Norwegian Christmas Dinner and Dessert Ideas

For those of you that have never traveled to Norway, or have not been there for awhile, take it from me that it is a beautiful country with delicious foods. My Mother is Norwegian and I have traveled there many times in my life, but I have not been there during the holidays to experience a Christmas dinner. I have, though, experienced wonderful Norwegian Christmas dinners growing up here in California. Since my Mother is straight from Norway, she brought along many of her recipes and has indulged the whole family with the wonderful traditions, and food, of her home country. Let me share some of her recipes with you and your families. Enjoy!

This recipe calls for a 10 pound ham. You bake the ham in the oven for 2 ½ hours at 300 degrees. During that time you prepare the glaze. This requires 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 teaspoon dry mustard. Stir mixture into a paste, and then add 2 tablespoons cider vinegar. At the 2 ½ hour mark, take out the ham and spread the glaze on it. Continue baking at 300 degrees for another 30 minutes or until done. (10 pounds of ham cooks at 300 degrees for roughly 3 hours.)

If you prefer a pork roast for Christmas dinner, then try this one. Coat the 10 pound roast with the following spices; salt, pepper, garlic and paprika. There is no set amount of any of these. My Mom says she just sprinkles and doesn't measure. She estimates (guesses) that she uses a dash of salt, two shakes of pepper, one shake of paprika and garlic (powder) to taste. Bake roast per instructions on package. Make gravy from drippings using flour and additional salt free ham base. Add spices as needed to make tasty pork gravy. The pork roast should sliced thin and then placed on the table.

With either of these main dishes, you can use the following side dishes to complement them nicely.

Potatoes: You will need 10 potatoes (Russets, not reds) and 1 good size kohlrabi. Quarter the potatoes and boil until firm but tender. Drain and return the pot to the stove. 'Dry' the potatoes on the stove under low heat, but do not burn them. (To do this, use the same, now empty, pot you boiled the potatoes in by placing them back in it after draining. Put the burner on low heat.) This removes a lot of the excess water and it gives the potatoes a nice powder effect. Be careful to not burn them! You want to do the same with the kohlrabi, but cut them into 1 inch cubes and follow the same directions as the potatoes. The kohlrabi doesn't dry as well as the potatoes, but that is fine. Note: Do not boil them together. You want to boil them separate because they may have different cooking times depending on the size of the chunks and your altitude. Just prior to serving at the table, gently combine both the potatoes and the kohlrabi chunks into a bowl and serve. The whitish color of the potatoes and the pumpkinish color of the kohlrabi will complement each other nicely and add festive color to your table. Salt and pepper to taste. Be careful when you combine them because they will be tender enough to fall apart.

If you prefer mashed potatoes for your Christmas dinner, then follow the above instructions except stop prior to 'drying' the chunks. Combine both the potatoes and kohlrabi in a bowl. Mash by hand and add milk slowly until you get a good consistency. There is no set amount of milk as everyone makes their mashed potatoes differently. Just keep in mind it is easier to add milk slowly to attain the right consistency than it is to try and add more potato if it is too thin! Salt and pepper to taste.

For a colorful salad, try the following: Wash and dry your lettuce. (Romaine lettuce is nice.) Add corn kernels (canned, drained), cut up cauliflower, cut up carrots and tomatoes. My Mom says Norwegians love to put corn in their salads. Try it! It is a nice twist on a regular salad.

Vegetables can be fresh boiled/steamed asparagus, carrots, cauliflower or broccoli.

Dessert can be Christmas cookies: Hjortebakkels - recipe follows, or ice-cream with fresh or frozen fruit. This particular recipe has been in my family since the 1950's.

Hjortebakkels (Norwegian Cake Doughnuts)
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cardemom, freshly grated
lemon zest from 1 lemon
1 dram cognac (roughly a shot glass, or use a teaspoon for a mild flavor)
2 small teaspoons hjortetakksalt (available at Ikea)
1/2 cup butter

Whip eggs with sugar about 10 minutes until foamy. Add cardemom, lemon zest, and cognac where the hjortetakksalt is stirred in, and the sifted flour. Butter (which is soft) is added last using a steel whip. Dough should be sticky consistency. My Mom chills the dough overnight.

Next day: Heat Crisco shortening. Meanwhile roll the dough lengthwise (as in thin finger) and make rings with ends overlapping. Test the Crisco by gently dropping in one cookie and see if it floats in about 10 seconds. If so, the Crisco is hot enough. Drop cookies and turn once. (They should be golden brown on both sides). Remove with the proper tool and place on absorbent paper to dry. When cookies are cooled, place them in a tight container. Serve any time. Especially at Christmas holidays.

Source:
My Mom