Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/author/patrice/page/7/)
You’ve got a few days left to head over to American Swedish Institute and revel in all things Jul. Something magical happens when dusk eases into the Turnblad Mansion. Old spirits of Christmas past mingle with modern souls. Everywhere lights sparkle with promise while tomte and julgoats quietly observe us from their secret corners. Continue Reading
On my honor I promise to try to stop serving lefse in new and occasionally odd ways. I also promise to stop taking photos in the dark. But seriously what is a girl supposed to do when her freezer is bulging with enough lefse to feed an army of hungry Norwegians? Continue Reading
It must be the holidays. Lately I’ve been feeling even more nostalgic than usual. Listening to old Christmas songs by Perry Como and Dean Martin has me remembering my Aunt Hazel and our pre-Christmas tradition of McDonald’s cheeseburgers (paired so perfectly with a chilled Chablis). I hear Bing singing “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and I wonder if Aunt Hazel and Uncle Elmer had that version in 78 RPM. I imagine them sitting together enjoying their tree and reading greeting cards. Continue Reading
And so the whirlwind weekend comes to a chilly close. My little kitchen hosted the demise of ten pounds of butter, fifteen cups of flour, endless vats of powdered sugar, ten oranges, and three cups of almonds. Each ingredient fulfilled its Christmas destiny by contributing to the baking of 220 cookies for the Mill City Museum Holiday Cookie Event and twenty lefse rounds for a TV demonstration. It was a weekend of baking, griddling, and talking to people about food. Here are some of my favorite snippets. Continue Reading
Last year it was The Little Cookie That Could. This year, it is the collaborative cookie! The Star Tribune announced we five finalists and I couldn’t be happier that the forgotten classic Melting Moments have finally got the attention they deserve. I also couldn’t be happier that my friend and colleague, Dianne Sivald, is the winner of this year’s contest! Continue Reading
We keep recalculating how many years we’ve had Friends Thanksgiving. We pretty much agree this year was number nineteen. Continue Reading
I spent Saturday morning at Ingebretsen’s feeding “repurposed lefse” to happy and hungry patrons. Continue Reading
When I met T he told me there were a few foods he didn’t like. At the top of his list were chocolate and fish. His dislike for chocolate was the result of an older sister feeding him baking chocolate when he was a child. He’d never actually tasted chocolate meant for eating pleasure. His dislike of fish came from eating fish that tasted “fishy.” Continue Reading
Looking at the holiday calender is giving me heart palpitations. Every weekend, every other weeknight (and precious hours whittled down between), is spoken for like a pretty girl in a crowded dance hall. And I am her unwitting partner who suddenly realizes his dancing shoes are pinching his toes. I love to dance, but can I sit this one out? I’m waiting for a slow song. Continue Reading
I know, I know, I am a hypocrite when it comes to convenience foods. I refuse to abide to the Midwestern phenomenon knows as hot dish if it means one or more of the ingredients comes from a can of condensed soup. Honestly, this snobbishness does not come from my superior taste, because let’s face it, my taste isn’t actually high-brow. Continue Reading