Swedish International Dinner

Our Swedish International Dinner was the biggest yet with over One Hundred and Twenty Five Pounds of Food Donated, much of which was sustainably and organically and some was even locally sourced!

We ended up with thirty-nine people, some who were immigrants, first and second generation Swedes. My friend Martha Malkiewicz led a number of folk dance regulars through their paces with a jaunty Swedish children's dance that moved faster and faster as the song went on. My good friend Joan Goldberg shared stories that centered on the Iron Nail (a type of Stone Soup tale) and shared a bit of history of storytelling, how the stories stay generally the same regardless of the country, just darker in their telling the farther north you head.

It took me two days to make 55 Rose Hip Semla, and only 8 came home afterwards! Folks brought pepparkakor, quiche, cold apple and cucumber salad, salt potatoes, warm red cabbage, red wine glogg, and pickled slivered cucumbers.

I served over 300 kottbullar (traditional meatballs), potatoes with lingonberries, salmiak crusted pork loin, traditional Black Currant Glogg and an ice sorbet glogg, two loaves of cardamon bread, sweet gingered carrots, butter roasted slivered fennel, and lemon and dill stuffed grouper. Do you know how many bones there are in that fish? I don't know either, I lost count. But people were very sweet about it.

 

 Skål!

Semla - Workshop and Swedish International Dinner

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup and 2 tablespoons warm milk (70 to 80 degrees F)

3/4 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast

3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons milk, or as needed

1/4 pound almond paste

1-1/2 cups whipping cream

1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons white sugar

confectioners' sugar for dusting

1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs with butter and milk. Sprinkle yeast overtop and allow to soften for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift together flour with sugar, salt, and ground cardamom. Once yeast has softened, stir flour mixture into milk mixture until a soft dough forms. Cover bowl with a towel, and allow to rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

2. Add in second measurement of flour and baking powder. Form into 12 balls (or 24 if you'd like smaller semlor) and place onto greased baking sheets. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, 35 to 40 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

4. Bake in preheated oven 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and the center has firmed. Cool buns on a wire rack to room temperature.

5. Once cool, cut a slice about 1/2 inch thick off of the top of the bun and set aside. Scoop or cut out the center of the buns, leaving a shell about 1/2 inch thick. Tear the removed bread into small pieces and place into a bowl.


Moisten the bread with milk, then mix in almond paste until smooth. Add additional milk if needed until the almond paste filling is nearly as soft as pudding.

6. Fill each shell with a spoonful of almond paste filling. Pipe whipped cream on top of the filling to 1/2 inch over the top of the bun. Replace the tops onto the buns, and dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.

The ones made in class had cocoa added to the dry ingredients. The ones served at the dinner had a rose hip tea added to the almond paste.