Editor's Note: I originally wrote this story on the 26th of December of 2011. However, yesterday would have been my grandma‘s 105th birthday, and this is one of the memories of her that I’ll never forget.
Swedish meatballs have been a Christmas tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. We originate more or less from the Twin Cities in Minnesota, my father from the St. Paul side and my mother from the Minneapolis side. Thus, when I was doing my childhood growing-up in Michigan we would complete a cold, snowy 13 hour drive every year to Minnesota to celebrate the holidays. Christmas Eve was spent with my mother’s parents and Christmas Day with my father’s parents. It was fantastic- two Christmas dinners! On Christmas Eve we had a huge feast and the best Swedish meatballs known to man were part of the feast. On Christmas Day we would then drive to St. Paul and have a succulent rib eye roast with all the trimmings.
It’s been about 25 years since we were able to partake in the Minnesota double Christmas feed (and double Santa visits- he came to both grandparents' houses). My mother’s parents moved to Tucson, I moved to Seattle and for a while we had to alternate Christmas visits between Minnesota and Arizona. I was blessed to have both sets of my grandparents in my life until my early thirties. Now I’m blessed that I get to see my grandmother on my mother’s side every Christmas.
After my parents retired to Asheville, NC. My grandma, who is 90 and fit as a fiddle, has now also relocated to the area. My brother lives 4 hours north in Raleigh, leaving me as the prodigal daughter on the other side of the pond. Last year was an incredibly special Christmas as it was the first one where all of us had been together in a few years. My parents were also able to be the Christmas hosts, which hadn't happened in decades. In the most recent years previous to this, we spent Christmas, usually without my brother, at my grandmother's place in Tucson. The kitchen in her flat was quite small, so instead of making Swedish meatballs from scratch, we had been purchasing them from places like Trader Joe’s. They were good, but nowhere near as scrumptious as the ones my grandmother made back in the day. That year my mother was pulling out all stops. We would have the homemade Swedish meatballs for Christmas Eve dinner along with all the other traditions we had observed when I was a child (except the double Santa visits).
On Christmas Eve my grandma arrived and she and my mother went into the kitchen. My mother took out the recipe my grandmother had given her years ago and said, “Look, mom, it’s your old Swedish meatball recipe.”
“Ahhh… you know where I got that?” asked my grandmother as she donned her apron.
“No, I don’t,” my mother admitted and waited anxiously to hear a story about how our family recipe had been handed down from previous generations of family in Sweden.
“From Playboy magazine,” my grandmother said nonchalantly, “Your father’s Playboy, of course. I didn’t make a habit of reading it.”
And so the delicious meatballs, which practically melt in your mouth, were made and consumed while we wondered aloud if the Playboy edition where the recipe had originated featured Swedish models that month.
Today is Christmas Eve and we are once again having these delicious Swedish meatballs tonight for dinner. For those of you who might want the recipe that came into our family via Playboy, here it is. Happy Christmas to all!!
Tear 2 slices of stale bread in small chunks and soak in 1/2 cup of lite cream.
Peel a medium potato, cut into chunks and boil. When it's nice and soft force it through a strainer.
Chop one medium onion extremely fine.
Put the onion in the pan with 1 tbs butter and slowly sauté until onion is yellow.
Combine in deep bowl the breadbread, cream, potato onion, 1 beaten egg, 3/4 lb lean ground pork, 1/4 lb lean ground pork, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/8 tsp pepper.
Mix very well (use your hands) until bread disappears.
Shape into 1 in balls.
Place in a shallow baking pan.
Bake at 475 (Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes, turning once until balls brown.
Melt 2 tbs butter in a large saucepan and stir in 2 tbs flour, blending well.
Gradually add 10 1/2 oz can consummé.
Add balls.
Turn to low and cook for 1/2 hour.
Stir in 1/4 cup cream.
Bring to boil, season to taste.
YUMMMY!!
Enjoy! :-)
