Sparkling Aquavit Cocktail with Strawberry and Orange
The tinny music box melody heralded the promise of summer’s sweetness on the hottest days of my childhood. When the ice cream truck rolled through the neighborhood, my parents would buy me my favorite ice pop, the one swirled with…
Celebrating the Kräftskiva: a Swedish Crayfish Party Tradition
A few weeks ago, before the season began its visible transition from summer to fall, I took part in one of the most charming of Scandinavian celebrations, the kräftskiva, or Swedish crayfish party. A tradition every August in Sweden, it’s…
Darra Goldstein’s Mussels in Aquavit in The Norwegian American
Mussels always take me back to that summer in Oslo, the first time I visited the country where my dad was born. Norway had been a place with almost a mythical quality, someplace alive and real in my mind but…
Wine Pairings for Scandinavian Food?
When you think about Scandinavian food, what are the first things that come to mine? Salmon, dill, almond, cardamom, berries, mushrooms, potatoes, pickled herring, apples–and that’s just a starting place. The food of Scandinavia is guided by tradition as well…
Seattle’s Copper Gate Closes its Doors
One week ago tonight, on an evening just as sunny–even brighter, in fact–than this, I walked through the open door of the Copper Gate shortly after it opened and took a seat at the bar for closing night. With a…
