So, what does one do with lefse?

[youthere]

I bought some at the grocery store because it looked interesting. Now what do I do with it?

[trof]

1. Heck, deep fry it, what else?

;-)
Make a sandwich?

[Sanity Claws]

10. Do you coat it in corn flakes before frying?

[trof]

11. You could, but I use beer batter.

CHICKEN FRIED LEFSE!
yum

[xchrom]

2. tenderize it with a hammer.

[trof]

3. The pros call that "malletizing".

:-)

[xchrom]

5. yeah -- malletize it baby!!!

i wonder why my friends never let me help them in the kitchen when they invite me for dinner?

[SOteric]

4. Brush it with a bit of melted butter, sprinkle on sugar and cinnamon

and heat it gently like a tortilla. Then consume.

[Generic Brad]

18. The microwave also works if you're impatient

Full blooded Norwegians may beg to differ.

[Der Blaue Engel]

6. I used to have a cat named Lefsa

Please don't eat him! :o (Although he always did look tasty. Lots of meat on that boy.)

[QMPMom]

7. Pretty much the same thing you'd do with pita bread.

[Left Is Write]

8. Spread it with butter, sprinkle it with sugar, roll it up, and EAT IT.

It's the most wonderful stuff in the world. I'm making some tonight.

[youthere]

12. How in the heck do you make lefse?

[mcscajun]

13. How to...

http://minneapolis.about.com/cs/food/ht/Lefse.htm

Or, if you aren't quite so ambitious, just buy it like the OP did.

[Left Is Write]

17. Lots of experience.

Seriously, it's not something I would undertake without an experienced person to help you/show you.

The recipe is simple - potatoes mashed with butter and milk and then thoroughly cooled. It's important there be no lumps - lumps will create holes in the lefse when you try to roll it out. Add enough flour to make a workable dough (not too much, or the lefse will be dry; not too little, or you won't be able to roll it out). Separate the dough into several balls. Take each ball of dough, one at a time, and flatten into a circle. Roll on a lightly floured board using a grooved or waffled rolling pin (specifically for lefse). It must be rolled thinly, but not so thinly that you can't pick it up. I have a special lefse spatula for picking up the rolled dough. Bake on a hot lefse griddle both sides until done (about a minute). A regular pancake griddle will not do, because it does not get hot enough (lefse is baked at about 500 degrees).

Cool between cotton dish towels and cut into wedges.

It takes a good bit of experience to get the feel for the "right" dough and practice in rolling it. Properly made, lefse is out of this world. Unfortunately, improperly made (too thick, undercooked), it can be pretty awful.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. And since I grew up in Minneapolis, I know what a lefse griddle and

a lefse rolling pin look like. You can also get large, rosemaling sticks to pick up the lefse and flip it with.

In fact, my mother used to have an electric lefse grill. :-)

[Left Is Write]

20. My aunt and uncle brought a stick back for me when they visited Norway.

I thought that was such a cool present. :)

The stick is absolutely necessary for removing the lefse from the griddle.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. What you need to make lefse

These images don't paste, but here's the link to where you can buy everything a good Norwegian-American needs to make "potato tortillas."

http://www.lefsetime.com/store/template/product_display.php?NID=52&=06bcf9c9fa96a80624030ab01ccbc688

The actual electric grills are here:

http://www.lefsetime.com/store/template/product_display.php?NID=90&SID=cebed36bf481ceb62a93c0c07762a4df

[grasswire]

9. deviled ham, thinly spread and rolled up.

Some people eat it with PB&J. Traditional is cinnamon sugar.

[youthere]

14. that sounds yummy...

I tried a piece last night, I put a little mustard on it and rolled it up with a slice of turkey and swiss cheese. It was pretty good. I bought some ham spread yesterday so for lunch I'm going to eat it on the lefse.

[ScreamingMeemie]

15. Butter it an eat it. My German Grandpa could eat it by the ton.

:hi:

[Arger68]

16. Ah, Norwegian tortillas -

food of the gods!! Like LIW says, you have to put butter & sugar on, roll up and snarf away.:9

[Beausoir]

21. Yeah...grew up on it. I despise it. The mere sight of it makes me angry.

I'm from the lutefisk and lefse generation.

I've choked down more lefse than I care to recall.

And here in MN, everyone claims that they know this "little old lady" who makes THE BEST lefse.

It's bullshit, man!

My MIL is bringing lefse to my house tomorrow. I'm thinking of sprinkling it with chopped-up habaneros and chorizo and serving it alongside the turkey.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. Aw come on, lefse is one of the few traditional Norwegian immigrant foods

that actually tastes good--aside from baked treats such as sandbakkelse, rosettes, and fattigman.

Lutefisk? Torsk? Rømmegrøt? All those oily fish? Gjetost? Puh-leeze!

On second thought, I do like Norwegian open-faced sandwiches, but they're not really immigrant food.

[Left Is Write]

31. I like torsk and rommegrot.

And I looooooooove sandbakkelse.

Say...it sounds like you and I need to celebrate Thanksgiving and Chrismtas together!

[Beausoir]

32. I love rommegrot. Haven't had it for many years. So creamy.

Swedish meatballs, boiled potatoes. Yumm.

[Left Is Write]

29. I'm not exactly a little old lady, but I make damn good lefse.

:D

It's not really a holiday without it.

THE BEST lefse is, of course, made by my mother.

[madinmaryland]

24. A loofah? Oh never mind, wrong forum.

[uppityperson]

25. send it to me or bring it over and I'll show you how to eat it.

[Hissyspit]

26. Eat it!

[OllieLotte]

27. I like making a kind of sandwich with them

Sort of like a burrito shell. You could take some turkey leftovers, some lettuce, maybe some mayo or ranch salad dressing - roll it up and you are in business.

[NewWaveChick1981]

28. I think it goes beside the rightse...

:hide:

[JVS]

30. Butter it, sprinkle sugar on it and eat it

[Orsino]

33. No one else needs to get hurt.

Now, please, put the lefse down, and let's talk.