LA JOLLA – December is bustling with holiday celebrations. I have childhood memories of Christmas Eve with my Swedish neighbors. Ingrid was the best cook. In her honor, I present two of her incredible delights, but with my healthier twist.
Glögg and Cheers!
3 hours (mostly waiting)
Ingredients: Inexpensive red wine, orange, cardamom, ginger, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, golden raisins, aquavit or bourbon.
Tools needed: Medium saucepan, strainer, bowl, and serving glasses.
Prep and serve: Place in saucepan, 1 orange peel and orange juice, 1 bottle red wine, a pinch of nutmeg, ¼ cup brown sugar, 3 cinnamon sticks broken up, 2-inch piece of ginger thinly sliced, 5 cardamon pods, bring to almost simmer, put aside at room temp for 2 hours, strain into a bowl, pour strained back into saucepan, add ½ cup aquavit or bourbon, a handful of golden raisins and bring to almost simmer, serve warm in glasses with a cinnamon stick.
Skål, pronounced skoal, or cheers!
P.S.: There is an art to Skål, as I learned on a flight to Paris next to one of the original engineers for the 747.
Swedish meatballs to swoon for
50 minutes
Ingredients: Ground meat, nutmeg, allspice, breadcrumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, onion, sour cream or yogurt, parsley, butter, salt, pepper, flour, and chicken broth.
Tools needed: Bowl, measuring spoons, cooking pan, cooking spoon, serving spoon, and plates.
Swedish meatballs to swoon for. (Photo by Margo Schwab/Special to La Jolla Village News)
Prep and serve: In skillet, lightly brown finely chopped ½ onion with 1 T butter until lightly browned, let cool and mix in bowl with 1 pound finely ground beef, 1/4 t each spice, 1/3 C breadcrumbs, 1 egg, roll into 1 inch balls, lightly brown meatballs in skillet, set aside in oven on pan in oven at 300, in same skillet cook and whisk 1 T butter with 3 T flour, add and whisk ½ cup yoghurt or sour cream with 1 T brown sugar, ¼ t spices, salt and pepper, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce and 1 t Dijon mustard, bring to a simmer, place meatballs on plates, pour sauce over, garnish with parsley.
Enjoy!
Too lazy to cook alternative: Giuseppe Catering and Girard Gourmet!
P.S.: Want to help a family for the holidays? Operation Homefront, Soldiers’ Angels, Feeding San Diego, Father Joe’s; for animals, the San Diego Humane Society.
