Hyun James Kim / Special to the Home News
Lolla Sievert, left, attempts to mask the identity of the secret ingredient as Arlon Sibert, right, finishes emptying the package of ingredients into the pot at the annual lutefisk dinner at the Elks Lodge in Boulder City.
Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 | 11:40 a.m.
Bob Sturgeon, center, and John Hansen, right, make a last minute check of the lutefisk before serving it at the Boulder City Elks Lodge at Saturday's 11th annual event, organized by the Sons of Norway.
Ron Effertz, left, watches as his grandson, Kyle Effertz, right, starts on his dinner which includes lutefisk, a traditional dish made of whitefish that's either salted or dried. The family attended the 11th annual Lutefisk Dinner on Saturday at the Boulder City Elks Lodge.
Some approached it suspiciously, others dug in anxiously, but everyone came for the same thing: the lutefisk.
And the lefsa, and the Aquavit, and of course, the Norwegian camaraderie.
More than 300 feasted on -- and some just stared at -- the traditional meal Saturday at the 11th Annual Sons of Norway Vegas Viking Lodge Lutefisk Dinner at the Boulder City Elks Lodge.
Lutefisk, which is dried cod soaked for three days in lye and then baked, goes with lefsa, a sort of potato tortilla, peas, carrots, and for some, Aquavit, which is a strong, caraway seed-infused liquor. A lutefisk first-timer might be encouraged to try the Aquavit before trying the white, gelatinous fish dish. It's an acquired taste, even diehard fans will admit.
Bob Sturgeon, lead cook for the crew of about 30 it takes to run the dinner, cooks the lutefisk that's been prepared the same way Vikings did it centuries ago. Except in Nevada, the group flies the frozen fish in from Minnesota a couple days before the dinner, president Gwen Knighton said.
Lollo Sievert came to Nevada almost fifty years ago from Norway, where you "have to" dine on lutefisk every Christmas, she said. She's never had much of a taste for the main course, but helps in the Elks Lodge kitchen every year, also cooking pork with gravy for those who don't like lutefisk.
"And there's a few of those," Sturgeon said.
Linda Cady found out last night she's one of them.
"It doesn't look like it's cooked, does it?" Cady said, eyeing the fish, taking the plunge, and then deciding the lutefisk was too slippery for her liking.
Cady came to the dinner with Dorothy Twesme and Roger Anderson, brother and sister who are "100 percent Norwegian." All four grandparents immigrated to the midwest from Norway, they said.
In September, Twesme moved to Las Vegas from Wisconsin. She said she missed the November lutefisk dinners the local Lutheran churches hold every year.
She made fast friends with Emma and Robert Amundsen -- first timers with a split reaction to the fish.
She's from Mexico, and he's Norwegian. He finished her lutefisk after she took one bite, paused for ten seconds and broke into laughter.
"I think my husband is a true Viking," she said, eating around the mushy cod.
Robert Amundsen told Twesme his Portugese mother never made lutefisk for his Norwegian father, and he'd convinced himself he was going to love it.
"I would eat this anytime," he said. "I think it's subconscious."
Twesme said Robert Amundsen looked just like Norse explorer Leif Ericson, and the three made a pact to meet at the Elks Lodge next year.
Richard Carlson, who helps at the dinner, said his grandmother was born in Norway, and cooked the fish for him when he was young.
Carlson likes lutefisk, but said you wouldn't see anyone "go and drive ten miles to get it," before he re-thought his route from east Las Vegas to Boulder City that night.
"Then again, I guess they do."
Cassie Tomlin can be reached at 948-2073 or [email protected].
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy