Monday, January 23, 2017

A Man Called Ove Eats a Scandinavian Feast

My book club met last night, and we read a wonderful book entitled A Man Called Ove. I saw the movie when I was in Sweden last summer, and it was really good, but the book was even better! And of course, we had to have a full Swedish smorgasbord to accompany our lively discussion. Everything was as delicious as the charming and poignant novel.

Jaime cured her own salmon gravlax and served it with a mustard sauce, shaved fennel, and brown bread.
Back: Kathy made a Persian chicken and rice dish like a Ove's Iranian neighbor, Parvaneh, shared with him.

Front: Janice made a delicious potato gratin called Flødekartofler, which I think is actually Danish, but oh well. It was yummy!

Clockwise, from bottom left: Shann made Västerbottensost-Oliver, these little cheesy dough-wrapped olives.

Our lovely hostess, Katie, made the ubiquitous cucumber salad that is served with everything in Sweden.

Kathy made potato dumplings filled with bacon and onions called kroppkaka.

I tried to replicate one of the best things I tasted in Sweden, at a proper smorgasbord at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm: A Västerbotten Creme Topped with Strawberry-Rhubarb Preserves which I served with multigrain crispbread. (Västerbotten is a hard, salty cheese, kind of like Swedish Parmesan. A hunk of it was one of the few "souvenirs" that I brought home in my carry-on.)


Katie's cucumber salad.
Janice's gratin.
Kathy's Persian Chicken and Rice.
Kathy's dumplings and my Västerbotten spread.
Janice made another type of potato dish. I think it was also of Danish origin and is called Hasselback Kartofler.
My delicious Scandinavian dinner!
The Swedish stew (kalops) that I made and served with steamed new potatoes and dill.
Domenica made a chocolate kladdkaka (cloud cake) topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and--OF COURSE--a Swedish fish!

2 comments:

  1. My book club read the same book, but we didn't have that wonderful meal!

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  2. Hi, Carolyn. My book club stopped kidding ourselves long ago. We know the REAL reason we get together. We should just call ourselves the Potluck Club! But it is fantastic! We always do a meal that has something to do with the book we read before we discuss it. One time, we read Clan of the Cave Bear and did a Paleo meal...ha ha.

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