New York Cappuccino cheesecake

This  is a really nice cheesecake me and my mom baked this weekend for my sisters birthday party. We had no idea how this cake would taste but we had been recommended to try it by a friend who recently visited the US. And we really liked it so now I want so share it with you as well!

Ingredients:

200 g Digestive biscuits 

75 g butter

1 tsp cinnamon

3 leaves of gelatine

1 dl strong coffee

200 g creamcheese

2.5 dl quark

3 egg whites

Step 1: set the oven to 175 C.Step 2: crumble the Digestive biscuits in a bowl and mix them with the butter (melted) and cinnamon.Step 3: spread the mix in a buttered cake pan with removable edges. Bake in the oven for 10 min.Step 4: take it out and let it cool off.Step 5: soak the leaves of gelatine for 5 min, then melt them on the stove on low heat together with the coffee.Step 6: mix together the creamcheese and quark in a bowl. Add the coffee mix. Step 7: beat the egg whites until it's a hard "foam" in a separate bowl. Then add the sugar a little at a time.Step 8: Then pour the egg mix into the cheese and coffee mix and blend it together.Step 9: Pour it all into the cake pan and let the cake stand in the fridge for at least 3 h.Step 10: sift cocoa  and sprinkel chocolate flakes over the cake.Quick to prepare: This cake takes actually a long time to bake, approx. 4 h. But the good part is that it bakes it self most of the time. The preparations are not very time consuming, only the waiting for it to stand in the fridge.  Ease of preparation: The recipe is is simple and doesn't involve any difficult techniques. It's easy and fun to make. Gourmet vs. everyday: This is a very delicious cheesecake with a very coffee and chocolaty taste. The consistency is creamy and fluffy and the cake suits perfectly for a party or as rhe desert after a nice dinner. Most kids will probably not like the coffee taste though.2 dl sugar

cocoa and chocolate to decorate with

Italian pasta carbonara

My dad has always been an inventive chef and throughout my childhood he cooked a lot of odd food, but he had one particular recipe I always loved. He made an amazing pasta carbonara and now I want to share it wth you!

Ingredients: (for 4)
300 g spaghetti
150 g bacon
½ onion
1 clove of garlic
2 eggs
½ dl cream
100 g grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

+ some extra parmesan cheese to sprinkel on top


Step 1: Cook the pasta after the instructions on the package

Step 2: Cut the bacon and onion into small pieces and fry it in separate frying pans.

Step 3: Whip together the eggs, cream and grated cheese with a regular beater, add salt.

Step 4: When the pasta is cooked, pour out the water and blend in the bacon and onion. Add the egg mixture and press the garlic clove into the pasta. Mix with a spoon.

Step 5: serve with some parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Quick to prepare: This is very quick and takes only 25 min.

Ease of preparation: It is basic and easy to cook, be careful though while frying the bacon since the fat from the meat splashes when you fry it and it's very hot.

Gourmet vs. everyday: This is a quite basic recipe and most kids like it, it has a nice creamy taste and the bacon gives a little salty taste. The recipe is quite "everyday" though and isn't reallt suitable for a dinner party etc.

West African lime cake

Ingredients:

2 ½ dl sugar

2 ½ tbs butter/margarine

2 eggs

juice of 1 lime

3 ½ dl flour

2 tsp baking powder

chopped peanuts (optional)

for the icing:

icing sugar

lime juice

a drop of green food coloring

Step 1: cream the sugar and butter

Step 2: add the eggs one at a time and beat well

Step 3: then add the lime juice, flour and baking powder and mix together

Step 4: chop the peanuts into fine pieces and mix into the batter

Step 5: pour the batter into a greased and floured cake pan and bake in the oven at 175 C for 25 minutes

Step 6: take the cake out of the pan and let it cool off for a few minutes.

Step 7: mix the icing sugar and lime juice together, measure after how thick layer of icing you want on the cake. then add a drop or two of green food coloring. 

Step 8: spred the icing over the top of the cake, then let it stand in the refrigerator to cool. 

Step 9: cut the cake into square pieces. 

Quick to prepare: this takes approximately 1 h to make overall. The baking time in the oven is 25 min, and preparations and decorations takes approximately 30 min. 

Ease of preparation: This recipe is easy to make, the steps are simple and easy to follow.  

Everyday vs. Gourmet: This cake has a very fresh and nice taste because of the lime. It's sweet and has a nice consistency and it's suitable for all occasions. 

Thai lime chicken with rice

This is a very spicy and really fresh dish from Thailand, my mother was there on vacation last year and she really enjoyed their food. She tried this recipe and decided to make it for my family and I when she came home, and now we all eat love thai food.

Ingredients: (3-4)
400 g chicken fillets
carrots
water chestnut
baby corn
parsnip
broccoli
leek
2 ½ dl coconut milk
2 tbs vegetable oil







Spices: 
for this recipe there is a "fast version" if you live in Sweden. The brand "Findus" has a spice mix called "Wok Kaffir Lime" so if you want to simply pour in the spices easily you can use this mix.

if this is not avaiable in your country the mix contains:
brown sugar
salt
ginger
paprika powder
cayenne pepper
coriander
garlic
kaffir lime leaves

Step 1: cut the chicken into small pieces and fry the meat in a pan

Step 2: add the vegetable oil and the spices/spice mix to get the flavour

Step 3: chop up all the vegetables and add them to the chicken

Step 4: add the coconut milk and let it cook for a few minutes

Step 5: boil the rice

My rating of the recipe: 


Time: approximately 45 min. It's quite fast to cook, especially if you use the spice mix because then you dont have to worry about the spices.

Difficulty: This is also easy to make. It can be quite tricky though with all the different spices, but you can just season after your own taste and it should taste great!

Gourmet vs. everyday: This recipe has a very speciall taste, it has a very fresh taste from the lime and a quite strong and spicy flavour. It's very tasteful and suits very well for a nice dinner between some friends or family.

Swedish smoked pork with pineapple and chili sauce with rice

This is a dish I learnt in school during the cooking classes we had in 8th grade. Ever since I first tried it I've loved it, the sweetness of the pineapple mixed with the spicy chili sause is really tasty!

Ingredients:
500 g smoked pork
3 dl whipped cream
1 ½ tbs flour
3/4 dl chili sauce
½ dl mango chutney
pineapple






Step 1: butter a ovenproof pan and put in the smoked pork in slices and the pineapple.

Step 2: whip the cream and add flour, chili sauce and mango chutney.

Step 3: spread out the cream over the pork and pineapple.

Step 4: cook it in the oven 250 C for approximately 15 min.

Step 5: boil the rice.

My ratings of the recipe:


Time: This only takes approximately 25-30 min.

Difficulty: It's very easy and simple. It takes care of itself most of the time while cooking in the oven.

Gourmet vs. everyday: This is a very mild recipe even though there is chili in it, it has a

creamy taste. It suits  every situation, you can have it as a simple dinner on a weekday or make it more grand and nice by adding your own details and a tasty sallad.

Swedish waffle

Today is the Swedish waffle day, and beacuse of this I would like to share this recipe with you! :)

Ingredients: 
125 g butter
2 dl milk
4 dl flour
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
2 dl water

Topping:
jam
vanilla ice cream
whipped cream


Step 1: mix together all the ingredients in a bowl, mix until there are no lumps left.

Step 2: bake the waffles in a waffle iron for a few minutes.

Step 3: add the topping you like and enjoy!

My ratings of the recipe:

Time: this is vey quick and does not take a lot of time to do. max 15 min.

Difficulty: very easy to make, it can't go wrong!

Gourmet vs. everyday: since this a very basic recipe and you can add whatever you like on top this is a great recipe for kids. It's a really good lunch or afternoon coffee.

Chinese fried rice with chicken/pork

I discovered this recipe when one of my Chinese friends invited me over one day for a Chinese food day. She cooked a lot of different dishes for me to try and I especially liked this one very much. This is a traditional Chinese recipe that you easily can adjust to your own taste.

Ingredients: (for 2)

2 chicken fillets or pork

2 cups of boiled rice

2 eggs

1 red capsicum

1 onion

2 carrots

soy

cooking oil

salt and pepper

Step 1: Boil the rice (instructions are on the package)

Step 2: Cut the chicken/pork into small pieces and fry it in a pan with some cooking oil.

Step 3: Cut up the onion, capsicum and carrots and add then to the chicken/pork. Fry until the onion is transparent.

Step 4: Add the rice to the pan

Step 5: Beat the eggs together with some soy and cooking oil. Pour it into the rice and chicken/pork and stir.

Step 6: Season after your own taste with salt, pepper and soy.

My ratings of the recipe:

Time: 30-45 min. This is a great dish to do when you don't have very much time to spend on cooking.  It's even faster if you already have the rice boiled.

Difficulty: This is very basic and easy, anyone can make it. 

Gourmet vs, everyday: This is a traditional recipe in China. It's very basic and you can vary the taste a lot so that it can suit everyone. 

Australian Lamington

This wonderful little sponge cake is a very common cake in Australia and almost every kid loves it! I personally experienced this cake for the first time the summer 2010 when I was on vacation in Australia to visit relatives and experience the beautiful country.  I think this cake is really good and I’ve have wanted to bake it ever since I got home, so when I finally found a good recipe I was so happy!

 Ingredients: 

2 cups of  flour

2 tsp of baking powder

1/4 tsp of sea salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup of room temperature butter

3/4 cup of sugar

1 tsp of pure vanilla extract/or a tbs of vanilla sugar

1/2 cup of milk

2 cups of icing sugar

1/3 cup of cocoa powder

3 tbs of butter

1/2 cup of milk

Step 1:  Preheat the oven to 180 C

Step 2: butter a square cake tin.

Step 3: Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a big bowl.

Step 4: Cream the butter and sugar with an electric beater in a separate bowl. Mix until the mixture is pale and fluffy.

Step 5: Add the eggs one at a time to the butter/sugar mix, beat well after adding each egg.

Step 6: Add the vanilla extract/ vanilla sugar and mix well.

Step 7: Now use a spatula to add the flour mix and milk in three additions. Start with the flour, then the milk and then finish with the rest of the flour.

Step 8: Spread the batter evenly into the cake tin.

Step 9: put the cake in the oven for 30 min, test if the cake is done with a toothpick and if it comes out dry/clean the cake is done.

Step 10: Let the cake cool down for 5 min in the tin and then invert it onto a wire rack to cool down further.

Step 11: When it's cool cut it into squares depending on what size you want. Then put them in a air-tight container and put them in the fridge for 2 hours or more. 

Step 12: To make the icing measure up the icing sugar, cocoa powder, butter and milk in a heat proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

Sterp 13: stir the mixture until it's smooth but still a bit thick.

Step 14: Now it's time to coat the cake pieces with the icing. Put a newspaper under the wire rack (to catch the mess) and now place the cake in the icing. Make sure all sides are covered with the icing and then roll it in the desiccated coconut.

Step 15: repeat this with all of the pieces and then store the cakes in a air-tight container in the fridge. They can be stored for max. 5 days.

My ratings of the recipe:

Time: approx. 3 h and 15 min. This is a quite time consuming recipe but it's mostly because of the 2 hours you need to store the cake in the fridge. Otherways it's really fun to make and it's definitely worth the time.

Difficulty: This is not very difficult to make even though it involves a lot of steps. The most tricky part is to coat the Lamingtons with the icing and coconut since it can be very messy. Apart from that the recipe is quite easy and mpst important: fun!

Gourmet vs. everyday: This is more of a "everyday" cake I would say, but it can of course be served at a tea party or other occasion. The taste is very simple but yet tasty and as I mentioned before, kids love it!

In conclusion this recipe gets 5 stars!

Danish egg and shrimp sandwich

Ingredients:
1 slice of bread
butter
lettuce
1 or 2 eggs
shrimps
mayonnaise
lime 
salt 







Step 1: boil the eggs, make sure they are hard-boiled. Peel and slice them.

Step 2:  butter the bread and put on a layer of lettuce.

Step 3: spread out the egg on the sandwich and add some mayonnaise and salt.

Step 4: prepare your shrimps, rinse them and put them on the sandwich.

Step 5: decorate with a slice of lime and squeeze out some lime juice on the shrimps.

My ratings of the recipe: 

Time: 15-20 min. Really good if you're in a hurry or don't feel like spending a lot of time cooking.

Difficulty: this is really easy and basic. It's just as easy as making a ordinary sandwich.

Gourmet vs. everyday: this dish is very simple and therefore I think it’s mostly an "everyday meal", but you can make it more "gourmet" if you for e.g. make it in a smaller portion and have it as an appetize.

In conclusion this recipe gets 5 stars:  

Colombian Enchiladas

 This is a recipe my mum and dad has cooked for my sister and me althrough our lives. We really love this, we are big fans of South African and Mexican food. This recipe is one of my favorites and it's even better together with my dads home made guacamole, yummy!

Ingredients: (for 4)
500 g minced meat / or chicken
Taco spice-mix
3 dl water
2 tbs butter
300 g cheddar cheese
1 packet of corn tortillas
1 ½ dl tomato pureé









 Step 1: Set the oven on 200 degrees (celsius)

Step 2: Boil the water, taco spice-mix and tomato pureé in a sauce pan. Stir.

Step 3: Fry the minced meat and add half of the tomato sauce and half of the cheddar cheese.
Stir and let it cook for a few minutes.

Step 4: Distribute the meat on the tortillas. Roll them and put them in a buttered oven safe pan. Cover the tortillas with the rest of the tomato sauce and the cheese.

Step 5: Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

My rate of the recipe:

 
Time: it takes approximately 30-40 minutes. It's quite fast and fun, 4 stars!

Difficulty: It's not very complicated and it actually "takes care of itself" while it's in the oven. The steps are simple. 5 stars!

Taste: This is absolutely great, I love the spicy taste mixed whit some sour cream, guacamole and vegetables. It's a super tasty South American recipe, 5 stars!

Thai chicken noodle soup

This is a recipe me and my best friend has invented ourselves with inspiration from Thailand. My friend really loved the food there and when she came back from her vacation   she was eager to share it with me, so we experimented and the result was this! 

 Ingredients: (for 2)

2 chickenbreast fillets

40 g egg noodles
1 red capsicum

1 big carrot
sweet peas
Sweet chili sauce
cayenne pepper
paprika powder
salt and pepper
1 chicken stock cube

8 dl water

 

 Step 1: cut the chicken into small pieces












Step 2: fry the chicken in a pan with some butter

 Step 3: rins the vegetables and cut the capsicum and carrot into small pieces.

 Step 4: add the capsicum to the chicken and fry it untill the capsicum is completely cooked.

 Step 5: measure up 8 dl water and boil the egg noodles together with the chicken stock cube.

 Step 6: add the chicken, capsicum, carrot and sweet peas

 Step 7: add all the spices and the sweet chili sauce. Season after your own flavor.

tip: be careful with the cayenne pepper, it's very strong!

 Step 8: cut up some bread

Step 9: your dish is now done, enjoy your meal! :)














My rate of the recipe:

time: it takes approximately 1 hour to prepare and cook. But it's definitely worth the time. 4 stars!

difficulty: even though it involves a lot of steps it's quite simple and it's very fun to cook! 5 stars!

taste: it has a great spicy taste mixed with a sweet flavour from the chili sauce and the vegetables. you can also add other vegetables to vary the dish. 5 stars!