COOKING COMPANION Warming festive ideas for creating a cosy Christmas...
A SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS
From sugar and spice to a cosy Christmas
atmosphere... Dutch-raised Katy Hofstede-Smith tells us how a stunning Nordic Christmas is achieved.
T ere are 2 ways to approach Christmas in my mind; an all-out bling bonanza, or traditional and pared back. Whilst both are as exciting and evocative as the other for me, there is only one style that will ever feel truly Christmassy, the pared back natural look.
Given my Dutch background this is hardly surprising, and with such interest and excitement in all things Scandinavian, it seems lots of others agree with me. You can’t have managed to miss the recent trend that seems to be defi ning all things stylish, ‘hygge’. For those of you that have, in brief, it translates as ‘cosy’ but has a much deeper meaning than that. Hygge covers all aspects of life and essentially boils down to the essence of what is important; time spent simply, time spent with friends and family, high-quality food cooked with love and quiet calm time to refl ect and enjoy simple pleasures.
Simplicity is in itself the main theme
throughout all things hygge. At this time of year hygge really comes into its own. T ink cosy and you immediately think of snuggly blankets, crackling fi res, snuggling up with a good book or having a glass of wine with friends, all things that pretty easily take your mind to Christmas.
Christmas in my house is all of these things.
T e fi rst year that my husband experienced a ‘Katy decorated Christmas’ I think he thought I was crazy – the bag-fulls of ivy and other countryside foliage that he was roped into helping me gather that eventually overtook the house, was almost a step too far for him. Now, however, he actively asks me when I’m going to start decorating and I think would feel that the house looked bare and didn’t smell like Christmas without the windowsills and sideboard tops decorated with these cuttings, dried oranges, cinnamon sticks and subtle Christmas baubles and decorations. Smell is so important to creating
atmosphere. Heady spices waſt throughout my house for most of December, either through the warming smells of Gløgg or mulled wine simmering gently, or through the multiple batches of Dutch spiced cookies called speculaas that fi nd their way into the cookie jar. T roughout Scandinavia, spices dominate Christmas fl avours and each country has its own style of spiced biscuit. So quick and easy to make, and great for children to help out with, if you have a chance amongst the mince pie baking I urge you to try some – the smell will immediately ensure your house is festive and they taste pretty good too.
Whilst Christmas can very easily become a time of stress and extra work, I think it’s really important if you can to try and embrace the ‘hygge’ elements of simplicity and scale it back. Perhaps it’s about prioritising which events to go to and saying no to some, perhaps it’s not trying to fi t in seeing all your family and friends in one whirlwind month, but focusing on having some quality time with a few important people, or perhaps it’s just about simplifying what you cook and how you entertain. Have a fabulous Christmas Eve meal, but
make it simple – cooked ham, potatoes and remoulade, with a dessert made in advance. Make sure that you get to enjoy the day and its lead up to Christmas rather than it be a fi nal rush to get everything done. By simplifying, and where you can,
preparing the key parts in advance, it allows you to refocus on the important things. If you really can’t let go of the huge event that Christmas can become, and for some this is the very essence of Christmas, how about trying to embrace hygge in January; hiding away, giving yourself some quiet time just to be, and embracing everything cosy and comforting.
EXTRACT see page 68
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