Wanderlust Salon: Christmas Customs & Cuisine in Norway 🇳🇴
let's talk traditions and when to dispense with them
Welcome to my monthly wanderlust salon, a ready-made template to build connections with new cultures and to get the heck offline! In this series, I craft a dinner menu and give you book and movie recommendations based on a featured place—because why doom scroll on a Friday night when you could tuck into a good book or try new foods with family and friends? Paid subscribers get to attend the after party, where we chat about the recommended books and movies over dessert and I share more ideas for offline fun (think original cocktail recipes, easy crafts, and extra things to read and watch).
As we move into 2024 and I consider the future of these salons, I’d love to know what you’re enjoying most…
Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts. I value your opinions highly, and I can’t wait to cook up more of what you love next year. Now, on to our virtual travels…this month’s salon takes us to Norway!
My family is of Norwegian descent, and has always maintained Scandinavian holiday traditions. Two weeks ago, I sent you an essay about how I spiritually reconnected with my late grandmother when confronted with lutefisk, a traditional seafood dish we used to eat every Christmas Eve and that is—in a word—an abomination. After publishing, I found I’m far from the only one to be personally victimized by lutefisk. There are dozens of us, including
and ’s husband!
My point in writing that essay was that I had spent too long believing lutefisk and my cultural heritage were what connected me to my grandmother, when love was what truly tied us together. Holding my nose and eating my lutefisk wouldn’t bring Grandma back from the dead, nor would choosing a tastier dish diminish the closeness we had in life; the tradition simply no longer served me. This got me thinking: how do we let go, either practically or emotionally, of rituals that don’t feel appropriate anymore?
In past years, I’ve thought of holiday traditions like requirements—boxes that must be ticked off a checklist in order for it to really be Christmas. (Watch all the Christmas movies! Make cardamom buns and peanut butter cookies! Fill the stockings to the brim!) But this winter feels different. I’m between two international moves, traveling around the U.S. trying to see all the friends and family I can, all while working full-time and trying to keep up with this newsletter. With a brain as fried as mine, attempting to maintain the practices of holidays past feels performative and just plain stressful. I find myself thinking more and more about what can be dispensed with.
My extended family clung to tradition for tradition’s sake for many years. Everyone hated eating lutefisk, yet we believed it grounded us and brought us together. We all feared that if we abandoned it, Christmas would no longer be Christmas—that we would lose some crucial part of what made us who we were as a family.
That all changed last year. When we came together on Christmas Eve for the first time since covid and the deaths of my father and grandmother, we did away with the lutefisk. No matter what we ate, our family—now without two of its pillars—would never be the same, and after so many hardships, we were too worn down to continue with such an expensive and tasteless meal (I swear, you’ll never find a food so disgusting and with such a shocking price tag as lutefisk). The moment felt right for a change. So Nick and I made everyone tri tip, bought pre-marinated from a local butcher and cooked for less than half an hour. No muss, no fuss.
No one could stop talking about how much better it was than lutefisk. And you know what? Even without our core tradition, Christmas was still Christmas. We slung wine in the kitchen and competed to make the ugliest faces while the tri tip cooked. We sang Let There Be Peace on Earth and Can’t Get to Heaven as we cleared the tables—like we have every year for as long as I can remember—then we lingered while the candles burned down to stubs. We were exactly who we have always been, a big, messy family that laughs too loud and hugs each other tight.
As it turns out, love and joy are the only traditions that matter. Luckily, we’ve got those in spades.
So, friends, what are your holiday rituals, and how did they arise? (They don’t have to be Christmas-related!) Do you have a lutefisk equivalent—a food that brings up strong memories and makes you feel connected to the past or to your heritage? Are you changing up any traditions this year?
Now, I have a very fun template of Norway-themed projects for you to try this weekend. The menu is my little revisionist history, a far more delicious selection of Norwegian foods than what I ate growing up. I’m also recommending a traditional craft that’s cheap and easy, long and short reads, and a movie I’ve been dying to see.
what to cook
Appetizer: brunøst (brown cheese) with whole-grain crackers. Brown cheese is very unique, and it’s a love it or hate it thing. I happen to love it. It has a velvety smooth texture and it’s caramelized, putting it in the highly addictive territory between sweet and savory. A grainy, crispy cracker provides the perfect counterbalance. Brunøst—usually sold under the brand name Ski Queen in the U.S.—is generally made of cow’s milk, but it can also be made with some proportion of goat’s milk, in which case it would be labeled gjetøst. Though brown cheese is somewhat rare in the U.S., I’ve found it at Safeway, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods.
Main: Norwegian meatballs. We always had meatballs when I was growing up, but they were really just lumps of ground beef in a Pyrex with Campbell’s mushroom soup dumped over them. This recipe is much, much tastier. The meatballs come out pillowy and perfectly spiced, while the gravy packs a real punch—where many roux-based sauces easily turn out bland, this one is thick and meaty. I would, however, recommend a couple tweaks. Use half beef, half pork instead of all beef for maximum flavor, and rather than putting the meatballs straight into the oven, brown them in a pan first. Then, while the meatballs bake for just 5-10 minutes, make the gravy in the browning pan to capture all the juicy goodness of the rendered fat.
Sides: As this is a big, family-style holiday meal, I have lots of sides for you!
The most classic (and arguably most important) side for this meal is lefse, without which no Scandinavian Christmas would be complete. My family used to get lefse—basically a potato-based tortilla—from specialty stores, but making it at home is super simple. This recipe yielded soft, fluffy results with minimal effort. I think lefse is best buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, but it would also make an excellent vehicle for lingonberry jam. Wrap fresh-off-the-stove lefse in a tea towel to keep hot!
My family always had boiled russet potatoes with our lutefisk. You heard that right. Just hard, unseasoned potato. Tragic, I know. Mashed potatoes are superior in every way. As lefse requires mashed potato, there is a great synergy here; just add an extra portion of potato to your mash and reserve it for the lefse before seasoning. You can use any recipe your heart desires. My favorite way to make mashed potato is by whipping in whole milk with a hand mixer and adding salt, pepper, garlic powder, and perhaps a bit of parmesan or mustard to taste. If you’re going to wing it like I do, plan for about half a pound of potatoes per person.
Cooking a big Christmas dinner means juggling lots of recipes all at once, and it takes about 30 seconds for my kitchen to devolve into abject chaos. To minimize fuss, I love sides that can be either made ahead, baked and served in the same dish, or both. Creamed corn fits the bill. Okay, so this is not technically a Norwegian dish…it’s a Midwestern staple, though, and as my grandmother was from Minnesota, it was always part of our holiday menu. Creamed corn doesn’t have to have cream in it; the “cream” refers to the milky, starchy bits scraped from the insides of the kernels. The version my family ate did have cream (it was swimming in it) but I prefer this version, which has no milk or cream and instead relies on eggs and butter to create an almost soufflé-like consistency. The layers of parmesan cheese and crackers crumpled on top add some extra umami and a crunch. (You could easily prep this in advance by doing the main bake ahead of time. Just add the parmesan and crackers and do a final five-minute broil before serving!)
Finally, I’m completely breaking with tradition by adding sides of baked carrots and asparagus to the menu. Everything on the table at my family Christmases was starchy and beige, and it was enough to make even a six-year-old long for colorful, healthful veggies. Now I’m fulfilling that childhood dream! Root vegetables like carrots are an important component of Scandinavian cuisine, as they grow well in cool climates; try making a marinade with two parts water, one part brown sugar, and ginger, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste, then soak the carrots for an hour or two. Asparagus also grow wild in Scandinavia, and are delicious drizzled with olive oil, lemon, and parmesan. Bake the carrots and asparagus together at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
what to do
Woven heart baskets are a classic Scandinavian Christmas craft. They take less than 15 minutes to make, and look festive hung on the tree with a couple candies in them. This page has cut-out templates and the best explanation I’ve found of the weaving technique (instead of going over and under like you would with thread, you want to go through the loops). I made mine with construction paper, but next time, I’ll try with felt—the paper was a little stiff and fiddly, and soft fabric would be easier to manipulate.
what to read
I’m excited to dig into Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, which tells the stories of the Norse pantheon in novelistic form. Gaiman is funny and darkly whimsical, and I’m sure he’ll create a compelling ancient fantasy world. But the book is 304 pages, and the holiday season is busy…so for those who find it hard to steal more than a couple minutes to read each day, I’d recommend this gripping and hilarious short memoir about a fjord cruise gone wrong.
what to watch
Norway’s folklore contends that trolls are everywhere, embedded in the dramatic fjords and forests (here is a great primer on trolls). This week, I’m carving out time to finally watch the award-winning Norwegian film Troll Hunter, a darkly comedic mockumentary about a group of students who follows a suspected bear poacher into the woods only to find he is—you guessed it—a troll hunter.
Thank you for coming along with me to Norway for this month’s salon! Click below to join next week’s paid subscriber after party, where I’ll offer up a Norwegian dessert and an original cocktail recipe. We’ll also discuss Troll Hunter and Norse Mythology, and I’ll recommend more Norwegian films, literature, and crafts to enjoy.
One last thing: as I move to a new country (goodbye, Cairo) and start planning a rebrand for this newsletter, I want to continue providing writing that talks about the places we go, but also where those places take us as people. Tell me, what do you most want to see more of in 2024? What’s your favorite part of this newsletter so far? If you have more thoughts, I’d love to hear them in the comment section!
Have a wonderful holiday and catch you in 2024,
Sam xx
Psst—I was recently featured in
’s The Cacao Muse! This very fun project is featuring 25 days of author interviews paired with delicious chocolate. Read it here.
Samantha, thank you for this beautiful essay. This was the first Christmas for my in-laws since the loss of my husband’s beloved grandfather and his absent presence, a pillar of our own, remains incredibly raw. The ache of our hearts in grief for the person we cannot turn to, throw our arms around in love, wink at in shared unspoken mirth, is inescapable. I wholeheartedly relate to you and your loved ones embracing a new approach to your festive gathering this year as you find a way to live with grief. And I’m about to send this issue of yours to my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law as I’ve found it so comforting.
With my sweet husband and I, the only traditions we really have are our “festive” coffee that’s enhanced with Baileys or whiskey and cream then a long walk together. We usually try and plan out 12 Dates of Christmas that are small things together throughout December in lieu of gifts. This year, one date was a snowy walk and then getting kebabs together. Simple, maybe silly, but love-filled, like the best traditions.
Lastly, I wanted to say that we’ve just moved to Kutaisi in Northern Georgia. If your travels next year bring you here, let me know and we can have a wine or coffee xx thank you for your vivid, engrossing writing xx
Your photos are very pretty! My husband is also of Scandinavian descent and recently we started watching Wild Nordic on Disney plus. The show has amazing shots of Norway also! I recommend checking it out if you can.