Fresh and Tasty

by Suzanne Schreiner and Susan Hamilton & r & You'll-a Be Real Full DINNER & r & If you go to Julebord (Christmas Table), make sure you haven't eaten for the previous 72 hours, because the Sons of Norway are serving up enough food to stuff a fjord. Ebba Ostrom, the daughter of Sweden who has been doing the cooking the last three years, says she will start marinating the gravlax tomorrow -- in salt, sugar and dill -- and won't stop until the last lefse comes out of the oven.


These are a few reasons Ostrom thinks you'll want to come: Swedish meatballs, smoked salmon, deviled eggs, pork loin stuffed with prunes and apples, potato casserole, sausage and fishballs in white sauce. There's krumkake (whipped cream and lingonberries in a waffle cone) and sandbakels (butter cookies) for dessert, and glogg and Aquavit -- Swedish "white lightning," Ostrom calls it -- to wash it all down. Yup, this is rib-sticking fare devised by the Ingmars and Ingeborgs of the far northern latitudes to get them through the long winter darkness, served up in groaning board quantity. Joanne Groemseth will provide holiday accordion stylings, though given the volume of food and drink, dancing is not encouraged, and probably not even physically possible.


Will you get enough to eat? Will you need to pace yourself? Yah, sure, you betcha. -- Suzanne Schreiner





Enjoy a smorgasbord of traditional Norwegian and Scandinavian holiday foods on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 pm at the Sons of Norway Hall, 6710 N. Country Homes Blvd. Tickets (advance only) are $22. Call 326-9211.





More Pie, Please RESTAURANTS & r & If you're a fan of the locally made White Box Pies, you'll be happy to know there's now an eatery dedicated to those yummy made-from-scratch pies. The Spokane Valley bakery recently opened a caf & eacute; and retail shop on busy Sullivan Road.


"We've split the bakery and retail," says co-owner Shirley Glodt. "Now people can come in and have sandwiches, a slice of pie and espresso."


The warm, eclectic shop features bright red walls with gold and black trim, pendant lights illuminating cozy tables and a black-and-white tiled floor. The menu is just as eclectic, featuring breakfast, lunch and, of course, pie.


Customers can start their day with French toast filled with strawberry cream cheese and topped with fruit compote, three varieties of quiche (including sausage with potato) or yogurt parfait with granola and fresh fruit compote. Fresh baked pastries and breads are the perfect complement to White Box's espresso and cappuccino. Cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting, pumpkin bread, coconut pound cake, coffee cake and croissants are but a few of the many offerings.


Lunch items include a turkey sandwich with cream cheese, cranberry sauce and provolone on a fresh-baked croissant. The Dagwood sandwich sports ham, turkey, roast beef and three cheeses. Staying true to what they do best, White Box offers beef or chicken pot pies with tender pie crusts. Soups, salads and a variety of sandwiches round out the menu.


Of course, you can't leave White Box without a slice of pie. With more than 45 flavors of fresh pies to choose from, this is always a difficult decision. Glodt says the most popular flavors this time of year are pumpkin, pecan, chocolate cream and lemon meringue. You can also indulge your sweet tooth with a slice of cheesecake. (Try the chocolate peanut butter or the huckleberry swirl.)


"We try to make things special for people because they've come in to get our gourmet pies," Glodt says. -- Susan Hamilton





White Box Pies Caf & eacute;, 415 N. Sullivan Rd., is open Mon-Sat 7 am-7 pm, Sun 7 am-3 pm. Call 927-8850.