This is one of the better looking cookbooks in my collection. The photography is elegant and gorgeous, evoking a rich sense of place and tempting one to make it a personal destination someday. The seasonal approach to organization is interesting, particularly in light of recent movements among cooks to source more local ingredients, while little anecdotes with the recipes give this some extra color and personality. Many of the recipes seem straightforward enough though there are a few with ingredients not common in my local grocery store. I do wish after reading this I knew of a local source of reasonably-priced game as the pheasant and moose recipes sound delicious. Now that we're coming into baking season, particularly looking forward to trying the cardamom buns recipe, and as the weather continues to cool, I have my eye on the potato soup with bacon and chives.

This beautifully photographed book is much more than a set of recipes. It is a expression of the Scandinavian soul--of a how a people so often plunged in darkness celebrate life. The book is divided into months and highlights the truly seasonal way Scandinavians eat (something we Americans are just beginning to appreciate). The recipes themselves tend to be short and, for the most part, simple. A reliance on seafood is evident, as is a love baking and celebrating.

This cookbook isn't just a collection of recipes, but is also a beautiful photo essay of life in Scandinavia. Most of the recipes have a straightforward and simple list of ingredients with clear instructions. However, this being a regional cookbook, there are a handful of items that cooks in America will have some difficulty finding. I especially look forward to trying the meatballs in curry sauce, and the classic Danish butter cookies look amazing. And unlike so many cookbooks today, this one shows pictures for all of the recipes. These food images are interspersed with photos of Scandinavia, and this gives the book the feel of a travelogue. ( )

At first glance, this is an utterly beautiful book, with full-color, glossy photos of food and Scandinavian landscapes--food and travel porn at its best. Trina Hahnemann divides her recipes into the four seasons, which is an increasingly popular style of organizing a cookbook. It doesn't always work, but I think in this case it does, as she is in part emphasizing the seasonality of food in Scandinavia--especially the foods that are fished or hunted. She also puts together menus for different holidays, which is appropriate considering most of her readers in the United States will not be familiar with the customs in Sweden and Norway (the two cuisines most often highlighted).

All that being said, I have tried one recipe from this cookbook, and it was very nearly a disaster. I made the 'Rice Pudding with Warm Cherry Sauce,' a dessert traditionally eaten following Christmas dinner. The first pitfall was far too much salt in the rice pudding (and I used less than what was instructed), an error, I suspect, of translating from metric to English measurements. The second was too much sugar and corn starch in the cherry sauce, making it very closely resemble canned cherry pie filling. Not the result I wanted when I spent a small fortune on organic frozen cherries. I was also confused by her insistence that the pudding be eaten cold, as my second generation Swedish immigrant grandmother always served rice pudding warm. The resulting dessert was edible, but just barely.

I am not willing to give up on this cookbook, however, as it has too many promising recipes to try, including ones to use up my significant other's vast quantities of venison in the freezer. I will come back to this review and rating once I have tried others, but for now I must say I was very disappointed.

Also posted on Amazon and my blog: http://redpersephone.blogspot.com/200... ( )

Full color photographs and seasonal arrangement makes this an attractive, but at first glance, alternate purchase. The recipes look so simple and use mostly common ingredients that my first thought was "ho-hum." However, after cooking a couple of recipes, most notably Lightly Brined Chicken, and Barley Salad, the true value of this lesser known cuisine becomes apparent. The ingredients are common and not exotic, yet the amalgam of the parts compose themselves into different spins on old themes. Delightfully simple and refreshing. Nicely photographed. Thank you Library Thing for adding this to my already overflowing cookbook shelf! ( )

To open the book is to take a step into Scandinavia with its large size and beautiful pictures. Spicy non-fish dishes are our favorites so were worried how much we would find in the book. We were pleasantly surprised with a number of interesting recipes. We loved the meatballs with thyme, green cabbage, and lingonsylt (cranberries in our case). We also tried the marinated salmon and found it delicious. The text with the recipes added and the actual recipes were clear and complete. It's a happy addition to our cookbooks. ( )

This book is fantastic! Now it's true that I would love it and probably say that even if it only had the homemade marzipan recipe and glögg...But the way the recipes are laid out month-by-month makes the book useful for actually getting my booty in the kitchen. Every month has at least 3 recipes that sounds mouth-watering and now I can't wait for Fall.

Oh, if you do get this book, make sure to fix up a batch of the meringues and strawberry mint salsa. I got this book just as the strawberries here were at their peak. Yummy! ( )

The Scandinavian Cookbook
by Trina Hahnemann
Photography by Lars Ranek
ISBN 0-7407-8094-8

Beautiful photographs and simple recipes are the two chief features of the book.

Recipes are arranged to match the seasons; every month is introduced with a short essay, and every recipe also has some context.

The book progresses through the twelve months, with a selection of six or eight recipes for each month. Evocative photographs of nature and food introduce each month, and clear images illustrate each recipe.

Other than the citric acid and 40 elderflower clusters required for Elderflower cordial (page 100), none of the ingredients are too unusual. Rye flower, olive oil, fresh fish, lemon zest, and new potatoes are typical. (Okay, November has pork cheeks in dark ale on one page and pheasant on the next, but the rest of the recipes are very approachable.)

The instructions are clear. They are divided into sections, each beginning with a bolded phrase to help the cook look ahead -- or recall their place.

There are entrees (leaning toward the region's wonderful cold-water fish), deserts, baked goods, and plenty of salads.

A glossary at the back of the book provides additional details of some of the foodstuffs.

I had expected this book to strike me as "beautiful but not for me," but now I think there are several recipes I will try before considering sending it on to family in Minnesota. ( )

Trina Hahnemann's cookbook is visually stunning and a very diverse introduction to Scandinavian cooking as a whole. The book is designed to be a seasonal cookbook, so recipes are presented in a monthly format with attention paid to the shifting weather and moods.

When Trina says in the introduction, "I still strongly believe that you should try to buy as much local produce as you can..." there should have been stress placed on the quality of ingredients as well as seasonality. In cooking through a few of these recipes, one thing became abundantly clear - Scandinavian cooking relies heavily on the base flavor of the ingredients. Seasoning was minimal and relied heavily on salt and pepper and little else. If a dish called for a side condiment or pickled something, this was generally a well-called for spark of flavor.

Of the recipes, we tried in the book:

Caraway Seed Bread: Easily made in an evening with quick-rise yeast (this cuts rise time in half). The superfine sugar is easy to locate in grocery stores. The buttermilk base helped create a dense, sweet loaf and the caraway flavor was prevalent.

Wienerschnitzel with braised potatoes: It's admitted upfront that although this dish originated in Vienna, it's become a classic throughout Europe. This version took no time at all to put together and cooked easily on a weeknight. The seasoning is incredibly light, but when you serve with anchovies, capers and lemons, the flavor comes together.

Captain's Stew: A comfort food that will become a staple. Best described as a mashed potatoes and chuck steak, this does have a healthy dose of black pepper, but is again, lightly seasoned. We served with pickled beets and found the flavor combination to be really good.

Baked Trout with New Potatoes and Smoked-Cheese Cream: The vegetables and trout were perfect. The potatoes called for rygeost or smoked ricotta cheese - neither of which were available locally. We ended up improvising by taking cream cheese and mixing in a bit of liquid smoke after reading up on the consistency. We're not sure how close it was, but the side dish was really good and something we'll make again.

Chicken Liver Pate with Aquavit: Aquavit was not available locally after checking at three different liquor stores. So for a week, I made my own Aquavit using vodka and a spice mixture. The chicken liver pate was still lightly seasoned, which did not work in this dish's favor. The homemade Aquavit flavor was there, but it mostly tasted of chilled chicken liver and a hint of sour cream.

There are other recipes I'd like to try, which definitely holds favor with this book. I have two bits of criticism to offer. The first is that the glossary is incredibly light and concentrates on the wrong ingredients in many cases. While time is spent ingredients like Beer, Beets, Mustard and Salmon, ingredients like rygeost never make the list. The second is that the book is missing is a good substitute/how-to list - for ingredients that may be difficult to find outside of Scandinavia (homemade Aquavit is mentioned in the glossary but no recipe is offered). Substitutions are mentioned occasionally, but are rather hit-or-miss and sometimes make little sense. (Under Creme Fraiche, she says, In the United States, reduced fat sour cream is used instead. - I found this rather odd since I can get Creme Fraiche in the same space as sour cream at any mega-mart nowadays.) ( )

I was not sure how well I was going to like The Scandinavian Cookbook when I first received it. This is an area of world cuisine I have neglected since I tended to think of it as mostly fish, reindeer, and potatoes with dill and sour cream to flavor it.

I was totally wrong. The recipes cover a wide array of foods. Lots of fish and seafood but a good bit of red meat and poultry as well. The usual array of side dishes with some unusual vegetables I have not cooked with such as Jerusalem artichokes, a root vegetable not related to our familiar artichokes.

I tried the cold buttermilk lemon soup with biscotti although I made it with lime instead since I already had them.
Light and sweet with the biscotti as crunchy yummies. Captain's stew is a boiled beef and potato dish somewhere between a beef hash and mashed potatoes. It was very tasty and even my picky eater liked it. (He's 70.)

The book itself is large with gorgeous full color photos of the food as well as urban and countryside vistas. It is divided into months with traditional recipes for that season. The recipes are printed on the left side of the page with a photo on the right. There is a glossary of ingredients and websites to buy Scandinavian foods. This is a welcome addition to any library. ( )

When I first received this book my thought was "nice book but I don't think I will cook anything from it". Scandinavian cooking is one area I don't have much experience with so it all seemed very foreign to me. The beautiful photographs just kept sucking me in though and before I knew it I was making a list of recipes to try. With so many books on Italian, Mexican and all sorts of Asian cuisines it was nice to see one on Scandinavian cooking. An area certainly lacking in my cookbook collection. I found the arrangement by Month to be very helpful also.

A quick, pre-cooking review:

The photography in this book is incredible--you'll want to leave it out on the coffee table for guests to page through. Gorgeous gorgeous and guaranteed to make you hungry.

Although the organization of recipes by month leaves more room for amazing photos, an arrangement by season would make the book more cohesive.

Some of the ingredients will be a challenge to track down, such as various fish roe (cod and lumpfish), lovage and moose. There is a glossary in the back with definitions and suggestions and website sources; Hahnemann also lists substitution recommendations.

For a book marketed in the US, I don't understand why the yeast recipes call for fresh yeast, something only professional bakers tend to bake with. Hahnemann does list equivalents for instant and active dry in the glossary, and it isn't difficult to substitute, but why not suit the intended audience?

And although some flour quantities are listed in weight, not all are; one person's 3/4 cup of flour is another's full cup. This can sometimes make the difference between a great loaf of bread and a just okay one.

Overall, this is an approachable, beautiful cookbook with simple instructions (hopefully not TOO simple) and, being completely new to Scandinavian cooking, I am looking forward to getting to know the fish counter better and bringing something different and delicious to the table.

The Scandinavian Cookbook is a most welcome diversion from the humdrum of the usual ethnic cookbook. A balance between a coffee-table photo book and a compendium of every Scandinavian recipe known to man, Trina Hahnemann takes you through the seasons with her rich sampler of recipes, drawing you into the pulse of life in a region beautifully seen through the masterful lens of Lars Ranek. Thankfully, there is not a single Lutefisk dish in this book! I found myself eagerly turning pages and reading her narratives as the Scandinavian year flowed from January - through summer - to December. There is a comfortable connect with the author's marking the seasons with dishes made from fresh local ingredients. Wonderful salads, fruit dishes, rye bread, tantalizing fish and meats, and warming winter libations. As a Gravlox fan - The simplicity of the recipe found me rushing to the fishmongers and then waiting 3 days for my salmon to brine -an exquisite balance of dill, spices, salt and sugar in the cure. This was followed by a sumptuous luncheon - as though Scandinavia had leaped from the pages into my kitchen. Hahnemann has erased the images of bland white fish dishes and the epicurean horrors of a bachelor farmer's banquet in northern Minnesota with a colorful, masterpiece that will be appreciated by any cook. ( )

Trina Hannemann books fits well into the contemporary revisit of tradition family meals and fresh ingredients. Following in the foot steps of the Slow Food movement, Trina leaves her mark with foods from Scandinavia. In her introduction she says that rather than write a traditional cookbook replete with famous Scandinavian dishes, her book will look at food seasonally by month using products readily available at farmer’s markets . There are a few notable exceptions, moose and reindeer aren’t’ readily available, but lingonberries do occasionally appear in ethic and gourmet sections of a supermarket. Trina is a popular TV chef in Denmark and her recipes reflect ease of preparation for the home cook. Most recipes can be completed after work and served to the family coming home. Those that can’t be completed in short order are noted as special and worth the effort. Pastries, savory dishes and desserts are given equal place. The December chapter is the only chapter where the more special items are emphasized. Scandinavian Cooking is a good book to pick up monthly to bring wholesome food and variety to your diet. Lars Ranok’s photos are another good reason to visit this book monthly. Scandinavian food can be easily integrated to the American kitchen. ( )

The Scandinavian Cookbook by Trina Hahnemann is gorgeous. Lovely photos of different parts of Scandinavia, rural and urban abound, alongside photos of scrumptious looking food. If you are not able to travel to Scandinavia, this book is a wonderful way to become a virtual traveler, sampling the cuisine along the way.

The book is divided into twelve sections, one for each month of the year, with seasonal photos and recipes. Many of the recipes reflect their northern origins by including vegetables and fish of the region, but there are also many recipes with a Mediterranean flair.

If you enjoy using herbs, this cookbook has many suggestions for flavoring salads, soups, sandwiches and main courses with a variety of herbs as well as some exotic spices, e.g. star anise.

The recipes are clear and easy to follow. Measurements are standard American (cups and teaspoons/tablespoons).

March 29, 2009
Orginaly posted on my blog http://cococooks.blogspot.com/2009/03...
The Scandinavian Cookbook Review and Salmon Burgers with Rye Focaccia
Those of you that know me , know that Scandinavia is no stranger to me. In a way through Certain Someone its like a second home. But even prior to meeting Certain Someone , I have relatives there in which I got to visit. My first visit to Stockholm , I feel in love. So how fitting my love has a beautiful summer home, by the sea, which I cant wait to go back and visit. I have yet to explore the other Scandinavian countries. I'm eager to see Denmark and Norway.One day.
I was so so happy to get a copy of The Scandinavian Cookbook by Trina Hahnemann (Andrews McMeel Publishing,LLC), through the The Library Thing Early Reviewer Program. If you don't know about this ,please check it out. As all my books on Library Thing are cookbooks, that's what I normally snag based on my profile. But they have all types of genres available, and the competition is tough. This is my second review for them.
The Scandinavian Cookbook is a big gorgeous book by the Danish chef Trina Hahnemann.In her first English cookbook, she breaks the book down into seasons and months so the reader truly understands the cycle of life in Scandinavia.Winter is long with little light and summer leads into those White Nights with the sun not going down until midnight or after. Its a beautiful corner of the world with a simple straightforward and delicious approach to cooking. Flipping through the gorgeous photographs by Lars Ranek one gets a visual Smorgasbord of fishes, pastries, vegetables, breads drinks, and just about anything else you can think of. I long to go back and make the Kartoffelkage (a choux pastry with marzipan, cocoa, and filled with cream). Of course she shows you how to make smoked salmon. With the seasonal approach all the dishes presented look so healthy, wholesome and appetizing.A nice balance.
I chose to make a simple Rye Focaccia and Salmon Burgers form the month of April because I had most of the ingredients on hand. I confess,I was out of capers, and really regretted it. Nevertheless the burger was fantastic. And the Rye Focaccia was outstanding and very simple to put together. The burger was basically fresh salmon chopped into a mince with green onion , capers, eggs, and breadcrumbs. I garnished mine with sprouts , rather the chives and capers. And I cheated with mayo out of jar rather than her homemade dressing with homemade mayonnaise,and creme fraiche.The focaccia which was to make 4 burgers, could have been stretched to six or even eight in my opinion. I was really hearty and I couldn't stop nibbing throughout the day. What I love about this book is that there are basic recipes and components I can carry over into other seasons and dishes. Naturally I am submitting this into BYOB. ( )

This isn’t your grandmother’s Scandinavian cookbook. Here in Minnesota it is a well known fact that all Scandinavian food is white, something that I am sure is due to our long cold winters limiting Grandma’s food choices. There is color in these recipes and in the accompany pictures. In fact the vivid pictures contained in this cookbook are worth the price of the book.

The recipes are clearly written and take you through the months via recipes. They are accompanied by a brief paragraph either about the recipe or the region that the recipe is from. I really like this, as a collector of cookbooks I feel that they are a like a culinary time capsules taking us to other places and timse. Also, since this book is in English it will be used by people not necessarily familiar with Scandinavian customs or eating habits so this ‘extra’ information is helpful.

We immediately made the Mint apricot and celery stuffed lamb (sans the potatoes and spinach since that would have required going to the grocery store.) It was wonderful. The Medeljer, spelt buns, cardamom buns and Jerusalem artichoke soup are the next recipes on the list. And I am thinking that next Sunday will be Braised stuffed pheasant with savory cabbage, gravy and potatoes. The pheasant gets wrapped in bacon and everyone knows – everything is better with bacon! Caramel potatoes are also on the list of we have to try it, if only to bring them into work to have everyone try them. I work at a potato processing plant; our R&D tech said that caramel potatoes just seemed wrong, which of course means that we have to try it. ( )

Nothing says as much about a region and its people as food and the accompanying traditions. In the same vein Trina Hahnemann’s The Scandinavian Cookbook captures the essence of an entire year in Scandinavia as she takes us through each month with her offering of recipes, traditions, experiences and local customs.

Her recipes are stunning in their simplicity. They are homey with a modern, sophisticated twist using seasonal ingredients creating a culinary cross section of Denmark, Sweden and Norway while emphasizing freshness and flavor, and local availability to satisfy any baker or home cook. The recipes’ simplicity is juxtaposed by dazzlingly beautiful photographs by Lars Ranek, making this easily one of the most exquisite books in my collection.

The recipe gems that immediately jumped out at me that I will definitely create are: Rye bread, and Spelt buns, several fish dishes, the Fruit porridge with cold cream (a warm summer day favorite already, although we usually have it with milk!) and the Layer cake with strawberries. The glossary is a fountain of information for the American home cook with ingredient explanations and web site resources for finding special Scandinavian food items in the US. ( )

First of all, this is a beautifully photographed cookbook. The photographs, not only of the food, but of the Scandinavian landscapes, are breathtaking. The book is printed on heavy paper which gives it the appearance of a finely made volume. I am tempted to leave it out on my kitchen table for guests to read as one would display a coffee table book.
I like the way the cookbook is arranged, by months of the year. This is quite practical and encourages you to use seasonal ingredients. You should have no problem finding the majority of the ingredients in this book. The recipes themselves are very organized and easy to read. The author precedes each one with a short background of the dish, which makes interesting reading. This is not a cookbook you will open to make only one or two dishes. This is a cookbook which will encourage you to cook.
Not only are the recipes practical and simple enough to make for an informal family meal, but many are also appropriate to serve at a fancy dinner party. Your guests will be impressed. The recipes are not difficult to make and even the novice cook can prepare an extraordinary meal. The majority of the recipes are geared towards dinner, but there are many that could also be appropriate for a light lunch or brunch. Most of the desserts are also appropriate for an afternoon tea.
I recently prepared a three course dinner for my husband using the recipes in this cookbook. For the first course I made the Cauliflower Soup with Grilled Scallops. The soup had a nice creamy consistency with hints of garlic and curry. The scallops had a nice lemon tang. For the second course I prepared the Lamb Shanks with Apricots and Spices and Parsley Mashed Potatoes. The recipe is amazingly easy and in no time I had a delicious smelling meal simmering on the stove. The lamb was amazingly tender and the spices and apricots complemented the lamb perfectly. My husband absolutely loved it. Since we are getting fresh CA strawberries here now, for the final course I made Meringues with Strawberry Mint Salsa. The meringues were light and airy and the strawberry mint salsa very refreshing and a perfect ending to a perfect meal.
I can see that this cookbook will easily become one of my favorites. I have over 540 of them and I have been impressed by the quality of the recipes and the ease of preparation. The pictures of the dishes are absolutely mouthwatering, and the Scandinavian landscapes so serene and inviting. If you can't visit Scandinavia, the next best thing is to enjoy this cookbook. ( )

Love this cookbook--great pictures and tantalizing recipes! Read more here:

http://superfastreader.com/the-scandi... ( )