Mormor's leverpastej

Mormor's kalvsylta

Our ham, an essential part of a Swedish Christmas.
 

Potatiskorv

Glögg

Dajm candy

 1 bottle grain alcohol (sub: vodka)
1/2 bottle full-bodied red wine
7 oz granulated sugar
2 spiral-cut peels from fresh clementines (sub: one orange peel)
1 ground fennel root
2 tsp crushed cardamom
1 tsp (bitter) almond extract
3 oz raisins

 Combine all ingredients and bring to evaporation point, put lid on pot and take off heat. Strain out all solids and bottle. Heat and serve warm with addition of raisins. No need for refridgeration.

 1 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, or Merlot
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup brandy or spiced rum
2 tsp dried orange peel or fresh zest from orange
1 tbsp whole cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp freshly crushed cardamom
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup blanched or slivered almonds

 Slowly heat the brandy and spices to evaporation point; reduce heat and let simmer for five minutes. Add wine and sugar, bring heat back up and maintain for one minute. Strain off cloves, orange peel and decant the glögg, leaving spent spices behind. Add raisins and almonds to glass upon serving. If to be bottled, minimize air contact, filling bottle all the way up and refridgerate. This low-alcohol version allows for vodka addition to taste when served. Always serve warm without evaporating the ethanol.

 1 cup brandy
9 oz granulated sugar
3 tbsp orange peel
2 tsp fennel seed
2 tbsp crushed cardamom
2 tsp (bitter) almond extract
3 cinnamon sticks
20 whole cloves
2 bottles (or one 1.5 liter) bottle Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon
1 bottle Everclear (sub: other grain alcohol or vodka)
4 oz raisins

 Combine the sugar and brandy, bring to a boil and flambé. Carefully swirl the pot to keep the flames alive for approximately thirty seconds (DO NOT SPLASH YOURSELF!). Add all other ingredients (except raisins) to the scorched sugar-brandy and heat to evaporation point. Take pot off heating element, fit with tight lid and let steep for fifteen minutes. Strain off spent solids (return alcohol condensed on the inside of the lid to the pot). Serve warm with raisins. No need to refridgerate if bottled and stored, but minimize air contact.

 1 lb finely ground beef
1 lb finely ground pork
2-3 yellow onions, finely hacked
up to two cups of bread crumbs
2-4 eggs (depends on amount of crumbs)
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp freshly crushed black pepper
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp ground white pepper

 These are my guestimates, as I only very rarely measure anything when I cook. Reduce the white pepper if it bothers you; add a couple tablespoons of chopped dill if you feel particularly frivolous.

 A recipe for some sauce to go with that:

I usually add about a cup of milk with about a tbsp white flour mixed in and a quarter of a Knorr beef bullion cube to the frying grease from the meatballs. Add some water if too thick, more flour if to thin. Also, for a richer sauce, hack up one of the meatballs into it. Remember to scrape up all the wonderfully carcinogenic burnt stuff from the bottom of the frying pan - yum! Serve on the side - avoid mixing with the lingonsylt for the most appealing presentation. Lastly, ALWAYS supply plenty of traditional-style Wasa knäckebröd.

 On the other hand, the lazy soul buys a Knorr mix...

An alternative meatball recipe from Susan Larsson

 This is all based on observation, no exact meaurements

 1 lb ground beef (in Sweden we use blandfärs - pork & beef)
1 small yellow onion
1 slice stale bread
1 egg
sage - lots (1 tsp - 1 tbs)
rosemary - about 1 tsp
black pepper - lots (my husband says this is the true secret ingredient), about 1-3 tsp
salt about 1/2 tsp

 Chop the onion in food processor, add bread, egg, and herbs and spices. Mix in the meat by hand. Let it sit about 10 minutes (I think the bread swells or something). Roll out the meatballs and saute until cooked through.

 Gravy:

 1 cup beef bullion
roux of flour and cold water
ketchup (has to be something American in here)
if truly frivolous, add red wine or sherry or cognac or anything alcoholic and appropriate (no, not glögg)

 Bring the bullion to a boil and thicken to gravy consistency with the roux. Add ketchup and wine. Put the sauted meatballs in sauce and let them cook while the potatoes are boiling. (Yes, you have to have boiled potatoes with the meatballs for it to be authentic. And lingon.)

1 g saffron (usually is sold in 0.2g vials) 1 sugar cube (optional) 75 g butter or margarine (2 1/2 oz) 5 dl milk (2 cups) 50 g live yeast (1 3/4 oz) 1 tsp salt 2 dl sugar (4/5 cup) 2 large eggs ca. 13-15 dl white flour (5-6 cups)

 Crush the saffron petals in a mortar using the sugar cube to aid in grinding. Melt the butter, add the milk and saffron and heat to about 37C (97F). Crumble the yeast into a couple of teaspoons of the liquid and dissolve the yeast completely. Add the remaining liquid and the salt, sugar, and one of the eggs. Now begin to mix in the flour. Only add enough flour to make the dough manageable, i.e. stop adding flour before 13 dl (5 cups) and then slowly add little by little until it lets go of the sides. Continue to work the dough until it very smooth and supple. Cover the dough with a moistened kitchen towel and let it rise for 30 minutes.
Work the dough up on a floured surface until it is even and smooth - be careful not to add too much flour when doing this, as very dry rolls will result. While working the dough, add the raisins, reserving a handful for decoration. Shape buns and rolls according to the picture to the right, pushing the decorative raisins in last. Place the rolls on a baking sheet and again cover with a towel for 30 minutes.
Beat the second egg, and brush the rolls before baking in the center rack of the oven at 250C (480F) for 5-10 minutes (regular rolls), or bottom rack at 225C (460F) for 15-20 minutes (crowns, see picture, or braids). Let the rolls cool off under a dry towel before lifting them off the baking sheet.

 400 g pig (or beef) liver (0.8 lb)
150 g pork
2 tbsp white flour
1 dl melted butter (2/5 cup)
2 large eggs
2 dl heavy whipping cream
4 anchovy filets
1 small yellow onion
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
thinly sliced lard to line the baking pan - substitute with butter if desired.

 Rinse the liver with large amounts of cold water; cut it and the pork into inch-sized cubes suitable for grinding. Grind the meats along with the anchovies and onion 2-3 times until finely ground. Alternatively, ask your butcher to co-grind the meats for you, and then grind the onion yourself and use anchovy paste to thoroughly mix at home. Whip together the eggs, cream, flour and spices until fluffy. Gently turn the meats and egg/cream together until thoroughly blended. Lastly stir in the cooled, melted butter.
To taste test, fry a tsp in a pan. Dress the bottom and sides of a 2-3 inch deep pan with the lard, pour in the pate mix and bake in a water bath at 250C (480F) for 45-60 minutes. Can be served warm at the Christmas table, although it most often is presented as cold cuts.

 2 kg veal (or beef) with bones (4.5 lbs)
2 liters water
1 tbsp salt
10 white peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
2 yellow onions
2 tbsp gelatin powder

 Total boiling time approximately 90 minutes. Bring the meat to boil in the water, skim off the foam. Add the spices and one quartered onion, cover and let it simmer for 60 minutes. Remove the meat from the bones and set it aside, return the bones to the water and continue simmering for another 20 minutes. Strain the resulting buillion and set aside while grinding the meat. Add the second onion, also quartered, to the meat during grinding - re-grinding the meat makes for a smoother finished product.
Return the ground meat to the buillion and return to a boil. Stir in the gelatin and maintain heat for 10 minutes.
Pour into 2 inch deep pans and let the kalvsylta set in a cool place (don't let it freeze as it will lose its integrity).

 For julskinka, we usually buy a pre-smoked/salted ham, let it desalt for about 4 hrs in cold water in the sink, then boil it in a brine with two dozen whole cloves and five bay leaves. Spread it liberally with your favorite strong mustard, spinkle with breadcrumbs and bake at 425F (225C) for a couple of hours. The first hour and a half under a tent of foil which is then removed to allow browning. Let cool and serve slices on tunnbröd with mustard on top.

(Madison, WI - sommaren 1994)
750 ml Vodka eller Renat (43%) 750 ml Vodka or Grain alcohol (43%) 3/4 msk hel kummin 3/4 tbsp caraway seed 1/4 tsk hel anis 1/4 tsp anise seed 1/4 tsk hel fänkål 1/4 tsp fennel seed och om så önskas: optional: 1/8 tsk hel kardemumma 1/8 tsp whole cardamom Krossa alla frön och blanda Crush all seeds and mix with med alcoholen. Korka och the alcohol. Cap and let stand låt stå i en månad i en mörk for one month in a dark and och sval plats. Filtrera tills cool place. Filter until the aquavit aquaviten är klar (kaffefilter is clear (coffee filter works well). funkar bra). Kyl. Drick. Chill. Drink.

This liquor should never be consumed without the appropriate song...

 Dajm

 4 tbsp butter
1 1/2 dl sugar (about 3/5 cup)
3 dl sirap (try using 50/50 corn syrup and molasses)
4 tbsp cocoa powder (should be "Dutch type")
50 g chopped blanched almonds (1 3/4 oz)
150 g mild baking chocolate or some other meltable milk chocolate substitute.

 Boil in a pot for 20-25 min. Pour in almonds. Spread on baking sheet and allow to cool to room temperature. Melt the baking chocolate and spread over the toffee. Cut into serving-size pieces.

 Have tracked with interest the meatball thread and thought perhaps a submission of my all time favorite Swedish main dish would be in order. My grandparents emigrated from Sweden in 1890 and settled in Kerkhoven, Minnesota.

Grandma Hedström's potatiskorv:

 3 lbs. ground beef
1 1/2 lbs ground pork
1 large onion chopped
9 lbs potatoes
2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp white pepper
1 tsp allspice
10 ft hog casings

 Peel the potatoes and boil in lightly salted water for about ten minutes, they should still be very firm in the center, chop coarsely. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with your hands and run through a grinder with a sausage stuffer attachment. Tie off the stuffed casings with two knots at 12 inch intervals and sever in between. A 12 inch length of korv is equivalent to one standard serving. Fill a pot large enough to comfortably hold the the number of rings you wish to cook with water and bring to a boil. Add the rings of korv and boil for 45 minutes. Prick the sausage skins as they boil to release the entrapped air.

 Korv should initally be served hot, I have heard that there is a certain body of people that believe that that it should be chilled and served cold. I believe that this misguided group is of Norwegian extraction.

 The proper accompaniment to hot korv is boiled potates, green peas and copious amount of butter.

As that sausage thread developed, Sigurd G Fredrickson, submitted a rivalling recipe:

 My parents were immigrants from Sweden coming here in 1907. I still have my mother's "potatis korv" recipe, and my guess is that not many modern day Swedes still bother to make it. If so, it would be fun to hear if my mother's recipe gibes with the way they prepare it.

Potatis Korv

 1 1/2 lb. pork shoulder and 1/2 lb. pork (lean) ground together twice equal weight raw potatoes (medium grind in meat grinder)
2 tsp. salt
1 doz. crushed allspice
white pepper

1 tsp. marjoram (rub well in hands)
3 medium onions chopped fine. Saute in butter and cool.

 Work meat well with spices. Grind raw potaoes and add. Work in with hands. Cook some spareribs and bone from pork shoulder with salt and 1 doz. whole allspice. If meat seems too hard add a little of the stock, cooled.
Buy small casings (and I have no idea where you can find them now, but maybe in the meat section of a good super market). Run cold water through the casings in order to detect holes. Stuff with meat mixture, but not too full. Leave 2 inches at each end to tie. Cook slowly in stock uncovered about 45 min.