Hanna's Daughters

As a book club, we really enjoy reading books about other countries and cultures. The book for October, 2002, was Hanna’s Daughters, featuring Swedish characters and Swedish family life. Several years later I was able to travel to that area and see for myself the beautiful countryside and friendly people.( Loved talking with the taxi drivers…very informative!)

"Sweeping through one hundred years of Scandinavian history, this luminous story follows three generations of Swedish women—a grandmother, a mother, and a daughter—whose lives are linked through a century of great love and great loss. Resonating with truth and revelation, this moving novel deftly explores the often difficult but enduring ties between mothers and daughters, the sacrifices, compromises, and rewards in the relationships between men and women, and the patterns of emotion that repeat themselves through generations. If you have ever wanted to connect with the past, or rediscover family, Hanna's Daughters will strike a chord in your heart. . . "
Margie and Debbie M made delicious Swedish meatballs

• Cook Time:

  25 min

• Level:

  Easy

• Yield:

  approximately 30 meatballs, 4 to 6 servings

Times:

Prep

30 min

Inactive Prep

--

Cook

25 min

Total:

55 min

Ingredients

• 2 slices fresh white bread
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 pound ground chuck
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Tear the bread into pieces and place in a small mixing bowl along with the milk. Set aside.

In a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread and milk mixture, ground chuck, pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.

Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds.

Heat the remaining butter in the saute pan over medium-low heat, or in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees F. Add the meatballs and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs to an ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon and place in the warmed oven.

Once all of the meatballs are cooked, decrease the heat to low and add the flour to the pan or skillet. Whisk until lightly browned, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the beef stock and whisk until sauce begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remove the meatballs from the oven, cover with the gravy and serve.

If any of you are Swedish and could give us some authentic Swedish recipes, we would be so grateful and would feature them with the next Swedish book we read. (We have already read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo...)

Here are some of the pictures I took on my recent trip to Sweden:

                                      Visby, Sweden

                         2 shots of my favorite tree in Sweden

 

                                    Beautiful architecture

                            My friend Janet and I in the Stockholm

                                             airport

My Baltic sea adventure last year was a blessing- and coincidentally, the next blog is about a book called Blessings by Anna Quindlen...