bun-d-t.  Speech impediment or not, they are damn good cakes.  This one in particular.  It is my friend Nicole's recipe, and she is a goddess.  No, seriously, did you see that picture?  She looks like a goddess and behaves like one because only goddesses have recipes like this up their sleeves. 

This was another cake baked for no reason at all, other than I'M ALMOST 7 MONTHS PREGNANT.  Also I'm turning my son into Betty Crocker, don't tell his dad.  This cake is so delicious.  Moist, yellow, bundt cake with layers of mini chocolate chip cinnamon sugary goodness.  You can serve it along side ice cream or you can just eat the whole thing at once with your hands.  Like the goddesses do.

*Fact: Carson uttered the phrase "best cake I've ever had."    

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Printable Recipe

For cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 4oz. pkg instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup vegetable (or canola) oil
4 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
For filling:
1 bag mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
2 T cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325.  With an electric mixer, blend together cake mix, instant pudding, oil, eggs and sour cream until combined.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, stir together chocolate chips, sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon.  Set aside.

Grease or spray bundt pan.  Pour 1/3 of the filling into bundt pan, then 1/2 of the cake batter, then 1/3 of the filling again, then the other half of the cake batter and finally top with remaining filling.

Bake for 55 minutes to an hour.

Just look at that crispy, sugary exterior...

And that moist, fluffy interior...

Nibbly things at Seddon Wine Store

Seddon Wine Store is a study in how service can completely override price.  Despite their close proximity to two other bottle shops, one of which prides itself on its bargain bin wine, Mr Baklover drops into Seddon Wine Store regularly for their fabulous range, personal service and the occasional natter.

There is awesome wine here and great advice to go along with it.  Lots of bottles are from very small-scale producers, all with a story behind them.  And before you say "nice for you, then", they've got a great range of bargain bottles just inside the doorway which, truth be told, is where we do the majority of our wine shopping.

The best bit is you can sit in and have either a glass of wine from an interesting selection, or get a bottle off the shelf with a corkage charge.  Along with that there's a small menu of good quality drinking snacks, turning Seddon Wine Store into a great little local watering hole.

I had a lovely, quite unusual white grape variety that was so little known, I have gone and forgotten it.  Curses - I do try to write notes, but sometimes I get distracted by, well, life!

Grazing plate, $18

This was a lovely little sandbox to play in - mild manchego cheese with quince paste, lovely, vinegary little mushrooms, gorgeous terrine with plump pistachios throughout, bitey salami and loads of good bread to smoosh it all on.  If you want something heartier, they also do cassoulet.  Seddon Wine Store also sell various cheeses, posh anchovies and other goodies to take home.

I know we all want a bar where we can get properly sozzled until 1 am, but from Thursday to Saturday Seddon Wine Store is open till 10 pm - plenty of time to put a rosy glow in your cheeks.

Seddon Wine Store
2/101 Victoria Street, Seddon
Phone:  9687 4817
Hours:  Sun-Wed 11am-8pm, Thurs-Sat 11am-10pm


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Grilled Jerk Pork Tenderloin – Because We're All a Little Jerky

Whenever I make this incredibly flavorful jerk spice marinade for chicken, I think to myself, “Man, I bet this would be great on pork tenderloin. I’ll have to try that next time.” Well, a few dozen summers have come and gone, and since I still hadn’t experienced that “next time,” I decided to finally try it, and it was great!

As expected, the spicy, aromatic marinade worked wonderfully with the lean, mild pork, and as long as you heed my warnings not to overcook the meat, you and your guests will be very happy with this. Of course your guests' happiness should be the most important thing to you, but let’s face it, it’s not.

No, a stunningly successful grilled recipe like this is all about you standing next to that platter of perfectly cooked pork – beer in one hand, tongs in the other – soaking in waves of compliments and adulation. Does that make you a Jerk jerk? Yeah, a little bit. Anyway, I hope you give this very easy recipe a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:
2 (1 1/2-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed, cut in 3 pieces each

1/2 bunch fresh thyme, about 1/3 cup picked leaves

1/2 chopped onion

1 to 4 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero peppers, seeded

4 garlic cloves

2 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1/4 cup white vinegar

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp fine salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*cook until at least 145 F. internal temp

View the complete recipe

Homemade Wheat Thins

On Friday my son woke up before dawn.  I don't even technically know what "dawn" is, but I know it means early, ok?  So early in fact, that at one point I looked at the clock wondering if it was lunchtime and saw "7:37am" staring back at me.  What?  I knew I needed a project to make the day go by faster.  It was then when I read one of my favorite blogs and saw Homemade Wheat Thins.

Project!  Healthy!  Baking!  Snack!  Perfect!    

It was also an excuse to finally use Jack's mini rolling pin and by the way, WHY does my hand look so old and leathery and wrinkled???

These were surprisingly easy to make and Jack had so much fun playing with the dough...

Ready to bake...

Crisped to perfection.  

p.s. The longer you bake them (without burning of course) the closer to the real deal they taste.  

Crispy, salty, yummy.  

My brother's tomato salad

This, dear friends, is a must. It's incredibly delicious, and it will go over well with almost anything. Make sure to serve it with a bread, though, for soaking up all the yummy dressing.

And you don't need extra-flavorful tomatoes for this, it'll work well with even those pale, boring winter tomatoes. Obviously good ones are better, but.. just saying. Any tomatoes will be good. Really good.

So - what you need is:
-tomatoes. As much as you want. Cut into halves if they're small, or chopped up in large pieces, if they're bigger.
-a good white wine vinegar, or you can go fancy with a white balsamic, or sherry vinegar
-olive oil
-grated garlic
-mustard - NOT dijon, you want a strong, spicy-sweet mustard. (In Sweden, I use Skånsk Senap)
-dried tarragon
-salt and pepper

No amounts, you don't really need them, as long as you taste as you go. Start by whisking together olive oil and vinegar, maybe about twice the amount of oil, and then season as you wish with garlic, mustard, tarragon, salt, pepper and possibly more vinegar. Add the tomatoes, and that's it. The flavors will develop if you let it sit for a few hours, but it's great right away, too.

Smokey Chicken with Blue Cheese Dip

Everyone loves hot wings with blue cheese dip, right? Well, at least I do. Except I prefer legs to wings, since there's so little meat on the wings. And if I make them myself... I don't really want to be frying all that chicken, because frying is always kind of scary in a way - as in, really, that much fat? So these legs are baked. They could easily have been barbecued, but the weather wasn't great and we figured the oven would do a good job of it. We were right.

Pimentón de la Vera is a smokey paprika powder from Spain, that comes in a few different varieties - I have picante, dulce and bittersweet sitting in my spice cabinet. I used a mixture of the first two here, and you can totally up the spice by using more picante. I wanted to keep mine fairly mild, but I'm a heat wuss.

The dip goes well with a lot of veggies - I made a big tray of red bellpepper, cucumber, carrots and sugar snap peas. (The vegetable of doom, celery, is banned from my kitchen.)


This is a big hit with the kid.

Smokey Chicken with Blue Cheese Dip

serves 6

2 kg chicken legs
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp hot smoked paprika (Pimentón de la Vera, picante)
4 tsp sweet smoked paprika (Pimentón de la Vera, dulce)
5 tbsp cooking oil
1-2 tbsp tabasco

Mix all ingredients for the marinade in a ziploc bag. Add the chicken, and mix carefully. Let it sit for a few hours or over night, or cook right away. (It'll still have a lot of flavor.)

You can barbecue them, or just cook them in the oven, on a rack, for about 25 minutes on 200°C.

Blue cheese Dip
140 g creamy blue cheese, crumbled
100-150 ml mayonnaise
200 ml sour cream
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp tabasco
salt, pepper

Mix all ingredients and season to taste - I had to use an immersion blender to get it to blend properly. (You don't want a bunch of cheese chunks.)

Flippin' Burgers

Stockholm finally has its very own really good burger joint. Flippin' Burgers opened a little while ago, and quickly got super-hyped, and super-swamped - no reservations, so be prepared to wait. Or come early, they open at 5 pm and we got a table right away.



Flippin' Burgers is owned by Jon who felt that we should get some really good burgers in Sweden. Where to get inspiration? The US, of course. So he went on a long road trip, and ate 64 burgers over 38 days, all to find perfection. He came home, decided to open a restaurant, and used crowd funding to get some money for it. Impressive story! And - much more important - impressive burgers.



The menu is simple. Burgers. Fries. Milkshakes. Get all three. I chose a Cricket burger with cream cheese, pickled onions and jalapeños (which I gave to Per, I'm not a fan), and Per went for the classic double burger. We were both really happy. The meat was freshly ground, seasoned and cooked just right. The burgers were really juicy, and super-flavorful. We had to try the shakes, made from Ben & Jerry's ice cream - amazing. The fries are not made from scratch, but were hot, crispy and good. Oh, and there's a delicious herby, vinegar-y mayo in bottles on the table, perfect for dipping the fries. Don't miss it.



I hope Flippin' Burgers will expand, and start serving takeaway as well - I'd love to get my order and take it to a nearby park, rather than wait an hour or two for a table. (Yes, it's that popular.) But for now, try to get there early. You'll find it at Kungsholms strand 157, and they're closed on Sundays.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

You didn't think I'd leave you for the weekend with a healthy vegetarian dish, did you?  BAH!  Can you imagine if I did that?!?  Can you imagine if I went a week without breaking into my tubs of butter and chocolate?  I don't really have tubs.  I don't.  

Anyway... the other day as I was slowly making my way down the 'baking needs' aisle at the market, I found myself staring at the boxes of pudding and suddenly remembered these.  Pudding chip cookies!!  They were so delicious!  But I had never tried them with chocolate pudding, oh no I hadn't.  So off I went to whip up a batch for no reason at all*.  Theyaresogood.    

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

(Makes approx. 2 dozen)

Printable Recipe

1 4 oz. pkg. instant chocolate pudding

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg white

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  In a small bowl, stir together pudding mix, flour, cocoa powder and salt.  Set aside.  With an electric mixer, blend butter until whipped.  Add brown sugar and blend until creamy.  Add egg, egg white and vanilla and continue to blend (batter might look runny).  Slowly add dry ingredients and blend until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.  

Place by rounded spoonful on parchment-lined baking sheet (I flattened mine with the bottom of a glass, otherwise they come out puffy).  Bake for 10 minutes.  

*When I bake for no reason at all (which is all the time), I often make Carson take the results with him to one of his many jobs.  Here's a presentable and convenient way to do that:

Place baked goods in a brown paper bag lined with paper towel.  

Fold over the top and pierce with hole-puncher.

Tie bow with kitchen twine or ribbon.

Write with Sharpie what's inside.  

A Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Pie Worth Brawling Over

Because I grew up listening to baseball on the radio, whenever I heard the word “rhubarb,” I wouldn’t think of something edible and delicious like this amazing Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, I’d think of fights.

Back in the early days of radio, when they wanted to get the sound effect of an angry mob, they’d tell the performers to repeat the word “rhubarb,” over and over. It sounds heated and contentious, yet the listener doesn’t hear any specific words.

Baseball announcers of the same era began to call baseball fights “rhubarbs,” since they sounded so much like those radio effects. I didn’t learn about this until recently, and it made me think of all the games I’d listened to during all those summers, and how never once when I heard “rhubarb,” did I think of pie.

That was until I got this wonderful recipe from my mother Pauline, who I believe got it from my Aunt Angela. As you longtime readers know, both are fantastic bakers and while I love all their pies, this might be my favorite.

So, when Matt Cain drills Matt Kemp in the back this summer, and he charges the mound prompting an ugly benches-clearing brawl, and the play-by-play guy says, “we’ve got ourselves a real rhubarb now,” I will think of this pie. This delicious, rough and tumble pie. Enjoy!

3 cups sliced rhubarb

1 cup quartered strawberries

3 large eggs

pinch of fresh nutmeg

3 tbsp milk

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

*I didn’t mention, but I added a very tiny pinch of salt
1 tbsp butter for "dotting"
pie dough for one 9-inch crust 
For the glaze:
2 tbsp jam with 1/4 tsp water, warmed in microwave

View the complete recipe