hooked in amsterdam

My brother Joe and his lovely wife, Janet

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Janet for over twenty years. She has an amazing smile that sparkles from across the room, finds humor in even the small things, competes in triathlons AND in addition to be an incredible mom to the sweetest niece and nephew an aunt could want, coach & mentor of young girls, den mother, PTA leader, (uh, yeah, I could keep going on here!) is ALSO a personal chef. So, I must say, I feel fortunate this talented lady is my sister-in-law. After our wedding in Spain last month, my brother and his family joined us in Sweden for a week of sight-seeing, golfing, and lounging out on the lake. (sadly, the latter two didn’t really make it on the agenda….but next time Joe, I promise!)

One night hanging out in the Swedish midnight sun (it really is light here until about 11:30pm or so in the summer), Janet made us the most scrumptious salmon cakes. Her clients (including her own family) rave about these fish patties and I can see why. Simple, easy to prepare, and just plain delicious. You’ll love them.

Janet’s Salmon Cakes on Mixed Baby Greens

Makes four servings

You’ll need:

• 1 lbs salmon
• 1+ cup white wine
• 1+ cup cracker meal
• 2 large eggs
• 2 round tsp Old Bay Seasoning or seafood seasoning (see below for recipe)
• 1/2 red bell peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 20 blades chives
• 1 tbs dill, fresh
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper sauce
• 2 lemons, juice and zest
• Salad greens - mixed baby greens
• Salt
• Olive oil
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1+ tsp chili sauce, such as Siracha
• 2 tbs dill pickle relish - or chopped dill pickles

Preparation:

1. In covered pan, poach salmon in wine and enough water to just come to the top of fish. Quarter a lemon lengthwise and add 1/4 piece to pan along with a few sprigs of dill and chives. Cover and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain and cool.
2. In medium bowl, flake the cooked salmon with a fork. Add about 1 cup cracker meal and work through with hands. Add the eggs, Old Bay, bell pepper, chives, dill, cayenne pepper sauce, and the zest and juice of 1 of the lemon and continue to blend well. If the mixture is wet, add more cracker meal. Let stand 5 minutes while pan is heating. Form into 4 patties about 1 inch thick.
3. Heat heavy skillet with just enough oil to coat the bottom.
4. Cook until golden brown, about 3 - 4 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towel-lined plate.
5. Combine mayo, and relish and chili sauce to taste in a small dish.
6. Toss salad greens with course salt and the juice of the remaining lemon. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.
7. To serve, place salmon cake on a bed of baby greens, and top with chili mayo.

Old Bay Seasoning

The exact recipe is a secret, but this is a close approximation.

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Makes about 1/4 cup.

July 2008 - Midnight Sun in Sweden

I’ve been talking for years about bringing home a French Bulldog - he has been lovingly known as, Mr. Pickles. However, my hectic life and travel schedule with work always seem to get in the way of giving a pup the dedication he/she needed and deserved so I patiently waited for a better time. Then when I thought ‘things’ would calm down a bit and I would be home longer than two weeks, I unexpectedly feel in love and got engaged. Planning a big move from the US to Europe I just knew there was no way I could have a tiny sweet frogdog in quarantine during the import process to the old country, so again, I waited. And waited. And waited.

Now unpacked (well, almost) and settled in Europe, I just got married to the most-perfect-guy-for-me-ever (more coming on that later), and we’re loving our life together. Having both resigned, from great but busy corporate brief case carrying positions after more than a decade, we’re now in an ideal situation to give up our lives as we know it devote time and buckets of love to a puppy .

So, seriously, I am getting to something……Last night we met this adorable little Frenchie named, Esther who is ready to have puppies and looking forward to being a mom! She’s just a perfect little girl - petite, mellow, sweet, barely snores or farts at all and is just cute as can be. (I think Henri Hopper would dig her - even if she is knocked up).

I didn’t get any pictures while we were there but hopefully in the next few weeks we’ll have some good news to share and will be introducing you to our new dawggie. I’m SO excited!

Have a frenchie? Have any good dog advice for me? I would love to hear from you!

Leave me a comment or drop me a line at: hookedinamsterdam@wordpress.com

Whew. After the last two months of pre-wedding scrambling (and being absent from all things blog-related ~ my apologies!), we’re off to Costa del Sol! I can hardly believe it’s just about here. 

The ‘big day’. 

Just a teaser pic of the beach in Spain……more to come. Stay tuned. 

Happy to be back in the states for a couple weeks and tonight I’m feeling so grateful for the abundance and availability (well, compared to where I’m currently living in Sweden) of decent live music here.

Last night we headed out to set our eyes and ears on the San Diego based, Augustana. I’m sure you’ve heard their song, Boston which sold a million digital copies and was featured on the TV show One Tree Hill or the catchy tune, Stars and Boulevards - both songs from their first album, All the Stars and Boulevards. I adore their sporty heartfelt style - kind of a mix between Keane, Train, and The Fray. Dan Layus’ voice is amazing and his soulful breathy vocals sound even more fabulous in person. And being extremely easy on the eyes certainly doesn’t hurt either.

The girls and I had a blast hanging out together but unfortunately didn’t snap any pix worthy of posting. Here are two versions of Augustana’s new single, Sweet and Low, to whet your appetite. Trust me, you’ll be humming this one in no time.

Augustana’s second CD, Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt just hit the stores on April 29th. For $9.90, it’s seriously worth the dough.

Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone, but we know a guy who has a cousin who knows someone else who got us into this A.M.A.Z.I.N.G warehouse (read: not open to the public and or for sale in this country) stuffed to the gills with gorgeous antiques.

Now, those who know me and have been to any of my current or previous homes (in Europe or the US) know I’m much more of a modern kinda chick, but even I must admit some of these pieces were just absolutely to-die-for. And although my tendencies lean towards clean modern lines, I adore mixing old and new together. Just imagine one of these chandeliers over your tub or in a little girls rooms. Everyone needs a little luxury.

Honestly, the sheer volume of furniture collectibles in these buildings was a bit overwhelming. You’ll notice in this photo Fattie is just a speck with chairs, armories, and settees lining the walls five to six levels deep. We were even given special treatment to check out the fresh incoming merchandise while they were unloading some trailers full of goodness. We ended up roaming the aisles for a good couple hours and ultimately Fattie had to pry me away.

I stumbled upon and fell in love with these sexy curved sage green velvet rounded arms chairs (I envisioned recovering them in some fabulous fabric that matched our interior) and I squeaked - or maybe it was a squeal - to Fattie that we MUST have them. I think I’ve been a good girl lately, because Fattie agreed they would be a nice contrast in the family room and said he would ‘talk’ to the owner to see if something could be arranged. Something can always be arranged. All this mysterious speak was kinda exciting and I was already visualizing myself in front of the TV, resting my bootie on the comfy feather pillow, feet up, glass of Ferrari Carano, catching a little BBC Food.

A couple days later we had our answer. This perfect twosome were available and the owner would be happy to deliver them to us this week. Luv it! Along with that news, Fattie also dropped this bomb, “We’ll, it’s the Audi or the chairs - you pick.” Now, I love our efficient little green car - a must have when gas is around $7.00 USD a gallon here - but do we really need a second car? I mean, I could walk to work if I had too.

The pair of stunning seats were hand made in Russia for a ‘particular’ embassy/palace (sorry - no names here - it’s extremely hush-hush) and were going for 140,000 Swedish Kroner WHOLESALE. Now, seriously. Maybe you don’t know the exchange rate to SEK, but I can inform you - that’s a helluva lot of dough to rest your bum on. $23,500 USD to be precise (well, give or take some change). So, how come in a land of antiques, where I know diddley squat, I pick the most expensive pieces of loveliness? Do you think I could add these to my wedding registry?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ‘antiquing’ on my days off but I want to go back here immediately……

Apologies for the picture quality - I was snap happy but didn’t get the best shots. These pix don’t even do this place justice.

Look who happily greeted me when I came home from work* yesterday.

Does anyone know what kind of climbing plant this is?

It is one of the most interesting flowers. The pictures show the double layered long spiky looking parts as blue but they are actually bright purple. I picked this guy up at a grocery store plant and flower section; however, I didn’t notice any of these plants blooming so I had no idea of how gorgeous this flower would be once it opened up. There was no tag (even in Swedish) indicating what species it is, but I liked it, so I plopped it into the cart. I like it even more now.

If you know what plant variety this is, please let me know!

*For those folks reading this from my former so called corporate American life: can you believe it’s officially been a whole stinking year since I left my briefcase at the door and suspended all 9-5 activities? But, even though I’m not shuffling into the office after a 20-mile-turned-into-hour-an-a-half-bumper-to-bumper-commute every effen day with my Starbucks cup glued to my paw, taking extra long lunches browsing in Bridgeport Village working diligently through lunch sleeves rolled up with my green visor on in the Lincoln conference room downstairs, organizing happy hour(s) drinking binges for every occasion imaginable, or bugging developing channel marketing strategies with Shiiki in his cube, I do actually work. *smile*

Not something I would normally ever in a million years come in contact with back home in my Whole Foods Market, so you can imagine I was a bit jolted when I rounded the corner in the grocery store and laid my big brown eyes on this guy. He was marketing, Polar Bread or Polarbröd as it’s known in Swedish.

Polar Bread originates far north in Sweden - where reindeer are also born and raised. It is a soft flat bread with dimples, sometimes square but usually round, excellent for sandwiches. Extra tasty with a fresh slice of juicy reindeer….Oh, come on! Ease up. I would never consider munching on Santa’s helpers! At least not Rudolph anyway. But apparently, for fifteen pounds, you can get darn close to the red nose leader.

Apparently, that’s all it takes to secure your spot in heaven. A quick visit to a website created by two Seattle boys and you can save your soul online. Take a peak at www.reserveaspotinheaven.com for a guaranteed spot in paradise or if you prefer going to the burning under-world try: www.reserveaspotinhell.com.

For a dozen or so little ones you’ll get:

“100% guaranteed spot” by way of a certificate of reservation, registered in the Book of Light

A first-class ticket to paradise (why climb stairs when you can fly?)

An official ID card

And the heaven 101 mini informational guide (your Fodor travel book to the place in the sky).

Without a reservation, the website warns heaven-hopefuls to expect long lines, thousands of steps on the stairway to heaven and haggling with St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.

But don’t forget to read the fine print. The site also states, “We have never been to nor are we affiliated with Heaven.”

Funny. That’s the part that made me giggle.

You know it’s not going to be fat free if it’s got Paula Deen’s name on it. Just make sure you share this treat so it doesn’t all end up on your backside. Wonderfully dense and super moist, this cake’s richness is perfectly balanced when topped with fresh strawberries and a teeny dollop of vanilla cream. I still have a couple slices left, but you’ll need to hurry.

Southwest Georgia Pound Cake

Courtesy of Paula Deen

You’ll need:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (you may use lemon or almond flavoring instead)

Preparation:

Generously grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Do not preheat the oven.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add flour mixture and heavy cream to butter-sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in flavoring.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Put into a cold oven and set the temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes without opening the oven door. Bake for an additional 15 minutes if necessary. Remove from the oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert cake onto cake plate. For a real treat, serve yourself a slice while it’s still warm.

One of the benefits of having an address in the sticks is the sticks.

After spending the evening hitting a round of golf (or in this case Fattie playing well and me gouging ginormous divots out of the earth while he patiently and ever so kindly waited for my three - four strokes to his every one) I walked over and cut two gigantic armfuls of budding branches to use as arrangements.

Living in the city you’ll need to get off your wallet for fresh cut twigs like this - over 3-4 feet in length with gorgeous green buds starting to poke their heads out. It feels so much better when you can pick as many as you want, whenever you like and they’re free.