Here at HuffPost Taste, we frequently extoll the joys of simple cooking, simple eating and simple entertaining. The idea being that making it simple makes it all more fun, and easier to do lots of times in one week. But sometimes, you want to pull out all the stops. Sometimes, you want to throw together a multi-course spectacle with a theme that will make it feel like an extra-special occasion -- just for fun. Swedish night is here, you guys.
Swedish cuisine is an incredible mix of hearty, luxurious dishes designed to fortify you against the cold, and light, fresh, simple dishes meant to highlight the region's spectacular native foods (especially the seafood). We would hate to reinforce the stereotype that Swedish cooking is all about the meatballs... but they are such great meatballs that we had to include a recipe. Also, for someone whose never tried Scandinavian food before, a meatball is an easily relatable food that will get your kids (or just nervous friends) to go ahead and give it a try.
Food is not the only thing Swedes are great at -- they also happen to make some of the best pop music on earth, in our opinion. In addition to recipe ideas in the slideshow below, you'll find a few tips on the soundtrack.
Last but not least here's how you say "cheers!" in Swedish: skål (pronounced "skohl")!