Good Food From Sweden - Including The Smorgasbord

FOREWORD The recipes in this book will prove to you that the Swedish housewife is a culinary artist who knows how to turn an inexpensive and simple item on the menu into an appetizing dish by just a few deft touches. She also bears in mind the stimulating effect of a varied menu, as a welcome change from everyday fare. Being also both clever and economical, she realizes the nutritive value of eggs, cream and butter, and would never in her cooking stint an extra egg or pint of cream, knowing that she will get far more real food-value out of those ingredients than out of an equally expensive slice of meat, not to speak of the appetizing effect they will have on an otherwise un- interesting dish. The Swedish housewife also has a flair for turning to good account the cheaper cuts of meat, which are generally looked down on by the American cook for the simple reason that she has never learnt how to transform them into nour- ishing and tasty dishes. I am thinking of minced meat. Not the kind you buy ready-made, nor the remains of the Sunday roast, having passed through the usual Monday morning rites. The Swedish minced meat arrives from the butcher in its original state, be it good stewing beef, best forequarter veal, or pork, and the mincing process takes place in her own kitchen. This to ensure that there is no violation of what might be looked upon as the Swedish housewifes golden rule Only the best meaning superior and unimpaired raw materials is good enough.There are a few cooking utensils that the Swedish house- wife finds invaluable, and that in the long run would well repay the comparatively small initial outlay. Those utensils can be had from the hardware department of most leading stores. Finally, I wish to tell you that many American dishes are quite popular in Sweden and that I have noticed how every year an increasing number of American recipes find their way into our Swedish cookery books. Exchange being no robbery, I hope that our American friends will take kindly to these typically Swedish recipes. INGA NORBERG SANDWICHES CONTENTS PAGE AND SNACKS . . . . . . . . . 1 GOOD FOOD FROM SWEDEN SANDWICHES AND SNACKS and SNACKS FOR THE COCKTAIL PARTY THREE sandwiches on a small plate, with a sprig of parsley, or a couple of radishes, adding a jolly touch, often takes the place of hors doeuvres at a Swedish dinner. These sandwiches are placed on the left of each person, and as you sit down at table, the maid puts the plate in front of you. Small glasses of beer are served round on a tray, the glasses being removed before the next course is served. These sandwiches, or snacks rather, have bread only for their foundation. They are about inch thick, and are cut either in about 3-inch squares, oblongs, or else shaped into rounds with a pastry cutter. Dark or white bread may be used, or for anchovy snacks, Swedish hard bread, while toast would be most suitable for caviar snacks. These snacks should be well buttered and neatly trimmed. The butter to be unsalted, and creamed, and in some cases mixed with a suspicion of mustard. Left-over peas and salad make delicious snacks also ham and tongue, etc. Piped with thick mayonnaise, or covered with a thin layer of aspic, with a star of truffles or carrot underneath, they will be irresistible. What you want more than anything else for these little dainties is imagination, ingenuity and a sense of color. Striped Sandwiches A Novel Idea for Tea and Cocktail Parties 1 sandwich loaf yester- 3 tablespoons cooked veal days 3 tablespoons smoked 1 cup butter salmon teaspoon French mustard I oz. gruyere cheese 3 tablespoons cooked ham 1 picked gherkin 3 tablespoons tongue Remove crusts. Slice loaf lengthwise. Cream butter with mustard. Spread slices on both sides with butter, top and bottom slices only on one side...