Tip - Scandinavian Smorgasbord

SCANDINAVIAN SMORGASBORD

After a season of grilling chicken breasts on the patio and tossing
pasta salads until we're blue in the face, are we ready for something
a little different this Indian summer?  How about a smorgasbord?

Now, there are smorgasbords and then there are smorgasbords.  The term
generally has come to mean any groaning board of food that eclipses a
mere buffet, regardless of ethnic origin.  In Sweden, however, it's an
enormous spread of specific hot and cold foods, from herring salads to
Swedish meatballs.  But for our purposes, we're going to stick with
the cold stuff.  And we're also going to enlist the aid of dishes from
other Scandinavian countries, most notably Denmark.

Why Scandinavia?  Just thought we're all becoming a wee bit weary of
Mediterranean cuisine.  Wouldn't you like to offer your guests
something that doesn't have Nicoise olives or balsamic vinegar in it
for a change?

In addition to the change of culinary pace, our September Smorgasbord
has the advantage of being entirely cold.  That's perfect for the warm
days of the second summer.  And cold food also means that we can
prepare dishes hours, and in some cases days, in advance.

Scandinavian cuisine is larded with two major elements, dairy products
and seafood.  We can cut back or modify the butter and cream
(especially since much of it goes in hot dishes).  But there's no
getting around the seafood.  And who wants to, with all those
heart-healthy Omega-3 oils?

Our smorgasbord begins with gravlax, fresh-cured salmon.  This will
impress the heck out of your friends who pay $25 a pound for smoked
salmon at upscale delis.  But don't tell them it only takes about 15
minutes of work.  (Tell them you had to take a special course in
Copenhagen.)

The texture of gravlax falls somewhere between sashimi and
store-bought lox.  You'll need a very sharp knife to get very thin
slices that go on thin breads or crackers.  A nice presentation is to
put one of the two fillets of cured salmon on a cutting board for
show.  Put the slices from other fillet next to it.  Arrange bread and
mustard sauce nearby and garnish the whole thing with sprigs of fresh
dill.

No smorgasbord would be complete without herring in some form.  (An
authentic smorgasbord may have as many as 20 versions.) Since most
herring comes already prepared in jars in the refrigerated section of
supermarkets, our task is again very simple.  Some herring salads call
for sour cream or mayonnaise or a combination of the two.  You can use
low fat versions of both, but I prefer to use a recipe that doesn't
need either.  Tart apples, onions, and chopped eggs are the usual
companions in herring salads.

Denmark's favorite meat is pork, and one of its favorite meat dishes
is a roast loin of pork stuffed with apples and prunes, served hot.
But I have also had pork loin stuffed with figs and it was delicious.
And figs are in season now, so your Danish friends will forgive you
for taking liberties.; If you don't like them or can't find good ones,
use prunes soaked in boiling water.

The key to cold, or more accurately, room temperature pork is to make
sure the meat is cooked to no more than 155 degrees.  That may seem
low if you've cooked pork to 170 degrees in the past.  But hogs are
remarkably clean these days, and the pesky trichina worm is killed at
137 degrees.

If pate rather than pork loin appeals to you, pork liver pate (called
liver paste) is an authentic smorgasbord component.

You'll want at least two cold salads.  Beet salad and cucumber salad
are traditional.  You can also try some potato salad with pimentos and
chopped anchovy mixed in, or a fresh mushroom salad tossed in a
dressing of cream and grated onion.

Scandinavian breads and crackers are neat.  They're thin and nutty
with lots of texture.  FinnCrisp and Wasa Crispbread are available in
supermarkets.  Most markets also have a thin Danish pumpernickel.  A
thinly sliced dark rye rounds out the group.

With the emphasis on dairy, Scandinavian cheeses are abundant.
Swiss-like Jarlsberg and Finlandia are the most common, along with
Danish blue, Swedish fontina (which tastes nothing like Italian
fontina), and creamy Havarti, which comes plain or flecked with dill,
caraway or mustard seed.

Lesser known, but worth trying, are mild Tilsit, low fat King
Christian, and creamy blue Castello.  Try the latter with apple slices
for dessert.

Arrange the rounds, blocks and wedges of cheese in a geometric pattern
near breads and crackers.

If there is an official drink of Scandinavia, it's aquavit, literally
"water of life."  The most common brand of this caraway vodka is
Aalborg Taffel Akavavit in the green bottle with the red and white
label.  Drink it straight and very cold from a cordial glass.  If
that's too bracing, mix it with tomato juice or spicy V-8 juice for
fabulous Bloody Marys.  The same can be said for Finlandia and Absolut
vodkas.

The most impressive way to serve any of these spirits is to freeze
them in a block of ice.  Simply put the bottle in plastic container
such as a one-quart ricotta or cottage cheese container.  Fill the
container with water and freeze.  (Don't worry, the alcohol will
prevent the bottle contents from freezing.) Remove the container and
serve.

If vodka is too high-test for you, Denmark's Carlsberg beer (in light
and dark versions) is the best known of several available Scandinavian
beers.  Others include Nordick Wolf (Sweden), Aass Pilsner (Norway),
and Elephant Malt Liquor and Tuborg (Denmark).

This kind of meal dictates something reasonably light for dessert.
That knocks out rice pudding, cheesecake, and rich Scandinavian
pastries.  Strawberry snow" isn't a bad idea.  It's pureed
strawberries with egg whites and heavy cream.  But I've chosen cookies
called Swedish jelly slices (recipe below).  I have no idea if this
Maida Heatter dessert is authentic, but it's awfully good.

Skoal!