holiday

This Dessert was served every Christmas in our home while our children were growing up.
The Danish community in Cozad, Nebraska
Swedish community in Southeast Iowa. (Swedesburg)

From: Swedesburg 1941 Cookbook
Serves: 12
Refrigerate Overnight
A Must Christmas Eve

Applekaka 2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Cups Cooked Dried Apples, Sweetened
2 Cups Bread Crumbs
Instructions:
Whip Cream and Add 1/4 Cup Sugar. Put in a Dish a layer of apples, or applesauce and then a layer of bread crumbs. Add Whipped Cream. Repeat layering with Whipped Cream on top. Top with sprinkled cinnamon.

Ablekage is Denmark's most popular dessert. St. John's Cozad Cookbook of 1992:

Use crumbs from dried French bread, Zwieback, or vanilla wafers browned in skillet with 1/2 Cup Butter & 2 Tablespoons of sugar, alternated with applesauce and hardened in refrigerator. Served cold with Whipped Cream. Decorated with dabs of Red Jelly.

Calico Beans
Preparation Time 50 Minutes.
My Dad became quite interested in cooking when he was left alone. This recipe is one he brought back from brother Chuck's home. Aunt Linda was the Calico Bean Cook and Dad loved her beans.

INGREDIENTS:
1 Pound hamburger
1/2 # bacon, diced
1 chopped onion
3 TBSP. vinegar
3/4 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup catsup
1 tsp. dry mustard
16 oz. can baked beans
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can lima or butter beans, drained

Put all in casserole and Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Great Carry In Dish
"Buck" Haag Leisure World/Linda Haag Eau Claire, Wisconsin 1994

1 Quart Chicken Broth
4 Tbsp. flour, 4 Tbsp. chicken fat or butter

Dressing Ingredients

1 ½ Qt. Bread cut in ½" cubes
¾ Cup Butter melted (often not used)
1 ¼ tsp. Sage
¼ Cup Cream or Chicken Broth
¾ tsp. Salt, Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. onion, chopped

1 stewed chicken - cut off the bones

INSTRUCTIONS: Put 1 ½ layer of Chicken in flat pan. Cover with dry dressing. Pour gravy made from broth evenly over top of Dressing.

Bake 350° until Golden Brown. About 1 hour. Cool a few minutes until set a bit. Serve hot with Salad on the side.

A Family Favorite!
Serves 12 good sized servings:
Baked 350° until Golden Brown.
About 45 Minutes to 1 Hour in 9x18" cake pan.

Escalloped Oysters

Bertha Spangler in Swedesburg Lutheran Women's Cookbook 1966

Our family first ate this dish as a guest in Bertha's home. She lived just South of Swedesburg, Iowa on Highway 218. This was a special treat for us. We have enjoyed it every Christmas Day since.
Since our family tradition is Oyster Stew on Christmas Eve, it makes for an easy casserole on Christmas Day.

1 Pint oysters
½ Cup Butter
½ # Soda Crackers
1 Pint Milk
2 eggs

Instructions:

Crush crackers and layer buttered casserole with them. Then add 1/2 the oysters, milk and egg mixture. (Heat milk and butter.) Beat eggs and pour hot milk over them. Add Alternately crackers, oysters, and milk.

Bake one hour at 325°.

Serves 6 generous servings
Bake 325° for 1 hour, do not dry out
1966 Swedesburg Cookbook

Easy Pot roast From My Kitchen/ sent to me from Chi Nguyen, Minh's Wife.
Serves 10
350° for 4 hours.

3 # Chuck, Arm Blade, Cross rib, or shoulder
2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper
2 medium onions, sliced
8 Oz. tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar & horseradish, each
1 tsp. prepared mustard

Place Meat on 30x18" piece of aluminum foil. Season with salt and pepper; sprinkle onion on meat. Mix remaining ingredients; Pour over meat. Fold foil, secure tightly. Label and freeze.

When preparing thaw 4 hours. Bake 350° about 4 more hours. Place meat on warm platter; keep warm while making gravy. See gravy recipe.

This can be frozen after preparation for up to 6 months. Put in aluminum foil with seasonings. Thawing time is 4 hours.
Spoon fat from broth and throw away. Add enough water to make 2 cups broth. Heat. Shake 1/2 Cup water and 1/4 Cup Flour in covered jar; stir slowly into broth, heat until boiling. Stir 1 minute.

To serve immediately: Place wrapped meat in baking pan or crock pot and cook 300° until tender. About 4 hours.

German Potato Salad
This recipe from Carol Assmussen Eggert/Delores Eggert Kuntz. Del Carstens' cousins.
Excellent contribution to family potlucks.

10# of potatoes (I cook in pressure cooker at 5 minutes)
12 eggs hard cooked
large onion
Quart jar of mayonnaise 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup water heated with 1 cup sugar, salt & pepper, 2 tsp. bacon grease, 2 # of bacon fried crisp. (cut bacon in small pieces.)

Cook all and mix all chopped ingredients together and chill for a very tasty salad.

Gma's Open faced Sandwich Spread
Serves: 55

Dora Bucholz Johnson, Judy's Grandmother sent this one when we were first married.
For many years I have served it on open faced sandwiches for Open House and Christmas Parties.

1 Can Spam, ground in food grinder
3 raw carrots, grated or ground
1 green pepper & onion
6 hard boiled eggs, ground
2 Tbsp. each honey & vinegar
1 tsp. salt if desired
1 Cup Salad Dressing

Put the first five ingredients through the Meat Grinder. Mix remainder of ingredients and add to the ground food. Spread on open faced bread for sandwiches.

Very colorful and festive looking spread. Great for parties and tasty too.

I used for Open Houses every Christmas at the parsonage. I have given this recipe many times on request.

I cut in shapes of trees and stars, wreaths and circles.

Round pecan bread could be purchased and used for the spread. Very good and tasty.

Grandma's Porcupine Meatballs Serves: 15
Bake 350° degrees about 1 1/2 hrs. until browned nicely.

Ingredients:

1 ½ # Ground beef
1 small chopped onion
1 ½Cup Minute Rice
½ tsp. Chili Powder
1 Qt. Tomato Juice
¾ Cup Catsup
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire
sauce
¾tsp. salt & pepper

Mix Ground Meat, onion, rice, and seasonings. Add catsup and Worcestershire sauce.
Make into medium size meatballs; put into greased pan. Cover with Juice and bake.

May freeze in advance.

If freezing, Do Not Cover
with juice.
Add just prior to putting in the oven to bake.

Mother's Home cooked Salami
Serves: 24
A good as snack without MSG, sodium nitrates, or preservatives.
Makes a great gift.

2 # Ground Beef
1 tsp. each Mustard seed, coarse pepper
2 tsp. curing salt

Instructions:

Mix and make into 2 rolls. Wrap in foil and
refrigerate overnight or 24 hours. Take out of water, open ends of foil to release steam.

Best Cold meat sausage without MSG, nitrites, or other additives.

Jean Haag/Judy Carstens
Slice to serve thin with crackers and cheeses.

Ostakaka Serves: 24
Always served at the Annual Smorgasbord. (Nordic fest Demo 1981) A favorite in our family during Christmas Season in Swedesburg.
2 Gal. Whole Raw Milk
1 1/4 Cups Flour
3/4 Tablet Cheese Rennet
1/4 Cup Cool water
3 beaten eggs
3/4 Cup sugar
1 Cup Cream

Heat milk to 110 degrees. Add flour that has been made into a thin paste with part of cool milk or add flour directly to warm milk, beating well with wire whip. Add rennet that has been dissolved in 1/4 cup cool water and stir gently, until it curdles. Let stand 1/2 -1 hour. Cut into small squares and drain off whey, using colander. Add beaten eggs, sugar and cream. Bake in a 9x13" pan.
Bake 350-375 degrees until browned, about 1 1/2 hours

From: Violet Lindeen and Vicky Bergstrom in the Swedesburg Cookbook.1927 Swedesburg Cookbook.

Raw Milk makes the best curds. It was usually available from a dairy farm nearby. Today it is more difficult to find the raw milk so it will substitute.

**Note** Use whole milk not homogenized! Substitute 10 dessert for 1 cheese rennet tablet when you don't have access to cheese rennet. May serve hot with loganberries from Sweden, or Strawberry Jam on top.

Oyster Stew Serves 20
A traditional supper on Christmas eve for generations on the Haag side.
My parents and grandparents, and great grandparents celebrated with this supper. We continue the tradition.

7 pints or 4 quarts of fresh oysters
3/4 # butter
3 Gallons of milk
3 # Oyster Crackers, 3 boxes

Heat milk and add oysters to milk. (Oysters that have been simmered in butter until edges curl.) Turn Off heat and steep until supper. 5 PM turn heat on just briefly before serving. Each person adds his own salt and crackers.

Served with:
relishes or salad and a
Great variety of cookies for
Dessert along with Applakaka

After dishes, Santa comes. We spend the remainder of the evening slowly opening and exchanging gifts.

This is the fun time when we are all together.

Pressed Chicken

4 # Chicken
2 tsp. salt & pepper

Cut chicken in pieces. Put in kettle and cover with water. Add seasonings. Bring to boil; simmer until chicken is very tender, remove chicken from kettle and strain broth. Return broth to simmer until reduced to half its measure. Remove meat from bones and put through food chopper. Add chicken to cooked down broth; simmer 5 minutes. Pour into Pan, chill overnight.

Garnish with hard boiled eggs and parsley.***

Serves: 30

Served at Swedesburg Smorgasbord
Swedesburg, Iowa

1966 Cookbook

****Try adding chopped celery, parsley, and onion to water while cooking the chicken. (We like it this way.)

Scalloped Rice
3 Cups Cooked Rice
½ Cup flour, scant
1 tsp. salt
1/3 Cup onion, chopped
½Cup parsley, chopped
2 ½Cups light cream or milk & butter

Bake in 1 ½ Quart casserole uncovered and garnished with cheese. May substitute for light cream. (1 ½ Cups powdered milk, ½ cup evaporated milk, and ¼ cup butter

Serves: 8
350° for 30 minutes
May be prepared in advance when serving a crowd

Unleavened Bread for Sedar Meal
This is a traditional bread for a special service during Lenten Season. Just before Easter.

2 Cups flour
1 tsp B.P.
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 Cup butter

Sift dry ingredients. Cut into butter with pastry blender until like corn meal. Add 1/4-1/2 Cup Milk. Enough to make dough a little stiffer than biscuit dough. Knead, shape, and prick.

Bake 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Serves 16

Yummy Frozen Cranberry Salad

1- 16 oz. can whole cranberry sauce
1 - 16 oz. can crushed, pineapple, drained
1 Cup Sweetened condensed milk
¼ Cup Lemon Juice
½ Cup Chopped nuts
8 oz. cool whip

Mix juice and milk
Add Cranberries, pineapple and nuts
Mix and Add Cool Whip
Put into a 9x13" pan and Freeze.

I used 1 cup crushed pineapple
1 can cranberries
1 Cup whipped cream
¼ Cup mayonnaise
½ # marshmallows
Frozen in round cans.

Dad Haag gave me this recipe in 1993.
He loved to cook and became quite interested in new recipes after Mom died in 1987.

Christmas Morning Tea Ring

Serves: 24 350° for 30 minutes

2 Cups Milk, Scalded
½ Cup each of butter, warm water, sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 packages Dry Yeast
6 ½ Cups Flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine milk, butter, salt, sugar & eggs in large bowl. Add yeast mixture & 3 cups of flour. Then add remainder of flour. Cover, let rise until light in texture. Knead 5-6 times. Rise until Double. Roll Dough into an oblong (9x18").

Melt 1 Cup butter and spread with pastry brush, sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over butter. Roll up as for cinnamon rolls & place sealed edge down joining to form a ring.

Place on greased baking sheet. Cut 2/3 of the way down ring at 1" intervals w/scissors. Turn each section on its side.
Place on greased baking sheet. Rise to double.
Bake until nicely browned.

Brush with melted butter. Cool. Frost. Decorate with nuts and cherries.

Edith Molander made for our Christmas Breakfast in Swedesburg for 15 years and continued for 5 years after moving to Mt. Pleasant.

This became our tradition in our family, and our daughter Wendy makes it for the family today.

Danish Puff From the 1966 Swedesburg Cookbook

Bake until crisp. 350º for 1 hour Serves: 16

Cup flour
1/2 Cup Butter
¼ tsp, salt
2 tsp. cold water
Filling over crust above

1 cup water
½ Cup butter
1 tsp. almond flavoring
1 Cup flour
3 eggs

Instructions:

Cut butter into flour & salt until resembles coarse meal. Add water and stir until well blended. Divide Dough into halves.
Pat into 2 long strips 3: x 12: on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bring butter and water to boil. Add flavoring & remove from heat. Stir in flour, add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
Spread over the first mixture. Bake until crisp. 350º for 1 hour

While warm frost with 2 cups of powdered sugar, 2 tsp. soft butter.

It make 2 large puffs.
"One to eat and one to give away."

Our tradition Christmas Eve Morning and Easter Morning!

Eggs Portugal
350° for 1 hour or 300º for 1½ hr.

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1½ # Ground Pork sausage, browned
8 slices bread, cubed
¾ # cheddar cheese, shredded
2½ Cups milk
4 eggs, beaten
½ tsp. mustard
2 shakes salt
1 can mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
½ Cup Dry Vermouth

Instructions: Spread Bread cubes in a 9" x 13" buttered pan. Cover with cheese, sausage, and liquid ingredients combined. Prepare ahead and refrigerate overnight. In the morning add mushrooms and vermouth.

Bake and let stand a few minutes
Serve HOT.

Christmas & Easter Breakfasts
A favorite in our family for many years.
It is expected. Dad loved this one and expected it on holidays.

Finnish Oven Pancakes
Serves: 4 1982 Swedesburg Cookbook

Ingredients:

½ Cup Sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 Cups mile
3 Eggs, well beaten
1 Cup sifted flour
2 Tbsp. Oil
Add sugar, salt and milk to eggs.
Beat until well blended.
Add flour and oil. l Beat. Pour into a greased
15" x 19" x 1"
Pan with sides. Bake until delicately browned
and firm to touch.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with syrup, jam or jelly.

400° for 30 minutes

Fruit Slush From the kitchen of Florence Bergstrom known to our children as
"Nana".

Ingredients:

1 large pkg. frozen strawberries
1 (#2) can crushed pineapple (drained)
2 small cans mandarin oranges (cut up)
4 diced bananas
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
Combine fruits. Cook sugar and water to make a syrup, and cool. Pour over fruits. Place in container and freeze.
Remove from freezer about 12 hour before serving or just thawed enough to be of a mushy consistency. Serve.

You might want to apportion fruits in small cupcake liners set in muffin tins and freeze.
This makes about 20 cups.
Needs no dressing.

Found in the Bergstrom Cookbook 1976

Printed by Violet Bergstrom Lindeen
Swedesburg, Iowa
The year of the USA Bicentennial

Nana's Sweet Rolls Bake in 350° oven 25 minutes or until nicely browned.

Ingredients:

1 Cup shortening ( I use Crisco well rounded.)
3/4 Cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
Add 1 cup boiling water to the above ingredients. Let this cool while you
soak 2 Tbsp. granular or 2 cakes compressed yeast in 1/2 Cup of luke
warm water. Add to cooled mixture
Then add: 4 eggs beaten
7 ½ cups flour added alternately with one cup of cold water. This makes a soft dough.
Place in bowl. Cover and let rise until double in bulk. Punch down.
Make into desired rolls
I usually divide dough in four parts.
Roll out each in rectangle. Spread with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Roll up as for jelly roll and cut in approximately one inch thickness or thicker as you desire.

Place in well greased pans. Let rise until approximately double in
size. Bake in 350° oven 25 minutes or until nicely browned.

Turn out immediately on rack to cool. Frost for serving if you desire.

These can be frozen and warmed and frosted as needed.

Florence always had some in her freezer for that unexpected moment. Our children found these to be a favorite and I make them to this day.

One for every year if we could find enough. The birthday person had a choice of the kind of cake he wanted to have. We had many different kinds. Never did we have a bakery cake. It was always made at home. Jon's favorite thru the years was a Castle Cake.

These are a few of our favorite Holiday recipes we continue to make to this day. A tradition you might say. See other great recipes in the next section.