Scandinavian Meal: Cod and Rutabaga

Objective
To make a Scandinavian meal. There is a store in Madison, Wisconsin called the Century House that is a fun place to peek around for two reasons. They sell unique gifts from Scandinavia, from Christmas ornaments to clothing to furniture and bedding. But what I think makes it so special is the glimpse back in time because it is housed within an old stone home along what is now one of the most busy streets in Madison. On my last visit, I sat in a chair and flipped through cookbooks for about an hour. I was intrigued by a recipe in the cookbook Kitchen of Light called Rosemary Cod with Vanilla-Scented Mashed Rutabaga. I had just purchased vanilla beans across the street at Penzeys Spices and was excited to use them, but in mashed rutabaga? I decided it would be worth a try and baked cod sounded like a delicious and lighter alternative to the traditional Friday night fish fry that is part of Wisconsin culture.

Hypothesis: A Scandinavian fish recipe should be wonderful because fish is a staple in the Scandinavian diet. Vanilla-Scented mashed rutabaga, on the other hand, sounded "unique."

Materials
2 one-pound cod cellos
2 small to medium rutabagas
6 sprigs rosemary (1 1/2 to 2 inches long)
1/2 vanilla bean
1/2 stick unsalted butter
sea salt
pepper
olive oil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
2. To prepare the rutabaga: In a large saucepan, bring about 6 cups of salted water to a boil (enough to cover the rutabaga). Remove the skin from the rutabaga and cut into small cubes. Boil the rutabaga for 25 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the fish.
3. To prepare the fish: If the fish are frozen, thaw them in cold water. Rinse the fish under cold running water for about 10 minutes. Dry with paper towels. Make three diagonal slices into the fish about 1/4-inch deep and long enough to fit the rosemary sprigs. Put the rosemary sprigs into the slits. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle each side with salt and pepper. Place in a 9x13" pan lined with foil.
4. When the rutabaga is soft, drain it and return it to the pot over medium-low heat. Stir in the butter and seeds from the vanilla bean. Stir frequently and cook until it is easy to mash the rutabaga (with a potato masher, electric hand mixer or food processor). Keep warm as the fish bakes.
5. Place the fish in the oven. After 15 minutes, check the fish. The fish is done when it flakes easily when probed with a fork (and should be opaque all the way through).
6. Serve immediately (recipe serves 4).

Results
The cod was incredible. It was well-flavored and perfectly cooked. The mashed rutabaga was surprisingly delicious and the vanilla wasn't overwhelming.

Discussion and Future Directions
The original recipe called for cod fillets with the skin on, which I was unable to find. The purpose of the skin was to help the rosemary flavor the fish. The flavor of our fish was great and I wouldn't have wanted a stronger rosemary flavor. One mistake  was to cook both fillets at the same time for 2 people. The texture of the fish was disappointing after being reheated because it wasn't nearly as tender and flaky.

The mashed rutabaga was a surprisingly pleasant. It reminded me of my family's Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole, but without the added sugar and pecan topping. Even the texture was smoother and creamer than mashed sweet potatoes. I will be sure to make this again!

To make it a full meal, I served pickled herring salad on rye bread with dill for appetizers and made Tosca Cake for dessert. When thinking of new types of cuisine to try, Scandinavian food never occurred to me. I am very happy I tried it and look forward to incorporating it into my diet. I encourage you to try it too, especially if you love fish!

Supplementary Materials

Bacon and Herb Chicken

Objective
To cook a whole chicken! I keep telling myself I'm going to stop making meat at home and only eat it when it's prepared for me. But, then I flip through a cookbook and find a recipe like "Bacon-and-Herb-Rubbed Salt-Baked Chicken." Chicken, rubbed with bacon and herbs? As soon as my interest is piqued, there is nothing I can do but make the recipe! Adapted from Olives and Oranges.

Hypothesis: Chicken rubbed with bacon and herbs will be wonderfully seasoned and the salt "helmet" will produce moist and tender meat.

Materials
8 ounces bacon
4 cloves garlic
15 sage leaves
6 sprigs rosemary
2 dried chile de árbol
5 egg whites
2 1/2 cups salt
3 1/2 pound whole chicken

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a 9x13" baking dish (or roasting pan) with aluminum foil. 
2. Whisk the egg whites until frothy. Whisk in the salt. Pour one third of the mixture on the aluminum foil to form a bed for the chicken.
3. Finely chop the raw bacon, garlic (can use garlic press), sage leaves and rosemary leaves. Mix together to form the rub. 
4.Rub one third of the mixture on the breast-side of the chicken. Place the chicken breast-side-down into the salt bed. 
5. Rub the top of the chicken with the remaining bacon/herb rub. Pour the remaining salt and egg white mixture over the chicken, trying to coat the chicken with the mixture.
6. Bake for 90 minutes. Make sure the thickest part of the chicken registers over 165° and the juices are clear. Rest 10-15 minutes.
7. Remove the salty crust and carve.

Results
This chicken was incredible! It was well-flavored from the herbs but not overly salty. It was very tender and moist. Even the breast meat was tender.

Discussion
This may have been the best chicken I've ever had! The egg white/salt "helmet" sealed in the moisture and the herbs and bacon flavored the meat nicely. The original recipe called for 7 cups of salt. I didn't have the heart to add that much and 2 1/2 cups of salt did the trick! The easiest thing to do next time would be to buy a 26-oz package of salt and dedicate it for use in this recipe (which would be more than 2 1/2 cups). I don't think the amount of salt is as important as making sure to coat the entire chicken.

I've been trying to find a good reference to explain why the salt coat is important. Most sources discuss osmosis and the difference in salt concentration within the chicken versus the coat. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find an explanation that I find convincing. To me this seems like a poor explanation for two reasons: 1. the cells are dead, so I would imagine the salt would dehydrate the cells because the dead cell lacks the ability to pump ions across the membrane to maintain cell size and solute concentration so the water would move out of the cell, blah, blah, blah and 2. even with diffusion occurring, I don't believe it would be enough to penetrate the entire chicken. The most convincing explanation I've found relates to brining. The explanation was that the increased concentration of salt denatures the proteins, allowing them to interact with and bind more water molecules, which will be maintained throughout the cooking process. However, this recipe isn't using the process of brining. Instead, I think the salt coat prevents the water from evaporating as the chicken cooks (simple as this--put a lid on a pot while it's cooking and less water will be able to evaporate and escape the pot).

The original recipe calls for putting the rub mixture in a food processor. I didn't have a food processor available and instead used a knife. A food processor might help with bacon, which I find difficult to slice or chop. The herbs and bacon come off of the chicken with the salt "helmet" which eliminates the need for a super-fine rub.

All I could think about was how delicious a Thanksgiving turkey could be prepared this way. That might actually take 7 cups of salt! Because of the increased cooking time required for a turkey to cook properly, it might not be as moist as a small chicken, but I'd really like to try.

Supporting Materials

Creamy Chocolate Tart

Objective
Make a chocolate tart to compare to chocolate cream pie. My grandma has been the pie maker in our family for decades. Unfortunately, she hasn't been able to get a chocolate cream pie to "set" recently, so cutting the pie is messy. My mom is craving a good chocolate pie, so I want to figure out either a good alternative or a good recipe.

Hypothesis: the chocolate tart will be denser and richer than chocolate cream pie.

Materials 
Pastry shell:
1 1/2 cup pastry flour, sifted
7 Tbs. unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate filling:
1 cup minus 2 Tbs. heavy cream
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
5 1/2 Tbs. unsalted butte, softened and cut in chunks
2 cup bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup + 1 Tbs. milk

Methods
To make the pastry shell:
1. Mix together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and mix until the mixture is grainy like coarse meal. This can be accomplished with hands, a pastry blender or using a food processor.
2. Add the egg yolks and vanilla. Knead until the dough comes together in a uniform ball. If the dough is too dry and crumbly, wet your hands and knead in a little bit of extra moisture.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 425°.
4. Roll the dough to a circle large enough to fill an 8-inch tart pan (or 8-inch pie plate). Thickness should be no more than 1/8 inch.
5. Line shell with foil and pie weights, dry beans or uncooked rice. Bake for 10 minutes at 425° then lower the temperature to 375° and bake another 10 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights, cover the edges of the crust with foil if the edges are starting to brown, and return to the oven 3-5 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
6. Cool crust completely on a wire rack before proceeding.

To make the chocolate filling:
7. In a saucepan, bring cream, sugar and salt to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour over the chocolate and butter in a large bowl (a batter bowl or another bowl with a spout works well for this). 
8. Let stand 2 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the chocolate and butter are covered with the hot mixture.
9. Stir (slowly to prevent bubbles) until smooth.
10. Whisk in the milk, slowly.
11. Pour into the cooled tart shell.
12. Chill until firm (2 hours or over night).


Results
The tart shell is crispy. The chocolate filling set perfectly over night. The filling is rich and firm, but very creamy.


Discussion and Future Directions
This is a deliciously rich tart. For some, it might not be sweet enough. I used 53% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips. For people who do not like dark chocolate, it might be best to halve the bittersweet chocolate with milk chocolate or use semisweet chips.

I used whole wheat pastry flour for the pastry shell because it was the only pastry flour I could find. As might be expected with whole wheat flour, the final product was a bit gritty/grainy. Doing a little searching, Joy of Baking suggests a substitute for pastry flour. To substitute for 2 cups of pastry flour, use 1 1/3 cups (175 grams) all purpose flour to 2/3 cup (80 g) cake flour. I recommend trying this to improve the texture.


In regards to the hypothesis, I don't think this chocolate tart would satisfy chocolate cream pie lovers. It has the feel of creamy fudge in a crisp tart shell. Cream pie is more like thick pudding in flaky pie crust. Overall, the tart is delicious. It is good on it's own but could be topped with whipped cream, raspberries, white chocolate shavings, nuts, etc. The assembly time is minimal, but it does take around 2 1/2 hours because of the time to chill the dough. Give it a try!


Supporting Materials