Comeback

Well, it has been a while and we have been feeling more and more guilty about it. So let’s get over the explanations and just say that we have been very busy and in the meantime managed to buy a house together, which of course is a great joy. One of the benefits is a a large greenhouse which we have used for planting a few vegetables of our own and thus the summer has presented us with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, chillies and not the least squash and eggplant. The last two, like the rest is nearing end of season and so we harvest the last few for this nights dinner, Pollo alla Diavola. 
For a long time we have been leaning towards the organic chickens from Irma, but recently a test published in our newspaper rated the Løgismose free-range chicken available at Netto better than our preferred one and so of course we need to try it.
The recipe is one that K has tried hundreds of times and it has probably evolved a little over time. Initially the chicken is prepared. The back bone is cut out and the chicken is spread out butterfly-style.
The back bone and wing ends end up in a pot for stock.

A marinade is poured over the chicken to marinade for two hours:
zest and juice of 1.5 lemon
handful of sage leaves
one whole chili – deseeded if you're (a) chicken
3 cloves of garlic
about 1/2 dl of olive oil
salt and peper

The chicken is placed in the oven at 180°C for 45-60 min. Drip when you remember.
Add some liquid (wine, stock, apple juice) if it dries out.

We eat it with italian-style bread to help sponge up some of the good chicken marinade

The conclusion: the Løgismose chicken is the best! Moist and tasteful. Just delicious!

In the meantime we have taken our vegetables and cut them in slices a little less than a centimeter thick. These are then grilled on a pan and then placed on a platter, sprinkled with a good olive oil a little salt and inevitably some lemon zest.

We pick one of our last bottles of Podere 414 2008 Morelino di Scansano and momentarily consider entering the wine import business. To the best of our knowledge this cannot be purchased in Denmark and we definitely think it should. Overall we rate it 8/10 and with the food we arrive at 9/10, but we are also a bit happy on this evening

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.

Lemon Chicken

MK's eating habits are still evolving. Like many other kids we know, she will put all kinds of things on her plate and then end up eating next to nothing. Not because she doesn't like the food, but her appetite is just not that big. While she needs to learn not to take more than she can eat, T still envies the other side of it and that is to stop when you are no longer hungry. Since that is not the case, he has to be careful about his diet with Christmas and everything coming up. In the meantime, MK's favorite dinner is still a buffet.
Tonight, MK has dined at a friend's but she routinely asks if we have eaten and since we haven't, what's for dinner. When she hears that we are cooking K's famous lemon chicken she decides that she will have dinner once more.
The chicken is cut into eight pieces and placed in a dish on top of pieces of red beet and parsnip,  garlic and herbs - in this case parsley and thyme, s/p. MK did not want us to put wine in the dish, despite assurances that she would not be able to taste it. So, K tried something new and added some apple juice for sweetness and acidity. This was very successful with the root crops. Finally pieces of lemon cut into eights. This was the put into the oven at 180 degrees for an hour. Occasional dripping of the juice from the bottom of the dish to keep the chicken juicy - and it was.

Furthermore to add some vegetables we took half a butternut squash and cut it into cubes. This was fried in a little bit of olive oil on a hot pan and sprinkled with flakes of salt.
And then, of course, some green salad.
From the outset we were aiming at Sangiovese (naturally), but then opinions differed. T suggested an Il Grigio (Chianti Classico Riserva), but K felt it should be something without the barrel aging and so we went for a bottle of Riecine 2008 Chianti Classico. And we filed that under a success for K's position. So, coming to the ratings we make the dish 8/10, the wine 7,5/10 and together 8/10.

Tough monday

Veal roast beef ... grey and tough – a bit like the weather ... with lentils.
Salad, green beans, carrots and zucchini
– at least the vegetables were tender and the company good.

To drink:
Brunello Riserva Campo ai Lecci 2005 7/10
Brunello Rendola 2005 7,2/10
Rosso di Montalcino Rendola 2007 7,5/10

Champions League

Having been apart for more than a day we obviously need to celebrate our reunion. Not only that, but also the fact that the soccer season was starting to take off and T will start becoming jittery if dinner is not finished at 20:45.

To celebrate we had:
Primo
Ravioli al Tartufo bianco (bought in the local store) served with at little melted butter and parmesan.
To drink a Friulano 2007 from Livio Felluga
Very floral, citrus but also with a hint of exotic wood. 8/10







Having Primo and Secondo is not a Danish thing (but then again we haven't presented something truly Danish here yet), and particularly not on a regular weekday. That will not deter us and we often start off with a small serving of pasta. Fresh pasta is a to be preferred, but not all fresh pasta is good. If we have the time we will make it ourselves, but on this evening we opt for one of our favorites from Irma.

Secondo
Veal cutlet with sage and marsala
Zucchini, tomatoes, and a tossed salad.
Le Difese 2007, Tenuta San Guido.

The Difese is the 3rd wine from the legendary Sassicaia-winery San Guido. It is made from
Sangiovese and Cabernet 30/70%.
We have tasted the Difese through several vintages. The 2007 has been a bit disappointing the last couple of times we opened a bottle (also surprisingly many bottles were corked), but tonight it was excellent (7,5/10). It had opened up with nice fruit from both the Sangiovese and Cabernet, one not overwhelming the other but supplementing and it went very well with the food. 8,5/10.
Next time we will decant the Difese.

The dinner was not quite finished before the game started, but never-the-less T showed enormous restraint and stayed at the table. And the game ended well.

Penne con straccetti e rucola

In the beginning of our relationship we decided to make a list of 10 dishes that could be made in 10 minutes. Of course this was not because we do not like to cook, but just a result of the golf season, the concert season and the summer. Monday night was an occasion for one of our quick dishes, if ever there was one. Arriving home late after a reception we embark on our penne con straccetti e rucola. This dish was inspired by something K had in Rome some years ago (but not as a pasta dish) and maybe also something T has tried to recall (unsuccessfully). Whatever, here goes...

Two sirloin steaks are cut into thin strips and fried briefly on a hot pan (if T remembers he has to wait until it's hot). Cook the pasta in the meantime. After the strips have fried, take them off and fry 3 cloves of garlic and one red onion. Not for long as the garlic must not be burned and the red onion must not become soft. Toss in 200g de-seeded San Marzano tomatoes, add the meat and 200g rucola and a generous splash of good balsamico. Finally put in the cooked and drained pasta and toss it all together. Serve with grated parmesan and lots of freshly ground black pepper. (We refrained from the pepper since MK had an appetite for an additional dinner serving. Her young taste buds are not yet set for pepper. She had already had dinner at her grandmothers while we were at the reception. In any event, the dish is delicious on its own.)

T loves pasta, but has to concede that it is not entirely healthy for him. K often suggests to use a whole-grain variety, but this is not possible when the kids are home. Today, we expected to be eating on our own despite the kids being home, so we went for the 50/50 variety, which we can buy at Irma and to this dish it works marvelously adding a nice nutty flavour. For two hungry adults and a not-so hungry 6-year old we use appr. 300g of Penne pasta.

It can be a challenge to cook according to the latest health bulletins and still make everybody happy. In many dishes the whole grain pasta tastes like oat meal and has the texture of sawdust. So we have been looking for pasta that didn't taste too 'healthy' and have come up with this variety from il fornaio. In many dishes we still use the classic white grain variety, but the 50/50 actually adds to some dishes.

To this we select sangiovese, as we often do when having pasta. Today we chose a bottle of Podere 414, Morellino di Scansano from 2008. We found this, when we were in Siena last year and it was a very pleasant surprise then, as it is now (but no surprise). Very well balanced with good acidity and notes of cherry(seed). Not being modest we rate the meal, the wine and the combination as 9/10 on a day where it all worked to near perfection.

Red Pasta

When T's children are home they normally get to choose a dish once. Navigating away from Pasta Bolognese,  Lasagne and Nachos is always a battle. Today it is time for Red Pasta. Now this may exist to some extent in Italy, but the original recipe came from an old friend (and it may well be his only contribution to the modern cuisine). In its original form it was bacon in tomato sauce with cream. Today, T has made it of pancetta in a Soffreto of garlic and shallots. Add to that some concentrated tomato paste that is fried before adding some red wine from the enormous selection of left overs (we will always be able to make braised meat dishes for 30-40 people, should the need occur). Add to that some vegetable stock (the latter probably means that the dish become too salty for M's taste, but fine with us). And finally when it has simmered for a while, add the cream. At this stage an epic power battle ensues. M tries to make T add extra cream, using a modified citation from the Brothers Price – Rigeligt med fløde T tries to make a stand, but caves in (just a little) eventually. Rød Pasta (8/10)



To this we drink the Poggio Valente 2007 Morelino di Scansano from Fattoria La Pupille (8/10)

Wine/food matching (7/10)

Take-away, part 1 – Pizza

Yet another golf day for T and a late return home. Even the plans to go north were discarded due to the late hour and T picked up pizzas on the way home.
Danish pizza is oftentimes an abomination. They are overloaded with all kinds of toppings that are often foreign to the concept of pizza and they seem to adhere to the notion that you cannot have "too much of a good thing". Well, you can.
Some pizzerias are actually owned by Italians and while their menus also contain some Danish pizzas you can also find some that resemble the real thing, i.e. a thin, crisp crust, easy on the tomato sauce and cheese and one (or maybe two) toppings.
Tonight we visited La Fiorita in Nanesensgade and bought the Diavola. The topping was italian salame picante. And then some fresh chilli. Quite hot. Another pizza was almost the same, though T cannot recall the name, but in stead of fresh chillies a couple of anchovies were spread on the pizza. (8/10) and to this a bottle of Casanuova Chianti Classico Riserva from 2004 (8/10).
Wine/food matching 8.5/10

Steak sandwich for the re-born golfer

T had had a hard day on work and on the golf course and one never knows if that means gloomy moods or head held high, but it always means late dinner and a healthy appetite.

And that calls for a steak sandwich:

Meat:

flank steak marinated in lemon (+ zest), soy and fish sauce, garlic, shallots, chili, sesame oil, white wine, a dash of syrup and salt/pepper. cooked on the grill pan

A 'mayo' of cannellini beans:

blended beans, garlic, anchovies, parsley, lemon, olive oil, s/p.

corn cut off the cob, red onion, garlic, fresh chili, fennel, all cooked on a very hot pan. First the corn until it starts popping, then the other stuff. Finish off with a bit of good sweet balsamic vinegar, s/p and herbs.

Bread roasted on the grill pan and lettuce.

Voila, Steak sandwich for the re-born golfer 9/10

With that a humble but very satisfying Rosso di Montalcino 2007, Rendola, a so called meat-ball-wine (frikadelle vin) 8,5/10
Wine/Food matching 8,5/10

T had found his golf swing again.
As it was it was head held high for both T and K :)