{ winter day menu }

This post is number 101! Wow, time has gone by so fast since last September when I started Sparkling Ink. One of my favorite posts from the beginning is 'kitchen outdoors' when we cooked outside at the cottage last summer. Now, we went to the cottage, and had an outdoor kitchen just like last summer, only this time in -20 C (-4 F) degree weather! Despite the cold, it was a gorgeous day. The hot soup, fire and the bright sun shine kept us warm on a frosty winter day.

We prepared all the food in the kitchen inside, and got a bonfire going by the lake. The lake was frozen and covered with sparkling snow. It looked like a lake full of glitter. We used warming ingredients in the whole menu like vodka, horseradish and chili.

These recipes are for entertaining six people.

Cold comfort tonic (12 servings)

- 1/2 cup (1.2 dl) sugar
- 1 cup (2.4 dl) vodka (I used Finlandia vodka)
- 2 cups cranberry juice
- 4 cups blood-orange juice
- 3 cups mineral water

Mix sugar and vodka until sugar is dissolved. Mix all the other ingredients, and add the vodka sugar mix in. Decorate with rosemary or juniper sprigs.

I cut sprigs straight out of the juniper tree, and nestled the glasses on a tray topped with snow.

When you go outdoors, it's good to keep the lunch simple so there's time to enjoy the sun while it's out. We had a great soup and sandwich combo.

Horseradish roast beef sandwich (makes 6 sandwiches)

- 3 tablespoons white horseradish = 'piparjuuri' in Finnish (paste or finely shredded)
- 1/2 cup (1.2 dl) mayo
- 1  1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 12 slices of bread or 6 buns (I used whole wheat sandwich buns)
- 11 ounces (310 g) roast beef
- 12 slices Swiss cheese
- Romaine lettuce
- parchment paper for wrapping

Mix horseradish, mayo and mustard. Spread the mix on 6 slices of bread. Top with roast beef slices, cheese and crunchy lettuce. Place a slice of bread on top of each sandwich, and wrap in paper.

Three-onions soup (6 servings)

- 1 pound (500 g) red onions
- 1/2 pound (250 g) sweet onions
- 4 ounces (110 g) shallots
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1  1/2 quart (1.4 l) beef broth
- 1  1/2 red wine
- 4 tablespoons flour
- pepper and salt to taste

Chop onions and lightly fry in a pan. Melt butter in a pot, and add flour. Cook on medium heat until flour lightly browns. Add broth slowly whisking well. Add the fried onions into the soup and let cook for 30 minutes. Add wine and simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Pour in mugs and serve with sandwiches.

Time for dessert. I made coffee bread dough in the morning, and had it ready to go after the meal. The dough is a traditional Finnish coffee bread recipe called 'Pulla'. It has the lovely flavor of cardamom. For the sweet bread on a stick, all you need is the 'Pulla' dough, a couple of long sticks and hot coals. We dipped the warm pieces of this sweet bread in chocolate sauce with a hint of chili. Toasty!

Sweet cardamom bread on a stick

Printable 'Pulla' Coffee Bread recipe

Roll the dough. Cut long slices. Twist dough around the stick. Cook on bonfire and hot coals for around 20-25 minutes. Keep the dough at a distance from the hottest part of the bonfire since it burns easy. Patience! Remove from the stick, and serve warm with chocolate-chili dip.

Chocolate-chili dip

- ready chocolate sauce
- 1/2  red chili, minced

Cut the chili open and remove the seed. Mince. Mix in with the chocolate sauce.

I love cooking outside. Summer and winter.

Comments

[Clare Mansell]

Just found your blog when I was looking around for ideas for ice laterns. How do you do your scrapbook-ish pages with photos and text, like the one above?

[tiina]

Hey, Clare! Glad you found Sparkling Ink. The scrapbook like images are done in Photoshop. You can choose a pattern for the background, drag photographs in and use brushes to create extra features like tape and staples. It takes quite a few layers but it's worth it. I love to work on images in Photoshop, it's like magic!

[Sara]

Your roast beef sandwich looks great! I love roast beef with horseradish.