Gryphon's Aeire
Tip - Scan
OUR MENU
Gravlax with mustard sauce Cucumber salad Herring salad Cold loin of
pork with figs Beet and orange salad Selection of cheeses Breads and
crackers Aquavit and vodka Beer Swedish cookies
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
MENU RECIPES
All of these recipes are remarkably easy. A Sunday afternoon
smorgasbord is made even easier by starting the gravlax on Thursday
night.
I took or adapted the first three recipes from "The Cooking of
Scandinavia" by Dale Brown (Time-Life Books). The herring salad
recipe is from San Francisco caterer Marlene Levinson.
-------------------------------------------------------
GRAVLAX
2 1-1/2 pound center-cut salmon fillets, cleaned of small bones 1
large bunch fresh dill 1/4 cup salt, kosher if possible 1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black or white pepper
Put one salmon fillet, skin side down, in a deep glass, stainless
steel, or enamel dish. Wash and shake dill dry, and spread it on the
salmon. Mix remaining ingredients together. Sprinkle evenly over
dill. Top with second fillet, skill side up. Cover with foil. Set a
plate on the foil and weight down with a few cans of food.
Refrigerate 48 hours (or up to 72 hours). Turn fish every 12 hours,
basting salmon with accumulated juices.
Remove from marinade, scrape off dill and seasonings and pat dry with
paper towels. Put fillets on cutting board, skin side down. Slice
very thin slices on the diagonal, discarding skin. Serve with
mustard-dill sauce (recipe follows) on one or several of the
Scandinavian breads mentioned above.
MUSTARD-DILL SAUCE
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard, at room temperature 1 teaspoon dry
mustard 3 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons white vinegar 1/3 cup
vegetable oil 3 tablespoons fresh, chopped dill
In a small bowl, mix mustards, sugar and vinegar into a paste. Slowly
whisk in oil until a thick mayonnaise-like emulsion forms. Stir in
dill. May be refrigerated in a sealed jar several days. Shake well
before using. Makes 3/4 cup.
-------------------------------------------------------
PICKLED CUCUMBER SALAD
2 8-inch cucumbers 1 tablespoon salt 3/4 cup white vinegar 1
tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 2
tablespoons fresh, chopped dill
Scrub off any wax coating from cucumbers and dry them. Score
lengthwise with a fork. Slice as thin as possible. Arrange slices in
a colander. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and put a shallow bowl
over them, weighted down to extract moisture. Remove the bowl after
an hour. Pat cucumbers dry with paper towels and put in the shallow
bowl. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over cucumbers. Cover and
chill 2-3 hours. Drain slightly before serving. Serves 4.
-------------------------------------------------------
PORK LOIN WITH FIGS
6 medium or 3 large fresh figs cut in half, lengthwise 1/4 cup Cognac
or rum 3-pound boneless pork loin Salt and pepper to taste
Soak figs in Cognac or rum for about an hour. Butterfly pork loin
lengthwise. Season with salt and pepper. Put figs end to end down
center of opened pork loin. Close up and tie securely. Season
outside of pork with salt and pepper and rub in any leftover marinade.
Bake in a 350-degree oven about 1 hour 10 minutes or until an
instant-read thermometer reaches 155 degrees. Remove and cool. Cut
into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices, each showing a cut fig in the center.
Serves 6.
-------------------------------------------------------
BEET AND ORANGE SALAD
1 16-ounce can sliced beets 1 medium orange 1/4 cup thinly sliced
sweet onions 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 3 tablespoons each orange
juice and cider vinegar Salt and white pepper to taste
Drain beets and set aside. Peel and slice orange into thin rounds.
Alternate beet and orange slices on a platter. Spread onion slices on
top. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over. Refrigerate until
ready to serve. Serves 4.
-------------------------------------------------------
HERRING SALAD
1 12-ounce jar wine-marinated herring 1 hard-boiled egg, finely
chopped 1 small tart apple, finely chopped 1 teaspoon sugar 1/4 cup
finely chopped onion
Finely chop herring and mix with remaining ingredients. Let sit at
least an hour for flavors to develop. Spread on Scandinavian breads
or crackers.
-------------------------------------------------------
SWEDISH JELLY SLICES
2-1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking
powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 6 ounces butter 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar 1 egg 3/4-1 cup apricot preserves or any thick, tart jam
or jelly 2-1/2 ounces almonds, blanched and finely sliced 1-1/4 cups
powdered sugar 2 tablespoons boiling water
Adjust oven rack one-third down from top. (If using two cookie sheets
- see below - adjust second rack one-third from bottom.) Preheat to
375 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set
aside. In large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter. Add vanilla
and sugar, and beat well. Beat in egg. On lowest speed, add dry
ingredients, scraping bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat until well
mixed. Turn out onto a lightly flowered board. Shape into a ball and
cut into 4 equal parts.
With your fingertips, work each piece into a roll about 12 inches long
and 1 inch in diameter. Place rolls crossways on a large, unbuttered
cookie sheet about 14 by 16 inches (or lengthwise on two smaller
cookie sheets). Leave 2-3 inches between the rolls. Make a narrow
trench down length of each roll with you finger. Don't make the
trench too deep, and stop a litte short of each end. Fill trenches
with preserves (filling should be level or slightly higher than the
sides.) Sprinkle with almonds.
Bake about 25 minutes, until cookies are sandy colored on top and
golden brown around the edges. Turn pan during baking to ensure even
color. (If using two pans, switch top and bottom positions halfway
through baking.) Shortly before removing cookies from oven, make glaze
by mixing powdered sugar and water to consistency of heavy cream.
Remove cookie sheets from oven and pour over or spoon glaze down
length of each roll. Slide rolls onto large rack to cool for about 5
minutes. Carefully transfer to cutting board and, with a sharp and
heavy knife, cut each roll on an angle into slices about 1 to 1-1/4
inches wide. Replace cookies on rack to finish cooling. Makes 42-48
cookies. (From "Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts," Alfred A.
Knopf publisher.)