Traditional
Recipes for JulNorway List members own family recipes
Cookies
and desserts for traditional Jul
Lefse -
Hardtack
Festive breakfast
foods, fruit soup, waffles, rømmegrot, julkake
Main Dishes
- Meat-Fish for Christmas supper
Side dishes
to serve with above
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to the Norway List Main Page
Christmas
Customs of Norwaylisters
Web Vikingess Karla Halsan Mattila FreyasLair@comcast.net
Cookies and Desserts for traditional Jul
Arve Somdal wrote this Dec. 2002. N.L. archives
Let me give you a short
survey of traditional Norwegian Christmas cakes/ cookies:
Smultringer ( doughnut rings)
"Fattigmann"/ bakkels"( paupers) "Goro" ( flat
(paste)
wafer cakes) "pepperkaker" ( peppercakes),
"sirupsnipper"("syrup cuts" - treacle gingersnaps)
tebrød" (dry diagonal cakes) "serinakaker"
( small tea cakes) "berlinerkranser" ( coffee bread rings)
Back to the cherished and delicious krumkaker
: Just to adapt to tastes of new generations, my advice isto
fill up the krumkake (the coned version) with whatever good stuff, ice
cream, whipped cream and jam. I think just that will save an old tradition.
Arve
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Christmas Krumkaker
Today I have made 85 krumkaker. I have tasted and they are very good.
I used 6 eggs and I started weighing the eggs. I used the same weight
for sugar, white flour and butter. Easy to remember.
Whip eggs and sugar to eggnog, add white flour carefully and so add
melted butter (cooled). Add also 1 teaspoon of cardamom.
I also used 12 tablespoon of cold water. The water helps making the
krumkaker thin and crispy.
Put 1 tablespoon of the batter into the krumkakejern and cook until
the krumkake is light, light brown. Shape the krumkake immediately. Per
says this can be halved by using 3 eggs and weight the ingredients to match.
1/2 tb. cold water and 1/2 tsp. cardamon etc.
Lykke til.
Per Svendsen psve@online.no lives
in Fet Parish, E. of Oslo with his wife Berit. Her mother shared this recipe
with Per.
Sandbakkel
1 cup of butter
1 cup of sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup almonds chopped very fine
1 egg ( slightly beaten)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract.
Cream butter and
sugar - add almonds - add egg -
beat gently - add flour - CHILL dough - line tins (no need to spray
because there is so-o-o-o much butter ).
Bake at 375 for 12
minutes. Watch the edges and reduce the oven
temperature if they brown too quickly.
I like to make a test with one
first to see if I need to change the oven temperature.
This will make 24.
Posted by N.L Melissa Dec. 1998 It was her great
grandmothers.
Shirley Sorenson says
her sandbakkel recipe makes an enormous quantity. It was handed down
from her Aunt, who probably got it from her mother
who was born in Valer i Solor in 1883.
Grandma's Sandbakkels
3 Cups shortening (use lard that fattigman
has been fried in)
3 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 tablespoons cream, scant
1/4 teaspoon salt
Flour enough to handle (6 cups)
Chill
dough slightly, and press into sandbakkel tins
Bake about 8-9 minutes at 375 degrees.
Remove from oven and while still in the tins,immediately
turn upside down. My Grandma did not want them (as she
said in her accent) 'too tick'.
. I can remember sitting in my Grandma's
kitchen around the table with the wood burning stovemaking
it nice and warm, with my mother and aunts and pressing the dough into
the little pans.
Kathleen Stokker in her book "Keeping
Christmas"was kind enough to print my memory on page
28.
Rosettes
Rosette iron is fancy wheel shaped tool, on a handle.This
is dipped into batter, then deep fried.
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
Beat eggs slightly
with sugar and salt. Add milk and flour and beat until smooth.
Heat rosette iron in hot lard before dipping in batter. Do not
let batter come over top of iron. Dip into batter and then hot lard,
for at least 20 seconds but not over 35 seconds. Makes 40 rosettes.
I use between lo and medium temperture. Cool on paper towel, then dust
with powder sugar and store in tight container.
Karla Halsan Mattila
Lemon Bon Bon Cookies
1 c butter,
1 cup flour,
1/2 c chopped pecans
3/4 c cornstarch
1/3 c and 1 cup powdered sugar,
1 teaspoon butter
juice of 1/2 lemon
Mix together 1 cup butter, flour, pecans, cornstarch and 1/3 cup powdered sugar. Chill for 1 hour. Roll dough into small balls. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Frost when cool.
FROSTING: Combine 1 cup powdered sugar,
1 teaspoon butter and lemon juice
Family recipe from Dee Preston of Marshfield,
Wisconsin deedeekay4619@Yahoo.com
GJØRT HORNS
This recipe was a favorite of my grandmother and
Norwegian family from Nordland. It ends up looking like little
horns. Great for beginning Norwegian cooks. Just dont
over cook and get to brown. Karla Halsan Mattila
(Small twisted cardamon
donuts)
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (melt, add to above)
4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Table spoon Cardaman (we always use lots more of
this) fine crushed
1 teaspoon baking powder
The dough is chilled
in Refrigerator a couple of hours. Pinch off a piece, and roll it
between
your hands in a round pencil like piece, about the length of 6 inches.
Pinch ends together, making a circle, but leaving an inch or
less on each end to hang out, thus
making horns.
Fry in deep fat like doughnuts, not very long, 2 minutes maybe.
She always made them for Christmas. Usually a month or so before the holiday, and stored in tight container. They will keep for months and seem to improve with age. They are so good with coffee. Add extra cardamon, I do. It's easier with two people. One roll and one fry. Put the rolled ones on trays of waxed paper for easier handling and frying. As you fry them, put them in a container to drain and chill.
Karla Halsan Mattila- Norwaylist admin. Karlena@adelphia.net
Fattigman Bakkels
(Poorman's donuts/cookie)
Beat three eggs to
a froth; add 3 teaspoonfuls of sugar, one tablespoonful of cream, and a
pinch of salt; put in flour enough to make a stiff dough; roll as thin
as paper; cut into any
shape you like (triangle,squares) and fry in hot lard like doughnuts.
(Just a few seconds)
Karla Halsan Mattila Norwaylist - Karlena@adelphia.net
From: Grass of the Earth by Aagot
Raaen
Fattigman
Cliff Anderson of Texas shares this yummy rendition below. Here
is a Fattigmand recipe from my grandmother, who was born in Kragerø,
Telemark, Norway in 1871. It's a lot of work, especially pulverizing
the Cardamon seed to a fine powder. I do it by putting the seeds
in a a piece of cloth, like an old sheet, and beating the heck out of it
with a hammer on an anvil. Cardamon needs to be fresh for the best
taste effect.
Cream together:
¼ pound butter 9 tablespoons sugar
Add:
6 well beaten eggs
1 wine glass brandy (optional)
9 tablespoons whipping 4 to 5 cups flour ( or
cream
enough to make a stiff dough)
½ to ¾ ounce whole
4 pound lard (for frying - we use
cardamon seed (re-
cooking oil)
move seed from pod
and crush)
Mix dough and chill
overnight. Roll dough very thin, a small portion at a time.
Cutdiamond shapes with a
cutter, make a small slit in
center and pull one point through it. Fry
in hot oiluntil golden, drain
on brown paper (or paper towels).
Troll cream (Trollkrem)
1 egg white
1 pt cleaned lingonberries
1/2 c sugar
Mix and beat until
thick, light and fluffy. Can be served with vanilla sauce. If it's too
tart, try adding a bit of crushed banana. Lingonberry
jam can be used instead of fresh lingonberries.
Aquavit Sorbet
2 c water
1 c sugar
rind of 1 lemon
juice of ½ a lemon
3/4 c Aquavit (this is a liquour)
1 egg white
almond slivers
macaroon bars
Scrub the lemon well, and remove
the thin outer zest with a potato peeleror
sharp knife. Boil water, sugar and lemon rind for 5-10 minutes.Add
lemon juice and strain the mixture.Cool
the sugar syrup and season to taste with Aquavit. Freeze lightly.Beat
egg white lightly and stir it into the partially frozen sorbet. Freeze
completely.
Stir the sorbet well before serving.
Sprinkle with toasted almond slivers and serve macaroon bars on the side.
Sent from Ted Knutson
Marzipan
1 pound ground blanched almonds
3 egg whites
1 pound powdered sugar
Knead sugar, almonds, and egg whites
into pliant dough. Can be used as sweets, as cakes, or as decorations shaped
into flowers or fruit and colored with confectioner's coloring. Marzipan
pigs are also very popular at Christmas time.
Sally Holman
Skolebrød
#1
Makes 16
50 gram margarine
3,5 dl milk
1 packet yeast
1 dl sugar
8 dl wheat flour
Thick vanilla cream or pudding
Make
a dough with yeast in the usual way. Let the dough raise for
15 minutes. Make vanilla cream - see instructions on the packet -
or use ready-to-eat vanilla cream. (We use vanilla cream like a sauce with
jelly when we have dessert. If you make it, use less liquid in it than
the instructions say. To use pudding sounds like a good idea.)
Knead the dough, shape it into a sausage, cut it in 16 parts. Roll
(with your hand against the table) each part into a round bun. Press the
bun flat and place it on a ...eh, tray (?) that you later will put into
the oven. Cover the buns with a kitchen towel (or
a sheet of plastic) and let the buns raise for 15 minutes.
Heat the oven - 250 centigrades (I think it sounds too
hot.) Press down each bun so that you have a depression in each of
them, fill this hole with a tablespoon (or so) of vanilla cream.
"Paint" each bun with egg. (Take one egg, break it into a cup, stir with
a fork so everything is mixed together, use a suitable brush and cover
each
bun with this stuff. Not the vanilla part, though.)
Bake in middle position in the oven for 10 - 12 minutes.
Let the buns cool. (If you need to store
them till later use, this is where you do it.) Before serving:
Make an icing of powdered sugar and water (I use milk,
not water). Use a knife to spread the icing on the buns, around the yellow
"eye" in the middle. Add a little "kokosmasse" - grated coconut: Put some
of that into
a soup bowl, dip each bun into the coconut stuff so that
some of it sticks to the icing. You can eat the buns without
any icing, they are very good anyway.
Ingrid
Kjonnoy
School Bread #2
Served at Restaurant Akershus and Kringla Bakeri of Kafe Norway Pavilion, Epcot Center, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.
Ingredients:
.5 qt Water
3 oz Yeast (dry)
3.5 oz Sugar
2.5 oz Butter (melted)
1 tsp Cardamom
2 lbs Flour
1 ea Egg
Method of Preparation:
Heat water and butter
to 95 degrees F. Mix flour, sugar, cardamom, yeast, and egg together
for about five minutes until dough is stiff. Form it like a ball
and place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let proof for
45 minutes, or until
dough has doubled in size. Roll the dough out like a sausage and
cut it into five ounce pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and put
them on a non-stick sheet pan and let them proof for 30 minutes.
Bake for 15 minutes in 375 degree oven. Let cool. Mix powdered
sugar and water (use small amounts until proper consistency is achieved)
to make icing and place in shallow pan. Form hole in bread using
finger. Dip bread in icing (hole side down) and sprinkle with shredded
coconut. Using a pastry tube, squeeze vanilla custard into hole and
swirl at top for decoration. All recipes are the property of Walt
Disney World Co. and may not be reproduced without express permission.
Norwegian School Bread - Bread Machine Recipe #3
4 cups flour
1 3-4 cups milk
1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cardamom if desired
4 tablespoons butter/marg
1
Box Jello Vanilla Cooked Pudding
Powdered Sugar for frosting
Heat
milk in microwave, and place in bread maker. Melt butter in microwave
and add to bread maker
Add Flour and sugar,cardamom. Make a hole, and
add the yeast to flour mixture. Find the DOUGH/PASTA setting on your
bread maker panel and press start. Mine is Number 7. It takes
one and half hours to mix, and rise the dough using this method.
1 hour 30 min. The dough is kneaded for 20 min
1:10 The dough begins to rise 20 min
0:50 The dough is punched down 30 seconds
0:50 The dough rises for the final time 50 mins
0:00 The dough is finished.
*Note, the bread pan does not get hot using this dough
setting.
Preparing dough for baking:
1. Lightly sprinkle flour onto a board. Using a rubber
spatula, remove dough from the bread pan. I removed my pan from the
bread maker, and dumped the bread onto the board, as it was cool, and easier
this way.
Knead by hand 2 or 3 times to release the air.
If its easy to handle without flour, shape on a lightly oiled counter top.
2. Shape dough into a long rolled log, long enough to
cut 16 segments. Slice them into segments, roll into round balls,
then place onto lightly greased cookie sheet, or pan. Cover
dough with clean cloth and let rise
until doubled again. About 30 minutes.
3. While the dough rises, cook the Vanilla pudding. I used the microwave, and reduced the milk from 3 cups down to 2 1/4. Cook 8 minutes, stirring every two minutes to prevent sticking. Leave on counter.
4. Prepare the frosting.
Powder Sugar Glaze
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk or water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth Save until rolls are thru baking, then use knife to frost the tops.
Rolls are now nicely risen, so make indentations in the tops of each one, large enough for a tablespoon plus, of thicken pudding. Fill and let the dog lick the pudding dish.
Place baking pan with rolls into preheated oven, at 375 degrees. Bake for 18-21 minutes. Remove, and spread the frosting all over the tops, leaving the pudding untouched.
Thanks to all who helped bring this recipe to us, and all the modifiers who adjusted and tested. My batch turned out just great, and are being eaten rapidly by the men around here, with much appreciation.
Karla Halsan Mattila
Norwaylist - karlena@adelphia.net
Kavring
Small Sugar Rusks
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
5 3/4 cups flour
1 cup of rich milk (cream or half 'n' half)
10 cardamom seeds (crushed) or probably 1/4
tsp. powdered cardamom
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
Cream
butter and sugar together; add slightly beaten egg, milk and dry ingredients,
which have been sifted together. Stir as little as possible. Turn dough
out onto floured board. Shape into small buns and bake ten minutes in hot
oven. When done, cut each roll in half and return to oven. Bake at 275-300
degrees until light brown. Serve with hot fruit soup.
Enjoy! Sally Holman
Lefse and Hardtack
Hardanger Lefse
From lister Berit Vik Hansen of Fervik,
Grimstad Commune, Aust Agder, Norway <beezee@c2i.net
Her Aunt jenny was raised on a farm
in Grimstad, and handed down this recipe to Berit.
She makes them for Christmas and holidays,
and uses lots of butter and cinnamon.
2 pounds flour
1/4 pound sugar
3 ts baking soda
3 cups buttermilk
150 gr melted butter
Mix together sugar and 2 cups milk. Mix the baking soda with the last cup of milk, add it to the first mixture. Add flour and lastly the butter.
Let rest for awhile. Roll out on a floured board, to about 1/2 cm or 3/16th of an inch thick, use a pot lid (not too large) for shape. Fry in a dry frying pan or straight on your electric burner, till nicely brown on both sides.
Makes about 20.
Put on butter and strew sugar on top, butter one more and put face down on the other one, press together, then cut into slices like a pie. Eat instead of cake.
Lefse
Made with instant mashed
potatoes
Make up a batch
of instant potatoes according to the directions on the box (but using
non-fat milk) and put them in the refrigerator
overnight with just a piece of waxed paper lying on top of the potatoes.
A lid seems to cause too much condensation.
The next day,
add enough flour to be able to roll them thin. Form a piece
into a ball and roll it on a well floured board (some use canvas).
If you've done lefse, you'll kind of know what the right texture
will be. Next, cook them on a lefse grill.
From Norwaylist archives original by Mavis Kvernvik
Basic Lefse
Recipe
that hangs on a lot of walls in Minnesota homes
Yew tak yust ten big
potatoes
Den yew boil dem till dar done.
Yew adfd to dis some sveet cream
And by cups it measures vun.
Den yew steal tree ounces of butter
An vit two fingers pinch some salt.
Yew beat dis wery lightly
If it ain't gude it iss your fault.
Den yew roll dis tin vit flour
An light brown on stove yew bake.
Now call in all Scandihuvains
Tew try da fine lefse yew make.
I found it again in a book called "The Last Word
on Lefse" by Gary Legwold.
Donald Bjuland, Independence, MO, DBJULAND@worldnet.att.net
Mørlefse
Ingrid Kjonnoy was born and raised in Sandnessjoen, Nordland
Recipe from Troms and Nordland, baked in oven, no turning.
2 deciliter sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon syrup
1 teaspoon salt of hartshorn (ammonium carbonate)
wheat flour
barley flour (a small quantity)
Mix together sour cream,
sugar, and syrup. Mix the salt of hartshorn into a
small quantity of sifted wheat flour, stir this into the cream mix,
add a
little barley flour as wee. Then add wheat flour, but not too much.
The
dough must stay soft. Place a lid on the bowl and leave the dough in
a cool
place for 1 - 2 hours.
Cut the dough in 2 -
4 parts. Roll out each part (with a rolling pin) into a
round, rather thin shape.
Place the dough on a greased flat pan and bake it in the oven at ca
200
Centigrade. Light yellow color.
If the lefse swells while it is in the oven, puncture it with
a fork or a
needle. It is supposed to be flat.
Put the warm lefses
on top of each other and wrap a piece of cloth around
them. When they are cold, spread butter on them and sprinkle with sugar.
Fold each lefse over and cut it in wedges. (Can be stored in the freezer.)
You will have to figure out the conversions. Make
sure you don't use Fahrenheit degrees.
Ingrid
Norwegian Hard Tack
Cut into Christmas tree shapes.
Her father was
Norwegian, and her mother cooked him special treats to share with his work
pals. This is one that my Mom used and I have good luck with it also.
She/we made it when I was quite young and cut the pieces in Christmas Tree
shapes. Nowadays that is still important to me because I collect
glass Christmas trees and have them set out all year round.
Submitted by Ione Tracy, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma itracy1@cox.net
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups cracked wheat or oatmeal (quick cooking style)
3 cups white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 and 1/2 cup buttermilk
Cream butter and sugar. Add dry ingredients and liquid alternately. Form in ball about the size of small baseballs. Let dough set for an hour in bowl, covered, on counter. Roll out about 1/4 inch thick. I roll it right on a cookie sheet, with or with out sides on the sheet. Bake 375 degrees for 15 minutes . Remove from oven when baked dough starts to brown. Cut into squares while warm. Remove from cookie sheet and store like you would cookies.
If you wait till baked hard tack is cold it cuts
okay, but sometimes then wejust
break it into pieces.Mom
cut the tree shapes while hard tack was still warm, or cut it intodiamond
shapes. I think troll shapes would be cute!
Mølje
Party snack from Flatbrød
What is really
disappointing on a list, which is seemingly trying to keep up traditions,
is the absence of a deep rooted sanctuary : the MØLJE.
(yum-yum) . Well, I know there are a lot of definitions and recipes,
but we Easterners swear to it as a god-given gift, and enjoyed just two
times a year: between twelve and one o'clock on Christmas Eve and at the
same hours on New Year's Eve.
What is MØLJE ? - I think the Viking way of cornflakes, to make it pedagogically easy to be understood by ignorants. OK. This divine and old Nordic delicacy is made up by soaking crushed "flatbrød" pieces in "ribbekraft" ( the stock from the rib) adding salt and pepper and rib fat at choice.
No wonder a good taste of akkevitt is the right drink to go with it, followed up by a swig of pils ( lager) . Like lutefisk, rakørret and gamalost, we know there are fan and foes about, but I really feel sorry for all those of you who have missed the juicy, vulgar taste of this deep rooted Norse dish. My mouth is impatiently watering in expectancy of this year's heavenly treat.
Arve Somdahl Norway
<arsomda@online.no> Nedre Eiker, Buskerud
Breakfast foods enjoyed over the holidays
Norwegian Waffles
(Hemlengsel)
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cardamon (optional)
2 cups buttermilk
2 Tbslp. melted butter
Beat eggs and sugar until light and creamy. Mix all dry ingredients
and add them to the sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
Add
melted butter. Pour batter into waffle iron and brown until done. These
waffles are soft in texture. Serve with syrup, jam, powdered sugar
or
lingonberries. (Delicious cold, too!)
**Hope you enjoy these. Marcy Ugstad <ugstad@coinet.com>
Julekake
(A Norwegian Christmas Bread)
2 pkgs dry yeast (I
only use fleishmans)
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 cup milk, scalded
1/2 cup butter
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cardamom
5 cups flour approx.
1/2 cup citron
1/2 cup candied cherries
1/2 cup white raisins
Dissolve yeast in warm water and a little sugar. Scald milk and addbutter. cool to lukewarm. Add egg and then yeast mixture. Add sugar,salt, and cardamom. Beat in 2 cups flour and mix well. Mix fruit with a little of the remaining flour so it doesn't stick together and add. Stir in rest of flour. Knead on floured cloth until smooth. Place in greased bowl. Cover andlet rise until doubled. Divide into two parts and form round loaves. Puton greased cookie sheets or pie pans. Let rise until nearly double. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes. While warm brush with softbutter or decorate with powdered sugar icing mixed with almond flavoring, then almonds and more candied cherries. This is really greattoasted. and makes a pretty gift too,wrapped in foil with a big red bow. HappyEating. Louella N.L. Archives 1997
Yulekake
Using bread machine
1 cup milk,
warmed to 100° F.
1 egg
3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
4 tablespoons butter, cut up
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
-----------
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup citron, sliced (I substituted 2/3 cup candied cherries,chopped.
1 tablespoon chopped almonds
Put the ingredients,
except the raisins, citron or cherries, and almonds, into your machine
according to the directions for that machine. Dust the
raisins and citron or cherries with flour, so they don't stick
together. Use Raisin Bread Cycle. Add the raisins, fruit, and almonds
at the beep.
Elizabeth Schmitt N.L. archives Dec. 1998
Kneels Basic Fruit Soup
1 pound prunes
(pitted and cut up if you want to get fancy)
1 cinnamon stick or 1/4 teaspoon.
2 cups raisins
1 cup dried apricots (cut up if desired)
( also 2 cut up apples, if desired)
Put into a large kettle and cover with cold water and cook slowly 45
minutes stirring often. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup minute
tapioca
(or 1 cup sago) and boil 10 minutes more. Fruit and berry juices
may be
used instead of water. Add other cooked fruits and the juice
of 1/2
lemon, if desired. Note: One cup of wine may be added.
You
will note that even this basic recipe offers options. In fact,
making fruit soup is an adventure in innovation.
The above recipe is from a cook book. I use it
as a guide and make a much bigger
quantity. As fruit soup can be served hot to warm
you up after being
outside, or served cold as a dessert or snack, holiday
guests can eat a lot of
this. My personal recipe follows:
Kneels Private Fruit Soup Recipe
1. Go to store and buy a mixture of dried fruits. I always get prunes,raisins, and apricots, but as whimsy strikes me at the moment I get acouple or so of pears, peaches, apples, currents, mangos, or what ever. It is necessary to use some restraint or you will wind up with anenormous quantity of fruit soup. Those dried fruits expand.
2. Cut the really big fruits into smaller pieces about the size of theprunes (which I don't pit or cut up) or maybe a little smaller.
3. Toss all your fruit into a big kettle or vat. Cover with cold waterand soak over night. You can just start cooking at once, but I like tosoak them over night. I also just use water but I would encourageexperimentation with fruit juices.
4. In the morning add 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 half cup of minutetapioca (or 1 cup sago) for about every 2 pounds of fruit. I skimp alittle on the sugar.
5. Add a cinnamon stick or 2 (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon or more if you likecinnamon) and the juice of 1/2 lemon for each 2 pounds of dried fruit.
6. Bring to a boil and cook slowly until all the tapioca has turned intoglue and made the soup thick and all the fruits are soft. If it gets toothick add some more water or fruit juice.
7. Taste the stuff and if you like it stop, otherwise add some moresugar, cinnamon, or something else and cook awhile longer.
8. Serve it in bowls.
When reheating part of the batch later, I sometimes toss in some wine orbrandy to "kick it up a notch." Neil Hofland, Santa Monica, California nhofland@aol.com from N.L archives Dec. 6 1998
More Christmas traditionsbyIngrid
Kjønnøy
On Christmas Eve we keep the old tradition that was in use in the time
whenour parents were children:
We have porridge made of rømme - sour cream - and rice.It
is a combination of rice porridge (risengrynsgrøt) which is an everyday
dish andrømmegrøt.
Rømmegrøt withouth the addition of risengrynsgrøt
is too heavy and fat, we think. Well, we usesome
of the fat that comes from cooking the rømme to pour on top of
the
grøt when we eat it, plus sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
In the porridgesomewhere there
is a hidden almond, and the person who finds the almond onhis
plate will get a reward, a small pig made of marzipan. We drink milk tothe
grøt, by the way.This
meal takes place about six o'clock. Then we open the gifts. Later inthe
evening we usually eat something salt, like spekekjøtt (cured ham
ormutton) with potatoes, scrambled
eggs, flatbrød and beer
Microwave Rømmegrøt
Eaten as supper, snack,or dessert
4 cups milk (whole
or 2%)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
Heat milk on stove
or in a microwave until scalded. Melt butter in a 2-quart bowl
in the microwave. Stir in flour with a wire whisk until smooth.
Cook in microwave about one minute. Add hot milk and stir
until smooth. Microwave about 3 minutes, stirring every minute,
or until desired
thickness, add sugar and salt and microwave 30 seconds more.
This rømmegrøt
recipe was recently tested in the kitchens of Normanden Lodge with
great results and approved by our discriminating panel of tasters. Gary
Stensatter has made as little as one cup at a time with the same results.
It may be frozen, reheated in a microwave, and stirred back to its original
consistency and taste. By Mrs. Myran.
submitted by lister Harold Fisher, Nov. 1998 N.L. archives
Arve Somdal says every Christmas a variety of Norwegian foods are enjoyed by listers. Cookies of 7 kinds, Lutefisk, Pinnekjøtt, and Christmas Torsk (cod) of which are typically West Coast traditions. The Easterners, (of which he is) perfer ribbe (rib of pork), pork sausages and medisterkaker and surkål.
Ingrid Kjønnøy
adds,
Most families in Norway nowadays have pork ribs for Christmas Eve dinner,
served with special meat balls, julepølse, potatoes, vegetables
etc, and surkål (cabbage cooked with vinegar, sugar, and caraway)
or rødkål (surkål made of a red-coloured kind of cabbage),
brown gravy and tyttebærsyltetøy (lingonberry jam).
Some areas traditionally serve lutefisk on Christmas Eve. In other areas
they need to have boiled cod fresh from the sea. Neither of these dishes
is traditional here. Many people now use turkey for dinner -- and so do
we, but not until Christmas Day.
Christmas Cod "TORSK" Fish
As a fellow emigree Norwegian PLEASE let me remind you never to serve TORSK (cod) any other way than decocted (not boiled!) and with nothing else than melted butter, minced parsley and boiled potatoes to go with it!
Depending on where in Norway you come from, you are may add local specialties like crushed bacon (Trøndelag or Hordaland), crushed hardboiled eggs (Oppland) and a few oher exceptions. Beets or foreign sauces are definite No-No.. If you prefer a lager and aquavit instead of the traditional red wine, that will be accepted.
Cod fish gravy??? Ough... promise me.
Michael G Landmark
*In memory of Michael who passed away February 12, 2002.
Member of the "Torskeklubben"(Norwegian
club established in Copenhagen where since 1917 Torsk-Cod has beenthe
main course of the club's monthly dinner menu during the cod season[months
containing 'r': oktober, november, desember, januar, februar, marsand
april]. Torskeklubben's mission is to maintain the love of thingsNorwegian
among emigrees in Copenhagen and helping fellow Norwegians in
need.)
Fish Balls
(Fiskeboller)
1 kilo (2 lbs)
cleaned haddock, wolfish or pike
1 Tsp. salt
2 Tsp. potatoe flour or cornstarch
2 tsp. nutmeg
About 7 dl (3 c) milk
Clean fish, removing
all skin and bones. Grind twice (preferably in meat grinder) with the salt
and potatoe flour or cornstarch. Stir in nutmeg
and add ice cold milk.
With a tablespoon
shape large balls about 1 2 in. in diameter. Poach them carefully in fish
stock or lightly salted water for 5-10 minutes
(depending on size).
Chopped (and sometimes fried) onions, leek or chives can be added to the ground fish. Bits of bacon also.
These are traditionally served with boiled potatoes,
carrots (raw andshredded
or boiled), and a bechamel sauce.
Fiske Grateng
Baked
fish dish
One of my family's favorites was "fiske grateng" which I guess would be a fish pudding. It is really good, and always a hit with anyone who tried it, even if they said they didn't like fish. After I had been away from home a few years my parents and grandparents started to have this for Christmas Eve, although we had it all year round too. I don't think there was a recipe written out, but here are the basics:
About 2 pounds of fish (a white-fleshed type, can be leftover), cooked, de-boned, and flaked
White sauce (Melt 1/4 c. butter. Stir in 1/4 c. flour, salt, pepper&nutmeg to taste. Add 1-2 c. milk and stir and cook until it is thickened.)
3 or more egg whites, beaten until stiff (add the yolks into the white sauce).
Mix the fish into
the white sauce, then fold in the eggs. Pour into abuttered 9x13 inch baking
pan, and bake at 350* until lightly browned -about 1/2 hour. Serve with
melted butter with chopped green onions, and boiled potatoes.
Norwaylister Wendy
Pinnekjøtt
"Pinns of Birch" Lamb roast
Pinnekjøtt"
- dried and salted rib of mutton, soaked in water for some hours to take
some of the salt out, then steamed and served with
kålrotstappe", potatoes, "julepølse" (Christmas sausages),
"flatbrød"
Cooking Directions:
Use a large saucepan. In the bottom place a number of small wooden sticks -- birch is preferred. The best result is obtained if you go out to the forest and cut off some small branches and twigs from a birch tree, then use a knife to remove all the bark so only the white wood is left.
Put so many pieces of birch wood into the saucepan that it reminds you of a strainer. Several centimeters high.
Divide the meat into suitable pieces Place meat on top of the wood. Then add water, but not so much that it reaches the meat.
Boil this for two
hours, adding more water if needed, with pot lid on. It is important that
the meat is steamed, not boiled.
It is ready when the meat is easily separated from the bones.
After you have taken it out of the saucepan, you can place it under the broiler, for a minute or two to give it a finishing touch.
"Pinnekjøtt" has become very popular, originally I think it was used mostly in Western Norway, but now you will find it all over the country. Why not try it?
Ingrid Kjonnoy of
Ekkilsøy born Sandnessjoen, Nordland. N.L archives Jan 2000
*see side dishes for directions on cooking kalrøtestappe n julepølse.
Roasted Pork Ribs
Ole Kjølseth,
Oslo writes :
No. Odd. Always the roasted pork spare ribs with the fat around, prepared
in the oven, with its crisp rind, some salt and pepper, served with
sour
cabbage, potatoes, mountain cranberries, cool beer and Linje-aquavita
that
has matured, crossing the Equator on board a Norwegian vessel.
What a delicious smell,-
and taste - it is fantastic,
longing for the traditional East - Norwegian Christmas dinner.
Medisterpølse
Medisterkaker - Christmas sausage
In my sisters home (and at home when my mother lived) they also havelightly
fried 'medisterpølse' and 'medisterkaker' together with the spare
rib.
Medisterfarse:
1/2 pork meat
1/2 kg pork flesh
350 g calf meat
1 1/2 table spoon salt
1 1/2 tea spoon pepper
1/2 tea spoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon mace
6-7 dl milk, bouillon or water, preferably boiled and cooled down,
if cakes or sausages are to be preserved, preferably bouillon is used and
not milk!
3 table spoons potato flour (starch)
Grind the meat
finely 6 times. Work the dough thoroughly with spices. Add milk or bouillon
slowly, work the dough btw. each additions.
Grind the flesh separately 2 times and at end, add flesh and potato
flour and mix thoroughly.
Make a test cake and check for enough potato flour and salt (and spices)
Put in cleaned
intestines for sausages and simmer at a low heat for at least 20 minutes
or form to meat cakes and fry. In elder days the cakes
was pressure canned, today we put them in freezer until to be used.
The sausages may
be smoked, but then they must be added 1 teaspoon of saltpeter before putting
in intestines. It is also an idea to rub the
sausages with a salt/saltpetre mixture before a short curing before
smoking.
Well, this may
be some ideas for next Christmas :-)
Alf Christophersen, alf.christophersen@basalmed.uio.no
The above is from Henriette Schønberg-Errken Recipe book, N.L archives Dec. 26, 1997
Julepølse
Christmas sausage story
Ingrid Kjonnoy
of Ekkilsøy tells us about jul saugage.
About julepølse - these are sausages that we buy in the store.
I think the
difference between julepølse and ordinary pølse is the
spices that are used
in it. You also can buy julepølse where the meat is ground into
small pieces instead of into a smooth mincemeat. The pork is cooked
in the
oven, and it is essential that the rind is not soft but crisp when
it is done.
Serve with leg of mutton, potato, kålstrop, hardtack
Norwegian Meat Balls
This recipe is from Margaret Evenson
submitted by Bob Evenson bevenson@nidlink.com Nov 2001
2 pounds of ground
pork
6 pounds of ground beef
6 eggs
2 cups of fine bread crumbs
3 tablespoons of onions, ground
1 teaspoon of allspice
1 teaspoon of salt per pound of meat
Pepper to taste
3 cups of evaporated milk.
Have the butcher
grind the meat 3 times through the grinder, The last time have him grind
the meat together. Mix all the ingredients together
shape into balls - brown in the skillet. Bake until done at 350
degrees in the oven. When the meat balls are done,
add an equal amount of sour cream.
This meat ball recipe is the recipe that Harald
Haarfager has used for thelast
35 years. We have served this at all the annual Lutefisk dinners.
Potato Dumplings
Kumle
Cook pork roast
in salted water until tender. Remove from broth and make
dumplings.
2 c. ground or
grated raw potatoes
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
A little salt
Drain excess water
from potatoes and mix with the rest of ingredients. Wet hands with cold
water. Roll dumplings in a ball. Place in boiling
water. Cover and cook until done. Serve with butter. We
use sugar on ours, but not everyone does. Sometimes they are served with
bacon, ham or fried salt pork.
May insert a piece
of ham in the center of each dumpling before cooking. Leftover dumplings
are often sliced and fried and served with syrup.
Some cook their dumplings in plain salted water.
Kåltøtstappe
Like turnip
Ingrid Kjonnoy of Ekkilsøy says, It is a necessary part of the pinnekjøtt meal at Christmas. Take one kålrot of a siutable size (and cut it in slices and peel the slices. (Easier that peeling it first and cutting it afterwards.)
Boil the kålrot pieces in water that has a little salt. At the same time peel and boil some potatoes. You can boil them in the same saucepan as the kålrot.
When the kålrot and the potatoes are tender, pour out the water from the pan. (Keep a little of the water, you may need it.) Use a potato masher and mash the kålrot pieces and three or four of the potatoes well. (Use the saucepan for this work.) Add a lump of butter. Heat the mash up to the point of boiling, add some of the water if you think it looks too hard. Taste it and add salt and pepper to taste.
You see? The extra potatoes are served together with the kålrotstappe.
Kaldolmar
(Norwegian or Danish Cabbage Rolls)
Farmar was born in Norway and raised in Denmark.
1 large head of Cabbage prepared for rolls- either cooked to separate or frozen and defrosted
2lb ground pork
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 onion chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
salt &pepper
1/4 tsp gr. allspice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup half and half or whipping cream
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 tsp instant beef bouillon
MIx everything
but liquid and flour together and stuff as for cabbage rolls.Place
in baking dish and add the water. cook at 350 degrees for about 1 hour
(alittle long if you are using
frozen cabbage) until cabbage is tender and meat is cooked.Drain
off liquid into sauce pan. add cream and bring to a boil.
Mix flour with a small amount of
water to form a thin paste and beat into boiling cream mixture.Pour
sauce over cabbage rolls and bake another 10 min. serve with
boiled new potato with dill andbutter
and Lingonberry preserves.
Dawn <thepass@telusplanet.net> N.L archives
Jun 2001
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