Gravy Train
Danish Kringle, Apricot-Pineapple Cake
I'd seen recipes for this coffee cake around for a few years, but was always intimidated by the word "danish" -- I always think making danishes looks so hard. I finally took the leap several weeks ago, and it turns out that this is super easy to make. Since that first time, I've made it twice more, always with great results. Read more.
Black Bean Soup, Red-Chili Bread
This is an easy-to-make soup that you'll want to serve again and again. Read more.
Banana Bread, Blueberry-Cherry Pie
I had been planning to break away from the desserts this time and give some dinner recipes instead, but truth be told, desserts are about the only thing I'm making from scratch these days. It's been way too hot to either cook or eat much of a meal, and besides, after you try these treats I bet you'll be willing to cut me some slack. Read more.
Roll Cakes
Back in the day, whenever I leafed through cookbooks looking for new dessert ideas, pictures of roll cakes (also called Swiss rolls or jelly rolls) always caught my eye. They looked so artful and yummy and I really wanted to make one, but I let myself be discouraged by the words, "jelly roll pan," in every recipe. I had never seen such a thing, and the requirement of special equipment made roll cakes seem impossibly far out of my league. After a couple of years as a housewife, though, I was a much more experienced and confident baker and I decided to finally give roll cakes a go, jelly roll pans be damned! Read more.
Potato-Leek Soup, Lemon-pepper Bread
Soup plays a big role in my house. Back in the day I found the idea of homemade soup more than a little daunting, but after I worked up the courage to give it a try, I returned to it again and again. Few things are as satisfying, both physically and emotionally, as a nice, hot bowl of soup and it's even better if you serve it with a good bread and maybe a little cheese, too. This soup/bread combination is a regular player on my dinnertime menu, showing up at least three times a month. Read more.
Maple Bars, French Mocha Cake
I'm a dessert kind of gal. As far as I'm concerned, dinner is just the necessary evil one must endure to get to dessert. I've built entire dinner parties around a great new dessert I wanted to make, and my friends know they can always count on me to bring plenty of desserts whenever we plan a get-together. These two treats will make great additions to your repertoire, and the best part is that they're a lot less work than you might think. Read more.
Spanish Mince Bread, Potato Soup, Dinner Rolls
It has been cold, cold, COLD here lately, and big, hearty dinners are just the thing to keep the chill at bay. This Spanish Mince Bread is a recent discovery of mine, but it already feels like an old family classic. Read more.
Lussekatter och Pepparkakor
Swedes have as much of a sweet tooth as anybody and, like most of us, they treat themselves extra indulgently this time of year. Two mainstays of the holiday season in Sweden are lussekatter, or saffron buns, and pepparkakor, or gingersnaps. Recipes for these two treats abound on the internet and in cookbooks, but these two are my favorites. Read more.
Ham Steaks with Apricot Sauce, Cardamom Cake
This quick-and-easy meal will get rave reviews, and the cake is a perfect complement to your after-dinner coffee.
Read more.
Chili/Cornbread Bake, Vegetarian Hungarian Stew
Autumn is in full swing in my neck of the woods, and I've been adjusting my dinner menus accordingly. Soups and stews are more often than not the order of the day now, and these recipes are two of my favorites. Read more.
Summer Desserts
I'm one of those people who firmly believe that the best part of any meal is dessert. As luck would have it, I love baking and have no problem spending hours in the kitchen working up a culinary masterpiece, so scrumptious desserts are rarely in short supply at my house. This time of year I'm less inclined to spend long hours slaving over a hot stove, but since I still love dessert in the summertime I've had to search out some quick and/or easy recipes. These are a couple of my favorites. Read more.
Cauliflower Soup, Macaroni Salad
Some days I have more patience than others when it comes to getting supper on the table, and this is the time of year when I'm most likely to want a "quick fix" in the kitchen. These recipes are two of my summertime favorites, making up in taste what they lack in complication. Read more.
Cookies!
Drinking coffee is a big deal in Sweden, and according to tradition seven kinds of cookies ("sju sorters kakor") are to be served at every coffee klatsch. While most modern Swedes don't observe this practice (and indeed, many are unaware of it), most of the traditional cookies remain favorites. Here are a few that I especially like, not least because they're quick and easy! Read more.
Vegetable Fried Rice/Chicken and Peapods
Lately I've found myself craving the kind of food served at the local Chinese restaurants "back home" in the States, but good, affordable restaurants are few and far between in my neck of the woods, so I've starting experimenting in my own kitchen. The following are two recipes I've made lately, and my family has put both of them on the "do-again" list. Read more.
Mexican Lasagne with Fresh Salsa and Guacamole
Though nothing beats a good, authentic Mexican meal, I'm also partial to what we Americans loosely call "Mexican" or "Tex-Mex." Most often when the cravings strike I whip up a big plate of cheesy nachos or put together a soft taco buffet, but now and again I pull out this recipe that my mom introduced to me several years ago. Read more.
Spinach-Cheese Calzones
A friend of mine has been in a calzone-making craze lately, and her example has led me to jump on the calzone-bandwagon myself. You can fill a calzone with just about anything that strikes your fancy--whatever you'd put on a pizza goes even better inside a calzone. My new favorite calzone, however, is this Spinach-Cheese Calzone (though my husband will tell you it's a pierogi--whatever you want to call it it's delicious!). Start with this great dough--quick despite being a yeast dough--and go from there. Read more.
Sugar Cookies, Buttercream Frosting
I must confess that Halloween has never been one of my particular favorites. I'm not a big fan of dressing up and I'm well past the age of going door-to-door begging for candy. I do, however, like to bake and I love bright colors, so making and decorating sugar cookies is a Halloween tradition I can get behind! Read more.
Sweet Potato Bread, Peanut Butter Bread
Autumn comes early to northern Sweden. It's only August and there's already a chill in the air and leaves falling to the ground. Crisp fall days always make me want to bake, and my favorite thing to bake (and eat!) is bread. The two following bread recipes are a bit on the unusual side, but don't be put off by them. Both are absolutely delicious, especially fresh and hot out of the oven. Read more.
Salad and Soup
We're right in the middle of summer now, when the last thing on most people's minds is cooking. Not only that, but often the heat dampens our hunger, and it can be difficult figuring out what's for dinner. A few weeks ago, inspired by a salad that Marie of Slapdash fame described in her blog, I mixed together a few tasty ingredients and came up with this delicious, nutritious, result: Read more.
Broccoli Salad, Chicken Enchiladas
It's getting to be that time of year when the days are longer and brighter and I feel much less inclined to stay in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove. In that spirit, I've chosen two quick and easy recipes for this issue. Read more.
Winging It
This month we're "winging it" in the Gravy Train column, too, with recipes for "Mexican" Chicken Wings and Polish Angel Wings (okay, I know the pun is terrible, but I couldn't resist!). We also have a dessert recipe that will have you wondering if you read the ingredients list right, but one bite will make you a believer! Read more.
Macaroni and Cheese, Mississippi Mud Pie
Food has a powerful ability to awaken memories and feelings of nostalgia. As we get older, we often yearn for the dishes that mom used to make, for the treats of the good old days. When I was a kid, my mom made the best macaroni and cheese, and my brothers and I scoffed at the neon orange boxed stuff that our friends' moms served. Those poor kids had no idea what they were missing. Read more.
Spinach Cannelloni, Lime Chicken
I've always been interested in cooking, but since becoming a full-time housewife and at-home mom, it's more or less my vocation, as well as my avocation. I try to get a tasty, nutritious meal on the table most nights, but that can be a challenge as I'm a vegetarian, my husband wants meat and lots of it, and my seven-year-old daughter takes the concept of pickiness to whole new levels. Here in the Gravy Train column, you'll find a selection of my more successful recipes, both meat-based and vegetarian and you'll have the opportunity to submit your own recipes and/or cooking ideas. Smaklig måltid, as we say in my neck of the woods! Read more.