Cheesecakes are a simple, if not slightly time consuming, dessert that are an almost guaranteed crowd pleaser. Making a cheesecake doesn’t require too much active cooking time, but it does need quite a bit of time to cool down. There is one common problem in baked cheesecakes, and that is cracking. A lot of people…
Omelette
Omelettes are a good basic dish to know how to make. There’s a lot of options in the filling, but I’ll be giving recipes for a basic cheese omelette and for a caramelized onion and tomatoes omelette. There are a couple things that are important for making a successful omelette. The first thing is the…
Caesar salad
Caesar salad is a pretty common dish that I’m pretty sure most people reading this have tried at some point. For a longtime I used store bought dressing when making it, but after making the dressing my self, I don’t think there any going back. Adding anchovies into a salad dressing might seem a bit…
Kariela Pasty (karjalan piirakka)
Kariela pasties are a traditional Finnish delicacy consisting of rice porridge baked in a rye crust. There are multiple variations for the filling, but I prefer the basic rice porridge filling. I leave the porridge relatively under seasoned, because I enjoy eating the pasties with a saltier topping, like salami or the traditional egg butter…
Yakisoba
Yakisoba is a Japanese noodle stir fry. At its simplest it’s just noodles with cabbage, onion and yakisoba sauce. There’s a lot variety that you can add into it beyond that. For protein pork belly or shrimp are great choices. If you want a vegetarian option you could add a fried egg or use some…
Meaty lasagna
Lasagna is maybe my favorite casserole dish. I’ve tried a bunch of different variations, and this is my favorite non vegetarian version. The chorizo gives a nice layer of spice and umami into the lasagna and the canned cherry tomatoes give more flavor than the traditional tomato puree. Frying all the ingredients in one pan…
Paneer cheese
Paneer cheese can be difficult to find where I live, so I occasionally make it myself. It’s surprisingly easy to make. The hardest part about this is having some way to drain and weigh down the cheese. I have a tofu press that is the perfect size for the paneer, but you don’t really need…
Mapo Tofu
Mapo tofu is one of my favorite foods. This recipe calls for minced meat, but if you want to make a vegetarian version of it you can substitute it with shiitake mushrooms and get a similar result. In the summertime I can get garlic greens, which really rounds out the flavor. The heart of this…
Blue cheese salad
This salad is really simple to make, but packs a lot of flavor. Using salads with a strong flavor is recommended. I used radicchio and sorrel to give flavor, but other bitter salads would also work, like arugula. I prefer using a crumbly blue cheese instead of a creamy blue cheese, mostly because it’s just…
Finnish Doughnut
These doughnuts are a staple Finnish baked good. Especially on May Day fresh doughnuts and sparkling wine are enjoyed. Thee are fantastic on the day of frying, but become a bit stale already on the next day, so I’s recommend making them for a gathering of some kind. This recipe is for 40 small doughnuts….
Nordic Nick Recipes 