Christmas in the Rockies

Info: Creating Chefs (The Lyons Press, 2003; $28 ),by Carol Maybach

• Gravlax with Norwegian Caviar Sauce

Although the Maybach tradition is to bury their salmon in the snow to cure, buying the gravlax is a pretty good option for those of us who live in snowless parts of the New World.

Wine: Blanc de noirs sparkler

• Fresh potato flatbread (lefse) and/or plain flatbread (flatbrod)

• Butter and lingonberry jam

• Pickled herring and/or herring in sour cream

• Apple, Beet, and Cabbage Salad

This salad puts color on the table, to say nothing of hearty flavors.

• Roast Pork with Gingerbread Sauce and Celery Root with Bacon

In the mountains, the main dish might be venison or elk, but roast pork loin has a long tradition in Norway too. A sauce made with gingerbread (Gingerbread Sauce) adds a little interesting sugar and spice.

Wine: Zinfandel

• Christmas Rice Pudding (Riskrem)

In Norway, an almond is hidden inside one of these desserts, and the lucky recipient gets a gift―usually a marzipan pig.

• Gingerbread Wedges

Maybach bakes this dense, slightly sweet bread in patterned ceramic molds for a decorative finish, but plain pie pans work well too.

• Gingerbread Sauce

• Aquavit and Christmas beer

Note: You can buy the gravlax, caviar, flatbread, jam, and herring at a Scandinavian deli, or order from Wikstroms' Gourmet Foods (773/275-6100).