I met a lady today that, well, had some lard on her…

Marty Rosen liked it too!

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708240315

I don't really get the objection to lard. Like so many things, when used judiciously, it won't kill you or make you fat or ill or anything like. For example, I grew up making a traditional Norwegian Christmas cookie that is deep fried in lard, and although it can be deep fried in vegetable oil which over the years has been substituted in the spirit of apparent better health issues, the lard makes a world of difference in flavor.

Butter had a bad rap for years for much the same reason. And then there was the bread scare, which I hope we're finally segueing out of.

Oh Ms. Devlin, I'm so excited about the prospect of having fattigmand for Christmas this year. When do I place my order? I order the lefse and lutefisk in September.

I had never given a thought to them being fried in lard, but I just spent a portion of the afternoon going through all my old Norwegian cook books, and all but one specify that the fattigmand be fried in hot lard!

By any chance, do you every make krumkake, sandbakkels, rosettes or julekake at your bakery?

My family are already trying to bribe me for the stuff.

But anyway, for orders, the first of November, preferably (email me). I haven't been making julekake for clients, although I do make stollen. But yes, I need to start making julekake. My mother would be turning in her grave if she knew I was making stollen but no julekake. It was one of our favorite Christmas treats when I was growing up. The fattigmands are really fabulous, and a big favorite. I have to be careful having too many of them around because I can eat a dozen of 'em without blinking. My brother just emailed me last week begging me to send some, and one of my sisters did the same a couple of months ago.

I don't do the others you mention (though I'd love to). I don't have an actual store front, as yet, though we're in the process of making the place a little more customer friendly for folks who may want to actually stop by at some point. There's only one of me here, sometimes two, and all those cookies are profoundly labor-intensive -- so, so far I've got a pretty narrow range, at least in terms of baking a variety of sweet stuff for selling.

I need a partner.

Cannoli, though. I do cannoli, and I need to put that up on the web site. And although I'd love to do a good anise pizzelle, again, labor-intensive in the extreme. Oddly, I was introduced to pizzelle by my first husband's mother who was Ukrainian. That woman baked like a pro. I wish I'd had the presence of mind back then to ask where the heck she learned how to bake. And to ask her for some recipes. Her pizzelle is hands down the best I've had anywhere. She used to bring us huge bags of the stuff. It was heaven. Fortunately for us, she was unhappy in her marriage and compensated by baking.