Category Archives: Sweden

What is a Smorgasbord

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As you know Hot Sauce and Chili are cruising around Scandinavia in their new car.  This week on a ferry they were able to sail and eat from the on-board smörgåsbord. Hot Sauce is still sorting out how to text from her phone so let me just say that her reporting was a bit lacking.  So, Nutmeg thought it would be good to do a bit of research, as it sure sounds better than “buffet”.

Have you every wondered what is a smörgåsbord?  It is a type of Scandinavian meal served buffet-style with multiple dishes of various foods on a table, originating in Sweden. In Norway it is called koldtbord and in Denmark it is called kolde bord. Smörgåsbord became internationally known as smörgåsbord at the 1939 New York World’s Fair when it was offered at the Swedish Pavilion Restaurant.  Members of the Swedish merchant and upper class in fourteenth-century Sweden and Finland served schnapps table (brännvinsbord), a small buffet presented on a side table offering a variety of hors d’oeuvres served prior to a meal before sitting at the dinner table.  Eventually,  in the mid-seventeenth century, the food moved from the side table to the main table and service began containing both warm and cold dishes. Smörgåsbord was also served as an appetizer in hotels and later at railway stations, before the dining cars time for the guests.

So there you have it a bit of triva for today.

Maybe when Hot Sauce can sort out how to type and eat, we will get some details on their experience.

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European Road Trip 2010

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Nutmeg’s parents (Hot Sauce and Chili) love to travel.  Last year, they put a mere 6000 nautical miles on their boat doing the Great Loop Miss Bim’s Adventures.  This year they have decide to take on Europe in 7 weeks and do a driving road trip.  They start the adventure in Gothenburg (Sweden), at the Volvo factory, with a tour and a new car.  They will have a GPS and are fully equipped with the latest technology to get from point to point.  However, Nutmeg is concerned they may not have done all their research, on the food and drink options that await them in the next few weeks.  So, the following is an overview of the trip and Nutmeg’s food guide to help them narrow down the endless possibilities:

CityCountryFood Possibilities
CopenhagenDenmarkFrikadeller (meatballs), with cabbage and beets
KristiansandNorwaySmoked Salmon, Gravlax, Open faced sandwiches, Meats served with juniper berries and lingonberry jam.  One interesting  thing is that Norway is the world’s leading coffee consumer.
Stavanger
Burgen
Oslo
StockholmSwedenSmilar to Norwary but add pickled herring, Swedish meatballs and akevitt (deadly white liquor)
HelsinkiFinlandCabbage rolls, game, hernekeitto (pea soup) and Karelian pies
Estonia
RigaLatviaDinner with cold borscht, pot cooked cabbage, a cotlette, a gherkin, sour milk (kefir) and some kvass (beer).
WarsawPolandPierogis, sauerkraut, kielbasa, cabbage rolls, bigos (meat stews), rye bread and lots of great deserts.
Dresden
Prague
Cesky Krumlov
BudapestHungaryHot Fish Soup (Halaszle), Goulash (meat soup), Nokedli (small dumplings), stuffed peppers, salami.  This is a place that Paprika is used liberally.  A classic desert is Dobos torta (sponge cake layered with chocolate paste and glazed with caramel and nuts).
SalzburgAustriaWiener Schnitzel and boiled beef.  Sacher Torte, Linzer Torte and Apple strudel.  Check Nutmeg’s blog on Vienna food scene.
Kitzbuhel
OberammergauGermanySausage, sauerkraut, potato dumplings, pretzels and beer.
FribourgSwitzerlandCheese fondue, raclette and mediocre wine
Grindelwald
ChamonixFranceTruffle is cooking!
LondonEnglandFish and chips, beer, ploughman’s lunch, beer, Cornish pasties, beer….

Enjoy!  We look forward to some guest blog reviews from Hot Sauce and Chili.

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