Ever since I moved to London just over 4 years ago, I have wanted to host my own dinner party. I mean, the sort we all get a lot of enjoyment watching on television like Come Dine With Me. Preparing a few dishes you haven’t made before, the day your guests arrive and being ready to host the ultimate dinner party.
I got the chance to do so recently, but in a completely different way. I teamed up with Rekorderlig to host a Swedish dinner party, paired with copious amounts of quality cider, wine and delicious food. Now, there are a few rules that are very different in terms of etiquette to the way we would host a dinner party in England.
- You cannot arrive even one minute early, if the party starts at 7, then you arrive at 7 or just before 7:15. I know, very precise. Much to advantage, the friends I have never turn up early or on time, so I think we managed to tick the first part off.
- Don’t sit with your partner, as you’re meant to meet new people. I mean, three of us were single and the lovely Emma left her partner at home. Another thing ticked off!
- Don’t sit immediately, stay standing until the host tells you to be seated. I could tell my guests were hungry with the way they were dancing at the smells oozing out of my kitchen. Of course, I let them sit right before dinner was going to be served. Us foodies get hangry otherwise.
- Get your cheers right. The host will make a toast with a glass of white wine and you should look to the right and say cheers before sipping, (okay, that one is quite British) but tick.
- Never refuse food and any dietary requirements should be made clear before hand to prevent refusal. I mean, I think my friends would know by now how offended I would get if my hard work and delicious food was refused. 😉
A lot of preparation went into my 3-course Swedish meal for my friends, starting at the crack of dawn I followed all the recipes step by step, just to prevent any food refusals. My Swedish meat balls turned out nicely, thanks to the wonderful Trine Hahnemann’s ‘Embracing the art of Hygge’ cook book.
The time came and my guests arrived, we set down around a Hygge feeling table, with blankets on the chairs, candles lit on the table, a toasty home whilst it drizzled outside and we toasted with our white wine. Let the feast begin!
We placed our napkins on our laps and started our meal with a hearty chicken and sweetcorn soup. Soup is a very Swedish thing to start your meal with, especially in the colder months. The smell of the cumin within the soup set my guests off into a frenzy of food induced happiness. There wasn’t one refusal around the time, it was going well!
It was time to move onto the main. As the oven door opened to serve up the piping hot main, everyone got a lovely smell of freshly cooked Swedish meatballs that had been prepared earlier. The scent of garlic, chilli and roasted meat filled the air, followed by the rosemary that accompanied the baby potatoes.
We decided to move onto the cider for the main course. Zoe chose the Passionfruit flavour Rekorderlig, I went for the famous Rekorderlig Strawberry and Lime and Emma went for the Spiced Plum variety Rekorderlig and Sam the Rekorderlig Mango and Raspberry bottle. Having been chilling in the fridge for several days prior to our dinner party, they were the perfect temperature to enjoy and cool down the fiery chilies within the meatballs.
After a filling main and lots of delicious Rekorderlig cider, we had to finish on a sweet note of Swedish cinnamon rolls which was drizzled with light single cream and a couple of scoops of vanilla ice-cream.
I definitely send my guests full of Swedish food and drink, sore cheeks from so much laughter and another thing ticket off my bucket list. As for the food, well it was all gone. Nobody refused and there were even a few recipe requests too. I think my Swedish dinner party was a success, don’t you think?
Thanks to Rekorderlig for helping me host my wonderful Swedish dinner party. I know it won’t be long before I do it again!
Until next time…
