Lutefisk dinners, whenever and wherever

While some have already passed, but consider it a tickler file for other years. If anyone knows of Lutefisk dinners between Chicago and Milwaukee or slightly beyond, please advise. I was told Lutheran churches are likely hosts for one to two lutefisk dinners every fall.

Lutefisk Dinners Out of this World (Lutefisk on Mars!)
The first of the big lutefisk feeds begins today in Dane County at the Vermont Lutheran Church, but has already sold out. Here are other upcoming dinners:
Today

Northland Lutheran Church, N9850 Wisconsin 49, nine miles north of Iola in Waupaca County. About a 2 1/2 -hour drive from Madison and great viewing of fall colors along the way. 12:30 to 7 p.m., $12 for adults, $4 for ages 4 to 12.

Oct. 27
Orfordville Lutheran Church, 210 Main St., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., $13 for adults, $5 for kids 5 to 12, free for kids under 5.

Idun Lodge Sons of Norway, Norway Center, 2262 Winnebago St., Madison. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., $13.50 for adults, $6.50 for kids 12 and younger.
Five Points Lutheran Church, 25744 Five Points Drive, west of Boaz, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m., $13 for adults, $6 for ages 7 to 12, under 6 no charge.

Nov. 2
Lakeview Lutheran Church, Northport Drive at Mandrake, Madison's north side. 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., $14 adults, $5 kids 6 to 12, tots free.

Nov. 3
Bonnet Prairie Lutheran Church, two miles south of Rio, N3694 Old F Road, tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. and servings are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., $15 for adults, $6 for kids 5 to 12.

Western Koshkonong Lutheran Church, rural Stoughton, 2633 Church St., seatings at 11:30 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 4 p.m., 5:15 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. Reservations by calling 873-7148. $14 for adults, $6 for children under 12.
Barneveld Lutheran Church, 505 Swiss Lane, Barneveld. $14 for adults, $7 for children under 12. Noon to 6:30 p.m., with seatings on the hour.

Nov 6
Lutefisk Dinner/Bazaar/Bake Sale-a Madison Northside Tradition
Friday, November 6, 2009. 11 am - 7 pm. LUTEFISK DINNER with homemade MEATBALLS and LEFSE with mashed potatoes, rutabaga, gravy, coleslaw and cranberries. There will be APPLE and PUMPKIN PIE, coffee and milk. Adults $15, children (6 to 12) $6 and (under 6 free). TICKETS available at the door. There will also be a BAZAAR and BAKE SALE. A FREE concert will be 5-7pm by the Edvard Greig Chorus. The building is accessible to all. Tickets Adult $15, children 6 to 12 $6 and (under 6 free). Lakeview Lutheran Church, corner of Northport and Mandrake, 4001 Mandrake Road, Madison, Dane County. Call 608-244-6181. Subjects: Community, Ethnic, Food [E-69615]

Nov. 10
Nordland Lodge Sons of Norway, 418 W. Milwaukee St., Janesville. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., $13 adults in advance, $14 at the door.
Christ Lutheran Church, 220 S. Main St., DeForest, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., adults $15, $7 for children 6 to 12, under 6 free.

If you're willing to go to Minnesota, there are many 'Lutefisk Dinners' between now and January.

you'll want to check this out:
http://www.lutefiskchef.info/events.htm

Or you can have your own. While shopping for fish this morning at Woodman's in North Aurora we came upon frozen bags of prepared lutefisk! Sorry that I didn't look at the price but they were 1 pound bags.

Lefsa, OK, but lutefisk? Have you actually ever tried it? Kind of a Norwegian version of haggis, i.e., something completely inedible that some folks have a childhood holiday nostalgia for.

trpt2345 wrote:Lefsa, OK, but lutefisk? Have you actually ever tried it? Kind of a Norwegian version of haggis, i.e., something completely inedible that some folks have a childhood holiday nostalgia for.

I've had both (and with no childhood memories attached to either) -- and there's not really a comparison. Haggis is wonderful. Lutefisk is not inedible but is not really pleasant -- like fish jello.

Perhaps a comparison might be drawn between lutefisk and Iceland's rotted shark, which is eaten to celebrate the country's Viking heritage. Definitely an acquired taste.

I did find this, which might be helpful -- lutfisk (Swedish spelling) lovers lifeline -- listing all lutfisk dinners in upper Midwest:
http://www.lutfiskloverslifeline.com/lutfiskDinner.pdf

My uncle was swedish and he did not like lutefisk. When asked about it he raised his eyebrows and put a scowl on his face.

Here is an article about it.

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magaz ... us-Allure/

Vermont Lutheran Church

Lutefisk/Meatball Dinner
Saturday, October 19, 2013

Menu: Lutefisk, meatballs, potatoes, gravy, green beans, lefse, rolls, cranberries, relishes, rommegrot, Norweigan 'goodies, ' coffee and milk

Cost: Adults $18, Children $9 (12 & under)

Proceeds from this dinner go to missions, endowment fund, etc.

Send your reservation request, self-addressed, stamped envelope and check payable to:

Vermont Lutheran Church
c/o Doug Meier
4496 Hwy 78
Black Earth, WI 53151

Telephone: 608/767-8860
email: [email protected]

Seating times (please give 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice)
11:00 am, 11:20 am, 11:50 am, 12:10 pm, 12:40 pm, 1:00 pm, 1:30 pm, 1:50 pm, 2:20 pm, 2:50 pm, 3:20 pm, 3:50 pm, 4:20 pm, 4:50 pm, 5:20 pm. 5:50 pm, 6:20 pm

We will reserve seating nearest to the time requested. We try to keep on schedule. This is based on guests' timely arrival and departure. Seating cannot be guaranteed for late arrivals!

Wisconsin Tradition - Lutefisk Dinner -- Homemade Lefse , Rutabagas , Mashed Potatoes , Melted Butter, Meatballs , Homemade Pie , Coffee , Milk

...behind the scenes at a Traditional Lutefisk Dinner in Wisconsin

2013 cost: $16 for adults, reservations by phone until November 9th.

Christ Lutheran Church
220 S. Main Street
DeForest, WI 53532

http://www.christlutherandeforest.org/

608-846-4718

Directions - http://goo.gl/maps/7V4rk

Lutefisk Dinner

Each year, on the second Saturday of November, the unmistakable aroma of lutefisk begins to waft from the Christ Lutheran Church kitchen. For several decades, people have come from far and wide to taste this unique delicacy. Some remember eating it at Grandma's house when they were a child, while others are just brave souls who enjoy trying new foods. Whatever the case, guests leave the church smiling, with full stomachs, and looking forward to next year's dinner.

For more information on the next dinner, please call 608-846- 4718

Or

visit our website at http://www.christlutherandeforest.org...

Reservations can be made by calling the church office at 608-846-4718.

Carry Outs Available -- Carry Out Orders

Eating

In the Nordic Countries, the "season" for lutefisk starts early in November and is typically served throughout Christmas. Lutefisk is also very popular in Nordic-American areas of the United States, particularly in the Upper Midwest.

Lutefisk is usually served with a variety of side dishes, including, but not limited to, bacon, green pea stew, potatoes, meatballs, gravy, mashed rutabaga, white sauce, melted or clarified butter, syrup, geitost (goat cheese), or "old" cheese (gammelost). Especially in the U.S., it is usually eaten with lefse. Even if the common denominator is lutefisk, side dishes vary greatly from family to family and region to region, and is a theme of recurring controversy when different "traditions" of lutefisk-eaters meet and eat together.

Nowadays, akvavit and beer often accompany the meal due to its use at festive and ceremonial occasions (and most eaters, regardless of side dish preferences, will argue that these beverages complement the meal perfectly). This is a recent invention however; due to its preservative qualities, lutefisk has traditionally been a common "every day" meal in wintertime.

The dish has sometimes subjected Nordic-Americans to jokes about the personality traits suggested by serving chemically-treated white fish with a white sauce. Lutefisk prepared from cod is somewhat notorious, even within Scandinavia, for its intense odor. Conversely, lutefisk prepared from pollock or haddock has almost no odor. But lutefisk has its fair share of devotees: during 2001 Norwegians alone ate a total of 2,055 tons of lutefisk in their homes and approximately 560 tons in restaurants. (To put this quantity in perspective, 2400 tons would fill approximately 80 full size semi trucks or a medium length goods train).

Annual sales of lutefisk in North America exceed those in Norway.

The taste of well prepared lutefisk is extremely mild and mellow, and often the white sauce is spiced with pepper or other strong tasting spices to bring out the flavor.

Origin

The issue of how lutefisk first was created is as controversial as the fish itself. Some stories tell about fish accidentally dropped in a washing bowl containing lye, and because of poverty the fish had to be eaten nevertheless. Yet other stories tell about fires of various kinds, because ashes of wood combined with water will create lye. A possible scenario is that drying racks for stockfish caught fire, followed by days of rain, and again, because of poverty, the fish still had to be picked from the ashes, cleaned, prepared and eaten. It is quite possible the softening with lye, which is actually a fairly common practice with many kinds of food (for example hominy), was deliberate rather than accidental.


Learn more about Lutefisk Dinners in the area;

http://madisononthecheap.com/lutefisk-d ... ring-2012/

Learn more about Lutefisk;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk

Learn more about Lutefisk Tradition;

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-pl ... ition.html

Learn more about Lutefisk Dinners in the Midwest;

http://www.startribune.com/entertainmen ... ml?refer=y

Learn more about Lutefisk Lovers (?);

http://www.lutfiskloverslifeline.com/

Learn more about where to buy Lutefisk;

http://www.olsenfish.com/

Learn more about Little Norway in Wisconsin;

http://www.littlenorway.com/

Learn more about Lutefisk in the United States;

http://www.norronalodge.org/lutefiskdinners.htm


The Ole and Lena joke books make frequent references to lutefisk, for example:
"Well, we tried the lutefisk trick and the raccoons went away, but now we've got a family of Norwegians living under our house!"

The 2014-15 lutefisk season is upon us.


Norway Lutheran Church, Wind Lake WI, February 2014

The well regarded dinner at Vermont Lutheran Church in Black Earth WI is this coming Saturday. I don’t know if reservations are still being taken.

Scandinavian-Americans Are Breaking Up With Lutefisk

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/w ... d-lutefisk

Fortunately, Tre Kronor always includes Lutefisk in their phenomenal julbord dinner.