Danish Dumpling Dinner

January's My Kitchen My World destination is Denmark. I adore Denmark, and had the pleasure of visiting that beautiful country way back in the 90s. I hope to take my children there someday. I vaguely remember some stand out foods from my trip, but Danish food is something I don't know much and about and don't cook often, save for aebleskivers, and I was excited to try some new-to-me Danish recipes.

I found quite a few recipes online, and decided to make a dinner with some of them. My mom was over visiting, and with all of the commotion in the kitchen I didn't get many photos :( Here are the few I was able to snap...

These fluffy Danish Dumplings are called Frikasséboller and were a huge hit with the whole family -- even picky husband loved them!

Frikasséboller
Danish Dumplings -- recipe from this site

2 eggs
1 cup milk
2¼ cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Beat the eggs until light and fluffy. (I forgot to beat the eggs and just thoroughly whisked them together, and they were perfect) Add milk and mix well.

Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the egg mixture. Mix with as few strokes as possible.

Drop by teaspoonful into boiling broth. Turn the dumplings frequently so they will be done on all sides, but do not cook longer than 10 minutes or they will be tough.

* After I removed these from the broth I browned them in a little butter in my electric skillet, mostly to keep them warm, but that gave them a nice little crust. Even though we ate these as is, they would be even better with a gravy of some sort. I'm sure I'll be making them again soon and will definitely make a gravy or sauce for them.

The next dish I made was called Danish Christmas Red Cabbage, which was a big hit with everyone except picky husband, he is not a red cabbage fan, but the kids and I and my mom loved this one. I grew up with cooked red cabbage, and this had a familiar flavor that I loved.

Danish Christmas Red Cabbage

from allrecipes

1 small head red cabbage, cored and shredded
2 cups white sugar
2 cups white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups water

Directions:

Place the cabbage in a large saucepan, and stir in the sugar, vinegar, salt and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium heat for 1 hour. *I cooked it a little less than 1 hour, maybe 35-45 minutes, and it was perfectly done. This can be served immediately, or chilled and reheated later in smaller portions.

The next new recipe I tried was Danish Glazed Mushrooms, the kids liked these, and although mushrooms are a favorite of mine, these were just okay for me, although they did look nice. Picky husband in not a mushroom eater so he passed on these.

Danish Glazed Mushrooms

from food.com

1 lb mushroom caps
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 garlic clove (crushed)
1 green onion (chopped) *I left this out
3 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
1 tablespoon fresh dill weed (chopped)
2 teaspoons basil

Clean mushrooms removing stems. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.

Stir in salt, paprika, garlic and green onion. Increase heat, add mushrooms, sauté three to five minutes until mushrooms are glazed and coated. * took a little longer than 5 minutes for me, but I used pretty big mushrooms*

Remove mushrooms from heat. Toss in parsley, dill and basil. Serve immediately.

The last recipe I tried was for Danish Caramelized Carrots, these were delicious and a big favorite, especially with the kids. I was surprised to read the recipe and realize these were quite similar to my family's favorite way for me to make carrots, with a butter and brown sugar glaze.

Danish Caramelized Carrots

recipe from this website

1½ pounds carrots
½ teaspoon salt
water
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup butter

Peel carrots. Boil salt and water. Simmer vegetables for 20 minutes. To serve, heat sugar, stirring constantly until caramelized or lightly browned. Add butter. Add cooked vegetables. Shake pan or stir until evenly glazed and heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
NOTES : This can be done with potatoes (up to 2 pounds, same recipe) as well as carrots. Sounds interesting with potatoes, will have to try that soon!

Well, that concludes our Danish Dumpling Dinner, I had a lot of fun trying these Danish recipes and am so happy that the Frikasséboller were a big hit. Can't wait to try some more Danish recipes in the future as I day dream about a trip there with the family.