the temptation of Jansson

So the 4th Advent has come and gone, and what a wonderful weekend we had!  Saturday was a great day spent watching the new Star Wars movie and caroling with friends at their annual XMAS party.  Sunday I enjoyed a delicious Christmas brunch (julbord) with Swedish friends.

We had meatballs,  little hot dogs, salad with beets and apples, knäckebröd, cheese, glögg and Janssons frestelse aka temptation.  I don't know what it was about potatoes, anchovies and cream that drove Jansson to distraction but it is good.  I made it for our little get-together and the recipe is linked  I didn't have Swedish anchovies so I used the Italian ones which seemed to work.

Now we're watching "Rare Exports", a Finnish movie about a bad Santa Claus.  It is nerve wracking for sure and I'm not sure if I will watch the whole movie.  (I'm not much for horror movies, I just wanted to see Finland and the landscape there.) Finnish men are reputed to be rough and tough, drinkers and macho men who brave saunas and snaps. Well we'll see how they handle the evil Santa...


"It's kind of like troll hunter", said my son and he's right. Troll Hunter is a Norwegian movie that is meant to look like a documentary in which they find massive trolls in the forests.  Something about the mythology of the North is really interesting and eerie.  I guess the nature there is so large and overwhelming.  Kind of like the avalanche in "Force Majeure", a Swedish film, which explored family dynamics in the face of disaster.  Enough of that, here's the cat and the elf wishing you a Happy Holiday season!   Now I've got to run and shop!