SWEDISH MEATBALLS Á LA IKEA

There are probably as many recipes for Swedish meatballs as there are Swedes. I usually free style mine with ground beef, garlic, paprika, some cut oats and a dash of cream.

This weekend I am trying out the IKEA recipe that is taking over the world. I live 17 minutes away from IKEA, so it makes little sense, but who doesn't prefer homemade?

MEATBALLS:
250 gm minced beef
250 gm minced pork
1 egg
200 ml cream and water
2,5 tbs onion, finely chopped
50 ml unsweetened rusk flour (or breadcrumbs)
2 potatoes, boiled and cold
4-5 tbs butter or margarine
salt
white pepper
allspice

CREAM SAUCE:
100 ml cream (half and half)
200 ml water or beef stock
chinese soy sauce
1 tbs white flour
salt
white pepper

If you want a step-by-step instead of a ingredient list, check out the excellent instructions from I am a food blog at IKEA Swedish meatball recipe.

KITCHEN ASSEMBLY LINE

         

Every day comes with a new request in the inbox: "Can your family please bring something for the christmas party/potluck/julebord/teacher appreciation/church concert/lucia breakfast..." 

These are times when you need simple recipes for crowd pleasers, made assembly line style in baking sheets, and are easy to transport. The painstakingly decorated cupcakes aren't from my kitchen this year. Or any year! It's the season for simplified versions of christmas flavours and foods. Click on the covers to sample recipes from three Swedish cookbooks that I turn to for suggestions. 

IMAGES:LIBRIS, NORSTEDTS, TANUM 

WANTED

The traditional Swedish cheesecake is nothing like the velvet smooth American cousin, but a grainy almond flavoured pudding similar in consistency to baked cottage cheese. It's served warm, plain or with jam. I adore it. 

Homemade always taste better, but is time consuming. I don't mind cheating with cheese cake or ostkaka from  Frödinge, the dairy company founded in 1929. 

Imagine how badly I've been wanting to sample the ostkaka with saffron, the Swedish christmas spice No.1. Gah! It's enough to consider a christmas in Sweden next year. 

IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE ORKLA FOODS, CC

SCANDINAVIAN RECIPES ONLINE

I am not in the business of reinventing the wheel, so whenever someone from abroad asks for a recipe of a Swedish or Scandinavian dish I send them one of the links below.

It's my little list of excellent recipes from Scandinavia that are tested and adapted for a global crowd.

Happy cooking!

SAVEUR - Scandinavian Recipes  
SAVEUR - A Scandinavian Dinner Party 
World Food Channel - World Recipes: Scandinavian Recipes
Jamie Oliver - Super quick salmon gravlax
Martha Stewart Living - Swedish Crayfish Boil
Martha Stewart Living - Dinner Party, Northern Light: The cold/weather comforts of Sweden
Marcus Samuelsson on Martha - How to make pickled cucumber salad
Food Network/Marcus Samuelsson - Gravlax Club Sandwich
Epicurious/Andreas Viestad - Fish soup from Bergen 
Rachael Ray - Sailor's beef and potato casserole

INGEN ANNAN ÄN ANNAS

Call me crazy, but the new packaging for Annas Pepparkakor is enough to make me buy a box! Paired with a bottle of great glögg, almonds and raisins, this is a great hostess gift when abroad in December.

PS. Their factory outlet is located in Tyresö.
IMAGE: PRESS IMAGE ANNAS PEPPARKAKOR

EASY LIKE SUNDAY MORNING?

My ventures into baking aren't as aesthetically pleasing but let's pretend that life is always this pretty. Swedish Saffron Buns from Green Kitchen Stories.

BOOK REVIEW: SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS

Trine Hahnemann is a household name in Denmark as a self taught food entrepreneur with a passion for Danish cooking. She has a number of Danish cookbooks under her belt, several successful catering ventures, and appears in TV and magazines on a regular basis. This is Hahnemann's collection of recipes for December celebrations, the time of year when she takes four weeks (!) off work  to decorate the house and entertain family and friends.

Disregard the publisher's misleading blurb claiming this is your guide to a Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish and Danish Christmas (it's absolutely not), and a decorated  holiday home (unless my book is missing a chapter). This book is no such thing. Instead, it is a great introduction to Nordic christmas flavours since many ingredients and some dishes are common to the whole Nordic region.

The recipes are mainly modern takes on traditional dishes or ingredients, such as kale bruschetta and orange pickled herring. Sometimes its the addition of a single flavour that upgrades a simple dish, such as the grated horseradish in the dressing for the root vegetable salad.

A closer reading of the recipes drew me in. I look forward to exchanging hot dogs for lamb stew cooked over open fire (see photo below) on a winter outing. Pairing brussel sprouts with chili and clementines sounds daring and fantastic. Exchanging the cured salmon for cured cod may also be a stroke of sheer brilliance.

  

The true test lies in whether this book can guide us to duplicate her results and so far the cookie and glögg recipes I've tried were easy to follow and delivered good flavours. It does seem as though the author assumes some familiarity with Nordic ingredients since the level of detail in the instructions is inconsistent, and at times lacking. Unless the kitchen is your gaming zone, you'll find yourself googling for explanations on how to roll a log of rolled pork belly, truss a goose, or how to handle raw fish when curing and salting salmon and cod.

Sea buckthorn vinegar, pickled herring, and liver paté may not suit the innocent novice palate nor children, but the brunch recipes featuring baked spinach omelette, kale, root vegetables, salmon and sweet rice pancakes are less intimidating.

Scandinavian Christmas is a great source of inspiration for "Scandinavians" wanting to update their winter menu. It's also a great gift to a "foodie" with a curious palate, who wants a modern take on Danish Christmas flavours without unnecessary elaborations on tradition. Lars Ranek's photography is wonderfully moody with a great dose of atmosphere and decidedly Danish styling. If only the publisher would have dared to present it as a unique peak into Trina's personal Danish holiday recipe box, instead of placing it in a broader Scandinavian lifestyle context, this book would have found its audience amongst international foodies with greater ease.

Scandinavian Christmas, Trine Hahnemann, Alhambra House, Quadrille Publishing Ltd, 2012, 144 pages, ISBN 978 184949 192 1. PHOTO CREDIT: COVER IMAGE QUADRILLE PUBLISHING, ALL PHOTOS ©LARS RANEK; USED WITH PERMISSION

LET'S GLÖGGA LOSS

One of the first entries on this blog was about wanting to find a better way to serve glögg. But the Rosendahl thermos jug didn't look as good IRL. So our glögg still ends up a sweet sticky mess with big ladles and tiny cups. Apparently Eva Solo felt the same way. Mulled wine decanter, available at Scandinavian Design Center among others.
IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE, SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN CENTER WEBSHOP

SHOW ME THE CHEESE!

 

One of the few things from Sweden I miss is hard cheese. These new releases from Kvibille have been cured for 18 months and will be on my wish list of contraband* gifts for christmas.I'm already dreaming about what I'll pair them with...mulled cider...  cloudberries... fig marmalade...

(*That was a joke, it's perfectly legal to bring these cheeses across the Scandinavian borders).

THE BUN BAKE OFF

Made the first batch two weeks ago using this recipe, and for the second batch I'm attempting the one crowned the best recipe for Lussebullar by the ICA Buffé test kitchen. They tested a whopping 20 recipes so I have high expectations for the winner! Now, if I could just get this baby to sleep so I have time to follow the directions meticulously...
IMAGE: YOUNG WOMAN BAKING, 1939, UPPLANDSMUSEET LÄNSMUSEET 

OUR DAILY BREAD

A given for Swedes travelling abroad for Christmas is bringing knäckebröd, or crisp bread from Leksand. These tin storage boxes offer some protection and can double as gift boxes. Visit the bakery shop in Leksand or the webshop.

IMAGES: PRODUCT IMAGES LEKSANDS KNÄCKEBRÖD

OCT 4 - THE DAY OF THE CINNAMON BUN

It certainly isn't the most important day of the year to observe, nor the most charitable cause to support. But my son is grateful that I make cinnamon buns at least one day each year. Not that my baking compare to grandma's, he's made that pretty clear.

SHEEP TRICKS

Fårikål season is upon us. Scandinavian comfortfood in the form of slowcooked mutton (or lamb) and cabbage. Nowadays a rarity in Sweden, the dish is still going strong in Norway. Traditionally eaten on the last Thursday of September, and throughout October. Read more and find a recipe at My little Norway or visit Fårikålens Venner.
IMAGE: AWESNES VIA FLICKR, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; USED WITH PERMISSION 

CAN DO

"Oh mom, christmas has been wonderful! I want it to be christmas again!" The 4-year old was delighted over the holidays, enjoying the atmosphere, new toys, and the gingerbread house. And he's right, it was wonderful. The only thing we truly missed was Swedish Julmust, but you can't have it all. I think I may have found an all year round supplier of julmust-cans. Much easier to transport and store than glass bottles.
IMAGE: TOREBRINGS

COOKING UP A STORM

Yes, we've been through this before. It's a want, not a need per se. But dear husband, I would argue that I've improved in the kitchen the past 7 years (remember the exploded egg whilst engaged?) and great cookbooks have helped along the way. Perhaps we can consider these course literature?

Per Morberg, I'll admit it, his mannerisms disgusted me at first but now I'm a big fan. The Eisenman sisters have written a party food bible and it's been on my wishlist since it was released. Annas Mat is my all time number one cookbook, but the re-revisions and new editions annoy me. Some recipes are found in quite a few of her cookbooks. It makes me feel as though I'm paying for some chapters more than once. If this is the final version (with new recipes) I want it. Otherwise I'll stick with the ones I already own.

Preview of the books available at Adlibris, see links.
IMAGE: ADLIBRIS WEBSHOP

WET YOUR APP-ETITE

Two great (free) apps to guide you through the flavours of Swedish christmas foods (in Swedish):

Create your Swedish christmas menu at Scan.

A wonderful looking cookbook and audio guide at Milda (though I'm a paper and pen kinda gal myself so I ordered a free printed copy here).

IMAGE: PRESS IMAGES HKSCAN

GETTING HUNGRY

Speaking of whales, I really like the taste of whale, but sadly my husband isn't as much of an enthusiast. I'm already longing for next year's barbecue season. Good thing there's plenty of whale in the area this season. If you're coming for a visit you'll know what's on the menu!
IMAGE: MAGNUS GIÄVER 1888, PERSPEKTIVET MUSEUM

YOUR GUIDE TO YULETIDE STUFFING

An excellent summary of Swedish Christmas foods by Sivert Sidebo, Scanorama.

"Unlike the Americans, Scandinavians don't eat turkey for Christmas. Instead they serve a beautifully decorated large smorgasbord, a julbord or julebord.

The idea is to eat just a little of everything because there is always more food than you have anticipated. Most Scandinavians have made the mistake of eating too much on the first round.

The first course should be filled with different kinds of herring (mustard, arlic, or onion-pickled), other fish, often salmon (smoked, pickled, cooked or peppered), caviar, boiled eggs and potatos [sic]. Many people like to have a schnapps to go with this first course. There are also those who want some schnapps with every course.

The second course should be a plate of cold cuts like patés, smoked and cooked ham, sausages, deer, turkey, goose, and lamb ribs.

The third course is the warm one. You can fill it with brown beans, small sausages, meatballs, boiled lutefisk, potato and anchovy gratin or red and browned cabbage. Are you full yet? If not, take a fourth course of rice pudding, accompanied by either cinnamon, sugar and milk, or with fruit sauce.

For your fifth course, try some different kinds of cheeses. Camembert, blue cheese, whisky cheddar, edam or perhaps some brie. The sixth course is dessert. Come on, you can down some chocolate cake, lemon or raspberry mousse, créme caramel, gingerbread cookies, crullers, or almond tarts with strawberry jam and whipped cream.

Last but not least is the seventh course, the goodie plate. Bananas, small citrus fruits, apples, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, walnuts, jelly beans, rapberry and licorice gum drops, arrack pralines.

Now that you are pleased and content you can join the dances and games around the Christmas tree. Or take our advice: just sit back and relax."

Published with permission from Swedish inflight magazine Scanorama. 
IMAGE: IKEA ON FACEBOOK

MY CUP OF TEA

Popcorn is my preferred staff of life and herbal teas my irrigation of choice. When we moved to the North I did an inventory and discovered more than 40 different varieties in my cupboard. Since then I've only re-stocked on two favourites in an attempt to finish up those other 40. I'm now down to only six! If you have a (caffeine-free) herbal favourite I'd love to know. It's time to stock up again!

SWEET AND SOUR

Winter season is citrus season. Imported oranges and mandarins, satsumas, clementins. I could never figure out which little citrus was which, since grocery stores weren't exactly bothered with accuracy on the subject. They'd pretty much use the same signs regardless of which kind of citrus they were selling that week. Let's sort things out. 

Mandarin orange

Yellow to orange peel, thin peel, plenty of seeds. Sweeter than clementine.

Mandarins are so full of seeds that they're practically never distributed for sale. Instead, "mandarin" has become a groupname for all kinds of small citrus fruits. 

Clementin  (Citrus clementina)
Slightly thicker peel, rarely any seeds. A breed between mandarin orange and bitter orange (pomerans).
The former bestseller during christmas.

Satsuma (Citrus unshiu)
Slightly thinner peel, at times slightly green peel even when ripe, rarely andy seeds. Originally from Japan. The new bestseller in Scandinavia.

Tangerine
A type of mandarin oranges, mainly grown in the United States.

(Or just do as my son and call them mini-oranges...)
IMAGE: THE GRAPHICS FAIRY