Lately, I have been trying my hand at Danish cuisine. Why? Well this summer I will be going to visit my other home in Copenhagen for the very first time. You see I imported myself a hubby from Denmark and I have been wanting to give him a little taste of home. Also, to practice cooking Danish food so I can (hopefully)  impress our friends and family in Demark.

He has been a good sport in teaching me the ways of the Dane, including not laughing too hard when I try to speak Danish with my American accent. Except when I mispronounce words (some of them sound almost the same!) like somehow “pillow” was coming out of my mouth as “f*cking”.  We made a series of funny phrases a while back called Dare to Danish.  Head on over if you want to learn to speak some Danish.  Be warned that these lessons will probably get you some weird looks… or more likely a kick in the butt.

In the meantime, I’m going to teach you a little Danish here today.
The word Bikse loosely translated means “to throw together”
The word Mad means “food”
Put them together and you have Biksemad (pronounced Bic-sa-mel) which means “thrown together food”

Every time we cook a roast, especially a pork roast, Biksemad comes up as a possibility to deal with the leftovers.  In Denmark, Biksemad traditionally is all the leftovers bits from a roast dinner: Meat, Potatoes, Carrots, Onion, Gravy… etc. all thrown together and topped with a fried egg.  Typically sweet pickled beets are served on the side along with a little ketchup.

Last night we had a lovely pork roast, baby white potatoes and onions with a chanterelle mushroom gravy.   I thought I would give Rasmus a little taste of home with my own take on Biksemad.  I used our leftovers, put them into individual serving dishes, cracked an egg over the top, baked it and topped it with fresh herbs and a little Tuong Ot Toi (Vietnamese Garlic Chili Sauce… yes yes I know it’s not very Danish but it’s sooo good and besides this is my own spin on Viking leftovers)  This isn’t so much a recipe as it is a process of well… throwing things together.

Biksemad

• 4 to 5 cups of Left-overs, roughly chopped to bite sized pieces (any Roast Meat & Vegetables)
• 1/2 to 1 cup of Left-over Gravy
• 4 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons of Tuong Ot Toi – Vietnamese Garlic Chili Sauce
• 4 sprigs of Fresh Herbs, any will do I used Rosemary

Preheat oven to 350°. Start out by warming up the left over meat & veg in a skillet on the stove top or int he *gasp* microwave until warm to the touch.
You can make this in one casserole pan or by using individual serving dishes, just give them a swipe with some olive oil to prevent it from sticking.
Now toss the leftover Gravy with the warmed up leftover roasted bits of Meat & Veg until everything is evenly coated.  Pour it into the baking dish. Crack your eggs over the top and place it in the oven for about 12-15 minutes to set the egg white.  You should be left with a lovely runny yolk.
Take out of the oven and top each egg yolk with a 1/2 teaspoon of Tuong Ot Toi and finish it with a garnish of fresh herbs.

You can certainly sub the Tuong Ot Toi with Tabasco or Ketchup if you wish.

The mix of the rich yolk breaking down and coating all the rest of the ingredients adds a luxurious decadence to this dish.  The tangy heat from the chili sauce just elevates the flavor and bring the whole thing alive.  Really truly great comfort food, brought to you by your local Viking-wife.

Round these parts we call these guys Steamer Clams, elsewhere folks call them Cherrystones and Little Necks, but here in my neck of the woods we call them good ole Steamer Clams. And no matter what you call them, they make me go “nom nom nommy nom”.

My very first taste of these guys was when I was a kid and our family would go camping at Penrose Point State Park.  We would forage the rocks at low tide looking for these little things.  As a child I had no idea that I was hunting for my dinner while I turned over rocks and dug my little fingers into the substrate.  It was not until my Dad brought out a big pot, filled it with water, set it to boil and then dumped out day’s work into the pot to cook that it finally started sinking in.  He called me over so I could watch the magic happen, the shells popping open one by one… it was like watching popcorn pop, Sea Popcorn!

My Dad would have Mom melt up the butter.  Then he’d reach in the pot with his bare hands and gingerly snatch a treasure bearing shell from the pot.  He scooped out the insides with a regular old fork, dipped it in the liquid gold and then turned to me with that alien looking thing dangling off the end of the fork, glistening with butter.  His eyes as wide and mischievous  as his grin “Go on, take a bite.” And with much trepidation, I closed my eyes, opened my mouth and prepared to taste something horrible.  I chewed,opened my eyes and looked at him in amazement.  This explosion of buttery, sweet and briney all hit my palette at once.  I was in love and have been ever since.

Every time I make steamed clams, I think of my Dad and thank him for making me take a bite.  Miss you, Dad.

Steamed Clams

• 3-4 lbs Live Steamer Clams
• 2 Tablespoons Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons Shallot, finely chopped
• 4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper, freshly ground
• 2 Cups Dry White Wine
• 8-10 oz. of low sodium Chicken Stock
• 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, cut into pats
• 3 Tablespoons Basil Paste – or Pesto

You can scrub the outside of your clams if you like, I rinse and pull any seaweed, but don’t bother scrubbing because it adds to the flavor of the broth.  Take your clams and put them in a big bowl or non-reactive metal pan.  Put a little sea salt in the pan and put it under the water faucet in your sink and let cold water slowly run into the pan, this will help your clams to expel the sand they are holding and give them some oxygenated water to breathe while you prepare the rest.

A really large skillet works best, place your garlic, shallots and oil into the skillet or pan over a Medium-High heat.  Sweat the aromatics and add the wine 1 cup at a time, let the wine reduce down to half before adding the second cup, then let the second cup of wine reduce down to half.  When adding your chicken stock only add the first half of it, let it reduce down to half then add the second half, no need for this part to reduce.  Give it a good whisking, and while whisking constantly add the butter.  Once the butter is melted add the Basil Paste, give it a quick whisk to distribute.
Take your clams out of their cold sea salt water bath.  Just use your hands it’s the easiest way.  Make sure to give them one last quick rinse under the running water to get any additional sand or debris off of them.  Place them carefully and as evenly as possible into your bubbling sauce and cover tightly, if you don’t have a lid use some foil.  Let them steam for 10-13 minutes.

Important: Do not eat any clams with closed shells.  Do not try to force them open to get at them.   Toss any unopened clams as they are not good to eat.

To serve, place in a big serving bowl and be sure to have an empty bowl or “graveyard” to catch all the empty shells.  Have slices of baguette on the side to soak up all that gorgeous broth & enjoy!

Truffles.  Butter.  Herbs.  Alone these three things are simply beautiful, but put them together and you will be transported to a place where creamy butter flirts with aromatic white truffles and fresh herbs come in to elevate the whole lot for a little taste of Heaven on Earth.

Aren’t truffles freakin’ expensive?!  Well yes, fresh truffles can fetch $200,000 for a White Truffle a little over 2 pounds… BUT there are alternatives out there that don’t require you to squander the kids college fund or take a second mortgage on the house to get yourself in on some of this action.  White Truffle Paste & White Truffle Paté are available and considering how a little goes a long way, they are a good value to enjoy a little decadence on occasion.  And come on… aren’t you worth a little luxury now and again?

So what do they taste like?  They are certainly in the umami class of tastes.  They can be described as meaty, heady and even a little hint of garlic.  If you have ever had a Porchini and you know how heady and aromatic those mushrooms are, well a truffle is that x10.  White Truffles love to be infused in oil, butter, and anything creamy.  They are a beautiful addition to eggs, cheese, potatoes, risotto, chicken or pork.

So what I have concocted is a compound butter infused with fresh herbs and white truffles.  You can make this ahead and freeze it, it will keep beautifully.  It is versatile too.  You can use it to flavor pasta, put it on sliced baguette and toast it for an amazing crostini, top a steak with it, add it in last minute to a white sauce or beurre blanc or you can do what I did and stuff it up under the skin of a turkey breast and roast it.

Truffled Herb Butter

• 4-5 Tablespoons unsalted Butter, room temp
• 2  Tablespoons fresh Herbs, chopped (any variety is fine, I used Rosemary, Sage, Oregano & Tarragon)
• 1/2 Teaspoon White Truffle Paste or 1 large grape-sized fresh White Truffle, shaved with a Microplane grater
• 1/4 Teaspoon ground White or Green Peppercorns
• Pinch of Sea Salt

Place all ingredients into a small bowl and mix together until all ingredients are well incorporated.  Use within 3 days or store in the freezer and slice off as much as you need as you go.

This stuff will add a serious nom factor to whatever you decide to use it for. Once your friends and family taste the creations you make with this sexy little butter they will think you are some kind of culinary genius… yet you can be a culinary newbie and still whip this up with ease.  I’ll be posting a couple recipes for a fancy Grilled Cheese and that infamous Roast Turkey Breast shortly.

***Cook’s Note:  If you don’t have access to or you dislike truffles you can substitute crushed garlic or smashed roasted garlic.  It won’t be the same thing but you will have a pretty delicious Garlic Herb Butter.