Food Experience: How to Have a Norwegian Breakfast

The most enlightening parts of my trip to Elmira were the most informative, and delicious, sessions of amazing full-spread Norwegian breakfast. What is this beautiful curiosity photographed above, you may ask? Why, that is a Norwegian waffle, or Rømmevafler. This particular waffle was carefully crafted from homemade batter put together from scratch, and cooked in a Norwegian waffle iron, giving it this beautiful shape that you observe here.

Most important lesson I learned about eating Norwegian breakfast? NEVER EVER ASK FOR MAPLE SYRUP. You should have seen the soul-chilling, blood-curdling glares that I got when I asked if somebody had forgotten to get the syrup and offered to go get some. Don't make the same mistake that I did, you will regret it.

Just for some reference, I'm putting up some of the other things that we had for breakfast/brunch over that week. No, I'm lying, it's not for reference at all, I just want an excuse to put up more pictures.

One of the mornings, I decided to make potato latkes from scratch. Instead of grating the onions, however, I decided to just finely mince them. Grating onions only meant that the juices would get everywhere and I would be crying for days. And that would be no bueno. The grated potatoes were placed into a large bowl along with the onions along with one egg, a splash of milk, a tablespoon of flour, a splash of oil, and some salt and pepper, mixed, and then fried as patties until golden brown.

See what just happened there? I basically just threw in a recipe for you guys without making it a recipe post. One potato can make anywhere between one to three latkes, depending on the size of the potatoes and the size of the latkes. I served these with scrambled eggs and bacon, a sin to every orthodox Jew out there. Sorry guys, it's just too good of a combo to resist.

 Another brunch item that we enjoyed was a gorgeous Karianna creation. And by brunch it was actually lunch, but due to my severe allergies I couldn't manage to get myself out of bed until about 1pm and came downstairs to be greeted with this gorgeous sight. Buffalo shredded chicken grilled cheese sandwiches. It was more than delicious. I devoured my sandwich - standing at the kitchen counter, mind you - within 15 minutes. If you know me, then you know I take my good time eating, so it definitely means something if I scarf anything down within 15 minutes.

To go with this amazing concoction was a healthy and hearty tub of macaroni and cheese. I couldn't eat as much of it as I would've liked to since my stomach was already bloated with an amazing buffalo shredded chicken grilled cheese sandwiches, but I still put away a decent amount. She topped the mac and cheese with panko bread crumbs, which gave them the most amazing crunch. Speaking of which, her and I went to MacBar in the city the other day, and I had the most amazing mac 'n cheese with mushrooms and truffles for only 8 dollars. Mmm. But without further ado, here's Karianna's brunch mac 'n cheese.

Breakfast/brunch is without doubt one of my favorite meals, especially here at college. It is the only consistently decent meal to be had at our dining hall, not to mention you get to enjoy the luxuries of the omelet station. I always get two eggs scrambled with onions, spinach, mushroom, and tomatoes. I am also a huge fan of breakfast sausages, which is something I was only introduced to at boarding school when I was 14. I always develop a massive hankering for it when I'm back home in Taiwan; my mother's idea of breakfast ranges from congee with six different side dishes to a cup of milk and a hardboiled egg. Okay, that's only happened about twice, but both times were equally traumatizing.

I enjoy nothing more than sitting at a table next to the window with my breakfast, a cup of coffee, and a copy of the New York Times. Then, if I'm up for it, I get some strawberries with yogurt, cottage cheese, and granola. Yum.

Norwegian brunch, however, completely blows everything else out of the water. Except for maybe the buffet brunches I had on the cruise. They had smoked salmon. Mmmm, smoked salmon. My Norwegian brunch experience had smoked Kaviar though, and that actually probably definitely compensated for the lack of smoked salmon.

Here is a suggested list of what to have if you want to experience your own Norwegian breakfast:

Waffles
• Rømmevafler (or substitute for crepes)
• Fresh fruit, preferably berries
• Butter
• Sour cream
• Fruit jam
• Cheese (If you can find Norwegian brown cheese, definitely get it. Any soft goat cheese is great)
• White sugar




Now here is what I was instructed to do. It freaked me out a little bit at first, but once I tried it, I found myself with eyes opened to a completely new realm of thinking, eating, and feeling. I was instructed to tear off a leaf of the waffle clover, butter it, spread jam upon it, lay down a slice of Norwegian brown cheese, sprinkle a dash of white sugar, and decorate it atop with a piece of fresh fruit.

Trust me, that combination made me feel quite skeptical. But once I took a bite of it, I realized it was actually one of the most delightful things I have ever tried. I always try to be an adventurous eater, even if it just means trying different combinations. It tasted like a cheesecake with a kick, offset by the tang of the jam and the berries, and then complemented by the sweetness and the crunch of the granulated sugar.

This next brunch item is something that I still dream about. Norwegian open-faced sandwiches.

Open-Faced Sandwich

• Large slice of bread or toast

• Hard boiled eggs

• Smoked Kaviar paste

• Mayonnaise

• Butter

• Smoked meat or cold-cut meat

• Cheese

• Tomatoes

• Salt & Pepper

• Dill

This is pretty much a free for all as long as you only use one piece of bread. Hence the name open-faced sandwiches. Here's an example of what I did.

What is this? Whole wheat bread, butter, smoked Kaviar, ham, Jarlsberg cheese, tomatoes, sliced hardboiled eggs, and dill.

Another one that I made at another point was simpler with only bread, butter, smoked Kaviar, eggs, and dill. But yes, dill is absolutely necessary. It brings out a completely different dimension of eggs. I also had some sharp cheddar on the side to nibble on for extra flavor.

Yum.

Happy early Thanksgiving to everyone, and be thankful for what you do have.

I know I am.