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!