Customer Reviews

A Swedish Kitchen: Recipes and Reminiscences (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This cookbook was more memoirs than recipes. There were very few recipes for very common swedish items such as swedish crisp bread ( a staple). This is NOT a reference book. It is merely following a wealthy woman's travels while enjoying Swedish food. Her memoirs were somewhat interesting, but it became repetitive towards the middle of her book. Some of the recipes were accurate.

Judith Pierce Rosenberg's A Swedish Kitchen: Recipes And Reminiscences is no ordinary recipe collection, but a collection of stories of Swedish culinary and cultural heritage, supplemented with recipes from Rosenberg's Swedish roots. What's the difference between this and a cookbook? Reminiscences of life in Sweden revolve around food, with such succulent descriptions as have not been seen since the late food writer James Beard's works. The first hundred pages are devoted to these descriptions...but if you wish recipes alone, it's easy to go to the second part of the book, with its lightly color-coded page edges. Don't skip the first part, though - you'd be skipping the heart of a wonderful collection in A Swedish Kitchen.

I am the recent bride of a Swede (that makes it sound like some Viking conquest!), and I was so happy to find this book with stories and recepies that the author, also an American married to a Swede, enjoys. Learning not only the way to prepare my husband's favorite dishes that we can't find ready-made in the US, but also learning the background of each special occasion or holiday that these dishes are tied to really expanded my knowledge and understanding of this other country that I visit every year as well as of the man I married. My husband was very happy with our Christmas feast this year. This book made a big difference. Tack ska du ha, Judith!

The book jacket illustration is typical of older Scandinavian artwork. The recipes really were what I was looking for. I am a third generation Swede born in Canada. But my heritage is still alive with communication and visits back and forth with my Swedish relatives. I have eaten meals made just like the recipes read. I will be celebrating my heritage with real Swedish food that I can make.

Exactly what I want to give my daughter for a Christmas gift! She's recently moved to a community with a strong Swedish heritage.

The author and I have something in common - we're both Americans who are married to Swedes. The first half of this book is about her travels in Sweden, the people she's met and the places she's shopped or dined at - which is great for me, since I've been over to Sweden quite a few times now. I haven't actually tried any of the recipes yet, but my husband has looked at them and thinks they're quite authentic. He can't wait for us to try some of them!

Order was processed professionally, but it was necessary to return this item. No problems there, either!