Swedish style herring can be difficult to find when living abroad. We used to buy ours at IKEA, but this year their selection was limited. Fresh or brined herring filets are really hard to get here in southern California, but we were lucky to find Bismarck Herring at a local European market. I then used the fish to make my own versions of pickled herring.

Thick, sticky ribs are always part of our Christmas table and I love them with a little apple sauce on the side. The trick to juicy, tender meat is preboiling first, then grilling or baking with lots of yummy glaze. The best part is that you can do most of the cooking the day before, and just grill/bake them before serving.

Making sausage is easier then you would think, but requires a few special tools. We have missed these precious, little wieners on our Christmas table, so this year we decided to make them ourselves. They turned out delicious, in fact they taste better than store bought!