Hello fellow readers! It’s me again, Diane, Mrs. RennyBA – guest blogging once again. My dear husband is always immortalizing my culinary creations on his Terella and I thought it was high time to give you a full account myself. So please sit down at the dinner table and I will present the diner for you:
Trying to be a good Norwegian house wife, and firmly believing the way to man’s heart is through his stomach (and if its not you can at least slow him down a bit – I hope…), I began early on to learn to prepare traditional Norwegian dishes. It is about as important for a Norwegian wife to be able to prepare good fish as it is for an Italian to be able to prepare pasta. It is traditionally one of the basis of the diet here in Norway and the Nordic countries. If you don’t catch them yourself, the best place to get good quality fresh fish is at the local fish market. Just look at the variety in the next pics from a fish shop in our vacation city Mariestad in Sweden….yummmmm! :
Fortunately we have a lot of different ways of preparing fish, and the one I have made tonight I would translate as fish au gratin. It’s important with fresh quality ingredients. Fresh picked dill, carrots, leek, and for today’s fish a type of large bass (WikipediA: Zander) caught in Lake Vänern.
The fish is layered in a casserole with a white cream sauce surrounded by the herbs and vegetables.
Finally it is topped with just a bit of bread crumbs to make it brown and crisp on top while it is baked in the oven for about half an hour.
The end result is good old fashioned ‘slow food’ as my husband likes to call it; whole ingredients and recipes which take time to prepare and which invite you to spend quality time at the dinner table enjoying the meal and the conversation. So dig right in, I promise you the filets are boneless!!
Update 1
Some asked for the white sauce recipe:
2 tbs butter, 3 tbs flour, 2dl milk, 1 fish bouillon cube, 3dl cream, a dash of nutmeg, salt&pepper and white wine to taste:
– Melt butter in a casserole on the store top. Stir in flour to make a smooth paste. Slowly stir in the milk & add the bouillon cube & spices and let it thicken while stirring – allow it to bubble for a few minutes. Ad cream, salt&pepper and wine – again stir constantly and wait for it to thicken.
Update 2
This post has become a part of this years Lifecruisers Cyber Cruise. Read more about: Lifecruiser cyber cruise and here is Cyber Cruise Calendar 2007.
Ooooh yummmmm! I adore fish, Diane, and that dish looks soooo tasty. I agree with the description “slow food”…it takes time to prepare and cook and time to sit and eat. I made a casserole in the slow cooker the other day and the aroma permeated the whole house…it tasted just as good too, after three to four hours of slow cooking.
Thank you for the delicious meal!
Diane
It taste delicious I can assure you and Renny loves it too.
You’ve got it: food and making it is culture and tradition and makes quality time to do it and also eat it while having a good conversation together with the one you love!
Hi Diane! The very first time I looked at Renny’s blog you were guest-blogging and I was so charmed. I enjoy your “visits” very much!
This dish looks fantastic, and my family has been eating much more fish lately, so much so that I am always on the lookout for new recipes. Although I could probably guess my way through replicating your fish au gratin…if it’s not too much trouble it’d be so great if you could post the actual recipe! If there is one? Maybe at least for the cream sauce? Yum….
Diane
I’m flattered and actually some of Renny’s most popular posts are ‘mine’: Warm and charming Norwegians and On top of Norway’s mountains.
Glad you will try – check Update for recipe!
ah good to hear from you again, diane! what a delicious looking meal. i am sure you have found that learning to cook traditionally local fare has not only pleased renny but built bridges with other norwegians as well. i always found that to be the case when i learned to cook local food while living in trinidad.
Diane
and always good to see you here Lime – glad you liked our fish treat!
I do agree with you and I have great pleasure sharing food traditions with family and friends over here in Norway – it’s a great way to build bridges!
Fish and seafood are special favorites of mine, Diane, and your dinner looks delicious! Yum, now I’m hungry. ;-)
Have a wonderful week, Diane, Renny and the kids.
Love and hugs,
Diane J.
Diane
Always good to see you here name sister:-)
Glad we share seafood as a favorite and living in Norway gives great opportunities for fish dinners you know.
Thanks and we return your good wishes!
Greetings Diane. ;D The way to a man’s heart is indeed through his stomach at my place too. Thanks for providing further inspiration in the kitchen. ;)
Diane
Thanks! So same experience ‘down under’ – the world is small:-) Good to know I could inspire you!
Renny, since when did you changed your URL? It never occurred to me at all (or probably because I never pay you a visit, hahaha).
I’m complimenting your wife for cooking delicious food. I easily stomach eating fish fresh from the kitchen because the real ingredients comes from the heart. You’re such a lucky husband for having a wife that knows how to cook.
RennyBA
I migrated to WP and my own domain 7th of July so it was on time for a visit from you again hahah
I’ll gladly pass your compliments – she’s a great cook and I love to join her in the kitchen.
As you can tell, we do share you affection for fish:-)
Hi There, Mrs.Renny BA! Your fish looks devine! Renny is lucky to have you, his own chef!!
It’s also nice that you’re guesting on your hubby’s blog, I find it sweet :)
regards from Holland!
Diane
Hi Thess, how nice to get greetings from Holland!
i do agree and feel Renny acknowledge too:-)
I have guest blogged before (check my reply to Nancy Bea) and will do it again!
Hello Diane!
What a beautiful recipe you give to us! But I’d like to know more about the composition of the white cream sauce? Do you add an ingredient inside? I’m not a very good cooker, but my husband is and the kitchen is his first place as his computer. But I like sometimes to make a surprise to him! And this recipe could be one! Have a beautiful week!
Diane
Hi Claudie – good to see you!
Glad you liked it – check Update for recipe!
Intrude in your husband’s kitchen domain then – Renny and I love to cook together – double the fun you know!
A surprise sounds great too – please keep us posted!
Those are lovely fishes! I like a well seasoned salmon myself..otherwise it’s kind of cottony. Those are lovely dishes for sure.
Diane
Good ingredient is a great start you know. Norwegian salmon is one of my favorite too, also smoked!
Hi Diane,
you are a very good housewife and chef. It’s so interesting to read this post as we did (i.e. Anna) the same dishes for our Dutch friends. Telepathy?
Our friends from Holland loved this kind of food.
Hugs from Anna and Tor
Diane
Hi Tor and thanks for your compliments and you’ve proved you like my food :D
Anna and I are two of a kind in many ways you know – I’m sure it tasted delicious too and glad your Holland friends liked it!
Hugs back to both of you!
Oh Diane, this looks so yummy!
Diane
and taste yummy to you know!
Hello, Diane! It’s good to see a post from you!
That dish looks great. I don’t even like fish and it looks good, so that’s saying a lot! (I grew up in the American Midwest, miles and miles from any fresh fish, so all we ever had was icky and by the time I was grown I was done trying :-) )
Diane
Hello Jen! Glad you liked it!
I can assure you, it taste even better. I do understand – I’m from NY you know, so fish was sometimes on the menu, but not as often as here in Norway:-)
Hello Mrs. RennyBA.
Looks like the Mr. has a perfect wife in you :-)
Diane
Hello Britt-Arnild – good to see a Norwegian here too!
I like to think so and I’m very happy with him too :-)
Dear Daughter
Just read your blogg, pretty fine writing. As for the fish, where was that hiding when I visited you.Will have to come back just so I can get a sample.
Mom
Diane
Hi Mom! Good to see you and thanks! We didn’t try to hide any – don’t you remember all we saw at the fish market in Bergen! Your welcome any time Mom!
Hugs:-)
Hi Diane! it’s good to hear from you again:) I love seafoods and fish is my favorite,too Thank you for sharing the white sauce recipe. I have to admit, I’ve never used to prepare it myself Thanks to Knorr white sauce fix lol but with your easy to do recipe I think this’ll change;)
Diane
Hi again Cheh and glad we share the same fish taste favorite! Knorr is okay, but much more fun to make it your own way and to improvise you know. Go for it!
Hello again Diane! It’s so good to hear from you. I do so love fresh fish and your recipe looks delightful. I’ll be sure to give it a try soon.
Diane
Good to see you here again Lisa! I’m sure you’ll have a great home made, slow food dinner too then:-)
ouch that is you yummy!!! i haven’t try Norwegian food yet, but i sure look nice :) thanks for visiting my blog and the comment. You have a nice blog too.. its all perfect in here :) great!
EL from Malaysia
RennyBA
Welcome! Always great to see new readers and glad you like the Norwegian style and my blog – thanks! You have a very readable blog too you know:-)
diane!!! how are you? it’s been a long time since i heard from you. your dish looks really appetizing. thanks for sharing. and great to hear from you again :)
Diane
Hi tin-tin – good to see you – I’m fine – hope your doing well too!
Glad you liked the sea food dinner – try yourself then:-)
Diane – Yum! Served with the traditional Norwegian potato! During our entire visit to Norway we had potato at every dinner and it was explained to me that potato is a staple of every meal. Thanks for the recipe.
Diane
Good to see you Hexe! You are so right and the potatoes we had now are specially good. They are whats called new potatoes, which means they are newly harvested this summer. Hope you try the recipe then:-)
Diane: it sounds (and looks) fantastic! I – the unexperienced cook – will have to try this. Would you mind sharing the adequate oven temperature??? sorry, I am first a reader, then a cook!!
Diane
We roast it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 200C/350F. Keep us posted when you’ve tried!
Diane and Renny – Thank you for inviting me to your delicious “cyber” dinner. The fish was wonderful!
Diane & Renny
Glad you liked it – stop by any time!
One of the best things about moving to Oz is all the fresh fish now all i need is you to come over and cook it for me!
Diane
It’s much more fun to learn to do it yourself. Experiment, you can always eat your mistakes:-)
Hei Diane! I love fish and I think I will make this for the kids and my husband. They will surely like it.
Regards to Renny!!! And… enjoy the sun while it lasts…
Diane
Hei AL! I hope your family will love it too.
We made the most of the sun, but sadly it didn’t last long :D
always love to read about other people and their cultures
tutubi from the philippines :)
RennyBA
Good to see you tutubi – welcome back for more adventures from Norway and the Nordic countries any time :-)
Your post made me more hungry. My food hasn’t arrive yet and seeing your post makes me starve more. Aww!
Diane
Sorry to make you so hungry – I do hope your food was worth the wait!
Ah, how nice to see a post from you again Diane :-)
It looks absolutely delicious. Yummy.
…but I must say that I think that Norwegians eat more fish than the Swedish people nowadays. The Swedish has begun to eat more and more fast food unfortunately.
It’s a bad trend that I hope that we’ll turn around again!
Oh, and I did link to this post as a Lifecruiser Tips in my Wordless Wednesday post.
Diane
Good to see you too Captain – I know you had a good time at Fårö while Tor and Anna was visiting!
We are fighting that trend as well – especially with the young people, but making good family dinner seams to help.
Thanks for plugging us – it’s generous of you!
It looks delish, Diane! I’m not a big fan of fish (just ask Renny) so this is high praise from me :)
As Renny knows, I don’t eat fish. but I can tell this one is a winner! My husband loves fish but only gets it when we go out. Poor guy…lucky Renny!
You two both do so much with food and make meals a real event. I wish we’d take the time to do that but I need help in the kitchen! Does Renny help a lot?!!
Hello Diane! That looks really lovely and I do love eating fish. My fave ways to prepare a fish is either grilling it or frying
Diane
Hi Chas – good to see you!
There is a lot of options with fish you know – grilled or fried are good once too.
Your fish looks DELISH! So nice to have a post from you, Diane. :-) You are a wonderful cook. These pictures made my stomach growl really loud (seriously).
Diane
Thanks for you compliment – glad you liked it! Renny took the pics – we’re making a smashing team you know!
How did I miss this post last year? I love fish too. This looks so very yummy. I’m always hungry when I’m over here. I wonder why? Bwahahahahahahah.
Have a terrific day. Big hug to you and Diane. :)
thanx for sharing!I need more recipes of fish and veggies. :)