Pulled Chicken

Pulled pork is still one of the fashionable dishes to make at the moment and for a good reason; the meat is tender, juicy and soft. The only bummer, it takes forever to make. Pulled chicken is therefore the perfect choice for the fashionable foodie who wants to impress the mates with the latest but who also has a full time job to take into consideration. It's quick and easy to make, looks complicated and tastes divine. I got the recipe from one of my favorite food magazines, Allt om Mat (check it out!) and you can click on the link above to get the recipe in Swedish but for all you English speaking foodies, here is a more understandable version.

The What

1 whole pre-grilled chicken

1 large red onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 red chili

2 tbsp olive oil

1 bottle of smokey BBQ-sauce (ca 500g)

Serve With

2 avocados

1 box of cherry tomatoes

natural Greek yogurt

lime

coriander

sour dough bread

The How

Tear or "pull" the chicken meat into strips. 

Peel and chop the onion, garlic and chili finely and fry in oil without burning, for about 1-2 minutes. 

Add the chicken as well as the bottle of BBQ-sauce. Heat up and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve with the avocados, tomatoes, coriander and Greek yogurt on sour dough bread. 

I also added my caramelized red onion, super easy and quick to make and adds a lot of flavor!

The What

2 red onions, sliced

2-3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

1 tsp sugar

salt

black pepper

butter

The How

Peel and slice the onion in thin slices. Fry them soft and somewhat see through in butter without searing. Add the vinegar and sugar, add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat and let it cool before serving. 

We drank a bottle of Côtes-du-Rhône Reserve (only 71 SEK at Systemboalget) which was light and balanced the smokey BBQ flavor perfectly. Not bad considering the price!

What's your favorite Friday night dinner?

Lilla Bagis - a good reason to miss the tube in Bagarmossen

Monday morning. It's before 7 am and hardly awake, running towards the tube to avoid being late, to avoid starting off the week completely crap. I don't know about you guys but I never have time to have breakfast at home. I'm just way too tired! I would much rather sleep an extra 10 minutes than eat something in the morning. Of course I miss the tube and the frustration is complete. Monday. It's raining. I'm going to be late for work. Then I remember something that used to be a part of my morning routine before I got this new job where everyone thinks it's normal to start work at 6.30 am; Lilla Bagis opens at 7 am! My morning is saved!! Lilla Bagis is a local cafe and bakery in Bagarmossen, Stockholm serve everything from home made sour dough bread to gorgeous cakes and pastries. The cafe has a lovey living room feel to it, with small tables and a constant smell of fresh brewed coffee and newly baked bread. The staff are friendly and offer a smile, something which is unfortunately too rare in this cold climate. I missed the tube that Monday morning but I gained one of their delicious sour dough buns with cheese and greens, as well as a large cup of beautiful, strong, black coffee. Oh and the smile. 

If you're anything like me on a Monday morning, when you can hardly tell your ass from your face, and you just know that anyone who talks to you before your first cup of coffee will wish they never did, you'll be glad to miss the tube once in a while so that you can have a proper breakfast at Lilla Bagis - Svartågatan 4A, open Monday to Friday 7 am to 5 pm  and Saturdays at 9 am to 5 pm. 

Lilla Bagis is worth missing the tube for, even to go out of your way to get to every once in a while. Give it a try!

Stockholm Restaurant Week 2014

The annual restaurant week in Stockholm is a fantastic idea. It gives you the chance to try a two course menu at one or more of the city's many restaurants for only 250SEK. It starts in the beginning of February and stretches on for two wonderful weeks ahead. This year I had time for two pretty great meals in two very different restaurants in two very different parts of the city, with wine and excellent company as a major plus.

Stockholms Matvarufrabrik is located in Vasastan close to Odenplans tube station. I've had dinner here before and the food was good but the service was terrible. I was intrigued to see if this had changed so when my friends suggested we try it during Restaurant Week I agreed. The setting was warm and cozy and the menu looked promising. The waiter was attentive and informative, both on the menu and on the wine list, a big improvement from the somewhat bitchy waitress I had the (dis)pleasure of meeting here last time. The menu consisted of a beef tartar to start, with the classic accessories; capers, beetroots, mustard, egg yolk, salt and pepper served in a glass jar. The main course that followed consisted of pan-fried char, beurre blanc (butter sauce in plain English), charred onions and a terrine made of Jerusalem artichokes. We had a lovely Merlot-Grenache de la Chevaliere (2011 + link) throughout the meal which actually went pretty well with the fish. All in all it was a good meal, although the fish was a little on the cold side when they brought it out, they layout and presentation was good, the service had definitely improved since my last visit and I think that the dinner guests did their part in the improvement as well... :) 

Bistro Bon is located on the hills of Stockholms Södermalm, the-must-visit area in the city for all the worlds hipsters. Once again I let my friend and dinner companion chose the place to eat. Neither of us had been to Bistro Bon before and we did't really know what to expect. From the outside it might as well be a Thai Restaurant, with blinking lights in all different colors, it didn't give off the same french vibe as is apparent in the name. Inside, it was very different. Cozy and intimate with a clean but classic look, it immediatly felt that we could sit here for a good few hours eating, drinking and talking. Unfortunatley, the waitstaff did not think this was a good idea and as soon as we denied our offer of dessert, the stressed and rude waitress brought us our bill and said "time's running out". We had no idea there was a time limit on our visit, if we had been informed that we only had to 8pm, we probably wouldn't have lingered so rudely... The food was better than the service though, a tasteful lobster bisque with a seafood croquette deep fried in panko to start. The maincourse that followed was a little bit too meaty for my taste but the tenderness of the meat was undeniable. It was a Roti de Boeuf au Poivre, a char grilled Ball Tip +4, overnight grilled 54 medium, served with sautaeed haricots verts with smoked bacon, bordelaise sauce, green pepper butter and a potato terrine. Pretty damn good. We had a lovely bottle of rich Dancing Bull Zinfandel (only 91SEK at Systembolaget) which at least went well with the main course.

We finished the night at Ugglan just behind Nytorget, an awesome place to hang out, play some board games, some boule, air hockey or just have some good beer! 

All in all I'm pretty happy with this years Restaurant Week, my only regret is not trying out more restaurants! Hopefully next year I'll make it to more :) 

Leftovers - nothing needs to go to waste

You didn't use all your bruschetta mix? No worries! Make a lovely mozzarella salad and nothing has to go to waste!

Lime Chicken with a Green Curry Sauce, Beer and Good Friends

All you really need for a great night is good friends, a table, some drinks and of course some good food that doesn't take all night to make. 

We started with a bottle of Langlois Crémant de Loire Brut (no 7404 for 121 SEK at Systembolaget for all the Swedes), a fresh dry sparkling wine from the Bollinger Family and a few Bruschettas to match the liquid gold. 

 The What 

4 medium sized ripe tomatoes

1 large garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, to taste

10 fresh basil leaves, finely diced

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 rustic baguette, sliced

The How

Finely dice tomatoes and put in a bowl. Crush the garlic clove into the tomatoes, add the olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, the basil leaves and stir carefully with a spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let stand in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. Put the baguette slices in the oven at 120 degrees and toast lightly. Spoon the tomato mix on to the toasted baguette slices and serve with a basil leave on top. 

While the guests finished the Bruschetta I got started on the Lime Chicken, which is really easy to prepare and gives you plenty of time to hang out with your guests. 

The What (serves 4)

4 chicken fillets

1 lime, zest and juice

2 tbsp green curry paste

1 tbsp honey

1 can (400 ml) of Coconut Milk

1 cube of chicken stock

Half a cup of water

The How

Sear the chicken in olive oil in a pan until they are a nice brown color. Be careful not to burn them. Mix together the Coconut Milk, the green curry paste, the honey and the half a cup of water in a bowl. Zest the lime and squeeze the juice over the chicken fillets, let simmer for about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk mixture, add the cube of chicken stock and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, round off with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with jasmine rice and stir-fried beans. 

This dish is a little bit spicy with a lot of flavor which makes a nice light lager perfect to serve it with. I chose one of my favorite beers, Miller (no 1579, 15,20 SEK per bottle at Systembolaget), which actually brings out the flavors of the dish instead of taking them over. 

A Saint Albany and a Camembert to round things off, a few more beers and the night was made. 

A must see for all travel and foodie enthusiasts - Anthony Bourdain - Parts Unknown

After spending a month with amazing food experiences (and some not so amazing) in various parts of Thailand, I wasn't too excited to be boarding the Air China plane that was taking me back to a freezing and rainy Stockholm. The airline is not exactly known for their cuisine, and this flight was no exception. After finding a very questionable looking hair in my food, I gave up and stuffed my mouth full of fruit flavored Mentos to try and keep the nausea from taking over completely. I started flipping through the on-flight entertainment system and stumbled upon "Anthony Bourdain - Parts Unknown" in the the travel section. Intrigued, I watched as Anthony Bourdain, a chef gone author gone TV host, discovered LAs Korea Town through history, people and most importantly, food. I had no idea LA was so diverse and it really amazed me how much the different cultures residing in Korea Town influenced the food scene. The Mexican, Korean and Italian fusion had my stomach growling all the way to Stockholm. Inspired, we rushed to the nearest store when we got home and made Italian Meatball Burritos with spicy tomato sauce, guacamole and salsa. It was just as good as it looked on the show. Sold on the concept of travel, history and food all in one, we immediately found a way to get hold of the remaining episodes and have been following Anthony through South Africa, Canada, Denmark, Sicily, Spain and Jerusalem ever since. Excited to see the next few episodes and keeping my fingers crossed for a third season!

Check it out on CNN: Anthony Bourdain - Parts Unknown