Lefse

When the holidays roll around, many will begin thinking of the gifts, the turkey dinners, cookies, candies, toys...you get the idea.

My thoughts (and my father's) go to something else all together. It is something my Mother has never really understood. "It" is lefse. Wonderful lefse.

Unless you are of Norwegian descent, you probably don't know what lefse is. Chances are if you didn't grow up with it, you may not appreciate it.

Well, to me it is culinary heaven. It may have something to do with the fact that we put butter and sugar on it. To a kid, how great is that?

I am no longer a child, by quite a bit, but I am still in love with lefse. Perhaps it is something in my genetic memory.

There are many forms of lefse, the most common, at least here in America, is potato lefse. There are other forms like hardanger lefse, Christmas lefse, and more. Every family seems to have their own version and recipe. The recipe our family uses is not potato lefse. It is more of a mixture of flour, water, milk or cream, sugar, salt, and shortening.

As far as I know, all lefse is made the same. Rolled thin and cooked on a lefse griddle at a high temperature. Our recipe said around 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Lefse is rolled with a special rolling pin. There is the corrugated pin (single cut) or double cut pin (square cut) . These cuts hold extra flour on the pin to aid in rolling and also help work out air pockets from the lefse.

A lefse griddle is helpful because lefse gets large when rolled thin. You want a nice round large griddle to work on. They come in brushed aluminum or non stick surface. I have one of each (thanks Mom) and I love them both. I can't really say I have a preference.

You will need a turning stick. You absolutely cannot get by without this. Watch the video, and you will see the technique behind this. Lefse is rolled so thin it is see through. You really couldn't lift it with a spatula.

Lefse can be filled with savory fillings such as meatballs, or shredded beef or pork. The way we are used to it though, is with butter and brown sugar. Many use white sugar, honey, or lingonberry jam. Get creative! That's what is fun about lefse.

I am including a Lefse site to get you started. They have some wonderful recipes and a FAQ area also.

Now you know what I will be doing this Christmas...and every other Christmas and Thanksgiving too for that matter! Be daring...try something new---LEFSE!