Traditional Swedish Dinner with a Twist

Jan 25, 2023

Traditional Swedish Dinner with a Twist – Candy Coated Culinista

Every Christmas at my churches we have a potluck and Swedish meatballs are always a staple. It always reminds me that I really love these things. So it’s time to make a Swedish dinner at home now.

Yield/Serving: 6
Prep Time: 30 min.
Cook Time: approx. 2 hrs.
Difficulty level is: Medium

Ingredients

Swedish Meatballs
⦁ 1/2 pound Ground beef
⦁ 1/4 cup breadcrumbs or panko
⦁ parsley, handful finely chopped
⦁ 1/4 tsp all spice
⦁ 1/4 tsp nutmeg
⦁ 1/4 tsp garlic powder
⦁ 1/2 tsp sea salt
⦁ 1/2 tsp black pepper
⦁ 1 small white onion, finely chopped
⦁ 1 egg
⦁ Extra virgin olive oil
⦁ Unsalted butter
Cranberry Jam
⦁ 1 bag of cranberries
⦁ 1 cup blueberries
⦁ 1/2 cup water
⦁ 1 cup granulated sugar
Green Beans with Dill, Capers and toasted hazelnuts
⦁ 1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped
⦁ 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
⦁ dill, finely chopped
⦁ capers, chopped
⦁ green beans
⦁ sea salt, to taste
⦁ black pepper, to taste
Ricotta Mashed Potatoes
⦁ 3 Red skinned potatoes, skin on and cleaned and cute into pieces
⦁ 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
⦁ unsalted butter
⦁ milk, splash
⦁ sea salt, to taste
⦁ black pepper, to taste
⦁ pinch of nutmeg
Nordic Slaw
⦁ Red cabbage, small
⦁ 1 beet, small
⦁ 1 red onion, small
⦁ 2 medium-sized carrots
⦁ fresh dill
Slaw Dressing
⦁ sea salt, to taste
⦁ black pepper, to taste
⦁ Horseradish Dijon mustard, to taste
⦁ yoghurt, to taste
⦁ red wine vinegar, to taste
⦁ pure Canadian maple syrup, to taste

Assembly
Swedish Meatballs

1. In a medium sized bowl combine all the ingredients together.
2. Roll into smaller sized meatballs.
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat add in olive oil and butter and let heat up.
4. Add in meat balls and cook turning constantly until browned.
   Cranberry Jam
5. Wash and drain cranberries and blueberries.
6. In a medium saucepan over medium heat pour in cranberries in with water and let boil.
7. Add in sugar and stir to dissolve.
8. Let simmer for 10 minutes or so and thicken.
9. Let cool some and then coat meatballs.
   Green Beans with Dill, Capers and toasted hazelnuts
10. Using a small frying pan over medium-high heat toast hazelnuts and set aside.
11. Mix buter, dill and capers and combine.
12. Set aside.
13. Trim green beans and steam.
14. Place butter slices on top and quickly coat the beans in a little butter also.
    Ricotta Mashed Potatoes
15. Boil a pot of water on high heat with potatoes until just tender.
16. Mash with butter, ricotta, a splash of milk.
17. When desired consistency is reached add in salt, pepper and nutmeg.
    Nordic Slaw
18. Shred cabbage, beets, carrots and finely dice red onion and combine in a large bowl.
19. Rough chop dill and place in bowl.
20. Combine all together.
21. In a small bowl mix sea salt, black pepper, Dijon mustard, yoghurt, red wine vinegar and maple syrup.

Please Enjoy
My thoughts
The slight twists was using cranberries as it’s December and I won’t find Lingon Berry Jam unless I take a drive to Ikea. I also had ricotta left over from my cannoli cookies and didn’t want to waste this pricey ingredient.

Food Diaries: Pie Squared

Jan 6, 2016

Food Diaries: Pie Squared – Candy Coated Culinista

Location: 366 Bloor Street East Phone Number: 647-350-2743

The science of the perfect pie. This Eatery offers those Hand held pies you’re accustomed to from the U.K. and Australia with a cute element stamp on each pie. I have passed by this shop a few times now and I finally decided to go in. The shop is small but; bright and welcoming. As I perused the menu the very friendly associate explained the whole Pie Squared concept to me. Hand held pies, pie desserts, tarts and even salads and soups are also offered; but let’s face it I’m here for the pies. I visited around Christmas and there was a seasonal Pie and dessert on the menu and of course I couldn’t resist as I love everything Christmas related. I choose the Pie Squared Combo which included a pie, sweet and a drink. I choose the Turkey Dinner Pie which was mashed potatoes, cranberry, turkey and gravy. The potatoes were creamy with the perfect amount of turkey chunks and a dollop of cranberry. For dessert I choose an egg nog butter tart; which was sweet and oozed filing. Now I’m not a fan of things that ooze much like jelly filled doughnuts; but this smelt just like egg nog and tasted delicious. I just couldn’t finish it because it was too sweet for me; but overall a great place for a quick bite to eat.

Pie Squared – Candy Coated Culinista

Pie Squared – Candy Coated Culinista

Pie Squared – Candy Coated Culinista

Food Diaries: Front Street Foods

Sep 11, 2015

Frisco Fries – Candy Coated Culinista

Location: Union Station (65 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario (Between Bay St. & York St.)
Hours: July 6 – September 27, 2015- Monday – Friday: 7am – 9pm, Saturday: 11am – 9pm, Sunday: 11am – 6:30 pm

This summer the newly renovated Union station has been home to Front Street Foods – a culinary market showcasing some of the best foods from chefs, restaurants, food entrepreneurs offering delectable edibles. I have walked by and through numerous times now and finally thought I should actually try something. There are plenty of seats and live music is played at lunch time to make your visit more welcoming.
After tasting the Garlic Snow Crab Fries with Garlic Aioli from Jake’s Lobster at the CNE I found out that Fresh off the Boat also offered a dish called Frisco Fries. Now to me these two dishes looked exactly the same visually and the price was the same at $10.

This review is a little hard for me as I always find the good in a bad situation at least in one aspect; but my review of these fries were they were just ok. I went just before the lunch rush 11:30am on a Friday and upon receipt of my Frisco Fries I could see there were less whole pieces of crab; but if it still taste good that’s fine and I’d still be happy. Upon consumption I found the fries to not be seasoned and my order was all the small end fries (like the bottom of a batch) I’m not sure if they use smaller fries but in any event all those tiny fries just wouldn’t make sense. The fries as a whole were definitely greasier and I didn’t want to finish it my order. As for the garlic aioli; it was good but there wasn’t enough dill also. For the $10 the portion was bigger but the ratio of crab to fries was off in my opinion.

Now all this being said I think I will visit the brick and motar store and maybe try the fries again and order something else because I always give people and things a second try probably to my detriment but that’s just who I am. I do have my eye on their Mediterranean Shrimp Sandwich or the FU-Schnicken and i’d really like to give those a try.

Other vendors here are: Mad Mexican, CC On front, Caplansky’s, Helluva Falafel, Kupfert & Kim, Little Fin, Republica Sandwhiches, Chocosol, Bacon nation, Come and Get It, Drink Inc., Loaded Pierogi, Holy Chuck burger, Pancho’s Bakery, Hula Girl Espresso, Jedd’s Frozen Custard, Jamie’s Cracked Corn, Station Cold Brew Co., Pekoe Kombucha Bar, Hotbunzz Street Cusinine, Uncle Tetsu, The Mighty Cob, Miche Bakery (July/ August Only), YOLO T.O. (July/ August Only), Toben Food By Design (July/ August Only), Cava Sur (July/ August Only), Greenhouse Juice Co. (July/ August Only), Small Batch Co. (July/ August Only), Wanna Banana (July/ August Only), Fred’s Bread, Eative, Nisos Importing

Fresh Off The Boat – Candy Coated Culinista

CNE 2015 & Food Truck Frenzy

Sep 8, 2015

Bacon Nation – Slaw Dog Millionaire – Candy Coated Culinista

It’s that time of year again; and as fast as the CNE arrives it means summer is almost over; but I get to try some of those crazy CNE foods and enjoy the Food Truck Frenzy once again. This year I found a sneak peak listing of the new and interesting foods available this year and some of the must tries on the list were: Cake Poutine, Chicken & Waffles on a Stick, Poutine Balls, Bacon wrapped Grilled Cheese, Red Velvet Oreos, Garlic Snow Crab Fries with Garlic Aioli, Timbit Poutine, Deep fried Cheesecake and Frosted Flake Battered Chicken on a Stick. I really wanted to taste the Frosted flake Chicken as that is my favourite cereal; but I decided not to this time around.

I went two times again this year the CNE to spread out my food consumption: once to try the CNE foods and then back for the Food Truck Frenzy with my girls. Here is a quick rundown of the foods I tried or got reviews from other tester I went with. I ate so much at the food Truck Frenzy it was criminal and I really don’t know how I managed to pack all that away and not be in a food coma.

Garlic Snow Crab Fries with Garlic Aioli – Jack’s Lobster (Food Building) – $10
Jake’s Lobster in the Food Building was serving up snow crab over fresh cut fries and garnished with garlic aioli and fresh herbs and topped with a lemon wedge. This was one of the food items on the top of my list and it was delicious. The potion size was a little small and I could have eaten two easy; but it was delicious. The ratio of seafood to fries was bang on. I appreciated seeing some crab legs and the fries were perfectly salted. I would eat this again and again and will try to make this at home.

Cake Poutine – Culinary student from Humber College (Direct Energy Building) – $5
The cake fries are made from a rich vanilla bean infused cake and lathered in warm chocolate, caramel or strawberry sauce. Bacon bits, marshmallows, strawberries and maple syrup are just some of the toppings. I had the O’ Canada Cake Poutine which was vanilla cake fries, strawberry sauce and white chocolate chips. This was a must try for me as I had to support these two ladies who created the booth that were from my Alma Mata Humber College. The cake was dense but soft and held up to the sauce. I enjoyed this a lot and it was a creative spin on a Canadian classic. I even took a little home as I was beyond full at the end of the night.

Chicken & Waffles on a Stick $8
It’s like a corndog but with the hog dog replaced with the chicken and the cornbread casing is now a waffle batter. I was told it was overrated and I still really wanted to try it but I couldn’t find the booth.

Bacon wrapped Grilled Cheese – Bacon Nation (Food Building) – $10
Bacon wrapped cheddar & mozzarella sandwich served with special ketchup. A review of this sandwich was it was overpriced and shrunk a lot upon cooking and the bacon wasn’t crispy; which defeats the purpose as how can you eat a sandwich wrapped in bacon and chew through it with chewy bacon. I believe this was an opening problem as when I saw pictures as the days passed the grilled cheese started having a crispier bacon covering.

Red Velvet Oreos –3 for $8
Double stuffed Oreos dipped in red velvet batter and deep fried; dusted with confectioners’ sugar and cream cheese icing. A common review I heard was it was little pricy and wasn’t necessarily worth the price; which makes sense but you are buying this for the novelty of it.

Deep Fried Cheesecake – Pickle Pete’s -$7
A New York style cheesecake wrapped in a tortilla and deep fried and served with cinnamon sugar and chocolate syrup on top. This was recommended to me to give a try as it was surprisingly light; but I am not a cheesecake lover.

Food Truck Frenzy

This year there seemed to be a Beer Event being held within the Food Truck Frenzy and there were beer pairings offered for foods from the trucks. I personally wasn’t a fan of this as I don’t drink beer and then all of the trucks didn’t offer drinks this year. My only option was to go to the Coca Cola stand to buy Coke products. I don’t drink pop or caffeine either so I had to wait until I found my lemonade vendor as I know they are always in the Direct Energy Building. I will say I wasn’t the only one to complain. I heard many complaints and surprisingly men to were at the top of this list to air their feelings.

Slaw Dog Millionaire – Bacon Nation – $12
Bacon wrapped hot dog with apple slaw. I never eat hot dogs and when I do they are always chicken hot dogs so this was a great change for me. I loved the saltiness of the hot dog and the crunch of the slaw.

Apple Porkfection – Bacon Nation – $12
Pulled Pork, bacon strips, apple slaw on a bacon bun. This was sweet and salty the perfect combination.

Athens Fries – Pappas Greek “on wheels” – $9
Feta, Tzatziki & gravy. I’m a sucker for a poutine without the cheese curds. I couldn’t finish this and had to share. The tzatziki is the best I’ve ever had as it was thicker, creamier and more complex. I’m not sure what they did to it but it was amazing. I would go back and buy and container if that was possible.

Feta Fries – Pappas Greek “on wheels” – $8
Just like the Athens Fries minus the gravy. I preferred my version better; but this was still amazing and the owners were so polite.

The Lumberjack – Gorilla Cheese – $10
Bacon, granny smith apple, maple syrup, aged cheddar. A sweet and salty combo that was very satisfying and worth every penny.

Shawarma Bombs – Gourmet Guyz – $7
Tabbouleh, rice and chicken wrapped inside a wonton wrapper served with dipping sauce. This was one of the more inventive food options at the food truck frenzy.

Lemon Heaven – Cherry Lemonade – $3.50
A must have for me. This time I had a cherry lemonade a favourite flavour of mine. It’s never too sweet and the perfect refreshing palate cleansing drink.

Like usual I had an excellent food adventure and everything I tasted was delicious. This year I noticed those ingredients that Canadians love being: poutine, gravy, cheese bacon were available at every food truck and I’m not complaining, were in Canada eh!

Bacon Nation – Apple Porkfection – Candy Coated Culinista

Lemon Heaven – Cherry Lemonade – Candy Coated Culinista

Cake Poutine – O’ Canada – Candy Coated Culinista

Gourmet Guyz – Sharwarma Bombs – Candy Coated Culinista

Pappas Greek – Athens Fries & Feta Fries – Candy Coated Culinista

Pappas Greek – Candy Coated Culinista

Gorilla Cheese – Lumberjack – Candy Coated Culinista

Bacon Nation – Candy Coated Culinista

Food Truck Frenzy – Candy Coated Culinista

Food Truck Frenzy – Candy Coated Culinista

Food Diaries: The Pie Commission

Dec 10, 2014

Food Diaries: The Pie Commission – Candy Coated Culinista

“Gourmet-style handheld savoury pies born and baked in Toronto.”

Place: The Pie Commission
Location: 935 The Queensway (Entrance at rear – located off Queen Elizabeth Blvd), Toronto, Ontario, M8Z 1P3
Phone: 416-848-7427
Hours: Monday-Thursday: 11am – 7pm, Friday 11am – 8pm, Saturday: 11am – 6pm

5” individual round pies are made from scratch in-house, using natural ingredients – premium cuts of Canadian meat, the freshest produce and homemade beef, chicken and vegetable stock all placed in an all butter crust. Pies can also be purchased hot (to eat now) or frozen (to eat later) at a later time.

When I drove up to the Pie Commission, I was expecting a smaller store footprint as the directions were at the rear, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was also very bust and the 7 or so parking spaces were full and customers were parking across the street in a factory’s side lot. (This is a good sign to me)

Before entering I read the menus outside. The standard menu includes: Braised Beef Rib Pie, Beef ‘n Beer Pie, Butter Chicken Pie, Chicken Cheddar Bacon Mash Pie and Veg-ilicious Pie (Vegetarian). Also visited there was a seasonal menu that consisted of: Hog Squash, Lobster + Shrimp, Caplansky “Reuben” Pie and Marky + Sparky’s Pulled Pork and Jerk Chicken. I believe the Caplansky’s is named after Caplansky’s Delicatessen & Marky + Sparky’s Smokehouse. I’m not sure if they use their meat or the pies are just inspired by them, but I loved the Toronto reference and keeping it local. It gives me the feeling there is a sense of community within the food industry.

I selected the Chicken Cheddar Bacon Mash Pie – Chicken along with cheesy bacon mashed potato in the pie and for Mr. C. I got him the Pulled Pork BBQ from their seasonal menu. We split everything so we could get a good sampling of their offerings. I also served the pies with a side of organic baby romaine, grape tomatoes and green onion with lemon poppy-seed dressing to give us a balanced meal.

The crust for these pies were to die for, they were buttery and so flaky. I found that I couldn’t taste the bacon in the Chicken Cheddar Bacon Mash, but that didn’t make me dislike the pie in any way. It was so so good and the cheese added creaminess to the mashed potatoes. The Marky + Sparky’s Pulled Pork was saucier that I expected and I welcomed that, as I love anything with a sauce. I found this pie was much denser as it was packed with a lot of pulled pork.

For dessert we split a Lemon, Lime Orange Chess Pie. It tasted like pie I have made before, but it was still delicious. A chess pie is a simple pie with a crust and filling made from, eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla and was originally an English pie said the cashier.

Sides on the menu included fresh hand cut fries, gravy, chipotle lime mayo, mixed green salad, coleslaw along with the soup of the day, and desserts like pies, fresh fruit crumbles and cookies and a selection of canned or bottle drinks.

The 3 items came to $25.36 – not the cheapest considering the size of the pie, but quality ingredients go into the pies and it was so filling I couldn’t eat my slice of pie and had to wait until the next day. I would definitely visit them again.

Food Diaries: The Pie Commission – Candy Coated Culinista