When my girls want something really special for breakfast, they
go for the gold: round, brownish-gold aebleskiver, with their
tender insides and crispy outsides. They’re Danish donuts, sort of,
only lighter and puffier.
When my girls want something really special for breakfast, they go for the gold: round, brownish-gold aebleskiver, with their tender insides and crispy outsides. They’re Danish donuts, sort of, only lighter and puffier. About the size of a golf ball, it’s a cinch to eat a half dozen or more at one sitting.
Which is why I don’t haul out the cast iron aebleskiver pan that often. The cook (that would be me) stands at the stove and makes six at a time in the special 10-pound pan while the diners (that would be the girls), eat them faster than I can produce them. I make some plain to dip in sugar. Others get a dollop of jam in the middle – the girls like these the best.
Cast iron can be a challenge: first it’s too cool, then it becomes too hot and you can’t cool it down. Finally it’s perfect. The smoking jam can burn your fingers and the truth is, no matter how much batter I make, it’s never enough.
I’m complaining, but I really do love to make aebleskiver. They taste divine and they remind me of the times I’d watch my non-Danish mother trying to master them while my very Danish father offered sage advice. He has offered me the same advice every time I make them: “You need a knitting needle to turn them. It works the best.” I used to tell him I didn’t own a knitting needle, but a very lovely reader mailed me one last time I wrote about aebleskiver, so now I don’t have that excuse. And Dad was right, the knitting needle does work best.
I like making aebleskiver because it reminds me of Denmark and the great breakfasts I have eaten there. It’s one of the things that helps me pass along a part of the culture to my girls and husband. Though they’re not Danish, I’ll bet they feel a little bit like a Dane with that warm dollop of jam and aebleskivers in their bellies. I’d better get out the pan …
End notes: Don’t forget to send your restaurant reviews. I’ll be back from vacation on Aug. 15 and I would like to see a few from Hollister, Gilroy and
Morgan Hill or surrounding areas. E-mail them to jd****@****ic.com. Thanks!
Happy cooking!
Jenny Midtgaard Derry is the Executive Director of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau and the owner of Jenny Derry Design. Write to her c/o The
Dispatch, P.O. Box 22365, Gilroy, 95021. E-mail: jd****@****ic.com.
Notes:
– Did you know … in the U.S., coffee is only grown on the slopes of the Maubna Loa volcano at elevations of 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The volcanic soil
keeps all diseases away from the coffee trees, the only place in the world this is known to occur.
– Shrimp advice: From the U.S. Fisheries Association … If shrimp develops a strong odor, it’s probably started to deteriorate and should not be eaten. Shrimp cannot be refrozen and almost all shrimp you buy has been frozen. Use it the same day you buy it, or the next day, or throw it out.
– From Dr. Myles Bader: When you need to barbeque for a large crowd and your grill isn’t so large, you can put hamburgers between two sheets of foil on a cookie sheet. Bake for 350 degrees for 25 minutes, then finish on the grill in only 5-10 minutes.
Tip:
According to the USDA, smaller hams are usually made from bits and pieces and glued together with gelatin. To me this means buy the largest ham you can afford or make sure there’s a bone in it.
By JENNY MIDTGAARD DERRY
