Breakfast and the Incredible Hulk...

On Saturday morning I woke up and felt inspired to cook! I was so excited! My roommates were still asleep and I thought it would be so fun to have breakfast ready when they finally woke up. I felt a little ambitious so I decided to make Aebleskiver. Don’t worry, I’ll explain. Aebleskiver, pronounced abe-la-ski-va, means “fritters” in Danish. I usually describe them as Danish pancake balls. Some people say they remind them of funnel cake… but those people are usually banned from my house ;) Aebleskiver is NOT circus food!

Anyway, a little background… Aebleskiver is something I grew up with. So did my mom, and her mom, and her mom, and so on and so forth. My grandma (or Mor Mor as we called her) came from Denmark when she was 20 years old, my grandpa (known as Far Far) served a mission for the LDS church in Denmark (and yes, that is how they met), and with them, came some of my favorite recipes and traditions. Aebleskiver being one of them. I don’t remember the first time I had Aebleskiver, but I remember that I have always loved them, and more importantly, I always wanted to learn how to make them. I also remember always having a hard time making them. The pan would be too hot, or not hot enough. The batter would be wrong, or there’d be too much oil in the pan. Whatever the situation was, they rarely turned out right when I made them. It became a bit of a quest. I REFUSED to be a failure when it came to Aebleskiver! I was going to master Aebleskiver if it was the last thing I did!

One year, when I was probably about 19, my family took a summer trip to Santa Barbara, California. Near the lovely town of Santa Barbara is an even lovelier little town called Solvang. Solvang has evolved a little, but at one point it was full of primarily Danish shops and restaurants (it has evolved to include various European shops and restaurants as well). Our family was so excited to go to Solvang and be tourists considering our Danish roots. I purchased my first Aebleskiver pan (a round cast iron pan with 6 half circle divots in the top of it) in Solvang and thought it was most appropriate place to buy it, besides in Denmark itself. We also went to a little Danish restaurant and had the most AMAZING Aebleskiver we had ever had! I immediately started wondering what made Solvang Aebleskiver different from our Aebleskiver. Close to where we were sitting was a little, white haired man sitting on a tall stool surrounded by 10 or so Aebleskiver pans and a plexie glass protector that he could just barely see over. He was going to town making all these Aebleskiver, and I just stood there watching him do it over and over again. I made all these mental notes and asked a bunch of questions (see below for the pictures of the step by step process I learned). By the time we left I couldn’t wait to get home and test out the Solvang way of making Aebleskiver.

Short story long, I perfected Aebleskiver! I am the Aebleskiver master of the family! My Far Far was even super impressed with my Aeblesiver the last time I made them (it was the first time he'd ever had the ones I make). He couldn’t believe how big they were and how I even managed to put a small apple chunk in the middle (which is traditionally how they’re made). When I lived in Dublin, CA six years ago and Orem, UT about five years ago, my then roommates and I would have Aebleskiver night a couple Sunday’s a month. Aebleskiver was eventually nicknamed D’s Danish Delights. Not to mention, almost every time I go visit my family in CA I inevitably end up making it. My point in telling you this rather lengthy background is story, is to drive home the point that I have been making Aebleskiver successfully for about 8 years, and after all that time I feel confident saying that I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING (when it comes to Aebleskiver anyway).

Back to Saturday… I start to make the Aebleskiver batter and heat up the pan. Now, we recently moved, and for the first time ever, I have an electric stove. I was nervous about how this would affect the whole process, but, hoping for the best, I continued. Batter completed, pan hot enough, I set out to do my thing. Round 1: EPIC DISASTER! The pan was NOT hot enough. The batter was weird. I didn’t have enough oil in the pan. EVERYTHING WAS WRONG! I was beside myself with shock and frustration. I quickly analyzed the problem, tossed Round 1 in the trash, and set out for Round 2. Round 2: EPIC DISASTER! This disaster involved a few profanities as I stood there baffled wondering what hell was going on. EVERYTHING WAS WRONG! How could this possibly be? I have been making Aebleskiver for at least 8 years. This is rookie crap! I talk myself out of turning into the Incredible Hulk and out of chucking the pan across the room, and instead, settle for tossing Round 2 in “el trash-o can-o”. Round 3: SEMI DISASTER! Edible, but definitely NOT pretty. More profanities pour out of my mouth. At this point you might be thinking, “This girl’s got issues!” And, while that may be true, it was just the last thing I expected out of my morning. I woke up with high hopes, a smile on my face, and sheer joy as I set out to make, what I thought, was going to be the most amazing breakfast ever! Needless to say, as things fell apart the smile on my face was definitely gone, high hopes were lower than low, and joy was replaced with anger. For whatever reason in my mind that morning, a great breakfast meant everything was right in the world. But, judging by how things were going, it meant the world was an EPIC DISASTER!

However, after my Incredible Hulk moment, I was able to give myself a little pep talk, change my attitude, and pull myself together! I ended up making FANTASTIC Aebleskiver and an egg scramble that included Kielbasa Sausage and some killer Mild Indian Curry Ketchup by Dulcet (a little Oregon company you should DEFINITELY check out www.dulcetcuisine.com). My roommates were in heaven, and especially LOVED the curry twist on the eggs! Turns out Saturday morning wasn’t a complete disaster after all.

Moral of the story…. Sometimes cooking and baking (and life for that matter) can be REALLY frustrating, and that’s okay. Just remember, it'll all work out and it’s NOT the end of the world.

And that’s my “Food for Thought”!

My Passionate Love Affair Explained

I’ve struggled with the notion of “blogs” ever since their creation. Not that I didn’t like them, I just didn’t get them. What on earth could a person be so passionate about that they feel the need to create a whole website dedicated to it? The blogs moms create about their kids/families I get. But what on earth am I THAT passionate about? Then it hit me! As I was trying out a new recipe last night my roommate said something that hit me. She told me I should be a food critic! BRILLIANT! I love food! As obesity and diabetes are rapidly becoming more and more of an issue, especially, and almost exclusively, in the United States, I feel the need to define or clarify my love of food. I don’t over eat, binge eat, or eat my feelings (well… I am a girl… so occasionally I do eat my feelings… but that’s rare). I just enjoy the adventure that is food. I love the thrill that comes from going to a new, or newly found, restaurant. I love the anticipation that comes when you order something you’ve never tried and are waiting for it to be placed in front of you. Or that moment when you see something in a store you’ve never tried (or have always wanted to try) and immediately your brain is filled with countless creative and unexpected ways to use it. I love the excitement of the unknown when you walk into your kitchen resolved to try out a new recipe that could be epically amazing or devastatingly awful. I love the process of food, from beginning to end.

As I’ve been trying to describe my love affair with food to you (“you” being the great nothingness abyss of the world-wide web), I keep having a scene, from one of my favorite movies, running through my mind. Ratatouille! In case you haven’t seen it,
 

“a rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely - and certainly unwanted - visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy's passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.” (written by Orange on IMDb)
 

 

First of all, I love watching Remy develop a love, passion, and excitement for food, while altering his genetic mentality that rats eat out of necessity and survival (see YouTube clip above). Secondly, he develops such a great passion for food that he starts sharing it with those closest to him, like his Brother, then gradually with anyone that’ll listen. I love watching Remy teach his Brother, Emile, about the subtle nuances of food (see YouTube clip below). Remy, and eventually Emile, start to see and hear food as color and music. Each flavor having its own color, pattern, and rhythm. It’s fantastic! I feel like I identify with Remy (don’t read into that too much). I identify with his journey to refine his palate and then to share what he’s learned with anyone and everyone.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a better way to share my food adventures with anyone and everyone then by creating a food blog. Maybe someday I’ll be a food critic, but until then I will share with you my no holds barred, good or bad, account of my life long adventure (and passionate love affair) with food.

And that’s my “Food for Thought”!