Now we are gathered around the table, ten strong, the snow still falling behind the windows. My mother and father, Ole and Anna, my brother, my four sisters, and me. The piano bench has been brought in for two of us smaller girls to sit on, because there are not ten chairs in the house. My mother brings the
lutefisk glistening with butter on a platter, my older sisters serve the meatballs in gravy, the mashed potatoes, and a casserole of macaroni and tomatoes. The
lefse is already on the table, buttered and rolled up in serving portions on a huge platter.
By the time we are ready for dessert, the windows are so dark we can no longer see the falling snow, and the gas lamp above us seems to burn brighter. When my older sisters start to clear the table, my father says, "I suppose you kids did'nt leave any room for ice cream. I guess Ole and I are going to have to eat it all." Ole thinks this is hilarious and starts one of his giddy laughs he can't stop. Anna purses her lips and looks sideways at him. He straightens up.
Norman leaves the table, goes out to the porch, and brings in the ice cream freezer and sets it beside my mother's place. He has scraped the ice off the top and taken the cover off. My sisters bring the saucers, and my mother dishes up the ice cream with a long-handled spoon. It is too delicious for words. We eat silently. The sauces are passed back for seconds. My brother has thirds. After all, he says, he did all the work.
Hand-Cranked Ice Cream
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 quart milk
1 quart whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
Place lightly beaten eggs, sugar, and milk in a kettle and let simmer over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula to keep it just below the boiling point. When it has congealed to the consistency of thin custard, remove the mixture from heat and let cool. Add the whipping cream and vanilla and stir well.
Pour into steel can of 4-quart freezer. Surround with mixture of ice and rock salt. Turn crank slowly until it will no longer turn. Remove ice from top of steel can. Life off cover and carefully take out dasher, cleaning it off with a spoon as you lift. Replace cover and plug hole in top with small cloth. Repack ice around can until ready to serve. Set freezer in shallow pan and let water drain. Makes 4 quarts.
Norwegian Meatballs
No Norwegian Christmas Eve dinner would be complete without meatballs served with mashed potatoes and
lefse as accompaniments.
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound lean ground pork
1 egg, beaten lightly
1 tablespoon light cream or half-and-half
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
For the gravy:
3 tablespoons drippings and/or butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
In a mixing bowl place all the ingredients for meatballs and mix thoroughly together. Flour the hands to keep them from sticking and form tablespoons of the mixture into balls (large walnut sized). Let balls dry on cutting board until all have been made.
Put 1 tablespoon of butter in heavy frying pan, melt to sizzling, and put in meatballs. Cook slowly over moderately low heat, shaking the pan to brown evenly on all sides, until meatballs are cooked through on the inside (20 to 30 minutes). They should be very brown and crusty. Remove meatballs to a warm dish with a slotted spoon.
Pour off drippings from pan, leaving the brown crusty particles. Measure 3 tablespoons drippings, or add enough butter to measure a total of 3 tablespoons of fat, and return to pan. Add the 1/4 cup flour and with a fork brown it in drippings over medium heat, scraping up the brown bits clinging to the sides and bottom of the pan, for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of water in a stream and, stirring constantly, bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer for 3 minutes until gravy is very smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, pepper to taste, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Add the meatballs and simmer for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are heated through. Transfer meatballs and gravy to a heated tureen and serve, along with a bowl of mashed potatoes topped with melted butter and paprika. Serves 4.
