Specials Available April 16-20
night heron books & coffehouse
Address: 107 E. Ivinson Avenue, Laramie, WY 82070
Website: https://nightheron.square.site/
Country Represented: Denmark
Special:
Drink - Æblekage Drink (apple cider with oat milk topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, inspired by Danish Æblekage Cake)
Dish - Homemade Rye Bread and Herbed Butter
Emily Edgar
Director of Creative Services, UW Institutional Marketing
My mom was born and raised in a small rural town in Denmark, where the roots of our family tree dig deep. Although we do not get to visit with our family overseas very often, my mom has always encouraged my brothers and I maintain a strong connection with our heritage and loved ones.
Amidst a hyggeligt atmosphere, the centerpiece of my family’s gatherings is often food. This is most present when we gather to celebrate Christmas each year. Usually, we enjoy a pork roast or ham, however, this past year my mom opted to wield her magic in the kitchen and cook up something a little different. This time, my family brought out the fine porcelain and platters to enjoy a series of courses centered around smørrebrød, commonly known as “open faced sandwiches.”
Comprised of buttered rye bread stacked with all sorts of curated delicacies, smørrebrød is a regular “light lunch” choice for Scandinavians, but can also be incorporated into courses for more festive meals. The bottom layer is typically meat based – cold cuts, pickled herring, liver pate, chicken salad, etc. – but could also include potatoes or avocado. The savoriness is enhanced with remoulade, curried egg or a similar cream sauce, and then topped with veggies such as tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled beets, or onions. Each masterpiece is finished with a variety of greens and other garnishes – my favorite being crispy fried onions!
Although I have eaten smørrebrød many times before, enjoying it in between bites of frikadeller, sips of wine, and familial chatter this past Christmas was something truly special. My mom had prepared multiple courses with complementary flavors perfectly placed on platters for us to construct from at whim. Moving through each course, I found we were focused on the food and flavor more than usual, savoring each element that contributed to the whole. Of course, the food was nothing but delicious, but the experience of sharing a meal like this with my family is what I will cherish the most.
Carol SMith
Laramie Community Member
My father Robert Jessen was Danish. My great grandfather was Hans Christian Jessen. The name and the heritage intrigued me. My father used to bake French bread. The bread was crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, but the best thing about it was the cold (and it had to be cold) butter he would stack on the bread. Now, I love butter. Butter on toast, crackers, popcorn, vegetables - butter, butter, butter! And it is best served on sandwiches. Most people put butter on just the outside of a grilled cheese sandwich! We put butter on every sandwich. Even peanut butter and jelly sandwiches need butter, under the peanut butter of course. Or the jelly, or both.
There is a Danish specialty called "Smorrebrod," literally "butter and bread." Butter on an open-faced, substantial rye or pumpernickel bread. This beloved Danish national dish can be as simple as "bread and butter," but the hungry Danes are bound to start layering on pickles and proteins like sardines or ham. And there's more to smorrebrod than just making a sandwich; as R.W. Apple, Jr. wrote, "Leave it to the Danes, those past masters of form and color, to turn sandwiches into still lifes." The first mention of the word Smorrebrod appeared around the turn of the 18th century, and by the late 19th century, squares of buttered, dense rye bread topped with meat, fish, or eggs were regularly on offer in Copenhagen restaurants.