We’re going to a Smorgasbord!

[Oak Smoke]

This was an incredible experience. From the moment we arrived it was apparent that our hosts enjoyed doing this. We were led into the church and given a short history of the church and the Norwegian people who founded it. The first Norwegians settled here in 1854 and the group continued to grow from there. We ended up at a different church than I pictured here. The smorgasbord was held at “Our Saviors” (Von Freslsers Kirk) Lutheran church just a few miles from the one I pictured. It was old and beautiful too.
The food was wonderful. It turns out there are two groups of people in the world, those who like pickled herring and those who don’t. I promised SheilaAnn I’d try new stuff so I tried it, it’s good.
The meats were, Kjottboller=meat balls, Rullepolse= a dried meat roll, Sylte=head cheese, and Sild=herring. For the non-adventurous there was ham and turkey. I couldn’t make myself try head cheese but liked all the rest.
Their flat bread and Lefse=potato bread were good.
The cheese selection included Yett Ost=goat cheese, Mysmor=whey cheese, and Gammel Ost=aged cheese with several others I didn’t catch the names of. The goat cheese I liked, the aged cheese was a bit strong for my taste though.
There was an appetizer that I believe was called Sot Suppe that had blueberries, raisins, and some wine in it. The people know how to make soup it was great.
Last but certainly not least were the desserts. There were all kinds of cookies and a cone filled with whipped cream that I really liked.
The people made this event. They were out going, fun, and friendly. Once we were seated we were waited on hand and foot, no water glass or coffee cup ever went dry. We met so many nice people. That old grey headed fart whose back you see in one of the photos is me with my bride next to me.
I would do this again any time.

[Donw]

So glad you enjoyed yourselves and the food. I am not Norwegian in any shape or way but did marry into a Norwegian extended family over 5 decades ago and I have learned to love most of the food and the people with Norway in their blood.
Yes, I am a pickled herring lover along with krumkake, lefse, meatballs, pancakes, and almost everything else that would sit on a Christmas dining table. A far cry from my North Carolina roots and foods. I have a sure winning gift for my wife for any occasion and that is Gjetost cheese. Not many things bring a smile to her face as brown cheese does.

[fzxdoc]

Thank you so much, Oak Smoke, for taking us along to the feast. It was interesting to read your descriptions and see the photos. It's never too late to broaden our horizons, so thanks to the nudge you gave to mine.

Kathryn

[Spinaker]

My mom was 100% Norwegian and she would have loved to see this! So cool. This makes me really excited for the Lutefisk dinner in December. Very similar vibes.

As for the Herring.....you gotta take the not so awesome with the truly awesome! Meatballs and meat rolls. Then you have the Lefse with butter, cinnamon and sugar! Nothing better than that.

I see some Krumkake and Kringla! My grandmother used to make that all the time. Every single birthday she would send that to me. Ugh, I miss that so much. Topped with a little bit of melted butter.....heaven.

[SheilaAnn]

Love this!!!

[Purc]

What a great experience!