OCTOBER
SCENT OF CHRISTMAS
Eyvind Hellstrøm is a Norwegian chef who gained fame with restaurant Bagatelle in Oslo between 1982 and 2009. Under the direction of Hellstrøm it became a two-Michelin-starred phenomena. Kristin Jacobsen is a Norwegian chef who has published 7 cookbooks and been a regular contributor on Good Morning Norway, as well as assisting chef to Hellstrøm during countless TV-productions and cook books.
Since my husband is the Norwegian adult in the family, he always cooks a Norwegian Christmas dinner. I have gratefully sampled, praised and enjoyed it for the past 15 years, but have no idea how to make it. Last year I was asked to bring a traditional dessert to the book club christmas party, and finally had to purchase a recipe book with Norwegian christmas foods. With plenty of options, I decided on Duft av jul by Eyvind Hellstrøm and Kristin Jacobsen, subtitled as a "kitchen handbook for the christmas season".
In it I found exemplary simplicity in its organization with five main chapters: Seasonal dishes, Christmas dinners, Side dishes, Desserts, Pralines & Cookies. Each chapter is in turn organized by main ingredient: meat, fish, game etc.
Chalk it up to good sense, good taste or good training but you will not find crossover versions such as gingerbread-spice-brownie-with-peppermint-frosting here. This kitchen duo has perfect pitch when it comes to adapting traditional flavours for a more contemporary palate. Ingredients range from humble to fancy, but each dish is well balanced, never excessive. The attention to detail is visible in every aspect but never intimidating. I grade its range of diffculty as from "beginner" (fruit salad) to "proud home cook" (pork roll with glazed peach).
The dessert I brought to the party? It was simple, but it was a success.
The first 50 pages are available as a sample read here.
You can find six recipes from the book on Hellstrøms homepage, and also watch Hellstrøm prepare a roast pork flank (in Norwegian).
ACE OF VASE
A vase that makes me happy. Handmade by Joanna Günther. Available at Designtorget.
IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE, DESIGNTORGET WEBSHOP
SKANSENBUTIKEN
2nd SUNDAY IN ADVENT
THE NO SHOW SNOW
PLANNING AHEAD
Life with kids also means stains on table linen. Considering white linen table cloth and dark red napkins. Cotton napkins Agnes from Kid.
IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE KID.NO
HISTORISKA JULKALENDERN
The Museum of Swedish history has a fun daily calendar on IGTV, historiskajulkalendern. They share a fun fact or story about Scandinavian christmases through history, followed by a short tutorial for a craft that relates to the story. If you don´t speak Swedish, you can skip the story and watch the tutorial. I quite enjoy it!
WHAT IS SCANDI STYLE TO YOU?
Did you think that Scandi style is all about bright, light and stark interiors?
If that is still yout MO check out:
The past 5 years the Scandi-trends have been rich colours and pastels, a lot of pinks and plenty of brass. To see more, visit the christmas sections of: