Strawberries

We have just returned home from a wonderful holiday in Italy. A week of seafood and white wine means that we by now crave for some red wine and what better than a nicely chilled (15-16) Chateauneuf du Pape. We find a bottle of Mont-Redon 2007 and so it is just a matter of what to eat.

Becoming used to the Italian style of a Primo and a Secondo we need to figure out what to start with and since Irma has chanterelles on offer we naturally go for a crostini with chanterelles.

Chanterelles crostini:
Rinse the chanterelles but try to avoid using water. Fry in good olive oil with some garlic, and a bit of herbs (on this day it was marjoram). When almost tender throw in a couple of deseeded fresh, sweet small tomatoes and a splash of lemon juice.
Serve on toasted bread and finish off with a bit of shaved parmesan cheese and lots of black pepper.



Another thing on offer and in season is a Danish trademark, strawberries. We have earlier experimented a bit with salad containing strawberries and so we try again. T prepares a salad of sliced strawberries, thinly sliced fennel and crumbled feta cheese. Add to that some mint leaves. The salad is topped with our best olive oil, raspberry vinegar, salt and pepper.

In the meantime K has marinated a flank steak (could be marinated like this, but on today it is olive oil, garlic, oregano, mint leaves, black pepper, lemon zest and juice and a bit of soy sauce.) which by now is grilled and when ready is sliced thinly. It all works out nicely and the Mont-Redon goes hand in hand with the strawberry salad 8,5/10

Chardonnay

Looking at the sidebar it is quite apparent that we enjoy a bottle of Chardonnay now and then. Friday night was yet another occasion and we felt like something special. We had been postponing buying new suitcases for a while but now we drifted into the center of Copenhagen and we made a small detour to L’esprit du vin. We have been meaning to go there for quite a some time after our tasting at Copenhagen Wine Forum. This store holds the agency for some of the best winemakers (Leroy and Peter Sisseck) and is very clearly run by people with great passion for wine and also great knowledge. Somewhat nerdy.
We give them a difficult task of suggesting a Friday wine. They are clearly trying to figure out how much we want to spend and it takes quite a while. In the end we settle for Meusault-Genevrières 2002 from Hospices de Beaune. We also buy some of Peter Sisseck's new wines, Quinta Sardonia and PSI, but they will have to wait for another occasion.
Since we are getting ready for our holiday, we decide to ”snack” rather than prepare a warm meal. We purchase various charcuterie and a Ølandshvedebrød (bread) from Meyer's bakery.
We manage to eat most of what we bought at Magasin – Mad & Vin. Pata Negra (Iberian ham), Finocchio (Italian fennel salami), Saucission Noisette (French salami with nuts), Terrine de trois foie, gruyere cheese and a sheep's milk cheese, the name of which have slipped our minds. Our sole contribution is some guacamole.
Word of advise: If you want to buy pata negra, then Torvehallerne is a third of the price of Mad og Vin (and then it is even correctly cut).

Oh, and then a small sin – Summerbird's Flødeboller. T’s sister found them first, but they are heavenly with white chocolate, marcipan and a hint of liquorice.

Reunion

T has been away on holiday and golfing for far too long and we have been looking forward to the reunion. T is close to exhausted after golfing for three days in sunny weather, but not enough so to miss the opportunity to celebrate and so we go to Torvehallerne late sunday afternoon to get inspired. Most of the booths have closed or are in the process of closing, but we find an open fishmonger and get six norwegian lobsters (langoustine) and half a tail of monkfish. We find a single booth selling bread and get a nice rosemary focaccia. Next we need some vegetables and we head out of the glass building only to find the shop closing down. We get to pick from produce not yet packed away and so we buy broad beans, fennel, tomato, chanterelles and strawberries. (The latter we keep for next morning's breakfast).
Home again we start figuring what to do with our purchases. We start making a crostini of the chanterelles. The chanterelles are fried in olive oil and garlic and fresh tomato, without seeds. It is all arranged on the toasted focaccia and topped with some parmesan shaving. With it we drink our wine, Villa Fidelia Bianco 2004 from Sportoletti. This Umbrian chardonnay was served to us on our very first date, but now we have come to the last bottle. 8/10.

Next up is the seafood, which is grilled in the oven. The langoustine are split in halves (well only the tails), drizzled with olive oil, and rolled in mixed herbs and lemon zest, grilled along with the monkfish (which get the same treatment) for app. 8-10 minutes. On the stove we prepare the vegetables (actually it is K who does it as T just sits and checks out the results from his golfing exploits).
1 fennel is diced and cooked in olive oil with 3 cloves of garlic, one huge tomato, lots of herbs, a bit of cayenne pepper and, for the last ten minutes, a handful of black olives.
On the side broad beans are cooked just tender (2 min) in salted water and cooled in ice cold water.
The best olive oil is added along with some sheep milk feta cheese.
With it we want something special and K has saved a bottle for just such an occasion: Vintage Tunina 2006 from Jehrmann 9/10

In good company

Happily, it is once again time to see good friends, I and A. A is a champagne connoisseur, so we will have to be sharp. I is in waiting and so there is so much more wine for the rest of us! And what wine it is, tonight.

Krug Grande Cuvée
Puligny-Montrachet Joseph Drouhin 2008
Sammarco 2007 Castello dei Rampolla
Sassicaia 2004
Sauterne random


We start with a bottle of Krug champagne and for snacks have some of T’s trademark almonds – soy-roasted and salted. Also, we try some broad beans with a bit of salt, since K is still preparing some for the starter and does not want to stay in the kitchen while the rest of us quickly soak up the champagne. The champagne is very nice and ”toasted.”
T's roasted almonds
The almonds are dry-roasted on a hot pan. Toss frequently in order to avoid scorching. After 5-6 minutes (for 200 grams) pour some soy sauce on and after 10 seconds add some salt, all the while tossing the almonds in the pan. As the soy is salty don’t exaggerate the salt. Let the almonds cool for 10+ minutes.

First course is Monkfish and broadbeans,
green and purple asparagus, Danish produce.
Beurre Blanc 
The monkfish has a great taste and texture – almost like lobster. When salted slightly before cooking the meat becomes even firmer.
It is cut in slices – one for each serving – and fried shortly in butter. The broad beans, with the white skin peeled off is added to the pan for a second.
The asparagus stalks are broken off. They snap exactly at the tender point so there is no reason to cut them. If you cut them, you may cut away too little resulting in tough bites or even worse, cut away too much of the wonderful, tender young asparagus.
The Beurre Blanc sauce is prepared by finely chopping 1½ shallots (the large banana shaped ones), put in a small pan with 1 dl of white wine and a spoonful of white vinegar. Cook until reduced to half and, strain, then add 125 g of butter cut into smaller cubes so that they can be whipped into the extract gradually. Turn off the heating quickly so it is done on the afterburn. No boiling!
We are quite satisfied and even the not-so-fond-of-fish guest scrapes the plate with rustic bread from il Fornaio in Torvehallerne. The Puligny-Montrachet goes well with the dish. It has good acidity and is not too ”fat”.

Since we supply the champagne, A is denied of opportunity to be the champagne-man for tonight, but has instead brought another special treat – the Sammarco 2007 from Castello di Rampolla. This is exceptional. We have decanted it immediately and after 2 hours we can approach it, but it is still child-murder to a little extent. We find no flaw, save for the fact that there is too little of it.

Back to the main course. For our main course we try something new. We presume that wild board will go well with the wine and by the end of the evening we also a rather satisfied with ourselves.

Cinghiale arrosto 
(Shoulder of wild boar roast)
1 small boneless shoulder (1.5 kg) is filled with a paste (the mortar again) of 1 spoonful fennel seeds, 3 fillets of anchovies, 3 cloves of garlic, a handful of oregano, a handful of rosemary, black pepper, a small spoonful honey, zest and juice of one lemon, a generous pour of olive oil, salt and lots of black pepper. Tie the roast tightly.
Put in the oven at 180° for about two hours with a bit of white wine in the bottom of the pan (add more wine along the way). Turn the roast frequently.

Fennel

The fennel cut in eights are added to the pan after one hour.
Whatever juices are left ind the pan – from the roast, white wine and fennel is used as sauce. Not much, but good.

New potatoes

Tossed endives with garlic and anchovies dressing
This dressing works great with any kind of bitter lettuce.
Dressing. Paste 2-3 anchovies with 1-2 cloves of garlic, olive oil (the best kind, always), a splash of white wine vinegar in the mortar. Mix thoroughly with the lettuce.
No salt – the anchovies are plenty salty




Now, as we mentioned, there was a small problem with the Sammarco and we need to take care of it. We can’t really see any other solution to the problem than to continue in the Super Tuscan track and so we open a bottle of Sassicaia 2004. It is exceptional with fine rounded fruit and at this stage more mature for drinking than the Sammarco.

Time for a little cheese and luckily we have saved a glass of the Puligny-Montrachet.

Finally there is only the dessert left:

Baked rhubarb with sour cream and almond cookies.

The rhubarbs are cut in pieces of app 2 cm and put in an oven proof pan in one layer. Orange zest, one stalk of vanilla and a generous pour of cane sugar is added. Cover with foil. Cooked at 180° for 20-25 min. Arrange on plates with the crumbled almond cookies and the sour cream.

We drink a little Sauternes of uncertain origin, but that is just for the sake of appearances as we have had about enough. T is on the verge of falling asleep and I and A are gracious enough to head home. We look forward to seeing a family of four next time!

Hornbæk – Søstrene Olsen

After the longest november ever, summer suddenly arrives in Denmark for a short visit. The temperature rises to the mid-20°-ies and all the locals shed their clothes to reveal different shades of white and surprisingly many actually already have a golden tan. K is envious and try to make up for it with a bronzing cream and ends up orange and spotted. But that is another story.

Anyway, the summer is short and sweet. After a week and a half the meterologists  predict a sudden temperature drop of 15° ...and rain, of course. Just 24 hours to countdown. So we decide to go to the quaint seaside town of Hornbæk to spend the last mild evening at a restaurant with outdoors seating. After a short stroll we decide on Søstrene Olsen. 

A pretty garden welcomes us and we are seated at a table with the setting sun shining generously. Of course we are not the only ones. It is the Monday of Pentecost, a holiday, and the place quickly fills up. MK decides on a plate of seawater-boiled shrimps and T&K wants sole, new potatoes and beurre blanc.

To drink Pouilly Fussé 2009, Joseph Drouhin. And a Fanta for MK. Bread and butter quickly arrives and after a while the shrimp and sole. (MK is hungry and think it takes a thousand years but actually it is within reasonable time). The plates look and taste fine – not more not less than what is expected. But the fish are not brought in from the sea the same morning and a little overcooked and compared to the servings of the neighboring table, very small. The shrimps are similarly acceptable but not wiggling their tails with freshness and the mayonnaise appear to be taken from a good jar.

We order 3 different kinds of dessert: Apple tart, chocolate cake and rhubarb terrine. The apple tart is nice and warm with a lightly frozen whipped cream, the chocolate cake has a soft center and the rhubarb a slight note of licorice. All plates are scraped clean. Two espresso to finish the night.
It was all ok and fine – but we end up with a 5,5/10 when considering  the prize which is rather high.

A quick Monday feast

Golf season is on and T will more and more often arrive home late. But, it is also pollen season and so K is under the weather (or pollen, as it is). We have almost negotiated the terms for a late Thai take-away when T passes Irma and discovers that opening hours have changed and it is now open until 8 PM and so T stops and takes a look. He finds some nice looking veal, but alas there is no sage. Despite the fact that we are cutting down on calories at the moment T persuades K to make veal the Milanese way. And so it is, Scaloppine Milanese.
There is still a long ride into Copenhagen from Elsinore and so we are glad to have a dish that will not take long to prepare:

The veal is soaked in one beaten egg and afterwards turned in bread crumbs seasoned with salt and pepper. They are then fried in a heated pan with melted butter and olive oil app. 3-4 minutes on each side. And now, the key to this dish: grated horse radish, anchovy, lemon slices and some capers.
For contorni we have some white aspergus boiled for a few minutes after being peeled. Also, a green salad with tomatoes, radishes and red onions for more crunch and crispness.
For the sake of good order we also have to toast a few small slices of bread, rubbed with a slice of garlic and just a sprinkle of olive oil.
In the end, it comes off as a feast and we are very happy with the result, 8/10. T was all the way into Copenhagen thinking of Nebbiolo, so we have a 2007 Barbaresco from Marchesi di Barolo (8/10) and it worked out very well together (8,5/10)

Copenhagen - Ché Fè

We have discovered that one of the better restaurants in our neighborhood, Acquamarina has been closed and another one opened in its place. As usual we have researched a little and found out that it is the same team that are behind the new restaurant. The team is famous in Denmark, mainly for their gourmet restaurant Era Ora, which has a certain significance for us. The former restaurant, Acquamarina had a concept of "Fish from heaven and wine from Italy". That certainly appealed to us, but so does the new concept of Ché Fè: Organic Italian food and so it has been just a question of how long the wait would be, before we visited the place. Not very long.
The menu has 4-5 antipasti, 4-5 primi and 4-5 secondi. Whereas we often select the same on this occasion we select as much as possible. For antipasti we select 7 small antipasti, "O Sole Bio", which on this occasion is

• A small ball of crumbed black rice
• Tuna on black bread
• Umbrian ham on toast
• Roastbeef powdered with breaded crumbs and orange zest
• Focaccia with a mild gorgonzola
• Umbrian sausage with fennel
• A small souffle of broccoli and capers

Everything was very nice, well-balanced and tasty.

For primo we ordered Creole which was pumpkin gnocchi with tomato sauce, chilli and basil. The gnocchi were not heavy and the tomato sauce was very good. The other primo was Piemonte proibito. This was a risotto of red and black rice with artichoke and Monteveronese cheese (and some orange zest). This was also very good, but considering the sizes of the dishes it was actually much more than what we could eat. And maybe too big a serving in general for a dish of "just risotto", but we cannot really complain about this as it was very good. With the primi we had a glass (well, actually a glass and a half) of the Verdicchio superiore, which we cannot recall and cannot find on the wine menu, but it was commendable.

We tried to order Perlizie, but that was no longer available, which we suppose is OK, since we arrived very late on a Sunday night. Instead we had the Tagliata di Vitello (veal steak with rosemary potatoes and a salad) and Pesando a domani which was braised veal with porcini. Both courses were good, but the steak was a bit too rare for T and we would have liked the otherwise very polite waiter to have asked how it was to be cooked. The braised veal was both very tender and tasty.

We had a bottle of Umbrian Villa Fidelia Rosso 2005 from Sportoletti. This was a Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Very potent nose, but still unmistakably Italian. We were aiming for some Sangiovese, but since the Chardonnay based Villa Fidelia Bianco is one of our long time favorites we had to try the red and we didn't regret it.

The restaurant is a welcome option when the fridge is empty and the shops are closed (or we just need to spoil ourselves a little on Sunday) and we will be back soon.