Poor poor Graffeati

Poor poor neglected foodie blog. I wish I had more hours in each day and more drive to keep you going all the time. Shall I try again?

i heart cupcakes

i heart cupcakes, originally uploaded by tabithaemma86.

Super sweet...just what I want right now!

Enjoy!
Kristina

A Dinner Table is Rather Important

We haven't been able to photograph any fancy wonderful dinners lately mainly due to not having a dinner table in our new little apartment. So far we have been enjoying our casual summery meals of sandwiches and fruit and light salads on the coffee table sitting ackwardly on the couch. I really hope that we find a small table soon...I miss setting the table actually. I love placing out placemats and cutlery and folding napkins and stacking plates and arranging wine glasses and water glasses. Our deadline is September 1st but I do hope that we fix a table much earlier than that.

Kristina

Wedding favors

Wedding favors - Marci + Ben, originally uploaded by indigobunting.

I thought this was just the cutest thing I have ever seen. Wedding party favors with the bride and groom's favorite cookies macarons and macaroons! So cute and so freaking smart! Plus the illustration and design work by Indigo Bunting is just perfect and gorgeous...as usual. I adore all of her designs.

Hope you enjoy them too.
Kristina

Comic

Comic, originally uploaded by ▲li Constantine.

le toast. tee hee hee.

Vacation!

While on vacation we ate lots of really great food. We enjoyed a few home cooked meals at grandparents house, who have no problem filling up your plate once again even if you are so full you're about to burst. What is with grandparents and feeding?! We also enjoyed really great danish breakfast buffets at our hotel. Lots of fresh baked bread, fruit, pancakes, bacon, yogurt with all the toppings, tons of tea...plus a pretty gorgeous view of the ocean. We also enjoyed lots of yummy street food...pølse (danish hotdogs with tons of mustard). We treated ourselves to one really nice 3 course dinner with wine in Copenhagen. We ate at the very hip and trendy restaurant Madklubben.
What we ate:

Johan appetizer...sprængt kalvetunge – rabarber – friskost - radiser - selleri - maltbrød (calf tongue with rabarber, fresh cheese, radish, cellery, and malt) A really interesting mix. Super sweet and tart combinations. Plus gorgeous presentation in a white bowl with edible flowers.
Johan main...braiseret kalvenakke – røget marv - grønne jorbær - stegt gulerod - ærtepuré (braised calf with smoked marrow, green strawberries, roasted carrot, and green pea puree. As well as very buttery smashed potatoes.

Kristina...grøn & kølig sommersuppe krabbe - tomat – melon - peberfrugt - sprød brød (green & refreshing summer soup with crab, tomato, melon, bell pepper, crutons) Really really gorgeous presentation. The soup part was poured at the table. The bowl must have contained small dry ice flakes because the soup appeared to be boiling even though it was ice cold. So fun!
Kristina main...grillet svinekotelet – tomatsauce – fennikel - rødløg - spidskål (pork chop with tomato sauce, fennel, red onion, and cabbage)

We were really really impressed by our appetizers which were both gorgeous and interesting and innovative, but when it came to the main course the glutinous portion was just too much and the concept and taste just wasn't as exciting as before. We also took a cheese and port platter...which was a nice alternative to sweets.

Even though we really enjoyed this meal...our favorite was lunch at the Grand Hotel in Mölle. We both ate their lunch salad special. Tuna bulgur salad...which sounded light and perfect for lunch. We were pleasantly surprized when it came from the kitchen looking like this.



The tuna was encrusted in delicious black and white sesames and must have been marinated in sesame oil and mirin...so sweet and delicious and had a really great consistency. The bulgur salad was warm with roasted spring vegetables, dill, and lots and lots of butter. The salad was also served with a perfectly poached egg. Delicious. We sat in a gorgeous corner window as well; looking down from the top of the hillside towards the dramatic coast of Mölle...which helped to make lunch even more tasty.

Enjoy!
Kristina & Johan

Cupcake

Cupcake, originally uploaded by pragyakothari.

"Sosha sprinkled the cupcake with little hearts to tell Mory how much she loved him :)"

Such sweetness!

Lamb Roast Dinner

I think it turned out rather gorgeous, huh? The lamb roast gave me a bit of trouble...the thermometer was acting a bit wack...but even so I managed to cook it perfectly rosy and super juicy with a little feel and a lot of rest after cooking. I prepared the lamb by cutting slits and inserting garlic clove halves and lots of fresh thyme as well as drizzled over some olive oil. I suggest roasting at oven temp 200c till inner temperature reaches 60c and then let rest at least 15 minutes before carving.

With the roast I served extra large roasted potato wedges, roasted red onion also cut into wedges, boiled beets, fresh fig halves, feta cut into cubes and dressed in olive oil and fresh thyme, and a huge lemon wedge. Looks really nice on the plate...if I do say so myself.

If you would like to see more photos please visit Johan's Flickr.

Enjoy!
Kristina and Johan

Veg!

Veg!, originally uploaded by KatieGreenBean.

Super cute veggie illustration by KatieGreenBean. I like the 'unpopular' section.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

DSC_1375, originally uploaded by swoop_aeg.

I baked these yummy cookies the other day to cheer up Johan...(it worked of course!)

Here is my quick easy cookie recipe for chewy chocolate chunk cookies:

Oven @ 375 F / 200c
Recipe for about 18 2 inch cookies:

1 stick butter at rooms temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup flour
100g chocolate bar smashed into chunks
(for these I used half and half dark and milk by Marabou instead of baking block chocolate...I love how they melt into the cookies and are extra sweet.)

I mixed together the ingredients in the order listed to make a yummy ball of dough with my hands. Fun and messy!

Roll into 1 tsp round balls and place on baking sheet with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. (they melt and expand quite a bit)

Bake until edges turn a golden color. Approx. 10 minutes.

They are super super delicious fresh from the oven and even the next day if you store them in an airtight container...if they aren't eaten up by then.

Enjoy!
Kristina

Cake poster

Cake poster, originally uploaded by indigobunting.

Tea for Dinner

Sometimes it is nice and easy just to have tea and sandwiches for dinner. Especially after a stressful long day. We like to take all possible sandwich making stuff and place it as a buffet on the table, steep a pot of tea...or some teabags if we are super duper lazy, and enjoy.

Pico de Gallo

We are obsessed with pico de gallo...which we have mistakenly called 'salsa' for forever ever. (We are Swedish what do we know about mexican food) Any who...we learned the difference between the two. In the preparation of salsa one cooks the tomatoes, whereas in pico de gallo one just uses fresh chopped tomatoes. We adore the fresh salsa version best with all sorts of dishes not only tex mex spanish mexican food. We substitute it for regular lettuce salads or as a fresh dressing to somewhat bland or heavy dishes...like roast chicken.

One can make all sorts of pico de gallo with fruit and different veggies but here is our classic.

PICO DE GALLO

lime juice and zest
white wine vinegar
olive oil
chopped vine ripe tomatoes
chopped spring onions
finely chopped fresh red or green chili fruit (to taste...a half is usually good for two portions if you like medium hottness)
chopped cilantro
a pinch of sugar
plus the usual stuff like salt and pepper and some lovin'


Half and half oil to lime vinegar mixture is really yummy and wonderfully fresh and sour...how we like it. Sometimes we go over the top by cutting away the tomatoes' insides so no seeds get in the mixture. This looks more appealing and keeps one from getting annoying tomato seeds stuck in their teeth but will taste slightly less.

Enjoy!
Kristina and Johan

Sweet Tooth!

Just had to post my new print from my Emmakisstina illustration series here too. I think it is so gorgeous. Good enough to eat. It's food related, right? hehe.

Enjoy!
Kristina

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We heart Oysters!

We got a new found love for oysters! It could just be the supposed aphrodisiac effect...or their wonderfully salty watery simple taste...who knows. Any how we are loving them with just a drop of Ponzu (citrus soysauce), or a drop of tabasco (classic).

Oysters have always scared me before. I recall trying one when I was a tween and recall also spitting it out immediately. But my taste buds must have matured, as well as my open mindedness to food tasting. Also, I have been scared of multiple horror stories told of family members ailing of food poisoning after enjoying said shellfish...eek! Johan had never before this year tried one, a recent first time oyster tryer...and now an instant oyster lover....but he loves just about anything and everything.

We shall have to experiment with more oysters and taste combos. Gonna have to go out and buy a special oyster opening knife too (because it is fun to have tons of specialized kitchen gear at home). We are just oyster beginners. Any suggestions?

Enjoy!
Kristina & Johan

Swedish Summer

Summer is finally here in Stockholm. It may not be super hot but at least we don't have to wear our long johns and huge bulky warm winter clothes. Days seem to last forever and ever as it is light nearly all day. The sun doesn't go down until 10pm and gets up again at 3.30am. Like we take off the layers of warm clothes we get rid of the bulky super warm thick heavy recipes and replace them with more raw, simpler, and lighter alternatives.

The other night we enjoyed a real traditional Swedish taste combination. Pan fried white fish fillets with boiled potatoes, blanched asparagus, finely diced red onion, a dab of sour cream, a huge spoon of red caviar, and lots of lemon.



The fresh fish I purchased was kolja (haddock in english). I just lightly peppered it and fried it in a little butter and some freshly squeezed lemon juice.
For dessert we enjoyed a delicious and equally gorgeous green piece of basil cheesecake which I got to bring home from work. (I unfortunately don't have a recipe for this...just use your imagination.) We served the cheesecake with fresh juicy red strawberries. So yummy and so fresh.



Enjoy!
Kristina & Johan

Salmon and Cauliflower

I think this the most elegant dinner we have done to date. Rich in butter and salt no doubt too...tasted like gold.

This is what I did:

Jerusalem artichoke and potato mash:
Peel and cut fresh artichokes(1/2 lb.) in cubes. Cook in a little milk and butter with a whole garlic clove and 2 small scallions in chunks. Cook on low till milk has been cooked into the chokes and they are soft and are starting to get a golden color. Mix in food processor then blend into regular mash potatoes with a spoon. Salt and pepper to taste. Place this on the plate first.

Top mash with a slab of sauteed cauliflower (cut slices of the entire tree so you get think gorgeous slab, sautee in lots of butter)

Then add the grilled filets of salmon...just lightly peppered and grilled. Place in oven a few minutes to cook through if desired.

Pour a little browned butter over the entire plate. (Melt butter then keep on medium heat till it starts turning golden brown and has a nutty delicious taste)

Enjoy!

Sourdough!!!

I baked. Looks professional, huh?

From the left they are a Potato loaf, wholegrain mini loafs, and a danish rågbröd. I am so proud of my first sourdough baking attempt. I used Pain de Martin's tips and recipes of course.

Enjoy!

Västerbotten Pie

I haven't really mastered the Swedish classics yet...I haven't even tried making many of them...slowly but surely I will soon. This saturday I decided to test out pickling some veggies and making a savory little pie for dinner. Turned out quite well for my first try. The veggies would have been much better if I waited a week or two but I was to eager to try them and eat them all up.

The pie:
Whole grain wheat flour
Butter

Mixed together till you get a really crumbly dough. Press out into pie forms. Fork small holes so the dough won't misform in the oven.
Bake for 10 mins at 200c.

Filling:
Smoked Salmon
Västerbotten Cheese (swedish)
Thinly sliced scallions
fresh dill
white peppar
egg and milk

Whisk one egg with a teaspoon of milk and pour over the pie then add a last layer of cheese so this can melt over as a delicious cover.
Bake until cheese has melted and got some nice brown color...takes about 15 minutes.

We served the pies with boiled peeled small potatoes, thin crisp bread, and gräddfil (sour cream) mixed with grated horseradish and lemon juice and zest, as well as my pickled veggies (Which I will post about at a later date, promise...I just want to do them properly once before sharing)

Enjoy!

Lux Lördag a.k.a. Shmancy Saturday!

Even though we may pretty much have just a student's budget we feel we are worth a little luxury dinner every week to really treat our selves. We go out to eat at restaurants very seldom because the prices are ridiculous in Stockholm and the we are almost always disappointed...plus we always feel we can make it better at home...and we do. Plus the process of menu planning is so enjoyable. At dinner we discuss future dinners. One could say food is our life but that would be dorky.

Saturday dinners are the best because I have a whole free day to myself to dream and shop and cook and Johan comes home from work early! My process is usually the same. I get inspired by something one of the cooks has made at work and try to recreate it at home or I look through one of my many marvelous recipes I have handwritten down, or page through my gorgeous cookbooks to get inspiration. Then I take my sweet time at the grocery store picking out the ingredients. I often hint at the menu during the day so that Johan can purchase a wine that will match. I love taking my time to set the table. I love when there is lots of cutlery and different sized glasses and carefully folded napkins and candles and flowers on the table.


We got quite a few previous dinners with gorgeous photos to match that I will try to upload soon.

Birthday Burger

Almost a month late since my birthday was in February...but still equally delicious.

We are both Swedish but I grew up in America. I am not a huge fan of American food but on the rare occasion a really juicy homemade burger can be super delicious.

Our burger meal included bakery bought large white rolls, a huge juicy burger, homemade sweet and spicy barbecue sauce, home fries and sweet potato fries and a bottle of McManis petite sirah 2007.

For the burger we used:
half a pound of mixed ground beef and ground pork
half an onion that was chopped and browned
one egg
a few dashes of bread crumbs
lots of freshly cracked black pepper
2 pinches of salt
1 heaping tsp of veal stock
and a few squirts of liquid smoke

This was mixed by hand and formed into two huge patties. They were browned in a frying pan then finished in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes.

The Barbecue sauce:
half an onion chopped
one garlic clove finely chopped
half of a fresh green chili finely chopped
a one centimeter piece of ginger finely chopped
one carrot finely chopped
half a cup of brown sugar
half a can of pureed tomatoes
big dash of both regular chili and ancho chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

All the veggies were sauteed till soft and slightly caramelized. Sugar and spices were then added next till melted. Pureed tomatoes were added last and everything simmered together for a few minutes. We served our sauce warm.

Enjoy!

graffEATi resurrected

graffEATi for a while now has been put on the back burner. The dreams around the graffEATi concept might have been set a little too high and weren't really reachable just then. But don't worry, the dreams have not been completely crushed or been swept away...rather they have just made room for something a little more basic. graffEATi is now resurrected as our, couple Johan and Kristina's, outlet to share food and wine experiments and adventures.

This is a good thing...as Ms. Martha Stewart might say.

You could say that we are a perfect match, or a match made in heaven...but that is a bit cheesy.


Me, Kristina...your primary narrater... is an aspiring illustrator but spends her days in a tiny catering kitchen in the middle of Stockholm assisting two very different but equally talented cooks. The menus, taste combinations, and techniques I learn here are taken home to be experimented with and mastered at home...at the moment I, along with everyone else it seems, is obsessed with the art of sourdough bread baking. Many times these experiments end with a pleasant surprise and will be documented and flaunted here.

Johan my partner in crime...goof! is a genius. He has worked many years at Systembolaget and has acquired an insane catalog of knowledge of wine, both the knowledge of how wine is made and how it can complement food to make a menu even more enjoyable. He will be responsible for the posts concerning wine...of course. He is also studying engineering at KTH if that wasn't impressing enough and has a great interest for art and design as well.

So we are a team. We are not pros by any means but pretty dang talented if I say so my self. We dream up our menus and new food projects together and often shop the items for our special dinners together as well. On most Saturdays we treat ourselves to fancy dinners...sometimes even three courses with wine to match. I am often in charge of the cooking and enjoy the setting of the table. Johan always picks the wine and likes to take the photos. We talk about food all the time and we both like to try new things. As we are both easily disappointed in dining out many many many meals are made at home.

We hope you will enjoy!