Olympic Cooking Night

Last night we celebrated the 2014 Sochi Olympics by sharing dishes from countries competing in the current Olympics. Naturally we also watched the Olympics during dinner! It was fun to see the women's teams (USA 1 & USA 2) get silver and bronze in bobsled.

Due to a fridge meltdown, Bonnie E was unable to make the Team Hungary dish she had planned. Instead she brought a delightful variety of drinks from around the world. Some were really good and some were "interesting". 

 

Team Ireland 

Linda did an amazing Arugula & Beet Salad accompanied by Irish cheddar

Beet and Arugula Salad

3 medium beets, trimmed

6 cups baby arugula

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 wedges (1 ounce each) aged Irish cheddar cheese

1.      Place beets in medium saucepan; add cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 35 to 40 minutes or until beets can be easily pierced with tip of knife. Drain beets; cool 15 minutes.

2.      Peel beets; cut into ½-inch cubes. Transfer to medium bowl. Place arugula in separate medium bowl. Combine shallots, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in small bowl. Slowly whisk in oil until well blended. Toss beets with 1 tablespoon dressing. Toss arugula with dressing.

3.      Divide arugula among four plates. Top with beets; garnish with wedge of cheese. Serve immediately.

4.      Makes 4 servings.

Team Ireland again with Apricot Crumb Bars

Team Denmark 

Amanda made Frikadellar (Meatballs)

Frikadeller:
• 3/4 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 large onion - grated
• 1/2 c. breadcrumbs
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp. sage leaves
• half & half (or milk) for consistency (1/4 to 1/2 c.)
• butter
•  
Gravy:
• 3/4 - 2 Tbsp drippings from Frickadeller
• tiny butter if needed
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 c. heavy cream (Milk works too)
• 1 Tbsp. beef bouillon
• salt & pepper

Instructions

Frikadeller:
• Combine beef, pork and onion. Add breadcrumbs, flour, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, garlic, and sage leaves (it works best if you mix it with your hands).
• Slowly add half & half for consistency (you want them to be slightly sticky, you shouldn't be able to form them into a perfect ball). Coat large skillet well with butter. Drop clumps of mixture (a heaping tablespoon-size) onto the skillet.
• Fry on medium to medium low heat until brown (press the meat down a lightly with a fork so it flattens out a little.. it should look like a fat hamburger.. see picture below), then flip (approx 3-5 minutes per side). Add more butter with each batch.
• Serve with gravy (see below). **Don't wash the skillet-- you will want the brown bits and drippings for the gravy**
For the gravy:
• Add the flour to the drippings to form a roux (add butter if needed). Slowly add cream (or milk) until mixture reaches gravy consistency. Add beef bouillon, salt & pepper to taste.  

Team Denmark - Rødkål (Red Cabbage)

Ingredients

• 1 small head red cabbage, cored and shredded
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups water

Instructions

• Place the cabbage in a large saucepan, and stir in the sugar, vinegar, salt and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium heat for 1 hour. This can be served immediately, or chilled and reheated later in smaller portions.

Team Germany 

Bonnie S made German Fruit Salad

2-3 cups grapes
2 cans (11 oz each) mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (20 oz) fruit cocktail, drained
1 container (16 oz) sour cream
1 TBLS mayonnaise
2 large red apples, cut into bite-size pieces
2 bananas, cut into bite-size pieces
chopped walnuts

Combine grapes, oranges, and fruit cocktail in large bowl. Combine sour cream and mayonnaise in medium bowl; stir into fruit mixture. Add chopped walnuts; mix well. Cover, refrigerate 2 hours. Add apples and bananas just before serving, mix well.

Team Russia

Glory made Beef Stroganoff & Mashed Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin, sliced into thin strips
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 small carrots, grated
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 10 white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Minced chives for topping
• Serve with pasta or potato puree

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add ½ tablespoon butter. Clean and slice mushrooms and add to hot pan. Season with a pinch of salt and sauté for a few minutes before adding onion, carrot and garlic. Continue to sauté until mixture is browned. Remove mixture from pan.

2. Into same pan, add additional tablespoon of butter and add sliced beef tenderloin. Season meat with salt and sear meat on medium/high heat until well-browned.

3. Meanwhile, in small sauce pan, melt the 1 tablespoon butter and whisk in flour to make roux. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, then slowly incorporate the milk, whisking constantly so no clumps form. Cook until milk thickens, then add stock. Pour sauce over the browned beef and return the mushroom and onion mixture to the pan. Add black pepper and paprika. Simmer mixture over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes and add additional salt to taste, if necessary. Serve immediately with pasta or potato puree. Can add minced chives for contrasting color.

The complete dinner plate

Team New Zealand

Janna made Pavlovas with cream & fruit

3egg whites
1 pinch of salt
1 cup white sugar
1 TBLS corn starch
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
Fruit to top with

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment. An easy way to do this is to draw around the outside of a 9 inch pan with a pencil. 

In a large bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar gradually, while continuing to whip. Make sure sugar is completely dissolved. Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the cornstarch; lightly fold into meringue with lemon juice. 

Spread a layer of meringue to fit circle on parchment, approximately 1/4 inch thick. With remainder of mixture, pipe or spoon swirls around the edges to form a shallow bowl shape. 

Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 1 hour. Turn off oven, but leave meringue in oven for an additional 30 minutes. When cool, the meringue should be hard on the outside, and slightly moist on the inside. 


In a large bowl, combine the cream and half a cup of confectioners sugar, and whip until thickened. Decorate with fruit of your choice; strawberries are excellent. 

Team France
  

Lyra made a chocolate french silk pie with coconut crust 

Despite its chic appearance, this dessert is really an uncomplicated icebox pie at heart. And it's gluten-free, to boot. The pie requires only four ingredients - butter, chocolate, cream, and shredded coconut. The press-in crust comes together in seconds in a food processor. After it's baked, the shell is filled with velvety ganache, which sets to a lovely, smooth sheen.

Ingredients
For the crust

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 11 ounces (about 6 cups) sweetened shredded coconut

For the filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped

Directions
1 Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a food processor, process butter and one-third of coconut until mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Sprinkle remaining two-thirds coconut over mixture and combine with your fingers.

2 Place a 9-inch pie plate on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Press coconut mixture into bottom and up sides of pan to form crust, leaving top edges loose and fluffy. Place a foil ring over edge to prevent burning. Bake until center begins to brown, 10 to 15 minutes; remove foil and bake until edges are browned, 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer crust to a wire rack to cool completely.

3 Make the filling: Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Let sit 10 minutes, then stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is combined. Pour into coconut crust. Refrigerate until filling is set, 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Makes one 9-inch pie.