Shrimp Cocktail is a popular retro dish that had its heyday in Norway in the 1980s. Shrimp Cocktail was typically served as an appetizer at confirmations, weddings, and other large occasions, and most fancy hotel restaurants had Shrimp Cocktail on the menu. 

It is said that Shrimp Cocktail was invented by a French chef already in the 1800s, but the dish was really made famous by the British TV chef Fanny Cradock in the 1960s. She served Shrimp Cocktail with a dressing she called Marie Rose dressing, which consists of mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, a little lemon juice, and preferably a splash of cognac. The dressing is very similar to American Thousand Island dressing, but is made without finely chopped pickles. 

With fresh shrimp, fresh salad ingredients, and homemade dressing, Shrimp Cocktail is a really good appetizer that still hits the spot! 

Shrimp Cocktail can be served in stately stemmed glasses! 😃

Marie Rose sauce is a British dressing, made famous by the British TV chef Fanny Cradock in the 1960s when she served it alongside Prawn Cocktail. I haven't been able to find out where the name comes from, so we'll just have to settle for that. 😊

Marie Rose dressing consists of mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, a little lemon juice, and preferably a splash of brandy. The dressing is very similar to American Thousand Island dressing, but made without finely chopped pickles.

Marie Rose dressing is not only suitable for Prawn Cocktail but is also great to serve with crab meat and other seafood, such as salmon. The dressing also works well in a burger or as a dip for fries.

The best shrimp salad you make yourself! 

Perfect to make if you have leftover shrimp from your shrimp dinner. 

The shrimp salad is great as a spread salad on homemade Seed Loaf!

Also popular on grilled sausages in homemade Sausage Buns.  

This is delicious yeast pastry!

The buns are filled with homemade vanilla cream and tart rhubarb pieces, which are cooked tender in a sugar syrup. The filled buns are topped with crumbled dough, which adds extra flavor and a bit of crunch.

Enjoy! 😋

Caesar salad is one of the world's most famous salads!

I wonder how many times I've ordered Caesar salad at a café over the years... 😋

The original Caesar salad is made only with romaine lettuce, croutons, shaved Parmesan, and the famous Caesar dressing.

However, it has become very common to add chicken pieces and fried bacon, making the Caesar salad filling and even better!

Caesar dressing is one of the best dressings available!

The dressing is made from a homemade mayonnaise with lemon juice and pressed garlic. The mayonnaise is then mixed with finely grated parmesan.

Whether chopped anchovy fillet should be in the Caesar dressing is disputed by experts. Personally, I prefer to skip anchovies, but regardless, the anchovies are chopped so finely that they are not noticeable in the dressing beyond adding flavor. You can also season the dressing with a small teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.

Caesar dressing is, of course, served with the famous Caesar salad, but it is also great for other types of salads or as a dip for vegetables and potato chips.

This is a really delicious pasta dish!

Taste-wise, it resembles Spaghetti alla carbonara, but in a simpler version. This uses onion, garlic, grated cheese (preferably Italian Provolone, but grated mozzarella or another type also works) and regular Norwegian bacon. Heavy cream and crème fraîche make the pasta dish wonderfully creamy.

Sprinkle with finely grated cheese and chives. Yum!

Rice paper dumplings are very popular!

Here you use rice paper sheets ("banh trang" in Vietnamese), which are usually used to make Vietnamese Summer rolls (also called Fresh spring rolls) ("Goi cuon" in Vietnamese). The rice paper sheets become soft when briefly soaked in water, allowing you to add filling and roll the rice paper around the filling into small packages.

However, rice paper sheets can also be used to make spring rolls that are fried (the rolls are then called "Nem ran" in the northern part of Vietnam and "Cha gio" in the southern part of Vietnam). Rice paperdumplings can be made a little more square in shape but are otherwise quite similar to fried spring rolls with rice paper. 

Frying makes the rice paper crunchy on the outside. Since the spring rolls are to be fried, it is also fine to fill them with raw meat before frying.

This version is filled with minced chicken, cabbage, carrot, and spring onion, which are added with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil for delicious Asian flavors. The fried rice paper dumplings can be dipped in wonderful soy sauce dip or sweet chili sauce. 

Easy to make at home, and much better than takeaway! 😋

This is a fantastic delightful and summery Pavlova!

The meringue base is filled with airy chocolate mousse, which is delightful together with sweet strawberries.

A lamb roast can be prepared in several ways. Here I first browned the roast in a pan and then placed it in a pot together with onion, garlic, carrot, fresh herbs and red wine. The pot is put in the oven and stays there until the lamb roast is as done as you like it.

The lamb becomes juicy and very flavorful, and a lovely stock gathers in the pot that can be used in the sauce. 

The lamb roast is served here with a classic Red wine sauce, Creamy garlic potato gratin, green beans and homemade mint jelly.