Rossella Rago (cooking with nana) at Italian fest Milwaukee

http://onmilwaukee.com/seasonal/festivals/articles/ragofesta.html

Festa Italiana
Thursday, July 19 - Sunday, July 22

My kid and I are burned out with festivals (My departed father who we were taking care of NEEDED!!! to go to every single (insert f-word here) festival within a half day's drive for many years. He would get EXCEEDINGLY cranky if he heard of one that we didn't go to), but this one I am sort of debating. Festa and Germanfest (which did co-incide with the air show) were my favorites.

Indian Summer is also an incredible fun time (Sept. 7,8,9) http://www.indiansummer.org/

The only other fest I would go to if we were not burned out would be the Norwegian fest, only because I would go through several of the herring sandwiches every visit.

HI,

Norweigan Fest with the opportunity for herring sandwiches sounds delicious!

Can you keep an eye out for Church lutefisk dinners? There is one I have been keeping an eye for in Madison, WI. However, I am hoping to find others closer.

It's really good having you on board. I think your Dad and I are kindred spirits, but I can happily go by myself.

Regards,

Cathy,

It was very fun meeting you. My mother was a very kindred spirit to you from our brief meeting. Trust me that my father was an amazing person but my kid refuses to get into the car for *anything* without a fight over the amount of time we spent making Dad happy. Not sure that you got in my message that Dad died a little while ago.

Lutefisk? Lutefisk? Dear Gosh you have a better stomach than I do. I will keep an eye open.

However - for a decent substitution for the herring sandwiches. The next time you are in Milwaukee, go to
http://shorewood.patch.com/listings/international-foods-4 Also check out the awesome cakes in the freezer.
They have packages of long herring. I use a rye bread (think beefsteak rye for the commercial version) around one to the major disgust of my teenager. Depending on my mood, also some horseradish sauce and sweet onions. If the kid is looking, a slice of bread and butter pickle because it sends him into fits of "you have no taste!"

There was a place called "International Foods" that was on my way home from h-mart, Ashai (sp?) right before the tollway in Illinois (consume feces for having tollways while our roadways are free). They had several decent brands of importing herring but the last time I took several (asian 1st gen) neighbors down to the area for grocery shopping they were closed.

Did you ever have the chance to visit the Hmong mart? (Mill and 76th Milwaukee) ?

Cathy,

For Lutefisk, may I suggest calling the Sons Of Norway in Milwaukee? http://www.norwayhouse-milw.org/
They are on Oklahoma just a little west of American Science and Surplus, (whom I am sure my family gives a decent percentage of their income, despite the fact that the Chicago based owner has no clue on integrating sales and inventory, customer service, etc. ).
Just an awesome place if yo get the chance to visit if you are a geek. I grew up dealing with the old Chicago store when it was affiliated with Edmunds.

I left a message with the sons of Norway, I will let you know if I get a response.

Hi,

I am sorry about my past.present tenses, I knew your Dad had passed. I appreciated his spirited disappointment at missing something interesting. I'm glad I reminded you of your Mom.

I have made and eaten lutefisk. I've had it in a restaurant setting. I had someone speak on the culture related to lutefisk. All I am missing is the opportunity to eat it at a community dinner.

From my experience in making lutefisk, I have come to the conclusion much of its bad reputation comes from the final cooking. If you check out the methods used: baking or boiling, they all have cooking times of 60 minutes or more. Fish and cabbage when cooked too long give off some unpleasant smells.

I cooked my lutefisk for no more than 20 minutes (and even that was longer than it may have needed). When someone missed the funky smell, I zapped it hard in the microwave. Texture like rubberbands and smell they felt was spot on.

***

I will give your herring sandwich a try sometime soon. Fortunately, no teenager lingering around to freak out with my tastes!

The cooler weather is coming!

Regards,