surprise!

Yesterday was Nic's 29th birthday.

Three days before that was Ben's birthday.

So to celebrate, my friend Debbie and I threw them a small, family focused, surprise birthday brunch last weekend.

Surprisingly to us, despite some odd requests of us to our husbands to get them to go to the grocery store together, they had no clue what we were up to.

It was a fantastic morning.



Quick decorating while the husbands went out to get the "forgotten" champagne and grapefruit juice.


Brunch:: quiches, salad, sun dried tomato cheddar scones, coffee, fruit


Hiding behind the couch, getting ready to surprise the guys


They are at the door..


Surprise!


Sam, excited to surprise his Papa


Birthday boys. Totally surprised and ironically, they were talking about their birthdays right before they walked in on their surprise brunch.


Mom and Roger made it down for the weekend.


After brunch. Stuffed but ready for dessert...


Peanut butter chocolate pie for Ben & carrot cake for Nic


Counting the candles






One girlfriend, eh Nic??


A joint gift - a beer brewing kit!


Future brew masters.




After dessert






We love our friends.

The food, before and after::



Happy happy birthday, Ben & Nic!

slow roasted onion frittata with swiss chard, sun dried tomatoes & goat cheese

Fritattas are a great way to use up bits and pieces of left overs that are hanging out in the fridge. Take this frittata, a few slow roasted (or caramelized onions) were left from a salad enjoyed earlier in the week, a half bunch of swiss chard was limp and on its way out, and we were one egg yolk short of an egg.

So this delicious frittata made a quick week night dinner.



This dish makes enough for two people as a meal, or four if paired with a salad. I begged Nic to only eat one slice so we could have it the following morning for breakfast. It was that good.

slow roasted onion frittata with swiss chard, sun dried tomatoes & goat cheese

A quick week night dinner, or an impressive Sunday brunch - this frittata will please anyone at your table.

Ingredients::

1/2 tablespoon olive oil*

1/2 tablespoon Earth Balance

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

6 chard leaves, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable broth

1.5 slow roasted onions or caramelized onions**

4 sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, roughly chopped

2 ounces goat cheese, about 1.5 inch round

4 eggs

1 egg white

3 tablespoons coconut milk

Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare::

In a cast iron skillet, heat oil and Earth Balance (or butter). Add garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add chopped chard and saute until bright green and wilted, about 2 minutes. Add vegetable broth and cook chard until evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove skillet from heat and add onions in a layer on top of the chard, then sprinkle on the tomatoes and goat cheese. 

In a separate bowl, quickly whisk eggs, egg white and coconut milk. Pour the eggs evenly over the vegetables and bake in a 350* oven for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned and eggs cooked through.

*Use the oil from the jar of sun dried tomatoes if possible

**Slow roasted onions are prepared by slice onion into thin rings, coating with olive oil, salt and pepper and baking at 300* for 90 minutes - 2 hours, or until nicely browned.

sunday brunch (2/52)

Nic and I have a goal of hosting 52 meals for people in 2013. The first was a pizza night with Ben, Debbie, Sam and Ray on Friday, January 4th where we devoured two lovely pizzas (potato leek and mushroom kale) and watched Ratatoullie.

Sunday morning started early.

Being on Florida time still, I was up at 6:00AM (when the noisy neighbors in Florida typically woke us up) deciding what to make Mom and Roger for brunch.

Because Mom and Roger have been glorious hosts for the last three weeks during my escapades through Iowa, Florida and Minnesota, I thought I should leave them with full bellies and a fridge full of baked goods.

That's a lie. Really, anytime I am in Minnesota, I take advantage of their beautiful kitchen and bake up a storm.


Eggs poached in red pepper and onion rings were the main course, but not to be out shined by the other sides.


A fruit fruit cup with a creamy grapefruit drizzle (equal parts coconut milk and grapefruit juice with a touch of vanilla.


Toasted rosemary olive oil bread (Costco) and delightful toasted hazelnut chocolate chip scones, recipe below.


And copious amounts of coffee. Whenever two or more people are having breakfast at Mom and Roger's house, we seem to establish an order when it comes to making coffee. The first person up must provide the first pot, and then everyone takes turns from there on out. An empty coffee pot is never allowed.









Everything was pretty much good to the last crumb. Thankfully the recipe for the scones made 8 LARGE scones, so everyone had leftovers.

Like I said, Nic and I are planning to host 52 meals this year with a variety of people. Hopefully we will establish a good way to share these meals and the people we share them with.

Toasted Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Scones
An early morning creation that worked the first time (even before a cup of coffee passed my lips!)

Ingredients::

1.5 cups all purpose flour

1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup organic sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread

1.5 cups hazelnut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

2 tablespoons Earth Balance melted

1 tablespoon sugar in the raw

Method::

In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, salt and baking powder. Using a pastry knife, cut in Earth Balance. In a measuring cup, mix milk and vanilla. Fold wet ingredients into dry 3-4 times. Add in nuts and chocolate chips and fold until no large clumps of flour remain, about 4-6 more times. Spoon dough onto a light floured surface and knead 2-3 times and then gently pat into a circle about 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges and transfer onto a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving space between each scone. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

simple sunday brunch

A simple Sunday brunch with good friends, and their adorable kids was the perfect way to bring this dreary weekend to an end.



A delicious meal, imperfect photos, tired babies and flying pillows, this is real life.



Real life with fruit soaked in left over party wine.

Real life where desserts didn't turn out how you hoped, but were perfect anyway.

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.

swedish fika

On Saturday my sister, Maddie, and I invaded our mom's kitchen and hosted a Swedish fika for a few of our family and friends. Maddie, who has been living in Stockholm for the past 1.5 years, and I decided hosting a fika would be the perfect opportunity to share a few stories of her adventures of life in Sweden, a few photos from my vacation there in November, and a bit of Swedish culture with our family and friends.

fika:: a social institution in Sweden; it means having a break, most often a coffee break, with one's colleagues, friends, date or family. The word "fika" can serve as both a verb and a noun.

While promising each other we wouldn't turn this fika into a big deal, we both knew it would be something bigger than we imagined. And it certainly became a big deal when I submitted a proposal to Foodbuzz detailing why they should select an event like this for their monthly 24x24 campaign.

Swedes consider having a coffee an important part of the culture. You can fika at work by taking a "coffee break," fika with someone like a "coffee date" or just drink a cup of coffee. ... This practice of taking a break, typically with a cinnamon roll or some biscuits or cookies, or fruit on the side is central to Swedish life...

A few phone calls where exchanged to plan the menu the previous week, my mother-in-law dusted off her collection of dala horses and other items of Swedish heritage, and I made a couple of trips down to Swedesburg, Iowa to pick up some last minute food items and decorative touches from the Swedish Heritage Society.

Traditionally, fika requires sweet, baked goods, especially cinnamon rolls. According to Helene Henderson, author of The Swedish Table, one needs three items to avoid insult to Swedish guests; "to impress, serve a variety of freshly baked items, and be ready to talk about the weather. {source}

Before we knew it, it was the night before our event. Nic and I pulled into Minnesota around Midnight on Friday, and I got right to work preparing my rolls before the chaos of the morning ensued. Kneading, rolling and shaping dough at 2:00 in the morning is really quite meditative.

Saturday morning came and we were up early prepping for our guests. The cinnamon rolls were baked, coffee brewed and we were ready to fika.


Maddie gets all of the credit for the layout of our fika, and thanks to my mother-in-law's collection of Swedish items, the house had hints of Sweden wherever you looked.




We selected a few recipes from Swedish Cakes and Cookies, a beautiful cookbook that has become a modern classic since it was first published in 1945. Maddie gave me a copy for Christmas and let me know that many kitchens in Sweden have a copy of it.


Maddie made beautiful Kanellbullar, or cinnamon buns


I made Lussebullar, or saffron buns - a Swedish Christmas roll


I also made Choklabullar, or chocolate balls. I had one of these at a bakery in Stockholm and knew I had to share it at our fika.



We rounded out the buffet with a platter of berries, clementines and strawberries


We also had a package of Leksands Crispbread that we broke apart and served with a jar of lingon berries.




And of course we had coffee, which my brother worked on all morning trying to come up with a perfect pot.



As we took one final look at our spread, Maddie and I decided we should do this for a living. The above photo will be the cover of our upcoming How to Host a Swedish Fika guidebook. We charge by the hour, but are oh so worth it.

Everything looked almost too pretty to eat...









But it also looked too pretty not to eat, and soon enough, people began to dig in.









Our late nights and early mornings of baking paid off. It seemed people were enjoying our Swedish eats!



As people enjoyed their baked goods and coffee, I shared stories of my vacation in Sweden.



And Maddie was able to take a break from working on her thesis, relax a bit, and tell people of her adventures in Stockholm.



We were even able to make a plate for ourselves and slip back into a life across the Atlantic.



People were having a good time...



...enjoying the food...



...and catching up with old friends.



As good as the food was, the details that were set throughout the house, were just as important.













Everyone left with a taste of Sweden and a few of my photographs that I had matted and set out on the table for everyone to take.








Until I am able to go back to Sweden, I am certain more fikas will enter my daily grind. And as I embrace a New Year, I will remember to sit back, relax, grab a cuppa joe, cinnamon roll, a friend, and just enjoy a fika.

A very big and grateful thanks to my beautiful friend Leah, owner of Leah Maria Photography, who took most of the photos included in the post, and many many more.