Lefse pretend we’re Norwegian

For the longest time we assumed our friends were Norwegian. Little clues like the hearty sweaters they wore, the krumkaake they sent to our house and the way they yelled Skål! when making a toast (I might be making that last one up), led us to this conclusion.

Imagine our surprise when we attended their Lefse making party and discovered they had not one drop of Nordic blood. It turns out Elizabeth’s maiden name is Ryan, for Pete’s sake.
No matter. You don’t need Norwegian blood to make Lefse.
If you want to host a Lefse Party like we attended (and I highly recommend that you do), you will need just a few other things:

1) You’ll need the proper equipment. For non-Norwegians, our hosts owned a suspicious amount of Nordic cooking gear. A Lefse grill might not ben ecessary, but you probably will need the Lefse stick for flipping, a potato ricer and the Lefse rolling pin with a stretchy cotton cover.

2) Choose your attendees carefully. Our group included a Heisman-like winner, but you can include any manner of -like guests. In my experience, -like people tell the best stories, which is critical to the Lefse experience. Laughter makes Lefses lighter.

3) Never underestimate the importance of the condiment. True Lefses are served with butter and a cinnamon/sugar mixture. This gathering’s guests provided Italian salami, homemade goat cheese, smoked salmon and artichoke dip. I think you could stuff just about anything into a Lefse and it would taste delicious.

4) Remember that the best part of making the Lefse is the time you get to spend with your friends, even if they aren’t Norwegian.

And here is Elizabeth’s recipe:

Lefse

5 lb russet potatoes (boil in jackets, don’t overcook, peel and rice)
Add
3 T butter
1/2 C half and half
1 T salt

Mash together with riced potatoes then add
2 slightly beaten eggs
Mash again.
Refrigerate overnight.
To every 2 cups of potato mixture add 1 C flour.
Roll until thin. Use Lefse stick to transfer to griddle. Cook on both sidesuntil just starting to brown.

Serve with butter and cinnamon sugar.

Add the flour to the mashed potato mixture, form the dough into a ball and roll it out.

Wendy rolled enviably thin Lefses.

Flip the Lefse with the Lefse stick.

Then add it to the Lefse Cozy. (Who knew?)

Everyone should flip a Lefse at least once in their life.

Really, the laughter is what we were after.

Quick quiz: Which one of these fellows won the Heisman?