Smørgåsbord

Today our quilting group met in the afternoon. So, I had time to run morning errands. I was still shopping at lunchtime. (My bowl of raisin bran – long gone.)

On my way to the milk cooler, I passed the bakery cart. A bag of wheat bolillio rolls caught my eye.

This bread's rich taste is very close to that of Norway's kneip bread. My thoughts began to roll: Norway, open-face sandwiches, lunch!

Rather than eat before quilting, I decided to take lunch to share. We usually have "coffee" (beverages with sweets) during our meeting. Today I'd expand our horizons with a smørgåsbord of open-face sandwich toppings.

Back home, I whipped up a batch of Italian salad. I grew to love the Norwegian-deli version of this dish during my college-dorm days in Telemark. My wing mate showed me how to stir in cubed ham for a satisfying sandwich spread. When I wed three years later, another dorm mate sent a cookbook called "Eat the Norway" which included a basic recipe for this popular salad. Here's my version – inspired from my days at Grivi Student Home.

Grivi Italian Salad Spread

In a bowl, toss:

1 small carrot, grated
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 apple, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1 pickle, chopped
1 cup ham, cubed
2 cups finely-shredded cabbage

In a separate bowl, mix:

1/2 cup light Miracle Whip
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp mustard

Stir dressing into the vegetable mixture. Refrigerate to blend flavors. Serve "open-faced" on a slice of heavy bread.

* * * * * * * *

With my "main dish" complete, I scanned our refrigerator for other Nordic toppings, piled them into a shopping bag along with a serving plate, bread tray and cheese cutter – which Norwegians will proudly tell you their ancestors invented! Down in the church-basement kitchen, I made final preparations for...

...an array

of

Nordic

smørbrød

(translated:
buttered
bread)


Out in the dining room, the ladies worked on world mission projects: laying out fabrics, tying quilts and rolling used-sheet strips for bandages. Soon I heard comments.

"What's Wendy doing in the kitchen?" one asked. Another guessed, "Getting supper ready for confirmation class."

"No," I replied. "This is for us!"

"She's preparing a feast," someone guessed. "I think I smell beef roast and mashed potatoes?"

"It's a smørgåsbord," I said. "I was shopping at lunchtime –"

"Big mistake!" she interrupted. "Shopping on an empty stomach."

"I know. But, my mistake is your reward," I said. "I found a bag of bolillio rolls and was inspired to make Italian salad – the Norwegian way. Pretty soon I was pulling out all kinds of Norwegian sandwich toppings."

When we finally sat down to coffee, I explained:



to
represent
"pølse,"

I used

summer
sausage;



For
farmer's
cheese –

provolone –

topped
with
cucumber.






These
cloud berry
preserves
came from
Sweden's
mountains.




Scandinavians will confess that they guard these berry-patches secrets – just like we Minnesotans guard our favorite fishing holes.


Then I
confessed –

about the
last topping:

real goat cheese

and homemade

strawberry preserves.


"When I first came to Norway as a 16-year-old, I hated their caramel cheese. But after a year immersed into their culture, I wanted to BE Norwegian... and that meant learning to like geit ost. One summer afternoon during an alfresco lunch by the lake, I shaved off a slice, set it on my tongue, and let it melt in my mouth. After the initial bitterness wore off, I grew to love geit ost.

To offset its strong taste, Norwegians use a dab of strawberry preserves – like this one homemade by my neighbor lady.

Værsågod!"

With that welcome and a table prayer, we hungrily part took in the Smørgåsbord.