A very early Christmas Smörgåsbord

Julbord, or a Christmas Smörgåsbord, is a very big deal in Sweden. Many restaurants will serve this - and almost always ONLY this - for the entire month of December. Most companies will have their employees out for Christmas dinners, and many go privately as well. Yesterday, me, Dagmar and Per were invited to a preview at Fjäderholmarnas Krog, who decided to serve up their julbord a few months in advance. I visited Fjäderholmarna last year, but I'd never been to the restaurant before.

It was really, really cool - and incredibly tasty. What made it different? Well, the big thing was that it was served in tiny portions, really. Instead of having big casseroles filled with, say, smoked salmon, the kitchen served up nice cubes. Everything was cut into bite-sized pieces, which really helped keep the whole thing fresh-looking. I didn't bring my camera, so bear with my iPhone photos.. we did also get a cd with some press photos, so I'm showing you those as well.

To sum up: if you're wanting to try Swedish julbord this year, do go to Fjäderholmarna! It's a fifteen-minute boat trip from Stockholm city, and well worth it. But do book in advance, because I'm sure it will fill up quite fast. Prices vary from 495-695 SEK depending on the day and time.

Now, for the entire menu... (yes, you get all of this.) (And no, I didn't try everything.)



First course - variations on herring:
Many types of sill (pickled herring), flavored with: curry, lingonberries & black pepper, herbs, Mackmyra (Swedish whiskey), sea buckthorn, black currants, aniseed, garlic & almonds, mustard, lemon & dill, rosehip & cardamom, vanilla & lime leaf, honey & jalapeño

Also, teriyaki herring, sillsalad, olive oil & saffron herring, vendace roe herring, matjesill (a special sort of spiced sill) with crème fraîche, allspice herring, tomato herring and herb-cured herring. And a few different types of sharp, well-aged cheeses.



Second course - more fish:
Orange & Sichuan cured salmon, cured salmon, salmon tartare with vendace roe, smoked herring, cold-smoked salmon, warm-smoked salmon, artic char with caraway, pike & shellfish paté, Västerbotten Cheese pie with vendace roe, boiled eggs with vendace roe, boiled eggs with shrimp, salmon in aspic, salted pike-perch, salmon & herb paté.



Third course - cold meats:
Rolled sylta (jellied meat loaf, sort of), veal sylta, wild boar ham, Christmas ham, sylta made from pork and pig´s feet, smoked lamb, reindeer salami, coarse liver paté, moose salami, Gustafskorv (made from horses), smoked reindeer, deer paté, rabbit sylta, orange smoked duck breast, pheasant paté, moose & shiitake paté, wild boar paté, smoked moose, chicken roulade, veal & pistachio sausage



Fourth course - optional - lutfisk with classic trimmings. (We skipped this, as it had to be ordered separately. And none of us like lutfisk.)

Fifth course - warm food:
Ribs, meatballs, brown cabbage, red cabbage, Christmas choucroute, mushroom omelet, shellfish omelet, sausages, Jansson's temptation, Kroppkakor, "Dopp i grytan" (essentially you dip bread into fat rendered from cooking your ham), and finally a fingerling potato cream with suovas (smoked, dried reindeer filet) with pickled chanterelles and lingonberries.

Sixth course - again optional - cheese:
Per ordered this, and got a well-aged stilton from Neal's Yard, Swedish Påverås Fjällädel, apple marmelade, fruit & nut bread and some sort of thinly sliced pears. Tiny pieces.



Seventh course - desserts:
Cloudberries with cream cheese and gingerbread, dark chocolate mousse with peaches, pear, lemongrass & lingonberries with vodkamousse, warm cheesecake with raspberry jam, almonds and white chocolate mousse, fruit salad, fig fruitcake, marzipan, burnt almonds, a special chocolate flavored with Mackmyra whisky, cherry fruit cake, Swedish knäck, "ice chocolate", "mint kisses" (mint fondant with dark chocolate), "polka-pigs" (similar to candy canes), chocolate cake, candied orange peel in chocolate, truffles with raspberries, three types of marmalade (white peach, apple and blackcurrant), and a delicious licorice & salt chocolate bark. And fruits, but who could eat fruit after all that..?


My dessert plate