More than just Abba
The Swedes gave us one of my favourite words - smorgasbord. It incorporates the word for an open-faced sandwich (smorgas) and in Scandanavian cuisine sandwiches are served sans lid, very often as a breakfast option and always piled high with startlingly tasty toppings. In her latest cookbook, Notes from a Swedish Kitchen ($49.99; New Holland), author Margareta Schildt Landgren dedicates one section to a selection of her favourite sandwiches and though we may baulk at the titles for some ("smoked reindeer sandwiches" anyone?), others will have you running to the kitchen to create your own. The book is sectioned into the four seasons and our palates are taken on a wonderful and interesting journey with some of the less-used herbs such as dill and chives making an appearance, and recipes for the humble potato that will make you swoon: potatoes in a dill cream, salad of fennel and new potatoes with a lively vinaigrette dressing.
New on the butcher's block
The group behind the successful Botswana Butchery restaurants in Queenstown and Wanaka have bought Cin Cin restaurant, in the historic Auckland Ferry Building. Known for their focus on fine meat cuts and locally sourced produce and with their new fit out near completion, we can't wait for the doors to open.
It's a date
