…was yesterday! I’m gutted I missed it. I’d even been out and bought a kilo of mutton and a head of cabbage and was only going to take a quick little nap before I started cooking… And whaddya know, I woke up this morning at 8, feeling nowhere near rested and completely horrified that not only had I missed out on National Fårikål Day, I’d also missed the first episode of Hellstrøm Rydder Opp, the Norwegian version of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. I’d been looking forward to it for months now, swaying between excitement at the show and disgust at the old Norwegian man trying to ‘be’ Gordon Ramsay. In the end, though, nothing was to keep me from watching the show. Oh yea, except falling asleep! Or should I say going into hibernation. Or a coma. Not sure what to call it, but I’m very surprised that I actually managed to sleep that long. Almost twenty hours straight — I didn’t even wake up once, so when I finally awoke this morning I was fully dressed, on top of my bedspread and with only a woollen blanket protecting me from the frosty morning air. After getting up, somewhat gingerly, and chatting to my mate R on msn for a little while, I dragged my sorry beehind into the shower and came out fifteen minutes later feeling refreshed — and got started on my fårikål!
Now, just because I missed out on the actual day it does in no way mean I’m willing to miss out on fårikål. I just love fårikål, it’s so delicious in all its simplicity! Mutton, cabbage, salt and whole peppercorns, who knew that would make such a scrumptious combination? I know wikipedia claims you’re supposed to add flour to the dish to thicken the sauce, but I’ve never had it with flour and frankly I can’t imagine it tasting any better with flour in it. Actually I’m willing to take on anyone that claims fårikål is supposed to made with flour — I’ll fight till death!
Boiled potatoes, though, are a must. And a cold beer to go along with it. Luckily some people left behind the odd can of beer when they were unceremoniously kicked out of my party on Saturday night (after I passed out, I’m ashamed to admit) so I’ve got the beer thing sorted. For those who want to avoid alcohol a non-alcoholic beer would be good, or even just a glass of ice cold water!
I posted my own recipe for fårikål way back in June when there wasn’t a piece of mutton to be found anywhere. So I have had to wait until now — but good things come to those who wait and this is definitely a very good thing! I think I’ll make traditional Irish Stew next — as good as the modern version with beef and Guinness and loads of yummy vegetables is I do love the traditional recipe very much also. And I’m definitely hoping to be able to make fenalår — cured leg of lamb. This is a lengthy and smelly process though, so I’ll probably have to do it at the parents’ house.. So we’ll se if I get around to it! Mmmm, and now I’m on the subject of delicious lamb and mutton dishes my mouth is watering at the thought of mum’s amazingly delicious lamb stew with green beans and tomato. Ohh, yum! I guess I’ll be eating a lot of both mutton and lamb this autumn. What a lovely thought! I just love autumn!
Also I did end up going to the network’s website looking for a rerun date for Hellstrøm Rydder Opp. I didn’t manage to locate it, but what I found instead was much, much better: Web TV! Yey! So I’ve now watched the first episode and my feelings about the show are just about unchanged. On the positive side I realised that as this show is shot in Norway and mainly in Oslo, I’ll be able to visit some of the places after the makeover! Which is something I’ve dreamt of since Kitchen Nightmares came out. As for the entertainment value of Hellstrøm Rydder Opp, though, the whole thing was a little bland and the dialogue somewhat staccato. Oh, how I missed Gordon’s passionate excalmations! But to give credit to the poor man (Hellstrøm) it can’t be easy trying to fit into Gordon Ramsay’s shoes. And he really is an amazing chef. I’m just not sure if he’s really the right man for this kind of thing… I guess I’ll just have to keep watching the show to find out ;)