Planning is the key to a smooth holiday: make a food plan!

Christmas is the most important festivity for the Nordic people; even for those of us who hold no religious beliefs. It is obvious that planning your holiday menu in advance makes your life easier. I always draft a food plan, which also acts as my shopping list and kitchen work schedule.

	Sat 22^nd	Sun 23^rd	Mon 24^th	Tue 25^th	Wed 26^th
LUNCH	Toast with Fresh Salmon Eggs, Gravlax and Smetana	Smoked Salmon with Fennel, Olive and Mandarine Orange Salad	Lutefisk with White Wine Mushroom Sauce SPC, CC, LC	A brunch with Scrambled Eggs, Sausages, Black Pudding, Bacon, Mushrooms, Baked Beans, Parisienne Potatoes, and Grilled Tomato.	Creamy Spinach Soup with Hard-Boiled Squared Egg
DINNER	Leek Gratin Sweetened Potato Casserole (SPC) Carrot Casserole (CC) Liver Casserole (LC) Fruit	Strozzapreti (pasta shape) with Salmon Eggs, Gravlax and fried Courgettes (leftover recipe) Fruit	Broccoli and Cauliflower Gratin SPC, CC, LC Fruit	Toasted Bread with Foie Gras Bavette with ”Three Nuts” (pine kernels, green pistachios and walnuts) Roasted Turkey and Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes Marinated Carrots with Garlic and Capers Green salad Cheese, Fruit, Chocolate Brownies	Leftover turkey sandwiches Dutch pancakes — Poffertjes Fruit salad

Happy Holidays to all my Readers! Below some pictures of the dishes I prepared this Christmas.

Toast with Fresh Salmon Eggs, Gravlax and Smetana

Jamie Oliver's Leek Gratin

Smoked Salmon and Fennel, Olive and Mandarin Orange Salad with a sprinkle of sumac.

Perfect meringues! Whilst I was shopping, hubby separated some eggs and our four and five year olds whipped together the whites with some caster sugar, and prepared the dollops. It took 2 hours to cook in the oven and they tasted nice; crispy on the outside and moist in the middle. (The method used was mostly Delia, with a sprinkle of Ottolenghi).

A leftover recipe: Amazing Strozzapreti with Salmon Eggs, Gravlax and Fried Courgettes! Here's how to prepare this dish: Fry couple of garlic gloves in extra virgin olive oil with a sliced courgette, then discard the garlic. Add white wine and reduce. Mix with al dente pasta (also a small amount of starchy cooking water), and just before serving mix in the chopped gravlax (approx. 80 g) and salmon eggs (approx. 140 g).