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     Lately I have been feeling an urge to get to know more about my Danish ancestry.  I've always known that it was part of who I am, but I feel like I know a lot more about my British ancestors than my Danish ones.  I've started looking up things about Denmark and finding out some fascinating things.  And, what better way to get a feel of a group of people than to learn about their food and why they ate the way they did.  
    Alicia did a series of recipes from her ancestry a couple of years ago and she shared an Æbleskiver recipe with you that she was given by a friend.  In order to make it, she purchased an actual cast iron æbleskiver pan that she ordered from Amazon. 

     I haven't yet purchased the correct pan, so I started wondering if I could make aebleskivers using a different method.  My granddaughter accidentally left her cake pop maker at my house, and while the molds are smaller, I thought some little pop in your mouth aebleskivers might be fun to try!  It worked out pretty well.  (My granddaughter found her cake pop maker at a thrift store at a fabulous price. Here is a similar one on Amazon.  There are many brands and varieties available.)

     I used this recipe from International Cuisine.  It is very similar to Alicia's recipe, except it is a smaller batch.  I was happy about that since it still made a ton and since the maker only made 6 at a time, it was time consuming.  Here are some tips that I figured out as I made the aebleskivers in a cake pop maker: 

• Historically, the Danish people would use a knitting needle to flip their aebleskiver in the pan.  Since I was using the mold with a lid, I didn't really need to flip them, but I did use a chop stick to pop them out of the mold.  I think a chop stick would also work great in the traditional type of pan. You can also purchase some special turners here. 
• I buttered each mold each time I made a new batch.  I would put a little butter on the end of the chop stick and just swirl in around in each mold, both top and bottom. 
• Fill the mold more full than you think.  Because there are whipped eggs in the recipe plus baking powder and baking soda, the batter will rise as you put it in the hot mold.  But that is okay because you want the batter to reach up into the top of the mold so that it will brown well on both sides of the ball. 

• Leave the aebleskivers in the maker longer than you think you might have to.  As I cooked them, I learned that the browner they got the better they would hold their shape and get a little crunch on the edge.  They just looked prettier over all. I got so that I could smell when they were ready to come out.  
• Try not to eat them all while the next batch is cooking.  ;)
• Try to cover the jam well with batter to try to keep it from leaking out.  Some will leak a bit, but it is okay.  Some jam stayed in and it was easy to clean up.
• When they are all baked, sprinkle them with powdered sugar.  You can dip them in more jam or cover them with Buttermilk Syrup or chocolate or whatever your heart desires!  I have even seen them filled with Nutella!  

    Although my great grandfather came to the USA from Denmark, I was never raised with any idea of the Danish traditions.  My grandmother, who was his daughter died before I could have known her.  But as I learn of the Danish culture and foods. I get an understanding of things that I like and feel that are part of my make-up that I have possibly inherited from the Danish side of my family.  (Seafood! Hello!)  And, LEGOs originated there!   
    Aebleskivers are my first try at a Danish recipe, but I have seen others that I am soon going to give a try!  So, keep your eyes open for those!  
     Have you tried Aebleskivers in one form or another?  What is your favorite filling?  I wish my granddaughter had been here to make these with me, I know she would have loved doing it.  Maybe next time! 

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Hey, Alicia here with another international recipe. Last year my family picked a country from our heritage every month and made one recipe a week from that country. It was really fun, educational, and delicious. This year we're not doing that same thing, but we still love experimenting with food from other cultures.

That's where bao, steamed Chinese dumplings, come in. My husband works at Pixar, and you may remember that short that played before Incredibles 2 called Bao. Bao (without giving anything away) is about a woman who makes bao and one of them comes to life and she basically treats this cute little dumpling as her son. The director of the short, Domee Shi, shared her mother's recipe for bao with her Pixar colleagues and an illustrated version with Time Magazine. 

My husband really wanted to make them because he loves Chinese food. So we did. It's a pretty simple recipe, though it can take a little time preparing the filling. The first time my husband minced everything by hand. The second time he decided to use the food processor and it was perfect. We also don't have ground pork so we used pork sausage. The dough is a very simple 3 ingredient yeast dough. The results were so wonderful. A favorite part was the fresh ginger used in the filling. Don't skip it as it really adds to the flavor. It's so good.

The hardest part of the recipe is folding the dough around the filling. I was not very good at it, so mine had a lot of extra dough at the top. If my bao had come to life, it would have been a completely different short, probably in the horror genre. But they still tasted delicious! My husband got the knack for it though and made some really cute bao. 

Another thing is you will need a way to steam the bao, as that's how they cook. we used the basket that came with our rice cooker.

I'm not sharing the recipe directly on our page because it is Domee Shi's but you can find the illustrated version on this page and a video of YouTuber, Emmy Made in Japan, following the recipe and making the dumplings. We found the video especially helpful.

​So go forth and enjoy bao. Let us know how you like it!

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     You may have read on Tuesday my article about Tomato-Basil Tea Sandwiches using San Marzano tomatoes.  Later that very day, Anita brought me a bag full of those glorious tomatoes straight from her garden.  This time, I had to use them for what they are famous for and that is a wonderful Italian marinara sauce!  I looked at many recipes all over the internet and YouTube.   This is the one that I finally settled on, it is a combination of a few that looked simple and delicious.  I especially like the way Gianni North Beach used the fresh basil, because I am growing it in my garden. So, my recipe is really a variation of his. 

     You must start by peeling your tomatoes.  The best way to do this is to cut an "x" through the skin at the bottom of the tomato and then putting them in boiling water for about 15 or so seconds. Then you drain and cool them a bit.  The skin will peel right off. 

      Use a deep skillet because at the end of the recipe the pasta and sauce will be all mixed together. 
      Begin by getting your tomatoes ready by chopping them into quarters and discarding the seeds.  San Marzano tomatoes have very few seeds and a lot of flesh, so this part is easy.  The seeds don't really bother me in this dish, so I just got rid of the big chunks of them.  Also, cut away the hard stem ends.
    Now, heat up your skillet with about 3 T. of olive oil in it and put in your chopped garlic to begin flavoring the oil.  The taste of the olive oil really comes through in this dish and it is so good! 
      Now, add the tomatoes to the pan and start stirring them around.  You will be surprised at how fast they start to break down.  Put in your salt and pepper and mix it in well.  

     Next, I let the sauce simmer on a medium low heat while I prepared the fettuccine.  
     When you prepare the fettuccine, be sure to salt the water and cook it until it is al dente, not too soft.  When it is ready, drain it.  Remove the wilted basil and add the fettuccine to the pan of sauce. 

       You can add the Parmesan cheese right now or let people put on their own in individual servings.  I let each person add their own since Maddy is vegan. 
            I have a guilty confession to make.  I was sure that I had some Parmisano-Reggiano ready to use for this dish when I started cooking it.  But, alas it was all gone, so I had to use the green box! Argh! Don't hate me Anita!  I can't wait to make it again and try it with the good stuff!  But, despite the cheese fiasco, this dish was out of this world good!  I was not prepared for how good it tastes.  I had to stop myself from eating the entire pan of it. 

​Fresh San Marzano Mariana With Fettuccine

     Of course, you can make this recipe with other types of tomatoes, but if you can get San Marzanos, you will love them.  Enjoy!