Lefse

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Dawg. I haven't made it years.

My late husband and his family were raised in North Dakota and then when he and his family migrated to California I was determined to make it for them. I got all the proper equipment to do Lefse, and the proper equipment is really mandatory

Those were many happy memories for our family here, by way of North Dakota.

I kept the equipment, and I should really make it again.
 
I was just thinking this week when will it be lefse making time. Like yes, for holidays, but why wait that long to do it.


I don't have a lefse griddle. I use an electric skillet because its larger and not so deep so you can more easily get at them to flip over. Or I use my cast iron flat griddle. Just make smaller size potato balls so they fit in the pan size you are using.

Tip: when baking, use a paper towel to wipe out any extra flour used for dusting when it starts to accumulate and turn brown in the griddle.
 
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Here's 2 Lefse recipes I use. The first is for a small batch, and the 2nd is for a reasonable size recipe too.

Recipe 1

1 1/3 cup Boiled mashed potato ( about 2-3 medium potatoes)
1 tablespoon Butter
3 tablespoon Heavy Cream
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
3/4-1 cup All purpose flour + extra flour for rolling the lefse


Recipe 2

4 cups russet potatoes, pared, cooked and diced
1/4 cup butter melted
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Instructions for Recipe 1, same method for the 2nd.

    1. Boil potatoes until done.
    2. mash them using a potato ricer or hand masher or even electric beaters and set aside.
    3. While warm add butter and cream and mix everything and set aside for about overnight in refrigerator.
    4. When you are ready to make the lefse, mix flour with potato-cream-butter-mixture and knead well to form a smooth dough
    5. Divide the dough into equal rounds.
    6. Coat each dough rounds into flour and roll them into thin round of about 5 inch diameter.
    7. Heat skillet and transfer the spread dough into skillet carefully. Cook the one side until you see bubbles on the top,
    8. Flip the other side and cook for another minute. When lefse is done, you will see brown spots all over .
    9. Continue to make the lefse until you finish the entire dough. You will able to make about 12 lefse from this recipe.
    10. Cover the lefse with a cloth while you are making the rest of it to prevent drying of the lefse.
    11. Lefse may be frozen in freezer bags after they are thoroughly cooled.
    12. Once it is finished, before serving, l spread each of them with butter, cinnamon and sugar and roll them into a long tube. Other serving suggestions -- butter, jam, peanut butter, cream cheese, cold cuts, cheese slices, gravlax, sliced swedish meatballs, cranberry sauce or any other topping your inner Norwegian desires.
 
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Kay, I didn't know that you had a NoDak connection! Whiska, your recipes sound great, thanks!

My mom would send us packages of lefse for Christmas. The church ladies would sell it at the farmers market. Good stuff, and it freezes well. I've not seen it around these parts.
 
Dawg, I remember my Ron talking about Max Bass NoDak, and how they were so snowed in one winter, the only way out of the house was thru the upstairs windows. He sure loved California when he came with his family as a teenager. What a wonderful family they were, all gone now except his sister who lives near, and I adore.
 
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Kay, when I was a kid, we had the worst blizzard ever. My folks were building a new house, and I remember walking on the roof. Didn't need a ladder.

My aunt and uncle had to tunnel out of their house. It was completely buried. NoDak ain't for sissies! They didn't even cancel school.
 
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