brunch

Cake for Dinner?!

Nibbles

While it’s true one of the perks of being a grown-up (notice I didn’t say adult) is the option to have brownies and ice cream for supper now and then, that’s not what I’m talking about, here.

No, while reading through the Weddings folder on my Google Reader I came across this article on Offbeat Bride about SmörgÃ¥stÃ¥rta, Swedish “sandwich cake,” and I was intrigued.

Originally I was going to make this for when friends were coming over for a game day, but plans shifted and I ended up making it for supper this weekend for just Todd and I. Of course, I didn’t even think about scaling the thing down so now we’re testing out how well it freezes! (Will report back should we ever defrost it.

Smorgastarta "sandwich cake" decorated with vegetables

I used a recipe from About.com’s Scandinavian Food selection with very few adjustments for our own preferences. The verdict? Tasty, well-suited for a brunch or baby/wedding shower or pot-luck, and kind of hard to pair up with other foods.

Considering it was “sandwich cake” (a concept that brings to mind towers of triangular sandwiches at a church mixer), I approached it like you would a sandwich supper. Since it had so many components I considered it a one-dish meal, though it looked kinda lonely on the plate. Of course, the usual sandwich accompaniments felt redundant or just wrong:

  • Chips? While they would provide a texture change, they just didn’t seem right.
  • Veggies? This SmörgÃ¥stÃ¥rta was loaded with veggies and topped with extra ones, it would have been redundant.
  • Potato Salad? Again, redundant, but this time from a texture standpoint.

There’s a lot going on with this dish but, after mulling it over, decided that the perfect accompaniment (when served as a main course) would be a fruit salad. The bight acid of the fruit would cut through the rich creaminess of the SmörgÃ¥stÃ¥rta without fighting for position with the vegetables in and on top of the dish.

Because man do the Scaninavians/Sweedes love their dairy products!

There’s butter and cream cheese and mayonnaise and sour cream positively everywhere in this dish. I’m all for rich and creamy but it was a little too much for Todd–he ended up scraping off some of the side frosting in order to finish his (or should that be Finnish?! okay, I’ll quit while I’m ahead).

Slice of vegetarian Smorgastarta

Like I said, I followed the recipe for the Vegetarian SmörgÃ¥stÃ¥rta pretty closely, so there’s no sense in repeating it here. The few changes I made were pretty minor:

  • For the artichoke spread, I used a 12 oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained, for the 14 oz can of the regular artichokes, mainly because we already had it at home.
  • For the Hungarian liptauer spread I took the option of using cottage cheese and subbed onion powder for the minced onion–the amount of work it would take for 2 Tbsp of minced onion just wasn’t worth it when I was already 2/3 of the way into the 3 separate fillings; I also just stirred everything together rather than using a blender or food processor.
  • I used country white bread and did trim off the crusts, but then turned around and used the trimmings to fill the gaps between the slices. Since I wanted the round look and not a square, I assembled everything within a large springform pan, making my edges nice and neat (which came in handy during the frosting step!), and tore my bread layers to fit.
  • And as much as I love butter, I drew the line at how much it was going to take to butter all interior sides of all pieces of bread for the entire project. I used olive oil spray and it served the same purpose (adding a fat “barrier” to keep the fillings from making the bread soggy).

For decoration I raided my end-of-the-week crisper drawers and found half a cucumber, half a red onion, radishes, and grapes. A quickie radish “rose” placed in the center of the frosted sandwich cake, ringed by black grape halves, and then alternating fans of red onion wedges (my favorite effect) and cucumber “scales” to finish it off. Apparently the brightly decorated outside of the SmörgÃ¥stÃ¥rta is just as important as the variety of fillings within!

Collage of the steps involved in making vegetarian smorgastarta

I had fun making this dish, even though it was a fair amount of work and messed up the kitchen but good (lots of bowls used over the course of the day). I’d only make it again for a large group as part of a buffet, I think, but each of the spreads are worth making on their own the next time you have a reason to make tea sandwiches and don’t fancy the usual egg salad.

Here’s to multiculuralism!

Rich is Relative

Nibbles

So is difficulty, for that matter.

Crepes are something usually reserved for special occasions, Sunday brunch, or times you want to impress. To the uninitiated, they seem terribly complex when, if anything, they’re a little tedious but not at all difficult. Want to make it even easier on yourself? Buy the crepes pre-made and just whip up this scrumptious Banana Crepe filling.

Banana Crepes

Ingredients for the banana crepe filling4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
2 Bananas, sliced
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Brandy
6-8 Crepes (about 6-8 inches in diameter)
Optional: Creme Anglaise

1. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan until slightly foamy.

2. Add in the bananas and stir to coat with the butter.

3. Stir in the brown sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bananas have broken up a bit and the butter and brown sugar have thickened.

4. Stir in the brandy, reduce the heat to low and let sit until needed.

5. Make the crepes according to your favorite recipe or warm purchased crepes to make them pliable.

6. Place a line of the filling in the center of the warm crepe and fold each side over. Transfer to a plate and, if desired, drizzle with the topping of your choice.

Filling is enough for 6-8 crepes.

Row of banana crepes on a plate, drizzled with sauce

Variations: Spread a little Nutella in the middle of the crepe before adding the banana filling. No brandy at hand? Try cognac or even a spiced rum for a similarly delicious finish.

They may be rich, but they were a perfect companion to a light supper we recently shared with friends. Best served with ice-cold milk or hot coffee.

Blueberry Dumplings

Nibbles

It’s (technically) Fall now, and that means various group pot-lucks or company get-togethers will be starting, soon. Maybe it’s school fundraisers or church socials, but at some point you’re going to be asked or expected to bring something yummy to share somewhere. Even if it’s not expected, this is a quickly put-together dish that will delight your office, your civic group or just your family one nip-in-the-air morning.

Blueberry Dumplings
serves 16 (or less–depends on how hungry they are!)

1 c boiling water
1 c brown sugar
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, divided
2 cans crescent roll dough (the uncut sheets)
1/2 c granulated sugar
nutmeg
1 can blueberry pie filling
1 pint fresh blueberries (or 1 pkg frozen if not in season)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt one of the sticks of butter and then combine it with the boiling water and brown sugar in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.

Carefully spread out the crescent roll dough on a baking mat or lightly floured surface and sprinkle with the sugar and nutmeg. Spread half a can of pie filling and half the fresh or frozen blueberries onto each can of crescent dough, leaving about an inch clear on both of the long sides. Dot the top of the filling with bits of butter and then roll up the dough, jellyroll-style, sealing the roll with the inch of filling-free dough.

Slice the rolls into 1-inch sections and place each slice, cut side up, in the pan with the water-butter-sugar mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the tops of the dumplings are golden brown.

The sugar mixture in the bottom of the pan makes a delicious sauce for the rolled dumplings. While these are perfectly fine served at room temperature or even cold, they are best when piping hot, served with hot coffee or ice-cold milk.

I made these for a friend’s party, recently (it was a morning get-together) and they were a big hit with everyone who tried them.