December 22, 2011

Swedish Christmas

I may or may not have lost a year of my life this December, engaged fully and solely in the building and decorating of ginger bread houses. I'll admit it: I got obsessed. And it turns out, gingerbread houses can get pretty frustrating. They break often and despite how many glues I tried (8), frosting is always the best adhesive. I worried that my efforts would be deemed 'little kid'; why hadn't I waited for Amy to return from Chicago?!? But, when I laid the remaining five houses down the center of my table, and Courtney and I created rivers and paths between them with cinnamon bears and peppermint sticks, I felt redeemed. I couldn't imagine a more perfect backdrop for my Swedish Christmas dinner party. This menu was a fun one to create and delicious to eat. We started with individual fish and pickle plates and then enjoyed a family style feast of Swedish meatballs. And we played a game that people didn't seem annoyed to play!, guessing who wanted what from Santa. This is my very favorite time of year, and ginger bread houses will most certainly be a new tradition. Next year, I might just stick to one. Happy happy holidays & a merry merry Christmas to all...
The Menu

sips

the st. lucia
lingonberry, thyme simple syrup, house sour, guests' choice: bourbon, vodka or gin

snacks

martha stewart's cheese balls-three ways

hot spinach balls with spicy mustard dip

to start

fish & pickle plate
house pickled green beans, beets, carrots, onion & cauliflower
smoked trout, creme fraiche, caper berry
cold-smoked salmon, cornichon, lemon & dill
rye crisps & pumpernickel toast

to share

swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam

buttered egg noodles with dill

sweet & sour braised red cabbage

winter greens with pomegranate seeds & lemon vinaigrette

sweets

spiced egg nog

cookie platter: raspberry linzer, ginger snaps & gingerbread men sugar cookies

2 comments:

Beth K said...

Cute! A long time ago I bought a cast iron gingerbread house mold from William Sonoma -- that really speeds up the process.

Camilla said...

Looks lovely! I've made gingerbread houses for as long as I can remember and yes, they can take a toll on your patience. We use melted sugar as glue. It works much like a hot glue gun and sets up instantly as it cools and hardens. Just watch your fingers as it's as hot and painful as the glue gun.

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