The 8 year birthday

MK turned 8 earlier this month and Saturday it is time to celebrate with the big family. Having 18 for dinner in T's smallish flat is a test, but one that has been successfully passed on earlier occasions and is passed well yet again.
MK is a fickle girl when it comes to pasta. T assumes that what MK wants for her birthday dinner is pasta with homemade pesto for the primo. When T seeks to verify the menu for the evening he expects that it will be business as usual. But MK states that she wants pasta carbonara. Now, this is a problem for so many reasons. One of them being that K and T are not in agreement as to how carbonara should be made or even the very essence of the dish. As a consequence, T brushes aside the wishes of the birthday child and reinstates pesto as the primo of MKs birthday dinner. Incidentally, MK has done this before. For a whole year she would wish only for Spaghetti alle vongole, but on arriving in San Remo after a year away from Italy, she switched to pesto and that has been the preferred pasta dish for the last three years. That is until last Friday.

The pesto is made in the Ligurian style that we experienced this summer in Tellaro. The minor variation is that small cubes of potatoes are cooked with the pasta and served as part of the dish. They add a little sweetness to the dish.
The next dish is pork roast rubbed with fennel seeds served with baked parsnips, fennel, apple, potatoes and carrots. Since we posted this dish initially we have made a successful variation which we repeat today: Rather than adding wine (champagne) we substitute it with apple juice and water. This gives not only some acidity but also some sweetness. (again!)
Also we use another piece of the (organic) pork. Pork loin, wich requires about 2 hours in the oven. Thefore we also had to cook the meat and vegetables separately. The vegetables only need app. 1 hour. We added some of the good liquids from the roast about half way through.
The guests are pleasantly appreciative of the efforts and we are also rather content ourselves.
Serving wine for the big family cannot follow a strict plan, so wine is placed on the table in rapid succession. What we aim to do is to have something with a little acidity to handle the richness of the pork. So we try various chiantis. The Isola e Olena 2008 and 2009 are tasted. The 09 is preferred. It seems more balanced. Where the 08 is more fruity, the 09 is less so and has a note of lactic acid. We also try the Ser Lapo 09 from Mazzei. This is quite nice and rather different. The wine is more oaky from the maturing in oak casks.
In conclusion the chiantis do very well with the dish. Before that we have had some various whites:  Viognier from Pesquie and Chateau Ferran 2005 from Graves.

In the end it is time for the traditional birthday cake. In Denmark that is a layered cake (Lagkage). For this occasion we make to two types: The first has whipped cream mixed with raspberries and finely chopped dark chocolate. The other has cream mixed with banana and crushed macaroons.
The cakes are served accompanied by the singing of the traditional Danish birthday song and then comes the moment of truth: MK has to blow out the candles! Myth has it that the number of candles still burning signifies the number of boyfriends the birthday child has. Much to T's satisfaction, MK blows out all the candles.
The evening ends on the dance floor where children and adults are equally excited about the Wii dance contest. Even to the extent that commotion occurs due to the close quarters, but that cannot change the fact that this has been a successful birthday with big family.

Christmas cookies

Today we join MK and her class for a session of baking Christmas cookies. MK has decided in advance that we will make Vaniljekranse (Vanilla cookies) and so we set out to make the dough from home. As it later turns out, this is actually a mistake, as the situation called for it to be made on location so that the children may do everything from start to finish. That should not have come as a surprise. Anyway, here is how we made the dough:

• 400 g flour
• 300 g sugar
• 300 g butter
• 1 egg
• 50 g of almond flour (almonds blended by the splendid Bamix blender)
• the contents of one stalk of vanilla.

Mix the sugar and the vanilla in order to spread the vanilla evenly then mix flour, egg and cold butter into the mix and crumble into a texture a like grated parmesan. Set aside for a couple of hours in a cold place.

Ideally these cookies are supposed to be well-formed and therefore pressed out of a pastry bag or a mincer, but we did not have such fine tools, so we had to make do with manually crafted Vaniljekranse.

We are quite happy with the result and as it later turns out, the cookies are even better once they have cooled down a bit. They become more crisp which suits them well. The taste is great - warm or not, but the Price brothers would have told us in advance with all that butter.
Nevertheless, we don't make it to the prize table as others are voted in front of our vanilla cookies. Oh, boy.

The appartment is not well suited for wine storage and so we make a round trip to the secondary storage to place some boxes of wine that we will have to wait some years for us to taste. This means that it is a late dinner and this calls for something quick. T suggests pasta alla trapanese, which makes MK unhappy because she wants pesto. Nevertheless - T is a ruthless father and Trapanese it is. Here is how it goes

• 500 g of ripe tomatoes cut in cubes (and not de-seeded)
• a large handful of chopped basil
• 50 g of peeled almonds (again)
• one large portion of grated parmesan
• olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and toss the rigatoni (500 g) when cooked al dente. With it, we had a bottle of Monte Bruna 2006 Barbea d'Asti. Everything was 8,3/10

MK concluded that in the future she would only eat pesto with almonds!

Ambition

Saturday is time for dinner party. If you think that we have been quiet as of late it was because we needed to rehearse a little for this event. Also we have to consider the limited space in the kitchen, which is challenging when planing to have more than two guests for dinner.
We start the day out thinking that we have plenty of time to rest and reflect on the dinner from last night's 75 year birthday party, which included traditional, honest Danish food in Toldbod Bodega. And so we stay in bed late and read the newspaper knowing full well that we are prepared and this will help us execute according to schedule. After a while we head towards torvehallerne to make our last purchases. On a Saturday afternoon this is a very busy place. Not like their southern models in the sense that many people come here just to sniff around as opposed to coming with a specific objective. When we are about finished we consider a cup of coffee only to realize that we have been away for two hours and so stress sets in.
We will skip telling about the afternoon, which included an event of rare occurrence, namely T not (or almost not) watching his beloved football team cruise to a comfortable win. (The rare thing was T not watching, even though the comfortable part is also becoming quite rare).

First course is a salad. We have purchased 4 different kinds of lettuce which we will refrain from translating (Rød syre, Rucola savoy, mustard, the last one evades us by now). The leaves were mixed in a vinaigrette made of raspberry vinegar, olive oil, s/p and a little water. On top of this some smoked duck's breast thinly sliced (well, as thin as T could manage), cubes of apple and walnuts. To this we drink Meursault 2008. We had decanted the bottle for several reasons. For one thing it was something T had wanted to do for some time and secondly our poor guests were to be left guessing as to what they were drinking.

Next it is time for our primo which is oxtail ravioli. For this we have prepared oxtails one day in advance.
(Put the tails in cold water, heat to boil, skim impurities, skim, skim. Discard water. Prepare the usual soffreto (with whatever you have): onion, garlic, carrot, celery, parsnip, s/p and herbs. When soft add the lightly boiled tails, a small squeeze of tomato paste and a glass of white wine. Let steam off for a couple of minutes. Add water to cover. Cover tight and let simmer for 3-4 hours. When very tender, separate meat, vegetables and soup. Discard vegetables and let meat and soup cool. When the soup is cool it is easy to remove the top layer of fat.)
During our hectic afternoon the meat was separated from the bones. Two shallots, a couple of finely chopped cloves of garlic and 250 gr porcini is fried, chopped finely and mixed with the meat. A splash of good truffle oil. And finally a little grated parmesan to glue it all together (a fact that we cannot hide from our non-cheese-eating guest, but that does not prevent him from eating, thanks msm wb). In the meantime we have made a dough of durum flour, 3 eggs and a little salt. Now it is time for the pasta machine to roll out very thin layers of pasta and then cut out small round pieces and fill them with the stuffing. It should not be a big surprise, but this takes quite some time. Maybe it's because we do not have the help of MK and M as we did when rehearsing. The ravioli are served with broth from the preparation of the oxtails, pepped up with a little sherry and a splash of lemon juice, and a gremolata of parsley, chopped garlic and lemon zest is sprinkled on top. For this we have a 1996 Barolo from Manzone.
We now go into the kitchen to prepare the secondo and predictably the wait means that we can serve some wine in between and this we have prepared for. Nobody is able to identify the bottle of 2005 Utopia from the Danish winemaker Kelleris, but it holds up quite nicely and we will soon experiment a little with dishes to have with this wine.

The secondo is fillet of lamb served on top of puree of eggplants and baked root crop, namely pale root beets and turnips baked with oliveoil, white wine and pieces of organic lemon and some baked fennel.
The puree is made by cutting the eggplants open and filled with a little rosemary and garlic before reassembling, rolled in foil and baked for app 40 minutes until very soft. Then the insides are scraped out (removing the garlic and rosemary) and mixed with a little olive oil, vinegar and s/p. A small splash of sauce from the meat and a little red wine. For this dish we serve a Grant Burge's Filsell 2000 Barossa Shiraz from old vines.

Before dessert we serve three small pieces of Danish cheeses, all of the dry kind. First a sheep/goat milk cheese from Knuthenborg, Fyn which is the mildest then a Høost and finally a Fyrmesterost which is, we were told, actually a Vesterhavsost that has matured longer. To go with the cheese we have made chips of very thin slices of rugbrød (pumpernickel) covered with a little butter before baking for 6 minutes at a 160° C. Furthermore a small splash of homemade rhubarb marmelade. The rugbrød is a little too fresh and moist which means that we cannot slice whole big slices but they smaller, uneven slices are just as tasty, nevertheless. For this a glass of Rio Viejo Olorosso sherry from Lüstau.

For dessert it is time for Chocolate fondant with a sorbet made from elderflower and on top some fresh raspberries.
The fondant is made from (4 servings): 100 gr dark chocolate (70%), 100 gr unsalted butter, 1 dl sugar, 3/4 dl flour, 2 whole eggs, 2 yolks. Melt the butter, chocolate and sugar in a bain marie (as cool as possible). Add the eggs and flour. Stir. Pour in suitable tins. Preferably single ones. Not like the ones we used in this photo! Put in refrigerator. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 200°C.
The sorbet is made from 6 dl. frozen dark elderflower syrup/concentrate mixed with water to a suitable sweetness. The mix should still be half frozen. Zest and juice from a lime is added. 3 egg whites are whipped and mixed. Put in freezer. If you don't have an ice cream machine, stir every now and then to get the best texture. (One kitchen appliance, we don't have – yet).
This is our most difficult serving as getting the chocolate fondant out of their baking tins take some time and so when we get the last one out and come into sit with our guests, some have already eaten theirs and asks for seconds, but alas, we have no more! Makes us wonder if we made too little food....
This is served with a glass of 2005 Chateau de Rayne Vigneau, 1er Gand Cru Sauternes.

Our big-city-kitchen is very small and does not posses a dishwasher, so we are grateful for all our guests who might not have been prepared for this kind of dinner party where everyone was made to work for their food, either as kitchen help, serving or dish washers. Which they very willingly did. THANKS!

Pinot Noirs and what to eat after a wine tasting

Tonight T gets inspired be the newsletter from aov.dk. It is a nice source of wine events in Denmark and maintains a calendar that is very helpful. Know your Pinot noir catches the eye and so we go to Kjær og Sommerfeldt for a wine tasting of various Pinot Noirs.
The first is a cava rosé from Cordoniu. Fine bubbles and well balanced and dry, but not that complex - a nice aperitif (7/10).
Next is a 2008 Burgundy Pinot Noir from Chateau Meursault, which is a little bland, but has a nice aftertaste (6,5/10).
The next wine is from California, where the mists flowing in over Monterrey bay give the colder climate required for Pinot Noir. The wine is a 2009 Fog head (something that most Danes have a little difficulty pronouncing). Still, it is much too jammy to our taste and furthermore the 14,5% removes most of Pinot's elegance, we think. 6/10.
After this comes a bottle from Oregon, a 2008 Erath. This is much more to our liking, but still not too complex, 6,7/10
The next one is a 2009 Tasman Bay from New Zealand. It takes a little time in the glass, but after a little while it displays itself very nicely, well balanced and with a long aftertaste. 7,5/10
Now, it is time for some real Pinot Noir - a 2006 Vougeot from Le Clos du Prieuré Rouge. We like it very much, but when you compare the price tag (45€) to the Tasman Bay's (14€) it is simply too expensive. Still it is well balanced with a long aftertaste 8/10.
The last wine of the tasting is also Californian from Russian River valley - a 2008 Sequana from Dutton ranch Vinyard. Like the Fog head, this is also quite jammy, but the fruit is more easily discernible and better balanced. The aftertaste is also long and smooth. However, K thinks that it is a bit over-designed, which almost kills the pinot noir's elegant hallmark notes. 7,5/10.

We are now in a difficult situation with regards to dinner. It's a bit late and this calls for something quick and we would like to continue drinking Pinot Noir for dinner. In the end we opt for speed and go home and prepare an Spaghetti al'arrabiata, but alas we cannot drink Pinot to this and settle for a Rendola Rosso di Montalcino 2007.

The sugo is made out of 200 gr diced pancetta, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 onion, parsley, a generous splash of white wine and 500 gr de-seeded fresh san marzano tomatoes... and of course chili.
The de-seeding of the tomatoes is done by squeezing hard over the sink until the seeds splash all over the walls and not where they are aimed.

We take one whole chili and decide to de-seed half of it. K, always the one most keen on spicyness decides that rather than de-seeding one side, we should de-seed the lower half as there is no seeds in that part. She gets away with it and that's good because it turns out that this is just right.

While the spaghettini are boiling, fry the pancetta, add the 'dryer' (onion, garlic, chili) ingredients to soften when the pancetta is tanned, then the tomatoes and herbs and a tiny squeeze of tomato paste. Add wine, s/p and perhaps a bit of sugar or honey if the tomatoes are not in super shape. When mixing with the pasta you might want to add a bit of the pasta water if it seems too dry. And a bit of your best olive oil – just for taste and texture. Serve with grated parmasan cheese. 8/10

The dish and wine serves its purpose and even though we try to watch a movie neither of us stays awake for more than a few minutes.

Garlic galore

Tonight is an occasion for one of the quick dishes. After driving all the way from Copenhagen to Helsingør (Elsinore) and going to the gym we arrive home a little late and this calls for something quick, which oftentimes mean pasta. As it is Friday we do not have any customer meetings or similar the after and we can go all in on the garlic. Thus it is Penne con aglio e prezzemolo. That is with garlic and parsley. This is quick and simple.

2 handfuls of parsley – coarsely chopped

5 cloves of garlic (adjust according to your preference – 5 will be quite strong)

2 spoonfuls of grated parmesan

1 spoonful of butter

salt

olive oil

Mix it all in a bowl. 

For three persons we take 500 grams of penne. When cooked pour in to the bowl, mix and serve.

We also make small saltimbocca just to have a little meat (post-training proteine). At the supermarket we have found a package of 6 small pieces of veal. They look nice and pink before T pounds them with the root of his hand. He may not be quite as angry as last time we made it, but he still manages to flatten them. This time we make it without the parma ham.

T has mistimed the pasta, so the meat is ready long before the pasta and that means that it is a bit too cold when we sit down and eat. The pasta, however, is just what we need and we generously award it 8,5/10

Since T's fridge is chronically too cold the green salad that we had planned to have with our meal has to be substituted by a small tomato salad with red onion and basil. The green salad is frozen and ends up in the bin. For the dish we drink a bottle of Volpolo 2007. This is the second wine of the Super Tuscan producer, Podere Sapaio. It is by now more well balanced than it was half a year ago when we first tasted it. At that time, the tannins were too harsh, but now, decanted and served at 15-16 degrees it is very nice. 8/10 and together with the food also 8/10.

Leftover but not left out

We ate almost all the osso buco but some sugo (gravy) and little pieces of veal were left in the pot. The perfect base for pasta al sugo. And as always with braised dishes, it tastes even better the following days: Not much work in that – cook the pasta, heat the sugo, sprinkle some parmesan and a few leaves of basil. Primo – Basta! It doesn't get much better. 8,5/10
A glass of Echeverria Chardonnay 2005 on the side completes the dish.

For secondo we make (whole) chicken breast on the bone with fried potatoes and insalata mista (green salad).
Rosemary and s/p is put under the chicken skin.
The chicken is browned in a pan and put in the oven at 170° for about 30 min with pieces of lemon.
Organic chicken tend to need longer time at lower temperature than the 'industrial' chicken.
They live longer, have better lives and taste better.

Potatoes cut in pieces of choice and cooked in a pan with a small dash of olive oil, herbs, s/p. 7,7/10

To this dish we drank a very nice Grant Burge Filsell old vine Shiraz 2000. 8/10.
Good, mature wine – lousy mix. 6,5/10

Sorry for the unsharp photos. Winter is approaching and daylight is rapidly vanishing. The blitz outshines all details and we're practicing steady hands but are not yet there – as you can see.

Spaghetti alle Vongole

One of our all-time-favourites is Spaghetti alle Vongole Veracci. A dish we both have sampled through the years on several trips to Italy. And have been trying to recreate on several occasions – both separately and together. In fact it was the favorite dish of MK for a couple of years until she turned her attention to Pesto.

To get venus clams in Denmark is not an easy task. If you are to buy it through regular channels you will have to order in advance as fishmongers will not take this home as part of their standard offering. Today T got it from Metro where it can be found now and then (but please don't tell anyone). Like all good Italian pasta dishes the recipe is very simple even if does have a thousand variations, depending upon the maker.

This is how we made it today.

For two hungry persons (OK we are often hungry but on this day we had been working out and could be so with a clearer conscience)

One shallot finely chopped
1½ half de-seeded chili
2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
Olive oil
800-900 grams of venus clams
Chopped parsley
A squeeze of lemon juice
App. 2 glasses of dry white wine
2 spoonfuls of butter
s/p

3-400 gr Spaghettini

Once the pasta has been put into the water you have approximately 10 minutes to prepare the vongole

Fry the shallot, garlic and chilli in olive oil in a large Sauter pan for 30-40 seconds. Add the rinsed clams and let them cook for app. 3-4 minutes. Add the white wine and lemon juice and heat up. Add the parsley and butter and finally stir it all together with the drained pasta and serve.

– Today was one of the better editions, to say the least.

We had a bottle of Donnafugata Vigna di Gabri Contessa Entellina 2009 from the Ansonica grape. It was intense and with some fresh acidity that goes well with the dish. We make it 9/10 for the dish, 8/10 for the wine and together 9/10. At other times we have been drinking some of the other Italian whites. T prefers the Greco di Tufo for this dish, but alas we didn't have any on this occasion.

Beaune - Encore fois

For the third time in a year we arrive at Beaune in Burgundy and as again we are treated with a sunny day. As usual we arrive a little late in the afternoon and have to try different places in order to get lunch.

We end up at the Grand Café Lyon and predictably we order Meursault et Escargot. This may not be the recommended combination, but we like the sound of it and since will surely be the last summer day for us for some time we have enjoy the feeling of sitting outside at a cafe table, drinking white wine. The snails (escargots) are disappointing and have a earthy taste. Maybe they were not tortured long enough on a salt tray or maybe they have gone bad. The latter may not be the case as we suffer no long term effects. The Meursault is ok.

We also have Le Plat du Jour, which today is Coq au Vin with Tagliatelle. This is ok, but K believes we can do better ourselves one day in the not too far future (so look out for that). Another problem is the Tagliatelle, which she don't think is the proper compagnon for this dish, just like it isn't for Beouf Bourgignon, despite the fact that the rest of Beaune thinks so. Well, almost. But more on that later.

Overall we have become spoilt and for lunch this is quite nice. Overall we rate the lunch as a 6,5/10 and the wine as 7,5/10.

The afternoon is spent researching which wines we should purchase and also to find some more clothes for T who has not packed sufficiently. The research has two steps. First we read up on the latest vintage and the producers who have done well. In Burgundy this means getting a list of wines of €100+ which actually doesn't help a lot, but is enough to make us envious. Secondly we visit the various wine shops and in Beaune there are many. We try to find a wine that can serve as a benchmark (in Chateauneuf it was the Beaucastel). In Beaune it is more difficult because the variuos producers are sold by various shops. Often we end up at Denis Perret who also has the best location on the town square. Another wine shopping/research activity is to go to one of the supermarkets. In France we have often made good purchases in a supermarket and it also gives us some more prices for our benchmark. On this occasion we find a bottle of 1997 Chateau Lynch Bages and the price given underneath is €11. Clearly this must be a mistake and we discuss what to do. In the end we opt for taking one and if it indeed only costs €11 we will re-enter and get the rest. As it is we conme to the counter and when scanned it costs €57. We point out that it should cost 11 and a clerk follows T down to the shelf and takes out the price tag and so we get the bottle for €11, but as she has removed the tag we cannot get the remaining 5 bottles. Incidentally a local man behind us in queue nodded approvingly despite the fact that we were purchasing bordeaux in burgundy.

In the evening we go to Caves Madeleine. This is a return visit as we were here in March and enjoyed it hugely. It is a small place with a good basic kitchen. 

Wine-wise the concept is a little special as you can select your wine from the shelves to bring home or have it with your dinner at an additional cost of €6. On the face of it this seems like a good deal, but our general research suggests that there already has been added €5-10. Nevertheless as we are Danish we are used to huge markups on wine bought at restaurants (300-400%). Still, we like the concept and we spend some time selecting a 2007 Meursault from Albert Bichot and a 2006 Pommard also from Albert Bichot. Both are very good, but of course you can get better. In Burgundy the cap on your credit card quickly becomes the limiting factor and by now we fear that the magnetic strip has worn off.

The menu is small, but this is in our view by no means a bad thing. There are 3 entrees and 3 main courses to select and then we can choose between cheese or dessert.

K is the most adventurous by far and she choses the Terrine Campagne de la Maison for entree, while T selects a Cassoulet Escargot. K's terrine is good and rustic. The combination of a piece of toast, sonme terrine and on top a conichon is a deligthful mouthful. But alas, there is much too much. It is a big piece of terrine and we have to leave some. 

T's cassoulet is good and much more the size of an entree. The garlic sauce is just perfect with sufficient garlic and not too fat. And then there is a potato in there, which has not been overcooked! We rate the terrine as 8/10 and the same for the same for the cassoulet. The Meursault is good and this time we actually manage to save some for our cheese, but it was a close call.

For the main course K waver, but in the end she gives in to her adventurousness and orders the tongue in a broth with vegetables and served with Sauce Bearnaise. K is positively surprised and enjoys her meal. The bearnaise is very well made, but somewhat surprising to get a sauce served to a soup, but the acidity and richness of it suits the dish well. 

T who is not as adventurous choses the Beouf Bourgignon and this time it is even served with poatatoes and a small piece of toast. It is a nice solid dish and the sauce is very nicely powerfully concentrated.

Finally le fromage. Not much to say - just eat.



Overall we rate our meals to 8,5/10 each. K later analyses the meal and concludes that she might have been carried away by the positive surprise of liking tongue and perhaps this is a dish that would be nice as a smaller part of a menu with more courses.

It is good that this is our last day on this vacation. But our reckoning we should be so inebriated that we might have problems finding our way to the Hotel la Cloche 200m away, but we are not. The hotel, by the way, is quite nice and affordable. Good size rooms, clean, right on Place Madeleine and both the coffee and the croissants served for breakfast were good.

San Sebastian – Akelare

Today we relax in the city of San Sebastian. We take a walk to the old part of the city and around the enormous beach – La Concha pratically in the city center and surrounding the a bay with a narrow inlet. The weather is fair and T who has once again forgotten his bathing trousers buys yet another pair in dusty blue.



A walk around the harbor brings us to a small very busy restaurant where we take lunch in the form of a stuffed crab for K and grilled sole for T and to this a mixed green salad. we have a bottle of Albariño with it. It is a nice meal on a nice day, even though T observes (as usual) that the potatoes appear to be mashed potatoes formed as potatoes. It seems to us that potatoes are over cooked in most parts of southern Europe.

What we are really waiting for this day is our eagerly anticipated visit to the restaurant, Akelare.

We take a cab up into the mountainous area and arrive at a beautifully located and modern house on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. Unfortunately it is now dark but we suspect that panoramic view is lovely in daylight. As it is we settle for seeing the occasional lantern in the dark.

The interior of Akelara is held in warm earthy shades of beige, grey and dark wood. We are welcomed to a spacious table for two. We choose to have one of each of the two tasting menus, the ARANORI (T) and the BEKARKI (K). First a glass of great cava, that we did not get the name of.

The menus both start with a plate of what looks like a sponge, soap, hand cream, bath salt and mouth wash.
It is: sponge – onion, soap – tomato and basil gel
hand cream made of idiazabal cheese
bath salt... salty – prawn cracker like.
mouth wash ... well bitter mouth wash. Perhaps a bit campari-like

T has prawns and French Beans cooked in “Orujo” Fire. The waiter comes to the table with a small iron pot and lights the pot with a match. The dish is nice, but maybe the effect is bigger than the result.

K has Crab Essence, its Coral Blini and "Gurullos". Very well put together. The rice grains are actually pasta, and has a seaweed as an extra herb. And it all has this intense taste of sea that seems to be inherent not only to Akalelare but to most of the meals we eat in San Sebastian. It is like the smell of the concha.

We both have a glass Albariño do Ferreiro – a good companion. 

For the next dish T has Molluscs in Fisherman's net.This is wide collection of tastes from the sea and beautifully served with "a fisherman's net" of rice. As we conclude later, a very significant trait of the meals we have in San Sebastian is that the seafood dishes really taste of seafood, whereas we at other times only get the white fish meat.

K has Razor Shell with Veal Shank and cauliflower mushroom. A theme of textures, flavours and contrasts. The veal shank is the actual bone prepared to a texture of gel. The razor shell almost raw. Excellent.

We both have a glass of white wine from Priorat. This is a white Grenache from Trio Infernal. T likes it a lot, whereas K has some reservations which predictably relates to the barrel aging.

For the next dish T has a Pasta carpaccio with Piquillo and Iberico Carpaccio, Mushrooms and Parmesan and Arugola (Rucola). The effect is that of meat even if it is vegetable. (Which of course is much to T's taste).

T has a 100-year old sherry (well not all of it)

K has a Sautéed Fresh Foie Gras with "Salt Flakes and Grain Pepper". Again perceptions deceive and the pepper is in fact popped black rice and the salt flakes are sugar based. It is very simple and the foie is cooked to perfection. T's experience with sauteed foie gras has not been entirely positive, but after a mouthful of the dish he concedes that this is perfectly prepared – the inside is preserved, i.e. not warm.

Along with the foie gras K has a cider, Malus Mama from 2009. This was very special, and predictably well selected by our sommelier. He is an unobtrusive man who is also very professional. His quiet remark that local wines were not the same as Spanish wines was a reminder that San Sebastian is in fact Basque country. He livened much up when we could tell him that we had just arrived from Bordeaux and had seen harvesting commencing in some places.

The next dish for T came in a box apparently filled with sawdust that nevertheless were edible. T thinks it may have been lightly fried vegetables, some of it potatoes – "Desalted" Cod Box with Shavings

K – Squid Broth, mini squid and Fried Bread.
Again a play with textures and taste. The black squid made of paper like material and the squid cooked at low temperature.

To drink we have Ossian 2009 which is a Verdejo based wine from Rueda

Next, T has Whole-Grain Red Mullet with Sauce "Fusili".
The whole-grain part is because there are small "pralines" of the mullet's head, bones and liver. Along with this fusili with soy, parsley and "ajo blanco"

K – Turbot with its "Kokotxa".
Served with chips of the turbot skin and pil-pil sauce.

To these dishes we are both served a full-bodied red wine, called Demencia, which our Sommelier tells us is a word-play used as the grape used is Mencia.

Now, T has Grilled Lamb with Wine Lees. The

dish is accompanied with a Regina Vides 2004 from Ribera del Duero. It is excellent and because the kitchen is just a little behind when coming to this dish our sommelier has served this a couple of minutes early so they have to give us another glass. The next bottle is also a Ribera del Duero from 2004 this time from Bodegas Trus.

K – Roasted baby Pork with Tomato “Bolao” and Iberian emulsion. The pork is served with crispy skin, fillets of tomato and crisp sugar-tomato meringue. A bit on the sweet side to K's taste but beautifully prepared.

We now come to the desserts and K has Milk and Grape, Cheese and Wine in parallel evolution.
The plate went right to left from curded sheep milk – a very clean milk taste, through powdered fresh cream, quark cheese, idiazabal semi-matured, a torta of grape and raisins to very rich gorgonzola ice cream.

K has a glass of 30 year old Oloroso Dulce, Metusalem.

T gets Xaxu and foaming Coconut Ice Cream. He is told to eat it in a hurry as the coconut ice cream will otherwise collapse. Maybe that is the reason he forgets to take a picture of it, but if you are missing this picture go and have a look at it on the restaurants website: akelarre.net
T has a glass of Jorge Ordonez Old vines.

The last dessert for T is  "Another Apple Tart" which is wrapped in paper made from apple and printed with chocolate letters, Akelare of course.
We conclude that the restaurant's name is spelled with just one r with an accent aigue, but in writing this seems to translate into double-r.

K's meal is concluded with a beautiful Peach Flower. Peach prepared in three different ways and not least the spectacular rose also made of peach. 

To this we have a glass of dessert wine from Chivite

To drink

Finally a tiny brandy, coffee and petit fours. Not because we need it, but just because we would like to extend our stay for a little longer.

We have not rated the different dishes and the accompanying wine, because there was so much, but we arrive at an overall 9,8/10. You might think that the rate should be higher – and perhaps it should, but what if we need to use a higher rate in the future?