The Leahy Family: Swedish Supper.

Now Serving ... The Swedish Supper!

While many families are feasting on prime rib, turkey, or ham on Christmas Eve, our crew always looks forward to our special family tradition -- the Swedish Supper. Jami's Grandma Eleanor used to prepare this meal at the holidays, and then Jami's mother continued the tradition. Our family now enjoys making these time-honored recipes, and tonight's Swedish feast was one of the best yet with some new dishes! With several contributing chefs, take a look at our fine menu:

Potatis Korv (Potato Sausage) -- Specially made last week for us by our neighbor James
Fingerling Potatoes with Carrots - Prepared from our locally grown farmshare veggies
Bruna Bonor (Brown Beans) -- Prepared by Papa
Gravlax (Cold-Cured Salmon with Dill) -- A new dish this year prepared by Papa
Lutefisk (White Fish) -- This is the most famous of Swedish dishes! Prepared by Papa.
Frukt Soppa (Fruit Soup) -- Sweet, warm soup of apricots, raisins, plums, cinnamon, etc.
Mixed Green Salad with a Balsamic Lingonberry Dressing -- A new dish this year prepared by Jami
Lefse -- Like a potato tortilla
Sandbakkels (Almond Butter Cookies) -- A Norwegian cookie prepared by Scott
Glogg -- Swedish mulled wine

As we gathered around the table for dinner, it was amazing to consider the many layers of family tradition woven into this meal. Papa remembers as a young child his parents making the potato sausage in their kitchen. Scott has some Norwegian heritage, so we incorporated some of those flavors, like the lefse and the sandbakkels. The handwritten cookbook we use to prepare this meal was a treasured gift from Jami's mom several years ago for Christmas. A meal like this also deserves our best dishes so we used the china from Jami's Grandma Ruby. There is so much meaning behind this meal, and the tradition is a wonderful celebration of our family ... generations past and present.

Enjoy some photos from our Christmas Eve festivities.