Christmas is coming !

Happy Advent everyone!

It is now time to decorate the house and cozy up with glögg (Swedish mulled wine), pepparkakor (ginger snaps), beautifully decorated with royal icing, and lussekatter (saffron buns). Or why not a delicious Italian Panettone?

With Christmas just around the corner, it is also time to start preparing the more time consuming processes of brining, curing and candy making.

As Swedes we cannot imagine a julbord (Christmas version of the Swedish smörgåsbord) without julskinka, which is our version of holiday ham that is brined but not smoked. It is surprisingly easy to brine it yourself, but it takes about two weeks so you should get it started now.

The gravlax (cured salmon) takes 2-3 days so you should not start that yet, but you can buy the salmon now and freeze it for later. The accompanying hovmästarsås (dill & mustard sauce) is made just before serving.

It may also be a good idea to wait with the candy making, or they will never last until Christmas (at least not in my house). But who said you cannot make it twice? My knäck & kola (Swedish Christmas toffee) recipe is so simple, it is easily done.

Next time I will present a typical Swedish julbord menu, and the rest of the recipes you need for that. Hope to see you then!