In Sweden, Saint Martins day is celebrated by eating goose.
November is the time for the slaughter of the geeses.It is quite a job to serve a goosedinner. I myself am from Scania and it is a yearly tradtition
in our family to eat goose in november. It takes several hours to roast the goose and I cook the dish myself.
Usually it weighs 9 to 10 pounds and I stuff the goose with apples, prunes and bread.
Normally it takes 4 hours to roast, and with preparation and time for the dish to res´t a little while, I would say that it takes 6 hours before it is ready to be served.
It is served with potatoes, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, apple sauce and a sauce made with madeira and sherry.
The story of Saint Martin and the geeses tell us that Martin was trying to avoid beeing a bishop and hid among the geeses. They made a lot of noice and revealed him. Another tale of him, was that he gave his cloak to a poor man. The latin word för cloak is pallium, from which palliative care is named.
Saint Martin was the first palliative giver. Martin came from Tours in France and Saint Martins day was an important mediaval feast day.
After the gees we eat a cake, Spettekaka, meaning it is baked on a spit. The batter is poured on for a long time, 24 layers and it must dry between each layer. The cake is very sweet, crisp and tasty
You can see a part of the baking in this film
http://youtu.be/4E3bq9mZvKc
