I have had a number of requests and comments about items on this year’s Nordic Smorgasbord menu, so I have attempted to give (properly credited) and accurately stated recipes for each item below (most are links to PDF files of the recipes). By ‘accurately stated’ I mean that if I had to (or just did) modify the original, I have included that, usually with a note to that effect.
In the text below, when a recipe is on the web (as at Epicurious) the link will take you right there. When it is a PDF file, you will be taken to another blog page, where clicking on a link will download the file to your computer so you can look at it or print it out. Enjoy!
The Salads (part of the first course) were from a variety of sources. The Red Cabbage, Beet, and Apple Salad, which definitely qualified as the surprise hit of the dinner, is from the Scandinavian Feasts book by Ojakangas. The Winter Salad is from the new Gourmet Cookbook (based on the now-defunct magazine, Ruth Reichl editor) but can also be directly viewed via Epicurious at Winter Salad . The third salad, a rich Seafood Salad, is from a cookbook by an unusual Swede, Marcus Samuelsson (he was an Ethiopian orphan adopted by Swedes). He runs a Swedish restaurant in New York City (Aquavit) but the recipe is available via Epicurious at this link: Seafood Salad Recipe . I have the other salad recipe at SmorgasbordRecipeSalads , along with comments about changes or sources for the others.
Other Starters include the standard Per Henriksen sandwich (named after the Dane who ordered it often), my wife’s excellent Limpa bread, and Smorgastarta, a multi-layered hors d’oerve made by layering thin Pepperidge Farm bread slices (crusts removed; I used whole wheat, not the white bread called for) with salads and herbs in dairy products. I ditched the Aebelskivers at the last hour due to time pressures but Williams Sonoma now sells the pans, and even a mix, to make these. We love ‘em and can be prevailed upon to make some for you if you invite us to breakfast sometime. Again, Epicurious is the place for the recipe for Smorgastarta at this link: Smorgastarta Recipe , but I have a few comments about the recipe at the link for the starters below. I made the Per Henriksen as requested in the recipe from Beatrice Ojakangas in Scandinavian Feasts. It is on the pdf file reached by this link: SmorgasbordStarters.
Soups were nice to prepare because they all could be made in advance! In fact, some required it. The very popular Beef Barley Soup with Mushrooms and Thyme was a Cooks Illustrated recipe. I am a member of their web site so I have created a PDF of the recipe: BeefBarleyMushroomSoup. The directions are quite detailed so I am happy to not have to recreate them. I followed them except for two items: they request “6 pounds of beef shank meat cut from bone in large chunks” and that was not exactly on the shelf anywhere — so I used 6 pounds of nice short ribs from Joe O’Malia’s. I used the smaller type of portobello mushrooms (“porcinis”) as the mushrooms requested in the recipe. The White Bean Soup with Winter Vegetables is also from Cooks Illustrated and here is its PDF: WhiteBeanSoupWinterVeg. I did the recipe pretty much exactly as requested; finding the dried cannellini beans was a BIG challenge but the web came through with a supplier (iHerb) that had them and a lot of others. The last soup, Lentil-Sweet Potato Soup was an incredible creation from Thomas Keller, found in his ad hoc at home cookbook. I can’t give you this recipe without asking for a promise that you will commit a week to do it: you have to first make his incredible chicken stock, clear as white grape juice, then go from there. The recipe is available on the web at a Thomas Keller foodie site: ad hoc at home recipes. I used “beluga” lentils (a black variety of French lentils) uncured applewood smoked bacon from Trader Joe’s, and Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder.
The Meats were lots of fun to decide on. We wanted a mix of them and I guess we got that! The incredibly tender Rosemary Beef Filet (the only item we really ran out of) is from the Gourmet cook book, but it can be found at this link at the Epicurious web site: Rosemary Beef Fillet. I bought the cleaned beef tenderloin at COSTCO; it was double the size requested, so I scaled up the recipe. The Swedish Meatballs were an excellent Cooks Illustrated recipe, made just as specified (double scale) using Joe O’Malia’s ground pork, grass-fed organic buffalo, and more of Thomas Keller’s chicken stock. Here’s the recipe PDF: SwedishMeatballs. The German standard, Sauerbraten, was based on a recipe from The Spice House in Chicago, from which the special spice mix used was purchased. The beef roast used was a grass-fed organic roast from the Muncie Farmer’s Market at Minnetrista (bought frozen just as the season was ending in October). Ginger Snap crumbs are required: we got the cookies from Trader Joe’s. This is the recipe: Sauerbraten. Finally, one of our favorite Indiana restaurants, FARM in Bloomington, is the source for Chicken Casserole with Potatoes, Peppers, and Oregano. This recipe is in FARMfood, the cookbook recently written by chef Daniel Orr. I have produced a summary of the recipe as a PDF, which I doubled the scale of (and used skinless chicken breasts instead of the ones with skin recommended). The chicken was from COSTCO; the vegetables and herbs were from Fresh Market on 146th St in Carmel. The recipe: BakedChickenPotatoesPepper.
Sides were a few good items that begged to be made. These included Hoosier Spoonbread for the FARMfood cookbook. This ‘trendy’ recipe included sage, goat cheese, and winter squash puree. I used genuine Hoosier whole grain cornmeal from the mill at beautiful Spring Mill State Park, a Hubbard squash, and goat cheese from Trader Joe’s. Again, I have produced a ‘customized’ PDF of the recipe: HoosierSpoonbread. We also had Swedish Brown Beans made according to a recipe from Ojakangas’ Scandinavian Feasts as well as her recipe for Asparagus with Saffron Sauce (for the latter, I used saffron powder Britt gave us upon her return from Greece). I put both of these on one recipe PDF: SwedishBeans&SaffronAsparagus.
The Desserts had a multitude of sources, but two came from Cooks Illustrated: the Best Shortbread and the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake. they were made pretty much just as directed. See BestShortbread and StickyToffeePuddingCake. There was also a recipe from the Gourmet cookbook, Marbled Lemon Curd Cheesecake which can be found at Epicurious again: Lemon Curd Cheesecake. The Danish Pastries were based on recipes from The King Arthur Cookbook but that is a very long, multipage recipe, so I have instead chosen a smaller version with “Pain au Chocolat” as the goal. You could use the dough for any Danish pastry desired or (if you are Kelsie, and require chocolate) make the recipe as it is written: PainauChocolat. Finally, the fifth dessert was Cardamom Cream Cake from Scandinavian Feasts again. It’s quite simple; here is the whole deal: grease and flour a tube or bundt pan; warm the oven to 350°. Combine 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 t baking powder and 1 t ground cardamom with 1/2 t salt in a mixer bowl. With the beater blade slowly stirring, blend in 3 eggs, one at a time, followed by 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until done. Cool 5 minutes, remove from the pan, and cool. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
The Beverages (other than coffee and water) were all varied nonalcoholic versions of Glogg, the Scandinavian holiday beverage. All the recipes came from the same source: Scandinavian Feasts by Beatrice Ojakangas. Here is the file: SmorgasbordDrinkRecipes
In closing, remember:
“I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work.
Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.” – Ecclesiastes 2:23-25
