Is everyone in the Christmas spirit? I know I am! It has been awhile since my last post, but I got a new job! I am settled in to it now, and things are going great! Now I have more time to blog...:)
Speaking of Christmas and the Holidays...
Have you ever had lefse? Do you even know what Lefse is? If you don't know, or have never made it, you must not be Norwegian! Haha, but really, it is so good I think everyone should try it at least once, and if you like it...make it! Do it! Don't be afraid! But...what is it? Well, it is a Norwegian flat bread, or tortilla, made out of the most wonderful mashed potato mixture ever! Most people like to spread butter and sprinkle sugar on it before rolling it up, but in my family we just spread butter and roll and eat. Sometimes we will add whatever meat we are having for dinner and roll that in it too! My mother has been making it for as long as I can remember, and my Grandmother and Great Grandmother made it also so it really has been passed down through the generations in my family. It was my in-laws though, who bought me all the tools one would need to make it, so I made my first batch of Lefse about 5 years ago, and have made it every year since! It's not that hard, and I will take you through making it step by step.. Here are the tools needed to make perfect lefse:
 |
| Griddle, Lefse Stick and Potato Ricer |
 |
| Dough board and rolling pin with sock |
 |
| The ingredients are: Potatoes! (not pictured) butter, Sugar, Salt, and Heavy Cream ( You will also later need flour) |
10 potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Sugar
2 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
Cook the potatoes until tender,
 |
| This is how your potatoes will look after going through the ricer...like "rice" or noodles!" |
 |
| Adding cream, butter, salt and sugar to the riced potatoes. |
Let cool in refrigerator. After cooling at least 6 hours (or overnight) you can add your flour to the mixture,
And work the flour in until it's incorporated nicely.
You are now ready to roll and fry your lefse. The first step is to take a golf-ball size piece of the lefse and pat it a bit. Then set it on your well-floured board and roll thin. Do not worry about it being a perfect circle. :) Carefully slide your lefse stick underneath the lefse and lift it off the board and roll it onto the griddle.
Now Fry your lefse on high heat for about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. This doesn't take long! Once it starts to bubble up, lift a corner with your stick and check it. If it is starting to brown nicely, (you will see brown spots) flip the lefse over and fry the other side. Once done, lift lefse off the griddle and roll onto a tea towel and cover to keep moist.
 |
| Fry both sides until golden brown spots appear |
 |
| Roll lefse on tea towel and cover to stay moist |
And there you have it! Perfect lefse! I have to say I was scared to try this as my mom would have so much trouble every year with making it, due to sticking. The best piece of advice I can give you is to make sure your board is well-floured!! Add some to your rolling pin if need be also! I believe my Grandmother is with me every year I make it. It makes me feel good to know that I am doing something that has passed through the generations of my family! Now I just have to get my daughter (or son!) involved!
We bought a real Christmas tree this year. We had a fake one that I actually really liked, but when I opened the bag this year to put it up I smelled something terrible! Yep, our cat peed on the tree. Bye bye tree! Ugh...So like I said we bought this year's tree, and I have to say I like this too! I have to remember that it's real and needs water, but I'm glad we went back to real. Here is a pic of our tree..
I love ornaments for the story they tell. Every single ornament on our tree has meaning. Whether it's something the kids made, or something a family member or friend gave us, they all have a story...
 |
| The first ornament we ever bought...:) |
 |
| This ornament is from one of our favorite places to get away...The Rittenhouse Inn |
 |
| While we have some really beautiful ornaments, the ones made by the kids are my absolute favorite! |
I have done very little baking this season. We just don't need all of the added calories. Well, maybe I mean I don't need them. Anyway, I did happen to make my famous Spritz cookies. They are actually not my recipe, but my Friend Kim's recipe. We were neighbors for years when our kids were little and one year she sent home with us a plate of these babies. Oh boy, they were the BEST Spritz cookies I had ever tasted! The best thing about these cookies is they only have 3 ingredients. THREE!! I couldn't believe it since I love long, drawn out recipes that take time and are a challenge. But these are simply the lightest, best-tasting Spritz I have ever eaten. Enjoy!
Spritz Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 package (18.25 ounce) white cake mix
- 2 3/4 cup flour
- 1 pound (4 sticks) butter or margarine, divided
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt two sticks (1/2 pound) butter. Allow the remaining butter to reach room temperature and soften.In a small bowl combine flour and melted butter. Mix well. You may wish to return this to the microwave so that this mixture is pour able. Pour melted butter mixture into the cake mix, and add remaining softened butter. Mix until all ingredients have been incorporated and this is smooth. If the dough is stiff knead on a cutting board until it has softened. Shape as desired, or put through a cookie press.Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes or until done.
 |
| Spritz |
~Kerry
No comments:
Post a Comment