Norwegian Culinary Delights: Christmas Dinner

In continuing my ongoing series on Norwegian cuisine I am going to introduce to you a variety of holiday dishes. Although coming a bit late I hope you will find it interesting...
This is the traditional main dish of most of the eastern regions of Norway. It is called "ribbe" and is essentially pork ribs. The special thing about the cut of meat in this dish is the layers of fat between the relatively thin layers of meat and the "svol" on the top of the meat that is the fat on the top. The svol is my favourite part and when the meat is prepared properly this fatty top layer gets very crispy on top and chewy on the bottom making for a delightful treat. Ribbe is served with almond potatoes, steamed carrots, brussel sprouts, red cabbage, medister kaker (sort of meat ball; ground pork meat with various spices etc.) prunes and a light gravy.
This meal is traditional enjoyed on Christmas Eve which is the big day of celebration for Norwegians. One of the traditional desserts after the Christmas Eve meal is rice pudding. The rice pudding is served cold with a fruit sauce. A common practice is to hide a peeled almond in the large bowl of pudding that everyone takes from. The person who finds the almond in his/her dish is the winner of a pig shaped chunk for marsipan which is often dipped in chocolate.