Viking Cheese Bombe Food

OREO BOMBE

Steps:

• Line a large glass bowl (10 inches wide at the top, 5 1/2 inches wide at the bottom and 4 inches tall) with plastic wrap, allowing there to be at least 1 inch of overhang on all sides of the bowl. Set aside.
• Put the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to blend until completely smooth. Add the heavy cream and whip until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
• Quickly submerge 1 chocolate sandwich cookie into the milk, then place the cookie in the bottom of the prepared glass bowl. Continue to dip cookies and line the bowl until you reach the very top of the bowl, about 48 to 50 cookies total. Cut the cookies at the top as needed so that they do not go over the edge of the bowl.
• Scoop 2 cups of the cream over the cookies in the bowl, then use the back of a large spoon to gently spread the cream over all of the cookies, making sure to go all the way to the top of the bowl. Spoon 1/2 cup of the cream into the bottom of the bowl and spread it out into a flat layer. Dip 9 cookies and arrange in 1 flat layer on top of the cream. Continue adding flat layers in this order: 1 cup cream, 13 milk-dipped cookies, 2 cups cream, 15 milk-dipped cookies, all of the remaining cream then 19 milk-dipped cookies.
• Fold over the plastic wrap, then cover completely with another sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled and the cookies have softened, at least 6 hours and up to overnight.
• When ready to serve, carefully invert the bowl onto a large serving platter or cutting board, then use the plastic wrap lining to ease the bombe out of the bowl. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

NORWEGIAN MEATBALLS (VIKING SOUL FOOD STYLE)

Steps:

• For the Norwegian meatballs: Small dice the yellow onions, or grate on a cheese grater on the largest holes. Warning: The cheese grater method is effective, but you'll likely have a tearful experience!
• Combine butter, 1 teaspoon salt and the grated onions in a small pot. Cook on medium-low until onions are browned and smelling sweet, about 1 hour. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Chop up rye bread by hand or in a food processor until crumbly, but don't obliterate it. Add heavy cream, whole milk, and rye breadcrumbs to a pot. Heat gently on low until breadcrumbs have absorbed dairy and are softened and aromatic, then remove from the heat.
• Grind allspice berries and black peppercorns together in a spice grinder until fine.
• Combine rye breadcrumbs, eggs, flour, caramelized onions, remaining teaspoon salt and the spices in a large mixing bowl. Mix together until a smooth paste forms, then incorporate the beef and pork, squeezing with your fingers to make sure the starchy ingredients break up into the meat. At the same time, make sure not to overwork the mixture, as that would yield tough meatballs.
• Let stand at least 2 to 3 hours in the fridge, then roll into balls. We roll our meatballs to 1 1/2-ounces each, but all you need to do is make sure your meatballs are consistently-sized, so they cook at the same rate when they hit the oven.
• Preheat the oven to 550 degrees F, preferably on convection. Roast meatballs until well-browned on the outside, about 10 minutes in a convection oven or 12 minutes in a conventional oven.
• For the surkal: Thinly slice cabbage (1/4-inch thick) with a knife or mandoline. Avoid cutting into the core; you just want the purple leaves.
• Toss cabbage and salt together in a large bowl and allow to sit.
• Combine white sugar, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, ground caraway seed, bay leaf and 3 cups water in a large pot, then bring to a boil. Pour over cabbage and cover, then refrigerate for about 1 day. This will help lessen the harshness of the vinegars and soften the cabbage.
• After 24 to 36 hours, remove bay leaf and stir cabbage mixture to make sure caraway is well-distributed.
• Refrigerate until ready to eat.
• For the Gjetost cheese sauce: Melt the butter in a pot on medium heat and brown slightly. Add the flour and whisk well. Allow the roux to brown on medium-low heat until it reaches a rich golden brown color; it should smell nutty. This takes 20 to 30 minutes.
• Add the milk gradually in increments, whisking vigorously as you go. If you happen to have an immersion blender, run it through and get rid of any lumps. Reduce heat to low and watch carefully, whisking often and making sure the bottom doesn't burn. You want to see bubbles popping up to the surface every few seconds.
• Add the Madeira, white wine, salt and nutmeg. Cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 40 minutes, then grate the Gjetost cheese into the pot.
• Allow the sauce to cook gently and continue to thicken for about 1 1/2 hours. Be sure to whisk the bottom occasionally to get up any browned bits. If you have one, get your immersion blender in there and run it through until smooth and velvety. When finished, sauce should be the consistency of thick gravy and taste of toasty bread and goat cheese.
• Allow to cool for a half hour or so, then place in the fridge if you aren't going to use it right away.
• For the meatball lefse wrap: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Halve 2 of the meatballs and roast until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Toast a piece of lefse in a nonstick pan or better yet, on a lefse griddle, on both sides. Remove toasted lefse to a cutting board. Begin layering: 1/2 cup shredded green cabbage, 1/2 cup surkal/pickled cabbage, the heated meatballs and finally about 1/3 cup warm Gjetost cheese sauce. Roll it tightly like a burrito. Cut in half if you're sharing, but you probably won't want to.

VIKING CHEESE BOMBE

Steps:

• Knead together equal quantities of blue cheese and butter along with the minced almonds. Can use a food processor.
• Form into a ball, chill, and serve with whole wheat crackers.

VIKINGS

Steps:

• Saute onion in butter until transparent and soft.
• Mix oatmeal, eggs, and canned milk until combined. Mix the beef and pork together then add the oatmeal mixture, onions and spices. Beat with a mixer until fluffy.
• Using 1/3 to 1/2 cup of meat mixture (depending on how big you want your Vikings) form a ball. Place meat balls on a baking sheet or pan. Cook in a 400°F oven for about 15 minutes until done. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
• When the meatballs are cool enough to handle, stick a wooden "popsicle" stick in each one (you can usually buy these at any craft store).
• Mix the Krusteaz pancake batter with water, make it thicker than usual so that it will coat and stick to the meatballs.
• Hold the meatball by the wooden stick and dip it into the batter, then drop it into a deep fat fryer with oil heated to 375°F Roll it around so all the sides cook evenly. Cook until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on a plate covered with paper towels. Serve with ketchup, mustard or what ever you want!

VIKING STUFFED MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Saute the onion in oil over medium heat until soft, about 7 minutes; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the beef, egg, garlic, bread crumbs, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and pepper.
• Add the cooked onion to the meat mixture.
• Turn out on a sheet of aluminum foil; flatten with fingers into a 6x9-inch rectangle about 1/2-inch thick.
• Lay the ham slices on the meat mixture, keeping them about 1 inch from edge.
• Spread the grated Viking cheese on the ham, then use the foil to carefully fold the meat mixture over the ham and cheese, closing all openings.
• Transfer the layered loaf into a greased 3 1/2 x 7 1/2 inch loaf pan and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees F.
• Drain off the drippings and let set for 10 minutes before serving.