It’s more than a sandwich! Kirsten Larsen says of the smørbrød, “Its attraction lies in the rich and imaginative combinations of food.” Join us as we talk about the ‘musts’ of preparing a flavorful, beautiful, and healthy open-faced sandwich buffet—Scandinavian style! There will be an ingredients fee.
Serving pieces made in Phil Odden’s Serveringsfat class listed in the Woodworking section will be used on the serving table for this class. Carving class participants will have the opportunity to join the cooking class for the buffet. (Cost will be determined according to number of participants.)
Level of instruction: All levels.
Darlene Fossum-Martin, of Decorah, Iowa, says her cooking style is shaped by the Norwegian cuisine of her ancestors. Although she holds a degree in home economics and education, her strengths in Norwegian cooking come from the women in her family, as well as the years she spent living in Norway. Darlene has taught traditional Scandinavian food classes for adults and children of all ages throughout the Midwest and at John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina.
Scandinavian Sausage Making
Steve Lundtvedt
$64 Vesterheim members / $84 non-members
Start a new family holiday tradition, or pass on an old one, this year by preparing the classic Christmas Eve potatiskorv (Swedish potato sausage) and Midsummer’s spekepølser (Norwegian sausage). Homemade sausages have a taste you cannot find in a store. Learn the entire process of making your own delicious, simple, and hearty sausage beginning with selecting the meats, grinding and mixing the ingredients, cleaning and stuffing the casings, and packaging. The class will be demonstration and hands-on learning. There will be an ingredients fee.
Level of instruction: All levels. Youth ages 15-17 signed up with a participating adult receive a 25% discount.
Steve Lundtvedt is president of the Spillville Locker Plant in Spillville, Iowa, which produces some of the finest award-winning steaks, roasts, and ground sausages available. Vesterheim is very fortunate to have Steve take the time to teach. He knows his business well!
Kolaches—Old World Czechoslovakian Pastry
Geri Tlusty
$64 Vesterheim members / $84 non-members
In celebration of Decorah’s Czech neighbors, Vesterheim offers this class in kolaches, a delicious slightly sweet fresh-baked pastry traditionally filled with sausage, cheese, or fruit. Baking kolaches has been a long-held tradition in the Czech communities surrounding Decorah and kolaches are as popular to Czechs as lefse is to Norwegians. Through demonstration and hands-on experience students will learn how to prepare the soft yeast dough and the art of stuffing it with a fruit filling. Vítejte na našich tabulky—welcome to our table. There will be an ingredients fee.
Level of instruction: All levels. Youth ages 13-17 signed up with a participating adult receive a 25% discount.
Geri Tlusty first learned to make kolaches 46 years ago from the “church basement ladies” of her parish. She is an active member in her parish and helps mix up 1,500 dozen kolaches for the annual festival in Protivin, Iowa. She is the mother of five and grandmother of nine and lives on the family farm outside of Protivin with her husband Ronald. No one could teach this class any better than Geri.
Seven Traditional Christmas Cookies of Norway
Darlene Fossum-Martin
$64 Vesterheim members / $84 non-members
Learn how to make seven of the most popular Norwegian Christmas cookies for your holiday season: goro (oldest recorded cookies); sandbakkel (sand tarts); sirupsnipper (syrup diamonds); Berlinerkranser (Berlin wreaths); krumkaker (cookie cones); fattigman (poor man’s cookies); and rosettes (delicate deep-fried cookies). Recipes will be shared. There will be an ingredients fee.
Level of instruction: All levels. Youth ages 14-17 signed up with a participating adult receive a 25% discount.
Darlene Fossum-Martin, of Decorah, Iowa, says her cooking style is shaped by the Norwegian cuisine of her ancestors. Although she holds a degree in home economics and education, her strengths in Norwegian cooking come from the women in her family, as well as the years she spent living in Norway. Darlene has taught traditional Scandinavian food classes for adults and children of all ages throughout the Midwest and at John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina.
Precious family stories are often shared around the table, and many involve favorite recipes. This holiday season, treat yourself to a special weekend designed to help you recall, record, and celebrate food traditions from your family or community. The workshop includes fun, reflective, and imaginative writing activities. You’ll also enjoy baking demonstrations of favorite traditional Christmas goodies, like rosettes and krumkake as well as advice about preserving and protecting kitchen heirlooms. You’ll leave with some holiday goodies, a finished scrapbook page, and lots of creative ideas for turning recipes and memories into cherished family gifts. Please bring a special family holiday recipe to share. If you do not know how to prepare it, maybe we can help! There will be an ingredients fee.
Level of instruction: All levels. Youth ages 14-17 signed up with a participating adult receive a 25% discount.
Kathleen Ernst is an author, educator, and social historian. She has been conducting workshops in schools and at libraries, museums, and historic sites for over 30 years. She has written historical fiction for young readers through the “American Girl” series, and for adults through her own “Chloe Ellefson Mysteries.” Ernst has earned many awards and honors, and she won an Emmy Award for an instructional video scripted for public television.
Darlene Fossum-Martin, of Decorah, Iowa, says her cooking style is shaped by the Norwegian cuisine of her ancestors. Although she holds a degree in home economics and education, her strengths in Norwegian cooking come from the women in her family, as well as the years she spent living in Norway. Darlene has taught traditional Scandinavian food classes for adults and children of all ages throughout the Midwest and at John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina.
Jan Brett’s Gingerbread Friends and Their Gingerbread House
Lea Lovelace and Darlene Fossum-Martin
$15 per family for members / $20 per family for non-members
Bring your family to explore the story of Jan Brett’s beloved Gingerbread Baby and Gingerbread Friends, as we spend an afternoon together, reading, looking, making, and baking! We will start our afternoon reading the story and exploring sections of the exhibition The World of Jan Brett together. Then we will visit the ArtHaus Studio and create our own houses for Gingerbread Baby using a combination of recycled and fine art materials, finishing our day with baking and decorating our own gingerbread friends! Bring your family, your creativity, and an empty tummy! There will be a $13 materials fee.
Level of instruction: Children ages 5 and older. Children from 5-10 must be accompanied by an adult.
Lea Lovelace, a Decorah native and a Luther College graduate, has worked in the field of art education for over a decade and has her Master of Arts Degree in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has taught art to diverse populations of varied ages, directed programs for a not-for-profit community art school, and managed teacher programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. She co-founded ArtHaus in Decorah in 2008 with theater professional Kristen Underwood and teaches art classes there each year.
Darlene Fossum-Martin, of Decorah, Iowa, says her cooking style is shaped by the Norwegian cuisine of her ancestors. Although she holds a degree in home economics and education, her strengths in Norwegian cooking come from the women in her family, as well as the years she spent living in Norway. Darlene has taught traditional Scandinavian food classes for adults and children of all ages throughout the Midwest and at John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina.
