An autumn affair! Oh, I am in love. He is fresh, sensuous, healthy, and playful.
He is simultaneously familiar and exotic; simple and complex.
His diverse tastes always reflect the season. And he is absolutely gorgeous.
He is New Nordic Cuisine.
wild carrot flowers
We are experimenting with New Nordic for the first time. My fellow passionate cooks, Lauren and Gail, join me in the kitchen to create this titillating dinner. Ingredients for the six-course meal include Norwegian goat cheese, wild herbs and flowers, berries and seeds, smoked fish, quail, grainy breads, root vegetables, and fresh fruits from the farmers’ market. Each dish is inspired by nature. We’ve attempted to present and garnish the plates in the sensual & earthy New Nordic style.
The setting is natural-organic-minimalist. White china, set on a large mahogany table sans cloth. The centerpiece and decoration is created from foraging…sticks, twigs, fruit from the vine in our gardens, and rocks and driftwood from the beach.
Our goal was to transport our dinner group of five, as well as Taste With The Eyes’ readers, to experience the essence of Fall in Scandinavia, Finland, and Iceland via my home in Los Angeles. We were inspired by the beauty of New Nordic Cuisine, by the distant land’s cutting-edge chefs’ pure artistry and commitment to local, seasonal, and sustainable.
In keeping with our New Nordic Style concept, we purchased most of the ingredients at our local farmers’ market. Both the scallops and sturgeon on our menu are sustainably rated “best alternative” by Monterey Bay Seafood Watch. We found imported Norwegian cheese, Icelandic butter, and Swedish vodka. We pickled our own onions and wild blueberries, and incorporated unique seasonal ingredients including matsutake mushrooms and fresh jujubes into the menu.
menu
herring & beet
scallop & seaweed
gjetost & wild greens
sturgeon & blue potato
quail & matsutake
panna cotta & plum
homemade caraway infused svedka vodka
handley 2010 gewürztraminer, anderson valley
paul hobbs 2008 pinot noir, russian river valley
merryvale antigua dessert wine, napa valley
welcome to an autumn affair, new nordic style!
välkommen! (swedish)
velkomin! (icelandic)
velkommen! (danish)
velkommen! (norwegian)
tervetuloa! (finnish)
course #1
herring & beet
herring & beet: dill marinated herring sashimi style, roasted beet & boiled potato,
horseradish creme fraiche, beet gelée, brined peppercorns,
pickled red onion, rye toast with icelandic butter
course #1 served with caraway infused vodka in a pine needle ice block
*infuse 375ml svedka vodka with 2 T. coarse ground caraway seed,
2 T. whole brined green peppercorn, one thick lemon peel
for 20 minutes then strain, pour back into the bottle and freeze
course #2
scallop & seaweed
scallop & seaweed: sliced smoked sea scallop, wakame,
sesame oil, soy sauce, seasoned rice wine vinegar, black & white sesame seeds,
shiso gremolata with preserved meyer lemon zest and garlic, red pineapple sage blossom
*the wakame has a silky texture and tooth similar to fresh pasta
course #3
gjetost & wild greens
gjetost & wild greens: mixed wild greens tossed with olive oil sea salt & pepper,
shaved gjetost, toasted pumpernickel crouton,
dried cranberry, sprouted pumpkin seed, cranberry vinaigrette, chive flower
*gjetost is a sweet, brown, firm cheese, made from goat’s milk
which is boiled under pressure until caramelization occurs
course #4
sturgeon & blue potato
sturgeon & blue potato pancake: smoked sturgeon fillet over dressed wild greens,
crispy fried blue potato & onion pancake, fried egg,
yu choy flowers & mustard green garnish
*place the egg on the pancake, puncture the yolk and taste a bite of all three elements together
course #5
quail & matsutake
quail & matsutake: herb stuffed roast quail,
spelt berries tossed with icelandic butter, salt and pepper, thyme,
pickled wild blueberries
*try combining spelt with pickled blueberries, feel free to use fingers to enjoy the whole quail
matsutake (pine mushroom) en papillote:
butter, fresh rosemary leaves, sake, sea salt, cinnamon
*the aroma is intoxicating/upcoming post on this recipe later in the week
update: matsutake en papillote recipe now posted here
course #6
panna cotta & plum
panna cotta & plum: cardamom-yuzu panna cotta,
poached plum and jujube with kaffir lime, red currant jelly glaze,
apricot jam, plum balsamic vinegar reduction, toffee “soil”
new nordic dinner scenes
Extending a very special thank you to my friends Lauren, Gail, Barry, and Steve for your enthusiasm with the New Nordic adventure! And to the folks at Foodbuzz for choosing An Autumn Affair, New Nordic Style as a participant in October’s 24×24 event. Foodbuzz 24×24 showcases posts from 24 Foodbuzz Featured Publisher bloggers, the monthly Foodbuzz 24 highlights unique meals occurring around the globe during a 24-hour period.
lastly, a few recipes
cranberry vinaigrette
8 oz. frozen whole cranberries
1/2 c. olive oil
2 t. salt
fresh ground pepper
2 T. sugar/brown sugar
1/2 c. seasoned rice wine vinegar
Purée in food processor until smooth.
*try this vinaigrette for thanksgiving/recipe compliments of chef shafer
smoked scallop & seaweed
Rehydrate cut dried wakame seaweed in water for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the moisture (I use a salad spinner). Place wakame in a bowl and season with a splash each of soy sauce, seasoned rice wine vinegar, and mirin. Toss with a sprinkling of white sesame seed. Slice smoked scallop into thirds. We got these marvelous smoked sea scallops from Petrossian. To make the gremolata: mince shiso leaves, garlic, and preserved meyer lemon rind then combine. Top scallop with gremolata.
herbed roast quail
Season the inside of the birds with salt and pepper. Stuff with a pat of butter and a mixture of fresh herbs. Tie the legs together with string. Brush melted butter on skin then season with salt and pepper. Roast in a 500° oven over a bed of rosemary for 15 minutes, or until the quail is cooked through. Be careful not to overcook.
poached late-season plum and jujube
Bring 1/2 c. water, 1/2 c. sugar, and 1 T. balsamic vinegar to a boil. Add quartered plums, halved jujubes, one yuzu – crushed and quartered, two whole kaffir lime leaves and the scraping from 1/2 vanilla bean. When soft, about 3 minutes, lift out the fruits and chill. To serve, arrange fruit and drizzle with warm red currant jelly.
thank you!
tack! (swedish)
þakka þér! (icelandic)
tak! (danish)
takk!(norwegian)
kiitos! (finnish)
I bow to your creativity. From the kitchen…to the tablescape…to the photos…to the blog presentation, it was a flawless execution.
Wow!! That is a really impressive feast! Looks absolutely delectable! I have had some wonderful (traditional) Norwegian cuisine (I’m European) but would love to try the New Nordic twist.
Not necessarily my favorite cuisine, but GORGEOUS photos and great idea for a 24 event!
There is no limit to what you can do, everything looks magnificent LL!
Stunning – absolutely stunning! Your dinners are always so beautiful and delicious!
Everything is gorgeous!
Lori Lynn, this is truly incredible! All of the dishes feature such awesome flavor combinations, very true to the spirit of New Nordic cuisine for sure. Your presentations are exquisite. This meal could have been served in a 3 Michelin star restaurant for sure!
Wow, you have outdone yourself. This is an outstanding menu, tablescape and photos!!
YUM! What an amazing meal! I want to eat it all over again! It’s wonderful to relive it through the pictures: They show how truly scrumptious every course was, and how beautiful! Yay us! And the post is your best yet. Lori, you have really outdone yourself!!! Congratulations!
(P.S. What’s for dinner?!?)
And to think I always thought of Nordic (well Swedish) cuisine as bland and white. Wow. Wow. Wow. Methinks I was mistaken. Stunning.
Beyond amazing. I am in awe.
Speechless… like Joan, I bow to your creativity and flawless execution – every aspect is beyond breathtaking!
Absolutely, positively stunning! WOW! I’m just blown away by your lovely dishes and photos. Incredible!
Gorgeous dinner! Wow… I’m totally speechless. I feel like I’m reading a magazine page. It will take me century to create a dinner party like this… or in my dream! Great to see Matsutake here. 🙂 Congrats on 24×24. Buzzed!!
I cannot imagine the amount of time and effort that went into this–I agree with the commenter above that it looks like a magazine spread. Buzzed!
This meal is amazing. I was recently in Norway and experience firsthand some of this new Nordic style you have so obviously mastered. GREG
I am in awe. There was a tv show on public tv not long ago that featured Nordic cooking, but nothing as glamorous and artfully arranged as this. You are an artist. beautiful meal. Wish I had been there.
Gjetost is my favorite! This is such a beautiful meal 🙂
what a glamorous dinner. I have many nordic friends but have never experienced such a fantastic taste of fall with them. Your pictures are amazing as always but that caraway infused vodka in a pine needle ice block is a piece of art I would love to see in a food museum.:-) So much creativity in one night is stunning. Thanks for sharing this gorgeous experience.
This is beyond gorgeous. What a perfect feast for the eyes and the belly. I love it!
Wow, everything about your meal is amazing! Such a great 24×24 post!
Wow, wow, wow Lori! Your posts never fail to make me gasp at their sheer beauty and creativity. Fantastic!
Wow! Just speechless!! I am particularly intrigued by the vodka – seved on that ice block!
Your post, the pictures and the menu leave me speechless…in a good way. This meal is more worthy then most ‘degustation’ menus I have had in tops restaurants. Brava!
Gorgeous!!
LL,
Amazing Michelin quality meal. Fantastic achievement.
OH! May I please come to dinner??
I love everything on the menu!
We can get gejtost here in Canada now, and I just love it. The first time I ever had it was in Norway around 1990. Brings back wonderful memories.
Hi Charlie – Sure! And gjestost brings back memories for me too, mostly about skiing, we enjoyed it when living in Aspen in the late 70’s.
LL
If your goal was to transport your dinner guests and readers to a new, Nordic style autumn affair, well, then, congratulations. Mission accomplished. STUNNING!!! Absolutely stunning. From beginning to end. Congratulations!!!
Oh what an elegant affair! I love how you integrated wild greens. The salad plate was simply stunning! And the dessert is awesome. I can only imagine the exotic fusion of flavors among the fruit and kaffir lime leaves.
This is absolutely incredible – so much attention to detail (and it looks as though it all payed off!)
Very impressive – I will be awaiting your following posts with breath that is bated.
What an amazing meal!! I love the pine needle ice block!
Wow — very impressive. Thank you for the introduction to New Nordic . Everything looks amazing.
This is truly incredible! The thought that went into this, the plating, the course progression, and the photos – looks like a magazine spread. SO impressed!!!! *picking jaw up off of floor*
What an amazing dinner! Everything is just so gorgeous =)
Absolutely stunning! I’m a new follower. Just a beautiful meal from beginning to end.
WOW. This looks like a very successful night. Beautiful presentation and a very tasty dinner. I’m going to have to copy everything about this night! 🙂