Oh, my cod!
It’s lutefisk.
Chris Hicks, 55, lives and breathes lutefisk.
She was in charge of the Sons of Norway Bothell Lodge’s lutefisk dinner, which over the weekend served 780 people paying $23 a plate.
“We used 1,000 pounds of lutefisk. We peeled 500 of potatoes and hand rolled about 8,000 meatballs,” she said.
Hicks, service order solutions contact support rep at Philips Medical in Bothell, lives in Lynnwood and is vice president of the four-state Sons of Norway district. Her husband, Bill, is Bothell lodge president. Their daughter, Diana Marie, 15, has been active in lodge programs since birth. Her parents, Noel and Louise Tufteland, started the Bothell lodge in 1973.
Sorry you missed the lutefisk dinner? Not to worry. Lutefisk season is still in full swing. Enjoy lutefisk, Swedish meatballs, lefse, a traditional savory pancake made out of potatoes, and more Scandinavian treats at the “Let There Be Lutefisk” dinner, which is 6 p.m. Dec. 18 at Swedish Club, 1920 Dexter Ave. N, Seattle. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door; www.swedishclubnw.org.
What is lutefisk?
Technical answer is: Lutefisk is dried cod, treated with lye. It is soaked in cold water for five to six days then soaked in solution of cold water and lye for an additional two days. The fish swells during this soaking, and its protein content decreases by more than 50 percent, producing a jelly-like consistency.
When this treatment is finished, the fish (saturated with lye) is caustic, with a pH of 11 to 12. To make the fish edible, a final treatment of yet another four to six days of soaking in cold water is needed. Eventually, the lutefisk is ready to be cooked.
The taste of well-prepared lutefisk is very mild, served with melted butter and white sauce. Often the white sauce is spiced with pepper or other strong tasting spices. Some sprinkle it with allspice.
What other food can you compare it to in terms of taste?
Like fish, of course. Anything will taste good with butter and cream sauce.
Do only Scandinavians eat this stuff?
No. Lutefisk does not discriminate.
How often do you eat lutefisk?
Once a year.
If you could serve lutefisk to anyone alive or in history who would it be?
Liv Ullmann. She is a beautiful and great Norwegian actress.
What is your favorite lutefisk saying?
Norwegian Blessing
“May da ruts always fit the wheels in your pick-up.
“May your ear muffs always keep out da Nort wind.
“May da sun shine warm on your lefse.
“May da rain fall soft on your lutefisk.
“And until we meet again,
“May da good Lord protect ya from any and all unnecessary uff das.”
What do you do with the leftover lutefisk?
There is no such thing as leftovers. It all gets eaten.
Biggest worry about the lutefisk dinner:
Running out of meatballs.
Heard you had a close call with the lefse this year.
The lefse was stuck at the UPS warehouse at 7 p.m. the night before the dinner. After an hour and a half at the UPS Redmond hub and some very nice people they found four of the five missing cases, so we survived.
What’s your most proud moment (this can be a nonlutefisk moment)?
My family and Norwegian heritage.
Lutefisk aside, what is the mission of Sons of Norway?
To promote and preserve the heritage and culture of Norway, to celebrate our relationship with other Nordic countries, and to provide quality insurance and financial products to our members.
Three things in your fridge at home:
Pickled herring, lefse and geitost (goat cheese).
— Andrea Brown
Do you know someone we should get to know better? Send suggestions to abrown@heraldnet.com or call 425-339-3443.
Fish soaked in Drano. It’s what’s for supper. #lutefisk https://t.co/G7pHvC3of8 pic.twitter.com/REDHN9lpuB
— Andrea Brown (@reporterbrown) December 8, 2015
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