First Lutheran hosts annual Swedish Meatball and Norwegian Lutefisk Dinner

The 90th Annual Norwegian Lutefisk and Swedish Meatball Dinner will take place at First Lutheran Church Saturday, Feb. 3, from noon to 5 p.m.

The dinner for this event consists of fresh homemade coleslaw, fresh homemade cranberry sauce, Swedish meatballs and gravy, boiled potatoes, lutefisk, lefse and dinner rolls.

The dinner will take place in the Fellowship Hall with the help of a large number of volunteers, volunteer Sue Ost said

"The dinner itself is an experience," Ost added. "We serve around 300 people."

Co-chair Cliff Plum will be running the kitchen for this event. He prepares his volunteers for this unique task of cooking a different kind of fish.

"Cooking of the lutefisk is an art and our cooks are experts. Water temp has to be maintained start to finish, or the fish will fall apart ... Only hard rule is you don't stir the fish," Plum said.

Volunteers have turned 130 pounds of potatoes into 67 dozen rounds of lefse. Over the weekend, 31 people will be working, with 17 lefse grills going, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

"My job is to make sure dishes get done and food gets served," Plum said, "First Lutheran Church Charters Boy Scouts Troop 1438 and Troop 1406 will help with kitchen detail and serving drinks. Work begins weeks in advance, ordering the lutefisk and potatoes. Final product was about 66 dozen pieces of lefse."

Plum's process of making the meatballs and gravy takes time, a lot of hard work and many volunteers.

"The ladies start by rolling and cooking the meatballs on Friday. Saturday morning around 7 a.m. we will start making about six to eight gallons of brown gravy," he said.

This evening, more volunteers will be making Sandbakkles, a Norwegian pressed cookie. Sandbakkles and ice cream will be served for dessert.