Four traditional Norwegian foods are highlights of the annual Lutefisk Dinner sponsored by Coeur d’Alene’s Sons of Norway Lodge Saturday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 812 N. 5th St.

Topping the list is lutefisk, a special way of preparing cod, a staple ocean fish found in the North Atlantic along Norway’s western coast.

Lefse is a flatbread made a variety of ways but commonly prepared with mashed potatoes, butter, cream and flour. A round of lefse looks much like a tortilla and is often eaten with butter and cinnamon sugar. Both lefse and lutefisk will be for sale to diners.

Meatballs are also offered at this dinner and are still a staple in Norwegian homes today. Nutmeg distinguishes them from other meatballs.

The dessert being served is a traditional Norwegian cooky called a sandbakkel, baked in special small tins. Almond-flavored, these cookies consist of butter, sugar, flour and egg whites. Dough is pressed into each tin and when removed after baking, resembles something a child would create from sand and unmold onto the beach. Hence the name, sandbakkel or sand cooky. At the dinner they are filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with a Norwegian flag.

Other menu items include potatoes, carrots and pickled beets, all common Norwegian foods.

This culture-laden meal will be served in three seatings: 11:30 a.m.-12:30; 1-2 p.m.; and 2:30-3:30 p.m. Served buffet style, the cost is $20, adults; $10, youths 6-17; free under 6; $50 family fare, parents and their youths. This is the only known lutefisk dinner currently offered in Kootenai County.

Reservations are due Thursday, Feb. 13. Call 208-772-2903 or 208-661-8292.

Coeur d’ Alene’s Sons of Norway was organized here in 1910 and celebrated its 110th anniversary last month with a concert open to the public.

Sons of Norway International is celebrating 125 years in 2020, having been organized in Minneapolis in 1895. It is a fraternal benefit society that was founded to offer financial aid to Norwegian immigrants in the form of health benefits and death benefits. It is the largest ethnic organization in the U.S. today. Insurance is no longer required of members but is available.

A key mission today is to promote and preserve Norwegian heritage.