Now we have seen all the dishes for Semi Final Two it's time to vote for your favourites! Which dishes are you going to send to the Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 #BuildingBrunches Final? Seventeen dishes and countries battle it out to secure the 10 available places in the final.....you have the power to decide! Voting will close 13/3/16 Update The results are in and the countries moving onto the final of Chow Down to Eurovision 2015 #BuildingBrunches are:........in no particular order......
What is Slovenian for we have arrived at the final country for Semi Final Two in Chow Down to Eurovision 2015?
Well according to google translate this is:
Kaj je slovenska ker smo prispeli v državo končnega za polfinale dva v Chow navzdol na Evrovizijo 2015 ?
I'm sure my Slovenian friend will let me know how well it did.
So if you are still unsure we are "in" Slovenia with a pretty easy tray bake of almond squares.
These dense almond morsels will always be Here For You when you need something full bodied and not too sweet that go perfectly with a strong coffee.
Slovenian Almond Squares Ingredients
70g butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp. almond essence
140g plain flour
1 tsp. baking powder
100g icing sugar + dusting
100g almond meal
50g chocolate chips (the type that hold their shape when baked)
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan)
Line a 20cm square cake tin (shallow)
Melt butter
In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs till thick and fluffy
Add cooled butter and almond essence to eggs
Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl
Fold into eggs mixture
Pour into lined cake tin
Even the batter out with a spoon, it will look lumpy but will spread
Bake for 20-25 minutes (the top will still look bumpy)
Flip onto a wire rack to cool
Dust with icing sugar
Cut into 2-3cm squares
On a serving plate pile into a replica of Mount Triglav...Slovenia's highest peak (optional)
Maraaya made up of married couple Marjetka and Aleš "Raay" Vovk represented Slovenia in Vienna and placed a respectable 14th in the final. They came 5th in their semi final but scored 1st performance position in the final so it was always going to be an up hill battle, even with a futuristic air violinist...
I was very happy that the hop on hop off bus in Dusseldorf had joined the Maraaya trend!
Dobry wieczór we have arrived at the penultimatecountry for Chow Down to Eurovision 2015, Poland.
I'm a big fan of mushrooms so always happy to add mushroom recipes into the Chow Down, sadly AB isn't a fan but does suffer through bravely.
When I heard about Zapiekanka I thought AB likes toast and cheese so 2 out of 3 aint bad and it was on it's way to represent Eurovision food for Poland.
I also had a moment of delight when I was listening to Reckoning* by Magda Szubanski & there was a passage about her queuing for hours for hot dogs in Poland only to get to the front of the line to be given mushrooms in a bun and I thought I know this dish! Magda also suggested the dish for Chow Down to Eurovision 2014 so it felt strangely right there an unknowing connection this year.
*I use affiliate links to products I have purchased myself and enjoyed
Zapiekanka -Mushroom cheese toast
Ingredients
1 baguette about 30cm
4-5 large mushrooms
1 small brown onion
1 rasher bacon (optional)
2 handfuls grated cheese
Tomato sauce or sriracha
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C
Roughly chop mushrooms
Finely chop onion
Thinly slice bacon rasher
Saute mushrooms, onions and bacon in a fry pan till golden and softened
Season with salt and pepper
Cut the baguette in half and place on lined baking tray
Butter baguette and cover with mushrooms mix
Cover with cheese and bake for 10 minutes
Serve with tomato sauce or sriracha for the bearded hipsters in the group
This year's Eurovision was the most inclusive for people with disabilities and now that the "magic bridge" has been crossed I hope it leads to further participation in the future.
Good evening Nicosia, may we have your dish please?
Just like Eurovision voting this wonderful dish from Cyprus should be done in about 5 hours!
Inspired by a recipe I found on SBS food, today's dish is as simple as cutting a potato and putting some lamb in the oven.
So in memory of the late Terry Wogan I'm going to just get on with it!
Slow Roasted Lamb and Potatoes
Ingredients
1.5-2kg butterfly lamb (I think it was a leg or may have been a shoulder....I know it was lamb)
1kg potatoes (of your choice)
2 whole heads of garlic
2 lemons
2 large sprigs rosemary
2 large sprigs oregano
Olive oil
Method
Cut potatoes into quarters and add to a large baking dish with lid
Add lamb on top of the potatoes
Drizzle lamb with olive oil
Season the lamb with salt and pepper
Add the whole garlic to the baking dish
Use a vegetable peeler to cut long strips of lemon zest
Add the juice of the lemons over the lamb
Add the herbs
Bake at 150°C for 4.5 hours with the lid on and a further 30 minutes lid off
Serve chucks (it's too soft to slice) of lamb with some roasted garlic and potatoes.....and serviettes and it is gonna get sticky!
The sticky meaty garlicky goodness comes flooding back to me every time I see this picture, though if I'm honest my preference would be for a crunchy potato
John (Giannis) Karayiannis sang beautifully for Cyprus and my judgment is not influenced at all by the fact that he said I was cool for having a Eurovision tattoo.
(I could be his father and I'm cool, I am totally hip with the young peoples!)
When you leave your beard balm at home!
Cyprus came 6th in the semifinal and 22nd in the final.
Beautiful, beautiful Switzerland how wonderful it is to cook from you again. Switzerland the land of my favorite chocolate and the only time I've had motion sickness which was on the train over the Alps delivers a showstopper of a dish. As mentioned when we visited Iceland, the internet provides a lot of inspiration for the Chow Down to Eurovision and when you see a dish called Cholera tart it is an instant Eurovision food qualifier. According to the internet, which is never wrong, this dish was invented out of necessity during an 1836 Cholera outbreak. Due to limited availability of food people would put whatever they had into pastry, typically vegetables, bits of meat and cheese. (Yes folks I've even added some history) Cholera is a delicious come as you are tart that with the right marketing could be a catchy food trend of epidemic proportion! Cholera tart Ingredients
2 sheets of puff pastry (or home made, I know I didn't make it this time)
600-700g cooked mixed vegetables *see note
250-300g grated Swiss cheese or mix of your choice
Optional additional soft rind cheese to garnish
Method
Line a greased 25cm quiche pan with the puff pastry
Add the vegetables
Cover with cheese and garnish if desired
Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes
Serve though it might not be wise to tell your guests they are getting cholera for dinner
Note
The cooked vegetables I used were a mixed of red cabbage, Romanesco broccoli, potato, purple cauliflower and red onions that was chopped to bite size, a great way to used up leftovers!
Being about necessity it doesn't have to be pretty....
As unexciting as it may seem the flavours really do all come together to make this a very enjoyable midweek dinner or lunch the next day.
In 2015 it was Mélanie René's Time to Shine for Switzerland and despite being in a forest with a coven of illuminating drummers and an outfit that could go from evil to good with the swish of a cape, Mélanie came last in semi final 2.
Will Switzerland suffer the same fate in the Chow Down to Eurovision?
The inspiration for the Chow Down to Eurovision dishes come from many places, my own travels, cookbooks, YouTube videos and sometimes just passing comments as with today's offering.
On an evening out for a Eurovision group reunion and Ott Lepland concert eve dinner, Adele mentioned they had good hot dogs in Iceland and that was enough to get the ball rolling.
I had to find out...is it true? (see what I did there?)
Are Iceland's hot dogs really that special?
And yes, it is true...on the internet, people do think Iceland's hot dogs were pretty good.
The secret may be that apparently there is lamb in their wieners rather than just the traditional pork or beef.
Not having access to a good Icelandic sausage (story of my life) never fear dear readers I put the Don't Boil The Sauce philosophy into action and just made the bloody thing up!
The lamb mince I get from the farmer's market has a pretty decent amount of fat in it so with that quality of flavour if you can't get lamb in your sausage you will damn well get it all over it!
Iceland Hot dogs
Ingredients
6 long thin frankfurters
150g lamb mince
1 small brown onions, chopped
3 rashers bacon
Grated cheese
Tomato sauce
Whole grain mustard
6 hot dog buns (I'm sorry Mary Berry I didn't make my buns this time)
Gherkins
Method
Warm Frankfurts in a water bath/saucepan (don't boil or the skins will break)
Slice bacon into 1-2cm piece, fry in a frypan with a splash of oil
Remove bacon from the frypan
Add the chopped onion to the frypan and soften
Add the lamb mince
When the lamb is just about cooked add the Frankfurts with 1 tbsp of the cooking water
Toast or warm the hotdog buns
Add Frankfurts to bun, top with lamb and onion mix, bacon, cheese, tomato sauce and mustard
Serve with gherkins
I wonder what the drink of choice is in Iceland?
Iceland was represented in Vienna by Maria Ólafs who after a shaky performance in the second semifinal placed 15th and failed to qualify for the final. Iceland's first absence in a Eurovision final since 2007.
I suspect nerves and the pressure played a part for Maria which can disrupt a singer's control as your body is your instrument.
Maria clearly has a great voice and can sing as demonstrated at Euro Fan Cafe the night after the semi final when she appear with Hera Bjork (2nd video below)
A dear friend did not recognised her at first and suggested to part of the Icelandic team that her voice was so good they should think of her for Junior Eurovision!
God kväll from Stockholm, winner of Eurovision 2015, host of Eurovision 2016 and home of today's Chow Down to Eurovision dish. When thinking about Swedish cuisine meatballs, prinsesstårta and cinnamon buns instantly spring to mind but we can't forget the seafood. So with the seafood theme in mind, today's recipe is the incredibly easy oysters with chilli and dill.....there always seems to be room for dill. That is one thing I am really looking forward to on my upcoming trip to Stockholm is checking out the range of local seafood. (It's not gluttony if its research!)
I caught up with Måns on the red carpet in the Vienna and he said his first trip to Australia was in January 2015 and it looks like he is making it a regular trip for the tennis.
If he moved here could he represent Australia in Eurovision?
People have commented a lot about how incredibly handsome the man in the video is and I'd just like to thank them for noticing, I do try! (what do you mean not me??)
Oyster Heroes with Chili and Dill Ingredients
1 doz oysters
2 fresh chilies
1 dried chili
1-2 sprigs of dill
1 lemon, juice
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
Pinch salt
Pinch brown sugar
Method
Arrange oysters on a serving plate (adding a thick layer of salt or sugar to the plate will stabilise the oysters)
Finely slice fresh and dried chillies
Roughly chop dill
Add chillies, dill, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and sugar to a bowl and mix
Dress each oyster with about 1/2 teaspoon of mixture
Serve...you could probably get this knocked up before Måns has finished his 3 minutes!
Fresh mouthful with a little heat!
A clean light dish that would go down a treat with some cold beer and a Eurovision final.
Sweden was the winner of Eurovision 2015, taking their total to six wins just one less than Ireland who has the most wins on seven.
The talent of Måns Zelmerlöw is clearly demonstrated when you look at the precision of his Heroes performances from Melodifestivalen through to the Eurovision finals.
I find Måns a fantastic technician at delivering a consistent performance without it looking tired or over rehearsed so it will be exciting to see how he is used in his hosting capacity for Eurovision 2016.
