Icelandic cooking, recipes and food

One of the things I got frequent requests for back before I closed my public e-mail account because of spam overload was Kókoskúlur or Coconut Balls. These are candies or no-bake cookies sold in most Icelandic bakeries. I was unable to find a recipe and no bakers were willing to part with one, so I had to give up. Now I have finally found a recipe. I don’t know if it is the right one, as I haven’t tested it, but I plan to make it on the weekend and do a taste comparison with a bakery-bought specimen. I can tell you right away that there is one ingredient missing that some (but not all) bakeries put in their coconut balls: rum essence. Here is what they look like: Ingredients 75 g (1/3 cup + 1 tsp) butter, soft 100 ml (2/5 cup) sugar 1 tbs vanilla sugar 300 ml (1 1/3 cups) oatmeal, the quick-cooking kind. Do not use instant as these have added salt. 175 g (6.3 oz) chocolate 2 tbs milk, at room temperature 100 ml (2/5 cup) desiccated coconut (small flakes) Melt the chocolate in a bowl ov...

My mother invented this dish. It can be served as a cold main dish or as an entrée using small portions. Herring on rye: Slices of sweet, dark rye or pumpernickel bread Marinated herring (about one fillet for each slice of bread) Thin slices of sweet apple (about one medium Red Delicious for each 6 slices of bread) Sliced banana (about one medium banana for 2 slices of bread) Sliced hard-boiled egg (about one egg for each 2 slices of bread) Sauce: I am not going to give exact measurements for the sauce, as I never make it the same way twice: Mayonnaise (about 1 1/2 tbs for each slice of bread, more if you're a sauce fancier) Honey Mild or medium hot curry powder mix* Cream (optional, see instructions) Mix together mayonnaise and honey until well blended. The result should have a mild taste of honey. Add curry powder to taste. (If you need a recipe to follow, use one for gravlax sauce, leave out the mustard and replace the dill with curry powder). If sauce is thick, add some cream o...