The Swedish Christmas Table by Jens Linder, Johanna Westman
I confess that I unabashedly love the holiday season. The first gingerbread latte, the sight of twinkling lights on a tree, and the first sight of a holiday-themed book are enough to brighten my mood. And the food! I love how, at holiday time, we make an extra effort to create memorable and delicious dishes and treats, both traditional favorites we wouldn’t dare leave out (“Where are the crescent rolls?”), and new discoveries destined to become a holiday table staple. I love the promise of a new holiday cookbook, especially when it can be used as a one-stop planner.
The Swedish Christmas Table (Skyhorse Publishing) by self-confessed “Christmas nerds” Jens Linder and Johanna Westman is exactly that, and a fun addition to any holiday cookbook collection. It combines the best of traditional and modern, with a fun retro feel (complete with an index that looks like the church secretary typed it) and retro, colorful illustrations.
Best of all, it is packed with wonderful recipes. It has every recipe a Scandinavian like me wants on hand to create a traditional meal from lutefisk to meatballs, although I wish it included a lefse recipe. There are also a host of wonderful international and contemporary recipes using Scandinavian elements such as saffron. Ever had baked fillet of reindeer?
This is truly a one-stop planner, and one that I will be using frequently for holidays to come.
Try this wonderful combination of old and new for dessert:
Clementine Sorbet with Butterscotch Cookies
- 4-6 portions
- ¼ cup (50 ml) granulated sugar
- 1/2/ cup (ml) water
- 2 cinnamon sticks (can be omitted)
- juice of 5-6 clementines (approx. ¾ /200 ml juice)
- 2 egg whites
- butterscotch cookies (see recipe)
- clementine wedges
- Boil the sugar, water and cinnamon sticks in a pot. Set aside and let the sugar syrup cool.
- Squeeze the juice from the tangerines—be sure to get as much of the pulp as possible.
- Mix the cooled sugar syrup with the tangerine juice and distribute everything in an ice cube tray. Let it stand in the freezer for at least 6 hours—preferably overnight.
- Complete the sorbet just before ready to serve. Whisk the egg whites into stiff foam. Add the tangerine ice cubes and mix the sorbet with a hand mixer or in a food processor and run until it becomes a smooth sorbet.
- Serve immediately in glasses with butterscotch cookies and filleted clementine wedges.
Old-Style Butterscotch Cookies
Approx. 15 cookies
- ½ cup (100 ml) almond flakes
- 3 ½ tsp (50 g) butter
- ¼ cup (50 ml) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ oz (40 g) glucose (2 ½ tbsp.)
- Preheat oven to 300F.
- Place the almonds on a tray and roast them lightly – they’re only supposed to get some color.
- 3. Mix the butter, sugar and glucose in a thick bottomed pot and let it boil until it “glues together” and thickens. Stir every now and then. Carefully mix in the roasted almonds.
- Raise the oven temperature to 350F.
- Dollop the batter with even spacing on a tray lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies for about 5 minutes—cool a little, and then you can use a rolling pin or a glass bottle to help form their shape.
Store the cookies in airtight containers, preferably on paper towels. They are very brittle.
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