http://www.taikinapoika.com Slow food, no drama. Antti & Anna, Finnish siblings blog about food. Sun, 02 Dec 2007 09:42:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Jaloviina or Jallu is a legendary Finnish cut brandy, which is made by blending cognac with grain liquor. Its production began in 1932 as a cheaper alternative for cognac, and originally this three star grade Jallu had 3/4 of cognac. The Second World War cut luxury item supplies, and in ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2007/11/23/finnish-meatballs-in-cognac-sauce-lihapullat-jallukastikkeella/ I bought a can of Libby's pumpkin puré more or less a year ago, but never quite remembered to use it. Finnish Father's Day was a little while ago, and I wanted to bring something easy yet tasty for the Sunday meal's dessert. I remembered the pumpkin can, and read ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2007/11/21/a-yummy-pumpkin-pie-from-very-processed-ingredients/ Some months ago I was looking for an easy and light dinner, and ended up buying a box of premium brand ready-to-eat Jerusalem artichoke soup. Before heating the soup I googled its manufacturer, and found their recipe site, which suggested a bacon-tomato topping for the soup. Both S and I ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2007/11/10/jerusalem-artichoke-soup-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-and-bacon-topping/ Some time ago I promised to cook a Sunday lunch at my parents' for the family and S. I was completely out of ideas and had no vision whatsoever. Such times call for a visit to my favourite butcher, Reinin Liha, at the Hakaniemi Market Hall in Helsinki. The market ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2007/09/09/stinco-di-agnello-al-forno-braised-lamb-shanks/ Not long ago I spent a few days in Barcelona. Although my work schedule was pretty hectic, we managed to squeeze in a memorable dinner at Cata 1.81 in Eixample. Great wine, countless miniature courses of delicious morsels, and effortlessly stylish surroundings that put to shame New York’s wannabe ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2007/07/27/the-joys-of-summer-ceviche-sweet-potatoes-and-corn-on-the-cob/ Pasha is a traditional Finnish Easter dish, especially in the eastern parts of the country. It was brought here by the Russian Orthodox church hundreds of years ago, and is eaten to celebrate the end of the lent. You may know pasha with a little different ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2007/04/06/pasha-and-kulitsa-eastern-easter-delicasies/ In Finland this delicacy is know as "lasimestarin silli", direct translation being "glass master's herring". It is herring preserved in sugar and vinegar based liquid, and spiced with onions, carrots, horseradish and peppers. Pickled herring is enjoyed throughout the year, but especially during Christmas time. I've always loved pickled herring, especially ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/12/17/glass-master%e2%80%99s-herring-pickled-herring-with-spices/ If you are one of those tens of thousands of Finnish hunters who don’t know what to do with all that elk meat they’ve shot this season, read ahead. If you are like me and didn’t have the time to go hunting for the fifth year in a row, read ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/12/14/elk-osso-buco/ The November issue of Saveur had a tasty and interesting looking recipe titled "Coffee-Crusted Beef Tenderloin". Because I'm dieting again and need to cook daily in order to know what I eat, a lean tenderloin recipe suited my needs perfectly. The ingredients called for coffee which I love, but also ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/12/13/the-habanero-that-burnt-s-twice/ Anna invited S and I for a coffee today and asked me to bring something. Initially I was planning to go there empty handed as Anna always has plenty of super good food prepared, but a couple of hours before the coffee time I started feel bad and began looking ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/12/10/chocolate-brownies/ St. Martin's day is celebrated in the evening of November 11 in Flanders, parts of the Netherlands and the Catholic areas of Germany and Austria. Children go by the doors with paper lanterns and candles, and sing songs about St. Martin and about their lantern in return for a treat, ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/11/13/alsatian-goose-roast-with-cardamom-orange-pears/ S and I returned from our US road trip last Monday, and somewhere in Indiana S ordered chili with her pulled chicken sandwich. I had completely forgotten that chili even existed. Yesterday I wanted to have something hearty and warming waiting for us when we’d return from our walk by ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/10/29/anttis-mean-jalapeno-chili/ "WidSets is a very simple and yet clever little service that brings information that you normally have access to over the Internet, directly to your cell phone. It uses mini-applications called widgets that keep an eye out on updates to websites you normally visit several times a day. This is ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/09/26/read-doughboy-with-your-mobile-phone/ We spent the day with some friends in Porvoo, a quaint small city some 50km east of Helsinki - it's a rather charming place, especially in the summer, largely thanks to its old town area dating from centuries ago and a nice location by a rivermouth. For lunch, we went ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/08/19/review-restaurant-timbaali/ A couple of days ago we visited Restaurant Piha, an Italian style place situated "behind" the shopping center Forum (Eerikinkatu 2) and next to the reliably good Spanish place Parrilla Espanola. It was a Monday evening and our reservation was thoroughly unwarranted with the restaurant less than one quarter full. ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/08/17/review-ravintola-piha/ Long time, no post. I've been busy with work, and had a broken arm for some time, plus my apartment was under renovation, so apologies for long posting intervals :) I'm on a short business trip to Mariehamn, Åland, and having some extra time before my flight departs back home, ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/08/16/teriyaki-meatballs/ Just back from a weeklong drive around Finland. Maitohorsma is in full bloom all over Finland, and the scenery is incredibly pretty, although a bit repetitive. Trees, trees and a whole lot more trees, dotted with lakes and more lakes. One of the biggest challenges to traveling in Nordic countries is ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/07/23/one-more-for-the-road/ Once again, I broke up with New York. It's an on - off relationship: my love affair with the City tends to grind to a halt by the beginning of July. Now that I am away from it all, I do get occasional intense longings for the rumble of the ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/07/15/back-in-finland-just-in-time-for-the-strawberry-season/ For many people asparagus season is the culinary high point of spring, but I couldn't care less. But come the new season potatoes, and you got my undivided attention! The spring is very late in Finland, so we have to wait still for domestic new season potatoes, which naturally are the ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/05/06/new-season-potatoes-with-marinated-herring-and-onions/ Thanks to Antti for the short introduction yesterday; a while back he asked whether I was interested in doing some selective cross-posting style syndication with some food-stuff I write for my personal blog, Only Slightly Bent. There was a clear danger in saying "yes" to this, as I found out ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/05/03/intro-henrix-bbq-house/ Doughboy has mainly been a recipe blog, but soon a new author Sim will start a new series including, but not limited to restaurant reviews. These are mainly targeted to our readers living in Helsinki metropolitan area, but I hope the rest of you also enjoy reading his superbly written ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/05/02/new-series-of-restaurant-reviews/ 1st of May - Vappu in Finnish - is workers' and students' festival, and the closest thing to a carnival we have in this land of quiet, polite people who like to mind their own business. I feel too old to celebrate Vappu with the students, and don't really share ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/05/01/happy-1st-of-may-hauskaa-vappua/ I've been busy at work lately, and have had difficulties to find stamina to cook after hours. This weekend is a long one however because on Monday we celebrate the 1st of May, and it is a public holiday. It's also pretty safe to say that the outside temperature will ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/04/30/smoking-a-rib-roast-in-a-weber-kettle/ After the calorie-laden Easter festivities, this piece of advertising from the wall of one of the huge warehouses along the Riverside Viaduct seems particularly appropriate. I want lighter fare - I want salad. I also want something that is really tasty. Proust was transported back to his youth when he dipped ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/04/18/the-bonfire-of-the-vanities/ Mix together equal parts East Germany and the United States, and you might arrive at something that resembles Canada. The main reason I keep crossing the border is that Canada reminds me of back home. Many Canadians share the pale colors and fine hair of Nordic people. Canadians also get ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/04/12/a-long-weekend-in-toronto/ Who are we? Our adorableness¹ is up for discussion, but we are siblings - for better and worse :) Personally I like to know a little bit of the people behind my favorite blogs, and some time ago Anna and I realized there is practically nothing about us as persons ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/04/09/authors/ This year we spent the week around Reyes (Epiphany) in Central Mexico. Of all the marvellous sights, tastes, and smells, those of Puebla are lodged deepest in my limbic system. The city is terribly pretty, full of Spanish colonial buildings, but somehow more ornate and painted even brighter than others ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/04/04/chipotles-albondigas/ I've been drooling over the pictures of the Hungarian food blog Chili & Vanilia for months, so when I discovered the story about what Hungarian goulash is and what it is not there (in English, no less), I re-remembered pörkölt and naturally had to try the recipe over the ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/04/01/what-is-left-of-little-hungary/ The region of Modena in Emilia Romagna is home to the alchemists who make gold out of musty grapes. I have been to Modena exactly once, spitted out from a slow commuter train, missing a vital connection back to the unlovely student summer apartment I shared with two Czech biznes ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/03/30/multipurpose-balsamic-vinegar-around-the-world-on-a-meme/ Harlem is gentrifying like crazy. Crime is down, so brownstones are going, going, gone and craggy old warehouses are being converted to condos for yuppies as we speak. All this is so inevitable that of late even the crunchy socially conscious granola-eating, Subaru-driving community activist types on my block seem ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/03/28/eye-candy/ The first time I tasted this dish I was in paradise on earth. After exploring the Douro valley of Northern Portugal where grapes for port wines are grown in one of the most dramatically beautiful landscapes in all Europe, we crossed the rolling mountains of the Beira Alta by car. ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/03/26/a-taste-of-heaven-portuguese-style-bacalhau-a-bras/ It's good to back in New York. My New York, the unsung Uptown, where I'm enveloped by the golden vowels of Antillean Spanish and the throb of bachata and reggaetón from passing cars. The ribbon of park along Riverside where strangers smile and greet each other every morning. Bodegas where air ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/03/24/lady-liberty-takes-an-ice-cream-break/ My mom bakes buns and pies almost every weekend, and this lingonberry and carrot pie is one of her staples - and super good at that! The pie crust is made from the same dough as the cinnamon buns/rolls she also makes (pulla in Finnish), which is very convenient as ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/03/19/moms-lingonberry-and-carrot-pie/ Late winter / early spring in Helsinki is not the greatest time of the year. After months of pristine winter weather, long brisk walks on the ice-covered sea become treacherous affairs. Snow turns into a dirty, shoe-ruining slush and everybody seems to come down with a cold. Hearty stews are a ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/03/16/oxtail-stew-the-ultimate-finger-food/ Deep South meets Singapore in this dish I cooked for Anna in her kitchen the other day when I was still too depressed to use mine in the middle of a construction site. I'm sure soft shell crabs are a treat outside the Southern States too - Louisiana and Mississippi ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/03/13/black-pepper-soft-shell-crabs/ My apartment is still a mess because of the water damage, but I got my laptop back, and even managed to whip up something despite the debris around me. Today's recipe may not be top cuisine - it's definitely not what I had in my mind before I started cooking ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/03/09/baby-octopi-with-sweet-chili-sauce/ Sorry for not updating the site in a while. The contractors working on the renovations of my building flooded my apartment last week. They had to remove the hardwood flooring from the whole apartment to allow the underlying concrete to dry. That'll take a fortnight or so during which I'm ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/03/07/force-majeure/ Today we're celebrating two years of Doughboy! Well, not doughboy the blog, but the Real Doughboy - me :) I was flipping through some old albums, and found this picture of me baking - foodie code for the ultimate access to raw dough ;) The picture was taken in early spring ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/03/03/doughboy-2-yrs/ Instead of celebrating Mardi Gras in a skimpy costume to the beat of steel drums in Trinidad, I'm stuck in freezing cold New York stuffing two gigantic suitcases, preparing to take off for Finland. On days like this when food is just an afterthought, I often stop by the wonderful ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/28/a-quick-fix-asian-udon-noodles/ I'm sure many of you fellow foodies get occassional nagging cravings that can't be cured by any other means than a proper cooking session with the right ingredients. In my case the problem often is that I don't exactly know what I want. A few days ago I was once ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/27/italian-indian-thai-fusion-lamb-meat-balls-with-black-spaghetti/ Institutional food can scar you for life. At my previous job in Helsinki, the hospital chefs disguised cheap sources of animal protein as culinary innovations, coming up with dubious creations such as Rainbow Trout Topped With Grilled Edam Cheese or Salmon Sprinkled With Pizza Herbs. Suffice it to say, ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/25/sicily-on-hudson/ When visiting New York before Christmas, my cousin Thomas brought us authentic Nürnberger Lebkuchen. Lots and lots of them, in fact ;) Today, I realized that although the holidays are long gone, the last three of those German Christmas cookies were still lingering in the cupboard. I am by no means ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/24/eskimo-pie/ OK, I know ya'll are fed up with fish already... But no worries, the salmon is there only because I had to use it while the fillet was still fresh :) The real super star here is the leek! Yummylicious! The credits of this recipe go to Molly at Orangette, albeit ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/23/leeks-braised-in-three-cheese-cream-and-tarragon/ We have cooked *a lot* of fish lately. More will follow, but tonight I have serious red meat cravings and will just make a sirloin steak. Last year when we travelled in Argentina, I came across the best bife de lomo I have ever eaten. Argentine beef is tasty and tender ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/23/meat-is-murder/ Sometimes happiness lies in simple things. The same applies to food: when the milieu is right, you've got the appetite and have good friends around you, even the simplest of dishes can taste delicious (or palatable at least ;) Lenkkimakkara or saunawurst is a Finnish specialty, a cheap overgrown link sausage ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/22/saunawurst-the-finnish-national-vegetable/ When friends from abroad visit Helsinki, we tend to stuff them to their gills with herring, salmon, trout, and arctic char. No wonder foreign visitors quickly form the impression that Finns eat nothing but fish. While this is wildly incorrect, Finland does have over 1,000 kilometers of seaside and 190,000 ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/20/gravlax-takes-a-tipple/ Living in New York, I’m constantly homesick for good bread. In my neighborhood bodegas, the bread is suffocated in plastic; the sweet stuff comes from Entenmann’s and would survive a nuclear winter. A Dominican bakery that is just a few blocks from us makes fresh pastries every day - unfortunately ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/19/brioche-helsinki-new-york-all-night-long/ I was backpacking in New Zealand around the turn of the year, and since I was on a budget, I bought at least one meal each day from supermarkets. Each and every store carried a huge selection of mussel products: pickled, fresh, smoked, barbequed or baked into pies. The common ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/18/greenshell-mussels-in-saffron-coconut-bisque/ Homer: "See Marge, they could deep-fry my shirt." Marge: "I didn't say they couldn't. I said you shouldn't." When it comes to my new love - steaming - Marge's wisdom of avoiding the unknown doesn't quite apply: Why don't you try to steam something you haven't before! Besides, frying pretty much destroys ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/16/steaming-the-new-black-of-cooking/ Viime vuoden toinen huippuruokailukokemus oli Buenos Aires. Kosmopoliittisen maailmankaupungin ravintolaruoka oli osin niin sidoksissa itse paikan tunnelmaan, että sitä ei oikein kotikeittiössä kannata lähteä jäljittelemään. Ainakaan minun taidoillani. Argentiinalaiset ovat täysin jumissa dulce de lecheen, ruskeaan pehmeään tahmaan joka on kirjaimellisesti karamellisoitunutta maitoa, jonkinlainen kinuskin isoveli. Se on erityisen hyvää jäätelön ... http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/02/14/jackass/