Fabulous Food Friday: Aebleskiver

Yesterday my friend Debbie and I drove for 2 hours down to Junction City to attend their Scandinavian Festival. We both have Norwegian heritage, so it was fun to spend a day celebrating our ancestors. One of the things we tried was a dish called Aebleskiver. They are little round waffle-like treats that are served with jam. I've never made them, but it was fun watching them make them at the festival. My mom has the iron to make these and we are planning to dust if off and make some soon.

Danish Aebleskiver
2 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 T sugar
2 T melted margarine
2 C milk
2 eggs, separated

Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Separate eggs and beat whites stiff, not dry. Combine milk, egg yolks, margarine and add to dry ingredients. Fold in egg whites.

Use a heavy cast iron aebleskiver pan on medium heat. Put aprox 1 tsp veg oil in each hole. Pour batter in each to level top. Using a thin knitting needle, turn when bubbles appear. Continue turning to complete the ball shape. To test for doneness, insert needle. It should come out clean. each batch takes about 7-9 minutes.

Here you can see the woman pouring the batter into the hot iron.

Once they have cooked for a while, you turn them about a third of the way over and let them cook some more.

Then turn them again, using a metal skewer.

Lots of young girls were on hand to help turn the aebleskivers.

And there you have it...ours were served with strawberry jam and norseberry jam ~ yummy!

More pictures from the Scandinavian Festival 2008

There was lots of dancing by adults as well as children.

Here are some clogs that I thought were so cute. Click to enlarge the photos to see the rosemaling detail.

Many girls wore these flower wreaths in their hair...so sweet.
I couldn't resist taking this little girl's photo. She was adorable.

Here are some of the women representing traditional costumes from Norway. Many of the dresses were made by the ladies who were wearing them.

Fabulous Food Friday

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. My daughter and I spent some time in the afternoon picking what might be the last of the strawberries this season. Anyone who lives in Oregon will tell you that our berries are the sweetest, most delicious strawberries around. They are smaller than the ones you typically buy in the stores, but they are packed with flavor and are something I look forward to every year. So many good summer treats can be made with these red gems...today I am going to share with you a yummy treat that I first made a couple years ago for Father's Day.

In the past I posted recipes every Friday to my family blog which is a private blog, but I have decided to add this feature to Paper Capers so I can share my recipes with all my blogging friends as well. So here is the first edition of Fabulous Food Friday on Paper Capers...Fourth of July style! I made this recipe to bring over to our neighbors who always do a huge fireworks show in their back yard. Hope you enjoy!

Strawberry Pavlova

INGREDIENTS

• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Beat egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1-1/4 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle cornstarch over egg white mixture; fold in. Fold in lemon juice and extract.
2. Coat a 14-in. pizza pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon meringue onto pan, forming a 12-in. heart; build up edges slightly. Bake at 250 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until crisp. Cool on pan on a wire rack.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Spoon over meringue; arrange strawberries over top. Serve immediately.