Ethnic Christmas

Last night we attended an "office Christmas party" . . . but not at the office. One of my coworkers (Liz) and her husband (Ken), at their lovely home, hosted the employees in our unit at the university. We all brought our spouses and children, and Liz had her family room set up with Christmas crafts, puzzles, and videos to keep the children entertained while the adults visited.

It was potluck, and we all had decided in advance to bring ethnic appetizers, in part because my boss planned to bring homemade tamales, a family recipe. Susan and I searched the Internet for flavorful recipes that would represent Scandinavian cuisine as savory, not bland (like most of the Scandinavian-American recipes we're familiar with, which use no seasonings or spices bolder than salt, pepper, dried onion, or white sugar--or, if you're really feeling wild, a sprinkle of dried paprika for color on deviled eggs).

As it turns out, not every Scandinavian food needs to be a shade of white! We had a bit of trouble finding appetizer recipes, but we finally decided to bring a crockpot of meatballs (Norway), chunky herring spread on rye bread (Norway), bierkase spread on rye bread (Germany), and black currant vodka (Sweden). Others brought taco dip and tortilla chips, pork potstickers, chili, kolachy, Mexican wedding cakes, creamy garlic potatoes, jumbalaya and corn bread, cucumbers, Jell-O salad, a chocolate dessert, and munchies like Chex mix and nuts. There were hot apple cider, Bahama Mamas, egg nog, and a sherbet punch to drink, and one coworker brought homemade wine in two flavors: plum and gooseberry. It was a real smorgasbord (Scandinavia)!

It was very fun to interact with my coworkers in a social setting, to meet and visit with their spouses and kids, and to taste their cooking and baking! We even got a Christmas invitation out of the deal: we're heading back Christmas morning for crepes and lamb! (We'll bring fruit salad and mimosas to that get-together.) And Ken, a Baptist minister, read aloud a Christmas narrative that imagines the thoughts and conversations of Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem. Beautifully told, beautifully read, and quite emotional.

P.S. I spilled the crockpot of red-sauce-based meatballs in the van and spent a good portion of time once we got home scrubbing the carpet in the vehicle. Frowny face.