Scandinavian cookbook recs?

Notwithstanding my blatant self-abasement, Bridgestone has so far declined to publish his own cookbook. And since printing out his myriad wonderful recipes doesn't give the same wearability quotient as, say, a hardback (or even a paperback), I am asking the board to come to my rescue.

I would like to get a cookbook. A general, pan-Scandinavian book; but not one of the "new" cuisine a la Andreas Viestad or Marcus Samuelsson. For the time being, I'd prefer to get started using something with traditional recipes, such as Beatrice Ojakangas's Scandinavian Cooking. So far, my trolling the web and investigations elsewhere have suggested that the Ojakangas book might be my best bet. But I just don't know. So, can anyone recommend something that might fill the bill?

Thanks.

I'm having a difficult time finding anything of substance, Gypsy Boy! I rely on very few cookbooks myself and the ones I have have not been translated to English. I generally use Google to search for recipes and sort of mix and match bits of them all to fit my tastes. However, this requires some sort of inspiration or knowledge of specific dishes to search for. And that can be pretty difficult if you're not living over here...

As the English language Scandinavian and/or Swedish cookbooks I've found are all unfamiliar to me, Beatrice's book seem to be as good of a place to start as any.

I apologize for not being able to help you more!

Gypsy Boy,

Back in the 1980's, my work took me often to Sweden. I immediately became a fan of their traditional cuisine, collecting the few English recipes I could find - not much in terms of quantity or quality and nothing close to the magnificent dishes that Bridgestone posts about. The thickest book is 150+ pages. I haven't added any books in many years. FWIW, the two I use the most often are:

"Good Food in Sweden" by Oskar Jakobsson, 1984
"Delicious Swedish Food" a little 38-page pamphlet published by Lilla Sallskapet, a society to "preserve and promote Swedish gastronomic traditions". No date.

Send me a PM if you would like to borrow any of my books.

Best,
Bill/SFNM

Gentlemen,
Thanks to you both. You more or less confirmed my suspicion. Except in areas largely settled by Scandinavian immigrants (oh, say, the upper Midwest), this is a set of cuisines largely unknown (and uneaten). And therefore, not much of a market for cookbooks.

I think much credit must be given to Samuelsson and to Viestad (whom all too few know) for whatever awareness most people have. Indeed, my first real introduction to the food was a memoir by a daughter of immigrants of growing up North Dakota in the early 20th century. She included a handful of recipes and one--rommegrøt, a creamy, sinfully rich Norwegian pudding--was so enticing that I made it. I've been a sucker ever since.

Thanks, particularly, for the offer, Bill. Lemme see what I can see and I'll let you know.

Probably because I am so enamored of her personality, I immediately thought of Tina Nordstrom's "A Culinary Tour of Sweden." In many (most) ways it probably is not what you are looking for--for one, it's a self-described coffee table book more than a true cook book. But it's at least worth looking into:

Product Description
...offers the very best of Swedish food filled with recipes, gorgeous pictures of Swedens landmarks and Tina with her favorite dishes. Trail along with Tina from North to South and enjoy new twists of Swedish classics. The recipes are based on fresh products available at your local market. Here you will find a complete collection of all the recipes from the series. The recipes are accompanied with world class photos of Tinas lovely food. In addition to the lavish layout, the book also works as a travel guide to Sweden with travel tips for every destination. The book also contains a valuable and interesting introduction to Swedish history, culture and food. "

http://www.amazon.com/Culinary-Tour-Swe ... B000F81C1S

It also occurs to me that The Sweden Shop on Foster Avenue (just west of Tre Kronor, and owned by the same couple as the restaurant) usually has some cookbooks in stock.

The Cooking of Scandinavia is a volume in Time-Life's Foods of the World series from the 1960s. I enjoyed reading it but haven't cooked from it. Where else can you find a pictorial of a young Max von Sydow demonstrating the proper way to drink aquavit? You can get copies of the 200 page hardcover book as well as its spiral-bound companion volume of recipes for as little as $1 each through AbeBooks.

Rene G wrote:The Cooking of Scandinavia is a volume in Time-Life's Foods of the World series from the 1960s.

(off topic, sorry) I love those! I'm waiting to inherit quite a few...I'll never forget the photos in the one on Japan!

Shasson and ReneG, thank you both. The idea of browsing--especially where one is likely to find local collections of recipes, is a brilliant idea. And as the owner of a number of Time-Life books myself, I don't know why that simply didn't occur to me! I'm optimistic to hear your report on ABE Books; my experience is that those volumes are very popular and hard to find (though that may relate more to the "popular" cuisines such as French and Italian).