Category: SWEDEN

Right, I’m off

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The Christmas of 2010, SkĂĄne, Sweden.

This afternoon I am leaving for Sweden. I managed to close both of my very full suitcases, filled with Christmas crackers, Stilton, lots of gifts and Winter Pimm’s.

So off I go. I can’t wait to come home and give my parents a big hug. And tomorrow already my best friend Emma is hosting a party. It will be so much fun to see all my friends!

And although I might sound like the Grinch, I am quite happy that my parents garden won’t look like it did last year (picture above). Although it looks pretty it was chaos on the roads, the trains were delayed and it was freezing.

Much better without snow, although it won’t look as pretty. 🙂

 

A Scandinavian Christmas, part I – Christmas Eve

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The way we celebrate Christmas in Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia is slightly different from the UK, and I thought I would tell you a little about it.

We celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, and this is how we do it in my family:

12 noon: Luncheon with pickled herrings, smoked salmon or gravad lax, smoked eel, mustard dressing for the salmon, boiled eggs, rye bread, Edam cheese (that’s Christmas cheese in Sweden), beer and snaps.

3pm: Donald Duck’s Christmas on teve. Every year the whole of Sweden watched this old Disney program about Donald Duck and his friends. Jeremy Cricket presents it, and receives post cards from Cinderella, Santa, Mickey Mouse, Goofey and the latest Disney film. This is usually when my parents take a well deserved nap on the couch.

5pm: Our relatives arrive for the evening, we usually start with some warm glögg and ginger bread.

6pm: Dinner starts. First course is meatballs, small frankfurters, potato bake with anchovies, Christmas ham, caramelized cabbage, red cabbage, maybe some sprouts, breads and cheese. We drink snaps, beer, wine or julmust if you’re not drinking. I usually bring crackers from the UK, so we have a British touch as well.

Next couse is salted ling, poached, with a mustard bechamel sauce and boiled potatoes. Not my favourite, but it is a classic.

Dessert is a take on rice pudding, but it is more porridge like and we add lots of whipped cream. Served with a warm coulis (mother usually makes one with cherries and one with raspberries). In the serving bowl we hide an almond in the porridge and it is a game to see who gets it. This way everyone eat until they burst. Whoever gets the almonds reveal it once all the dessert is eaten. What happens to the person who gets the almond varies, but in our family we have adopted the Danish tradition of giving that person a present, a so called mandelgave (almond gift).

8pm: We retire to the sofa, so full from dinner and around this time Santa comes to visit (at least when there are children present). We usually just hand out the Christmas gifts from underneath the tree.

Afterwards we have coffee and lots of Christmas cakes, then lots of homemade sweets, chocolates, clementines, dates, figs, nuts etc gathered at a table so everyone can help themselves.

 

Autumn in Sweden

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The heading might strike you as peculiar, as we have autumn in the UK as well. But you see, these is a vast difference between the semi-autumn we have here in London, with temperatures around 20C, muggy weather and the coloured leaves and the proper autumn in the south of Sweden. When I went to visit last weekend it was around 10C and crisp lovely air as well as the coloured autumn leaves.

The countryside is wonderful around Malmö, where I’m from, and I went for a slow walk in the woods, trying to find some mushrooms and snapping away on my camera.

When we got back to my parent’s house I continued to take photos in my mother’s beautiful garden. Ok, it belongs to my dad as well, but mother is the one designing it and looking after it. It is so pretty that it has featured in one gardening magazine in Sweden and an agricultural magazine. Well done, mother!

We spent some time in the kitchen as well. On Saturday we had mushrooms (chanterelles and black trumpets) on toast followed by a meat fondue in oil, with potato wedges and bearnaise sauce. After a little break we finished the meal off with a tarte tatin from local apples and icecream.

On Sunday we had a traditional (Swedish) roast with venison, boiled potatoes, creamy gravy, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms and jelly. A perfect end to a perfect country weekend.

Meeting fellow food bloggers

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During my long weekend in Gothenburg I had time to meet up with two food bloggers. Both Åsa who I had lunch with on the Monday and on the Saturday Charlotta invited me over to her flat for some icecream.

She had made three different types of icecream; raspberry, blueberry and liquorice (how Swedish!) and served them together with an amazing liquorice sauce that even non-liquorice lovers would like.

It is fascinating how well you can get to know someone online. We talked about that and realised how much we know about each other, and meeting IRL was a good way to fill in the gaps.

Brunch at Soho Village, Gothenburg

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After all the cocktails on Saturday we decided a brunch was the perfect day to recover the next day. Linus suggested a cosy place called Soho Village and we walked there in the rain. The café was really big with a few different rooms to sit in, and although we arrived soon after they opened for the day it was really full up. Always a good sign.

The buffet was really big, so we took a few things at the time, instead of trying to cram it all onto one plate. I started with bread that was still warm from the oven, creamy butter, cheese and salami.

I then moved onto smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, pizza slice and a croissant. (I definitely had my carbs for the day…)

And finished it off with a pancake (they were quite big), maple syrup, whipped cream and raspberries.

I love going for brunch, especially if it is a varied buffet like here so you have plenty of things to choose from.

Linus went here three weeks ago with his brother, and thought it was actually better then, and although I really enjoyed it, there are always room for improvement.

They could perhaps have a larger selection of cold meats, and all the cakes seem to come from the same sponge batter. Maybe mix it up a little and offer cookies or something as well.

And the eggs, only one variety? I know I’m not in the UK, but please. Or if there only is one variety, make it extra good. These scambled eggs where too dry and not seasoned enough.

With that said, it was still a nice brunch and everything was nice and fresh, and it offered a good balance between healthy (cottage cheese, wholegrain bread, fruit and vegetables) and indulgence (croissants, cakes with custard, pancakes with whipped cream and cheeses)

 

Familjen restaurant, Gothenburg

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When reading Charlotta’s Gothenburg guide, Emma and I liked the sounds of the Familjen (the Family) restaurant and booked a table for Saturday. We arrived already at 6pm, when the first session started, it was either that or 8.30pm onwards.

The restaurant had a cosy feel about it, and was decorated with both sofas and tables, red lights and very nice and familiar staff.

As soon as we sat down the tray above appeared with crisp bread, sourdough, butter and a mackerel spread. The bread was lovely and Linus adored the mackerel, I did not try it myself.

We all chose the same starter; forest mushroom soup with beef tartar and cheesy croûtons. The soup was nice, although a bit thin, and it desperately lacked salt. There were no salt or pepper mills on the table so I had to ask for salt at the bar. With added salt the flavour was really nice, but it could still have been a bit thicker.

The mains lacked no seasoning and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Emma and I chose hake loin with fennel, crab and tomato confit. I always think that fish needs a nice sauce, and that was lacking here, but I realised that it was not necessary for the dish. The lovely tomatoes burst and worked as the sauce and the flavours of this dish were suble but lovely. Linus chose the manliest maincourse;  valde en manligare varmrätt; veal entrecôte, red wine jus, roasted new potatoes and bread with bonemarrow. He really enjoyed it.

After two courses we were too full for dessert and decided to go home and make cocktails instead.

I thought this restaurant was good, but that it had potential to be even better. What I liked the most was the cosy athmosphere and the nice staff, but it should be more focus on the food really.

A weekend in Gothenburg and strawberry daiquiris

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Early on Saturday morning I got ready to go to Gothenburg. It wasn’t even light outside when I got into the cab. After a nap on the plane I arrived before midday in Sweden and had a great weekend with my old friends Linus and Emma.

We started the weekend with a lunhc on the town, just ran into the first decent place to escape the terrential rain that followed me from Britain to Gothenburg. We also tried the best coffee in town at Da Matteo, well technically Emma did. Linus and I had hot chocolate which was lovely. I also met up for lunch with fellow food blogger Ă…sa at this place on Monday and really enjoyed my large sandwich on sourdough with turkey and porcini creme.

In the evening we had dinner at Familjen, followed by homemade strawberry daiquiris back in Linus’ flat. We then headed out to a bar and saw several thousand people running the Midnight Run through the town in the dark and the rain.

On Sunday we had a large brunch and then I met another food blogger, Charlotta and later enjoyed tacos back at Linus’ flat before Emma went back to Malmö. Thank you so much everyone for a GREAT weekend. You’re the best!

Strawberry daiquiris, 6 drinks

ca 400 g frozen strawberries

250 ml water

250 ml sugar

white rum

Start with the syrup, ahead of time. Mix water and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to the boil so the sugar melts. Leave to cool completely. Pour strawberries and the syrup into the blender and mix until smooth. Add rum after taste. Serve in glasses on a stem and perhaps decorate with one or two mint leaves. Enjoy! 

Salt & Brygga in Malmö, Sweden

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The last night in Sweden Daniel and Maria treated us to dinner at a cosy organic restaurant in the West Harbour in Malmö.

Although I used to live in Malmö before I moved to London I have actually never been to Salt & Brygga before. A shame, because I really liked the place! But it is still going strong after 10 (!) years, so I think it will be around for a while longer so I can come back.

The menu is based on local seasonal produce and they are, we later learned, quite fond of garnishing the food with edible flowers.

They offer an a’la carte menu but also three set menus, with the dishes from the a’la carte but a bit cheaper, so if you know you are having three courses, I highly recommend one of the set menus.

Out of those, all four of us chose the same one, the meaty option. It would be nice to see a set menu with bort fish/seafood and meat, but it was either or here. We were still happy though, meat lovers as we are.

The starter was spickeskinka, basically locally cured ham that is quite salty. It came with a smoked cheese creme, red and yellow beetroots, an egg yolk creme, caviar and fresh horseradish. It was very nice, but trying a bit too hard. The smoked cheese didn’t taste enough I thought, and the salty caviar was not needed with the already salty ham. The beets were perfectly cooked and went nicely with the dish and I really liked the egg yolk creme as well. All in all a good dish, but keeping it simpler could have been even better.

The main course on the other hand was pure perfection. Three types of meat (cutlet, leg and sausage) and perfectly cooked. The sausage had a nice earthy taste of cumin and almost a bit spicy. I say almost, the other three agreed that it actually was spicy… Nice, anyhow. Served with all the meat was a carrot purĂ©e (will have to try this at home), girolles and pointy cabbage, a jus and the most wonderful deepfried goat’s cheese (beautifully soft and creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside.

The dessert was a homage to crispy rhubarb with buttermilk sorbet, a lovely vanilla-flavoured creme, petit strawberry meringues and cardamom jelly. The latter was redundant as it didn’t taste much of anything, but a nice idea though.

All four of use really enjoyed the lovely meal in the relaxed restaurant. A Monday night in Malmö is always quiet, but still the restaurant was half full – definitely a good sign.

I would dare to say this is one of the best restaurant in Malmö, and it is well worth a visit! Thank you Daniel and Maria for a lovely evening with excellent food and wonderful company!

The last picture is of the Turning Torso, the landmark of Malmö.

Lotta’s restaurant in Ystad, Sweden

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One eveningn in Sweden me, Christopher and my mum and dad headed to Ystad, a small town in the south of Sweden, just by the seafront, and the home of one of Sweden’s buggest crime exports; Wallander. For those of you who have seen the series, I promise that Ystad is actually a nice town and not that grey and brown as portrayed in the series.

My parents wanted to take me to a restaurant called Store Thor (The great Thor), which they think is the best restaurant in the whole of Ystad. During the summer, however, the regular restaurant is closed and instead they only serve more simple dishes, like burgers and chicken scewers and that was not really what we were after. The outdoor seating didn’t look very nice either, as many tables crammed together as possible, I guess so they could make good money during the tourist season, but it would still be nice to keep the normal restaurant open for regulars.

We passed on the burgers and walked across the street to Lottas instead. At least it was a cosier atmosphere. The food was quite good, but still not exactly what we were after, but we still enjoyed it. And if we had booked here and gone here knowing what to expect we would have been quite happy.

The snaila that Christopher, myself and dad chose as a starter were big and juicy, served without the shells and tasted lovely.

Mother chose a toast Skagen instead and received a large plate full of salad, rye bread and prawns.

As a maincourse, three of us chose the same again, this time mother, Christopher and I – the schnitzel Cordon Bleu; thinly sliced pork escalope folded in half with Swiss cheese and smoked ham in the middle. It was huge, as you can see, and very tasy. So was the jus that came with it. The potatoes dissappointed slightly, and was the only potato option on the menu, but still good.

Father chose the pepper steak with peppercorn sauce and the same potatoes, and he really enjoyed the tender meat.

After such sturdy dishes, we were way too full to even think about dessert…

A wonderful day in Copenhagen, Denmark

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Before we left Sweden we had time for a day in Copenhagen. It is so convenient to go there, by car at least, the trains are a pain at the moment. Since it was Christopher’s second time in Copenhagen we decided to be cultural and do some sightseeing.

First stop was Amalienborg Palace, the Danish equivalent to Buckingham Palace. We went into the small museum that was quite uninpressive and then watched the changing of the guards. Although most of the castle is not open to the public, still walk this way just to see the location. With an impressive cathedral right behind it, a wonderful view of the canal and the newish Opera House it feels rather nice.

After Amalienborg we had a quick lunch before heading to Rosenborg castle, which turned out to be amazing. A real, but small, castle complete with a moat and impressive interior. Best of all was the treasury where the crown jewels are kept. And that explained why two guards were combat ready with machine guns and knives outside the castle.

The most important thing with the castle was the grand hall on the second floor where they displayed the thrones. So worth a visit!

After being cultural for most part of the day, we decided we had deserved a nice coffee break. After Daniel and Maria’s recommendations we headed towards Nyhavn (the New Harbour) which is a real tourist trap, although nicely situated by the canal. But if you walk past all the seedy restaurants and turn left you find this amazing wooden deck with amazing views of the river, the opera house and Noma.

The place is called Ofelia beach and has a restaurant inside, as well as a café and bar and all the tables outside. Lovely, and so different to heaving Nyhavn, here was peace and quiet and perfect to sit and just watch the water and what is happening on the other bank.

On our way back towards the big pedestrian street, Strøget, I had to have icecream with guf, which is a must for me when in Denmark. Guf is like loose marshmallow fluff and tastes sweet from strawberries. I love it, but maybe more because of childhood memories than because it is a delicacy…

We also had time for some shopping, wines at Kjær & Sommerfeldt and kitchen stuff at Illums bolighus, then the skies opened and we rushed to the car and drove back to Sweden to meet up with Daniel and Maria for dinner.