Julebord

We were excited to attend Arthur's work Christmas party this year. Around Christmas time many work places host a "juleboard", which directly translates to "Christmas table." Although Norwegian food has left us quite disappointed in its lack of flavor, variety, and creativity we were promised that the Christmas fare had more to offer.

Our friends Darcy and Jason graciously offered to watch Xander for the night (even though Darcy is pregnant with twins! Talk about super woman!) And although it was hard to leave him for the first time, we knew he was in great hands!

The juleboard was held downtown in a very odd combination of bowling alley/pub. Bowling alleys are not as common in Norway as in the US and with a birds eye view over the Stavanger harbour it was the swankiest bowling alley I've ever been in!

Our meal consisted of ribbe (roasted and broiled pork belly), pinochet, (salty cured lamb) kalrot (rutabaga) purée, and julepolse (Christmas sausage). And of course boiled potatoes...always potatoes! The meal finished with a generous helping of riskreme (sweet rice pudding) and strawberry jam. It was explained to me during our meal by Arthur's coworkers that the traditional julebord food reminded them of holidays and family in, I think, much the same way that we associate those things with our Thanksgiving meal.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the food. I did enjoy the pinochet and julepolse. I would have preferred a dessert of the chocolate cake variety but anything topped with Norwegian strawberries in any form gets a thumbs up from me!

After the meal we split into teams and enjoyed a few friendly rounds of bowling. We hit up another bar before heading home...just to pretend we could still hang! Overall I really enjoyed our first julebord. Good company, surprisingly good food, and a much needed night out for us!