MAKING POTATO LEFSE

Right before Christmas I was invited to a friend's house to learn how to make authentic Potato Lefse.
I jumped at the chance since this she has all of the right equipment and the knowledge--it was great
fun!

My youngest daughter came with me to watch and ended up showing us all how it was done. No kidding-
she mastered the turning of the Lefse right off the bat, which isn't that easy since it is so thin and wide.

Making the dough is similar to pie crust, in that you want to work it as little as possible to keep it tender
and the thinner you can roll it the better the Lefse tastes.

Lefse is usually made on a special round grill, but she said I can substitute any flat grill. You need a 26"
long, flat stick to turn the lefse and a 19" round board covered with baking canvas so the dough can
be rolled out without sticking. There are also special rolling pins that are used for Lefse, but we used a
regular rolling pin and it was fine. A potato ricer is essential for the right consistency of the potatoes
and she specified only Russet potatoes be used because they are drier.

We ate it with the traditional butter and sugar spread on it and then we also added some cinnamon and
then I tried my friend's recipe for Orange Butter--YUM. She takes a cube of softened butter and adds
powdered sugar and orange rind to taste. It was delicious on the Lefse and she said it is their favorite for
warm, buttered toast.

She invited me to come back in January to learn how to make Lutefisk--I can hardly wait.

4 cups riced potato
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup canned milk
1/3 cup butter
2 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients until you can pick it up without it sticking too bad to your hands. Pour out onto
floured work surface and knead until it doesn't stick to your hands. Shape into balls and refrigerate
for several hours. Roll each ball out ont he floured board and cook on hot griddle, turning after
about 2-3 minutes, depending on your griddle. Gently press down bubbles that form as it cooks.

Stack on cotton towels, folding in half and then folding in half again until cool. Spread the open Lefse
with butter and sugar. Some people like jelly, brown sugar or honey on theirs.