Swedish Smörgåsbord

Every year, my grandmother had a Swedish Smörgåsbord on Christmas Eve. I always loved it but it's not a tradition that I've continued.

Earlier in the month, on St. Lucia's day, a friend posted some pictures of her Lucia braided bread and table with Swedish food, linens, and decorations. Just seeing those pictures made me realize how much I miss the Swedish traditions.

So, I decided to have a Swedish Christmas dinner. It's far from authentic because we have fish allergies, and fish is a huge part of the typical Smörgåsbord. I only made a few of the dishes, and I liked making it so much that I plan to add to the menu next year.

I was pretty wiped out after cooking, and had no energy for presentation, but I asked Nick to take pictures just so that I'd remember what we'd made.

Left to right: Deviled eggs (barely visible), Knäckebröd,
Lingonberry Juice Concentrate, Ham, Lingonberry Jam,
Swedish Meatballs in front, Bean Casserole in back,
Swedish Creamed Potatoes, Rice Pudding, and Glögg.

Menu:

Eggnog, Dryck Bubbel Äpple & Lingon Sparkling Cider, Lingonberry Juice Concentrate mixed with Sparkling Water

Cheese: Harvarti with Dill, Smoked Gouda, Raw Cheddar (not authentic, but some of my favorites)

Swedish Knäckebröd Rye Crackers

Olives

Deviled Eggs

Ham

Swedish Meatballs

Bean Casserole

Swedish Creamed Potatoes

Risgrynsgröt (Rice Pudding)

Glögg

Coffee

Lingonberry Jam

Recipes:

Deviled Eggs with Dill

12 eggs, hard-boiled
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sea salt


Slice eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks and place whites on a platter.

In a small bowl, mash yolks well. Add mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, dill, garlic powder, and sea salt. Mix thoroughly.

Place egg yolk mixture into a zip-lock bag, cut off one corner of the bag, and pipe mixture into egg whites.

Refrigerate.

***************

We bought a natural ham, and we cheated with the meatballs and got them from IKEA. We cooked them in IKEA's cream sauce and served them with Lingonberry Jam.

***************

Bean Casserole

1 large can red kidney beans
Bacon fat
4 slices bacon, cooked
1 lge onion, diced
4 Tbsp brown sugar
1 ½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Sea salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp butter

Place undrained beans in a casserole dish. Rinse can with a small amount of water and add.

Add a small amount of bacon fat.

Add remaining ingredients except for butter. Mix well.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

When done, let sit for a few hours to thicken.

Add butter before serving.


***************

Swedish Creamed Potatoes

6 large potatoes
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp rice flour
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp dill

Boil whole, unpeeled potatoes in unsalted water until fork-tender. Remove, cool, and peel potatoes. Chop into 1" pieces.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter, and then stir in flour to make a roux. Stir for a couple of minutes, but do not allow to brown. Whisk in half and half, salt, pepper, and dill; whisk constantly until incorporated and thickened, about 5 minutes. Fold in potatoes, turn heat to low, and cook just until warmed. Serves 6.

***************

Risgrynsgröt (Rice Pudding)

1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup rice
4 cups milk
1/2 cup half and half
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise, 3/4 of the way to the end
1 raisin
Lingonberry jam to serve

Place water, butter and sea salt into a large saucepan and bring to a rapid boil. Rinse the rice and add to the boiling water, stirring constantly.

Reduce the heat to low and continue stirring until the mixture is just simmering. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed most of the water.

Add the milk and half and half, stirring until the mixture begins to boil. Add cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Reduce heat to low and continue stirring until the mixture is just simmering. Cover and simmer, without stirring, for 45 minutes.

Stir in one raisin. Whoever gets the hidden raisin will have good luck in the following year, or will receive a small prize.

Serve with lingonberry jam.

***************

Glögg

1.5 liter bottle Cabernet Sauvignon
1.5 liter bottle port wine
750 ml bottle brandy
2 10-inch cinnamon sticks
2 vanilla pods, sliced lengthwise, 3/4 of the way to the end
1 tsp whole cardamom seeds
24 whole cloves
1 orange peel
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups sugar
1 orange peel for garnish


Pour Cabernet Sauvignon and port into a large stainless steel pot. Add cinnamon sticks, vanilla pods, cardamom seeds, whole cloves, orange peel, and raisins. Cover and simmer.

In a medium saucepan, mix sugar with half of the brandy. Heat on medium-low, stirring occasionally until all of the sugar is dissolved. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the little tiny bubbles become large burbles.

4) Add the sugar/brandy syrup to the spiced wine mix. Cover and simmer on low for an hour. Do not boil!

5) Taste, adding more sugar or brandy (1/4 cup at a time) to taste.

6) Just before serving, strain, returning raisins to mug, if desired. To serve, warm in a crockpot or gently in a saucepan on low heat. Serve it in a mug, garnished with a strip of fresh orange peel.

***************

No baking this year, but had I gotten to it, I would have made
Spritz and Pepparkokar cookies.

We didn't take the time to make this at all beautiful
(I just want to separate all of those
white foods with some color!),
but it sure tasted delicious!

************************