Last weekend we traveled to Pasadena. It was a "3-fold mission"- Jim had a committal service, we wanted to spend time with family & friends, and I was going to participate in a lefsa making party! Since this is truly a labor-intensive job, we started the whole process on Friday evening by gathering our supplies and planning the procedure.
Between the eight of us, we had 55 lbs of potatoes to peel. Yes, that is alot of potatoes!
Then we started to boil them--just right--not too long--so the potatoes would be perfect, not too wet.
While the potatoes were cooking, we enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Karen. Thanks!
By now, the kitchen was becoming a bit steamy, so we opened up some windows and then started mashing all those potatoes.
We followed Penny's recipe, carefully adding the ingredients. After that was finished, we cleaned up the kitchen and organized the four "work stations" so that everything would be ready in the morning. We had to be careful that each grill was plugged into the right outlet, to avoid blowing any fuses. We were so thankful for the men who had color-coded all the outlets to help us in this task. Finally, we were off to our houses until the next morning. I know that Penny and I "dreamed lefsa" all night, and I'm sure that there were others that did as well! After all, we had alot of potatoes to grill the next day!
By 9 o'clock in the morning, we were already busy ricing the potatoes...
...then mixing in the flour
...and finally chilling the "logs" of dough while the grills heated up and the rest of the girls arrived.
First, a lefsa rolling demo by Penny...
...then off to work! With that many ladies working, we all had ideas from "how mom made lefsa" but only a couple of the women had actually done the whole process themselves, so we relied heavily on their expertise. But we also realized that my mom was the only living mother that we could call and ask for help--and I did call--several times! Thanks mom, for your patience and also your expert help!
Everyone was busy rolling, flipping, and grilling those Scandinavian delicacies...
and admiring their lovely pieces of lefsa...
...then the cooling
...and of course, the taste!
Incredibly delicious! We are such good cooks!!!
There was also the teaching of the next generation. Mother teaching daughter...
...a niece observing the "pro" at work
...Grandma teaching her granddaughters.
This little girl could hardly wait to finish her soccer game so that she could get back to grilling lefsa! She turned into a real pro by the end of the day!
It was a lot of lefsa...but we have enjoyed every bite!
At noon, we enjoyed another delicious meal, this time prepared by Renae. Thanks! We had so much fun--working, and eating, and laughing, and singing! It was a great party!
After all that lefsa dough was gone, we decided to try our hand at making "Flatbread," so we went back to work again! At least that dough was easier to roll, but it took longer to grill.
Then we popped it in the oven to dry it out.
There were shouts of joy when the last piece of dough was lifted off the grill!
After over six hours of work, we were left to clean up that flour mess--all over the kitchen! It was a good feeling, though, when we looked at the fruit of our labor...
Thanks girls, for an awesome Lefsa Party! Enjoy each bite, you earned it!
