How Hot & How Long
The Danish Cucumber Salad (Agurkesalat) That Got Me Out of Bed
Not today, Satan, I’m marinating some cukes.
I’ve tried to pull it together for awhile now, attempting to get my finances in order (failing), to cook more at home as part of getting my finances in order (failing at that too), to pack a lunch for work (failing), to write a book (really failing). But even in failure, the brain is always doing its thing. And so a few weeks ago my brain told me, seemingly out of nowhere, that my work lunches should be like Danish work lunches.
Danes are healthy and happy, and seem to achieve this state of being by keeping things simple. I emailed a Danish friend to confirm my suspicion that Danes were still eating “smørrebrød” — open-faced sandwiches — like they were in 1975 when I lived in Copenhagen. Indeed they are, which gave me the cozy feeling. Even as my life falls apart there’s Denmark, still plugging away in an “if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it” kinda way. The sandwiches of the 1970s are the same sandwiches of 2024 because they work.
I immediately started gathering supplies. I bought this Danish bread, and this Danish remoulade. I stopped short of buying a version of “leverpostej” — basically spreadable liver paté which I remember eating as a five-year-old but can’t…
