Danish Abelskiver/Ebelskiver

"Abel-sheever" or "Eebel-sheever"

First and foremost, you MUST have a proper abelskiver pan to make these. Mine is cast iron--I think they all are. If you don't have the right pan, don't bother trying to make them. It won't work. If you need one, you can get them here.

OK, so now that we have that out of the way, I've noticed that several countries seem to have their own variations on pancakes...there are crepes in france and johnny cakes in the southern USA, and abelskivers are the Scandinavian version. Like crepes and german pancakes, they are heavy on the eggs, and make a hearty breakfast if you can eat them slowly enough to feel how full you're getting!
I tried the recipe that came with my pan, but I prefer this one which I copied out here (I figured I should give the source link too)

Hubby says that in Denmark they actually make them more spherical--they pull each one up the side of the depression and cook it in 3-4 steps rather than just flipping it over and cooking it in 2 steps like I do. One day I may get up the energy to try that, but for now I just flip them over and they are puffy but not really balls. It's faster. ☺

4 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup melted shortening
Scant 2 cups milk

Directions:
Beat egg yolks; beat in sugar. Combine dry ingredients. Add alternately with shortening and milk. Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Fold into batter. Grease an Abelskiver pan (I put about 1/4tsp of butter in each depression). Heat until smoking. Fill depressions about half full.

When cooked on bottom, turn with two forks. (Some people use knitting needles to turn.) (I use a smallish spoon. There is definitely a learning curve to it, and I botched several batches before getting it straight...having a well-greased pan helps a lot.) Cook other side until cooked through. Regrease pan between batches (I use about 1/2tsp butter spread between the 7 depressions--just a tiny dot in each, although once you've developed a good seasoning on your cast iron then you'll only need to grease every 4th or 5th batch).
Serve warm with applesauce or sprinkled with sugar. We also like them with fruit + powdered sugar, fruit + whipped cream, or the boys like them with plain old maple syrup.



As with all my cast iron, I use only saturated fats to grease my abelskiver pan (in this case butter) because they put in a good seasoning (nonstick surface) and unsaturated fats will just break down. I also never wash it with soap--cast iron is porous and the soap will get into the pan and stay there (and then get into our food). I take the pan while it is still hot, and wash it with straight hot water from the tap. I have a (never-touches-soap) long-handled scrubby brush that I use if there is stuff stuck to the inside, but often a good rinse just gets everything nice and clean. Then just make sure the pan is fully dry before putting it away so that it will not rust. ☺

Meltaway Christmas Cookies

My mother had been making these for years, and told me that she liked them as a Christmas cookie. With sugar cookie snowmen in competition, I could never understand why she felt this was a holiday treat... After I was married I made them one day and my husband said "this is what they make at Christmas in Norway!" Aha!
makes 5 doz

1 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour

Heat oven to 400*. Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, vanilla. Stir in flour. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet (I roll little balls). (Cookies don’t spread.) Bake about 10 min, until set but not brown. While still warm, roll in powdered sugar.

Cardamom Bread

A braided Christmas tradition from Scandinavia.
I grew up with this from my Danish ancestors...imagine my delight to learn that my husband had grown up with an almost identical recipe--from his Finnish ancestors! While our recipes are the same, our methods of eating are different: the Danes frost it and put on maraschino cherries (as pictured) and then tear off chunks from the braid, while the Finns slice it, toast it, and eat it with butter. We all eat it strictly at Christmas--my family saves it for Christmas morning, but my husband's family enjoys it throughout the holiday season.
makes 2 large (or 6-8 small) loaves

8 cups flour
2 cups scalded milk
2 Tbs yeast
1/2 cup warm water (for the yeast to grow in)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup melted butter
1 tsp cardamom (powdered form, not the whole pods!)

Dissolve yeast in water and set aside. Mix milk, butter, sugar, egg, salt, cardamom, and a little of the flour and beat until smooth. Add yeast and mix again. Add the rest of the flour and beat well. Knead for about 10 minutes. Cover dough and let it rise until double. Place on a floured board and knead until smooth. Divide into 6 even-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a 'snake' and braid together into 2 loaves, tucking the ends under.
Put loves on a large greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise until double again. Bake at 375* until golden brown--about 20 minutes for large loaves (less for smaller loaves).

If you are new to bread making, check out my bread making tips!

Cauliflower Soup

This recipe can be made with other veggies, such as Asparagus or Broccoli...but Hubby says the Norwegians usually do it with Cauliflower (and that's what we like best, although I've been known to toss a little broccoli in with it if I have extra or want to stretch the soup a bit.)

1 head of cauliflower
around 1 quart of milk
3-4 Tbs butter
flour
salt
pepper

Break up the cauliflower into smallish pieces (bite size). Put them in a largish saucepan with about an inch of water in the bottom, and steam them until soft.
Add the butter and let it melt in. In a small container, mix flour with cold water to create a thickener, and add that (approx 1/4- 1/3 c total). Add milk until all cauliflower is covered. Stir gently until all is well mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste (it needs a healthy dose of salt, as it is a bland soup without it--I am a very light salter, and I still use at least two teaspoons).

Swedish Meatballs

I got this recipe here, from Epicurean.com (one of my favorite sites). I had to give credit, since it's not my original recipe...but we sure love it! The recipe makes 2 9x13 pans, so there's LOTS of food. It usually lasts us two dinners plus a couple of lunches. Cook once, eat four times...I like that kind of recipe!

We have tried several swedish meatball recipes, and we like this one best because it doesn't skimp on the gravy!

Meatballs:
4 eggs
1c.milk
8 slices bread, torn
2 pounds ground beef
1/3 c. finely chopped onion (don't do more or the balls will fall apart)
4 tsp. baking power
1 to 2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Sauce:
2 cans (10-3/4 oz)condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cans (10-3/4 oz)condensed cream of mushroon soup
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

In large bowl, beat eggs and milk. Add bread; mix gently and let stand for 5 minutes. Add beef , onion, baking power, salt and pepper; mix well (mixture will be soft). Shape into 1-in. balls. In a large skillet, brown meatballs, a few at a time, in afew Tbs shortening or oil. Place in two ungreased 9x13 baking dishes.
In a bowl, stir soups and milk until smooth; pour over meatballs. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 1 hour.

Yeild: 8-10 servings