Swedish Style Yellow Split Pea Soup

In Sweden on Thursday’s Swedes eat split pea soup, and it’s great, served with mustard, followed by pancakes! Thursday is a great day in Sweden!

Swedish style yellow split pea soup is so good all on it's own I don’t mess with it what so ever, the way I see it why mess with perfection? Trust me something’s are meant to be kept nice and simple. So I say serve it that way and just step back and let it stand all on it’s own, a guaranteed crowd pleaser!

Shopping List

Yellow split peas

Ham hock or shank

Onion

Bay leaves

Cloves

Thyme

Marjoram

Salt and Pepper

My Mad Method

Ready to eat!!

  

Soak 450g yellow split peas over night, in 2 or 3 times the amount of water per volume

These are the peas one day later as they have expended and are now reconstituted

Drain well

Transfer the peas to a large pot, fill with water a couple of cm's over the peas, bring to a boil

When the peas come to a boil remove the impurities that form on the surface

Add one onion pierced with cloves, one smoked ham shank, and a couple of bay leaves, cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour and half hours

 

Remove the ham shank, onion, and bay leaves from the soup

Season soup with thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper to taste, mix to combine continue simmering a few minutes longer

Meanwhile remove the ham from the bone, dice or shred. Return it to the soup before service or serve table side

Adjust the consistency of the soup if need be

Ready to serve!!

Note: Serve with ham and a good sweet and spicy mustard

 

 

 

Macaroni and Cheese

"Macaroni and Cheese" is basically just macaroni tossed in cheese melted in cream or sauce béchamel w/ cheese (Sauce Mornay), I call this one "Mik Mac and Cheese" from there the options are limitless from the type of cheese or macaroni used, plain, oven baked or deep fried, with ham, bacon or other meat, roasted peppers, sundried tomatoes, smoked chilies, with thyme, parsley, lemon pepper or truffles, to Alfredo ( ok not really, but Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was a big fan of mac & cheese so vacationing in Rome sent a request into the kitchen for it and the chef presented him with his own interpretation that bares the chef’s name to this day)…

Shopping List

Pasta, I am using medium shells

Extra sharp cheddar

Parmesan cheese

Béchamel sauce, (milk, cream, butter, flour, and nutmeg)

Smoked Ham

Thyme

Granulated garlic

Salt and pepper

My Mad Method

Ready to serve!!

Grade 300g extra sharp cheddar cheese

 

 

Grade 100g Parmesan cheese, optional

Add cheese to 8dl sauce béchamel flavored with granulated garlic, thyme, salt and pepper to taste

Mix to melt, blend and emulsify

Fold sauce and cooked pasta together, I am adding ham (optional)

I brown mine off to order in a gratiné form, but you can eat as is bake it, brown under a broiler or chill it then deep fry it if you like

 

 

Peanut Butter Cookies

These are some super simple, classic homemade cookies, the dough freezes well so you can prep ahead of time or just make extra so its ready to use the next time you want it, the base recipes for these type of cookies are pretty much the same where ever you look, its more a mater of what you bring to it that gives it your own distinctive flare, you might add nuts, you might add chocolate or other type of chips, you might add fruit, or jelly, or any combination there of, in this case I have baked two types of cookies both of which have peanut butter in some form in them, at any rate I have made these cookies several times before, and the recipes work great and they will hold for 1 or 2 weeks stored in a sealed container, they also freeze well

If you are baking peanut butter and jelly cookies when the dough has been mixed remove half the and add 150g macadamia nuts to the mixer, mix to combine then add jelly (recipe follows)

Shopping List

Butter

Peanut butter

Baker’s sugar

Brown or dark brown sugar

Eggs

Vanilla

Unbleached AP flour

Baking powder

Baking soda

Salt

My Mad Method

Ready to tray up!!

Cream 250g butter, 250g peanut butter, 160g white sugar, and 160g brown sugar together

Add 2 eggs beaten, along with 1ts vanilla

Sift together 400g all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1.5tsp baking soda, and a 1/2tsp salt; add to the batter, mix to combine

 

Form cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper cover and rest in refrigerator for 1-2 hours

Partially flatten, make a simple crisscross pattern using the back of a fork, bake in the center of a 175c preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes

   Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookie: partially flatten cookies, using the back of a table spoon (TBSP) 

Add 1-2ts fruit jelly, bake in the center of a 175c preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes

I am using strawberry jelly

 

 

 

 

 

Chef Mik's Super Simple In-Home BBQ Ribs!

In lieu of a smoker and the 8 to10 hours it takes to prepare great smoky barbeque ribs this is a great way to prepare your own at home!!

The recipe is super simple and the end product is guaranteed super tender and juicy as can be!!

Now you can get away with using a store bought sauce if you like and don’t have the time, but I highly recommend making your own and finishing it with a hint of liquid smoke.

For those of you not familiar with liquid smoke it is simply moisture that naturally occurs as water turns to steam and becomes trapped in the smoke then as it cools again it reverts back to water that settles in the chamber, the addition of extra water is then added for volume and to dilute any bitter taste or residue left over from the smoke

When the ribs are done, I will be taking one extra step using my smoking gun and just adding a little extra smoky something, something!! For the record this last step is by all means not a necessity

Shopping List

One rack of baby back or pork loin back ribs

1 onion cut into medium dice

1 carrot pealed and sliced

3 celery stalks sliced

1 or 2 garlic cloves sliced

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp granulated garlic

10 to 15 black pepper corn

2 to 3 bay leaves

Water just to cover

BBQ Sauce

2.5 dl ketchup

1 dl maple syrup

2 TBSP molasses

2 TBSP white or brown sugar

1 clove garlic minced

1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp liquid smoke

1 -2 mustard powder

Salt and pepper to taste 

My Mad Method

Finished ribs ready to serve!!

Clean the ribs and if need be divide in half to fit in pot, add the vegetables, herbs, spices and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil lower the temperature and poach the ribs gently for 45 minutes to an hour

Meanwhile in a separate pot add all the ingredients for the sauce bring to a quick boil stirring intermediately

When the sauce is done set aside until ready to use

Season the ribs lightly with salt and black pepper, and baste the ribs well on both sides with barbeque sauce 

Place the ribs in a foil packet (generous piece of foil folded over and around the ribs) and bake on low temperature about 110c (circa 225f) for 2 hours or until desired tenderness

I am placing the finished ribs in a half pan covered with plastic wrap which I have pulled back the edge of one corner just far enough to insert the hose of my smoking gun and filled it with smoke sealing the container again and just let it sit until service...