Norway

 Welcome to Norway!  I had every intention of completing this during the Olympics, since Norway dominated the medals!  However, life happened, and here we are. The pictures of Norway remind me of my time in Alaska.  It looks absolutely beautiful there!  The cheese slicer was invented in Norway in 1925 (thank you, Norway!) and it is home to the longest road tunnel, which is 15 miles long!  Norway is also the worlds largest exporter of salmon (sorry Alaska!).  According to Google, the population of Norway is 5.4 million people and the capital is Oslo.  Their national dish is...

Fårikål!

It is a lamb and cabbage stew - very simple meal.  For dessert, we made Kvæfjordkake, which is said to be the world's best cake.  We'll see!  I was very interested to see how this meal was: I am not a fan of lamb, and wasn't sure how it was going to taste after cooking and stewing.  We only had to wait three hours for the stew (had to start way earlier for the cake!).  Here's what we did:

FARIKAL

4 1/2 lbs lamb meat, cut into large pieces

1/2 C gluten free flour

1 1/4 C water

1 large cabbage, cut into large wedges.

5 tsp whole black peppercorns

3 tsp salt

Potatoes

Butter, as garnish

1. In a large bowl, mix together the lamb meat and flour. The flour will help thicken the stew just a bit as it cooks.
2. Pour the water into a large pot. 
3. Place a layer of the floured lamb on the bottom, followed by a layer of cabbage. 
4. Add some peppercorns and salt. Repeat this process until you have used all the ingredients, finishing with a final layer of cabbage on top. The volume should be about 1 part meat to 4 parts cabbage.
5. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. 
6. Turn the heat to low and slowly cook until the meat is tender and pulls apart from the bone easily, around 2 hours. 
7. Serve warm with freshly boiled potatoes and a knob of butter.
8. Enjoy!

(Source: Farikal)

KVAEFJORDKAKE

For the cake:

1/2 C butter

1/2 C plus 2 tbsp sugar

4 egg yolks

4 tbsp milk

1 1/4 C gluten free flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

For the meringue:

4 egg whites

1 C sugar

1/2 C sliced almonds

For the vanilla custard:

1/4 C sugar

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp corn starch

2 C milk

1 tsp vanilla

For the whipped cream:

1 1/4 C heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F
2. Make the custard by whisking together the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl. 
3. Add the cornstarch and blend until the mixture is pale yellow and thick. 
4. Place the milk in a saucepan and add the vanilla. 
5. Heat the milk to almost boiling, without letting it boil. 
6. Take it off the heat. 
7. Steadily and slowly, add the milk to the bowl with the egg mixture, whisking constantly to avoid any cooking of the eggs. 
8. When you have mixed everything together, pour it back into the saucepan and return to the stove. Over medium heat, cook the mixture until it has thickened, stirring constantly. 
9. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely. 
10. In a large stand mixer, whisk the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. 
11. Add the egg yolks one at a time, while whisking.
12. Add in the milk and vanilla. 
13. Add flour and baking powder to the mixture, whisking until combined. The batter will be somewhat thick.
14. Grease a 12 x 16-inch rimmed baking sheet. 
15. Cover with a piece of baking parchment, pressing the parchment so it sticks well to the baking sheet. 
16. Gently spread the batter evenly and thinly across the baking sheet, as far to the edges as possible, with a rubber spatula while maintaining a rectangular shape. The batter is quite thick and sticky, but it will spread out with a little patience (and because greasing the baking sheet earlier means the parchment paper won’t move around). 
17. In a clean stand mixer, whisk together the egg whites until foamy. 
18. Add the sugar a little at a time and continue to whisk until glossy, stiff peaks form. 
19. Gently pour the meringue evenly over the batter and spread with a rubber spatula. 
20. Sprinkle the sliced almonds evenly across the meringue. 
21. Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the meringue is dry and lightly golden. 
22. Remove and set aside to cool.
23. In a stand mixer, whisk the heavy cream until soft peaks form. 
24. Fold the whipped cream into the cooled custard.
25.  When the cake has cooled, lift it out with the parchment paper and place on a cutting board. 
26. Cut the cake in half. 
27. Take one half and peel it from the parchment paper. 
28. Gently turn it, taking caution not to break the cake, over on a serving tray so the meringue side is facing downwards. 
29. Spread all of the custard cream over the cake and gently place the remaining half on top, with the meringue side up.
30. Best to chill for an hour or so before serving, but this is not necessary. 
31. Serve with fresh fruits, such as strawberries.
32. Enjoy!

(Source: Kvæfjordkake)

The verdict?  Wowza!  We were impressed!  This stew was so simple with 5 ingredients, but had so much flavor.  It smelled like corned beef and cabbage cooking all afternoon!  But yes, this stew was so good on a cold day.  When I make it again (because we will make it again!), I would cut the meat into smaller pieces to make them easier to eat.  The Kvæfjordkake was OK.  It wasn't my favorite, but it was fine.  I think there was too much whipped cream in the custard - I would have cut the whipped cream in half if I did it again.  The custard and cream also just smooshed out of the cake when you cut it to eat it.  The flavor was OK, just not anything great.

     

ME

Taste of Fårikål (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 9

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 8

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Fårikål (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 9

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 9

ME

Taste of Kvæfjordkake (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 5

 

HANDSOME HUSBAND

Taste of Kvæfjordkake (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6

Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0

Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 4

Another country down!  Join us next time in Uzbekistan!