Snow and the holidays

Snow has finally arrived in Copenhagen! We had a little bit come down on Friday night, but not enough to stick. Saturday was a beautiful, if cold, sunny day. Today, though, we woke up to this sight.

Even though there wasn't snow on the ground before today, Denmark started putting up Christmas decorations in late November. I am a bit of Grinch, so I have refused to acknowledge the decorations until the first of December. Since December has finally arrived, Bobby and I went downtown to see some of the decorations and to try out our new camera.

In the streets, garlands and Christmas hearts hang overhead. In the large luxury store Illum, the decorations include this nearly life-size reindeer.

On an unrelated note, Bobby and I went to a fantastic restaurant last Tuesday to celebrate (once again) our 10 year anniversary. Accompanied by our good friends and fellow foodies Thomas and Thomas (whom, you may remember, joined us at past restaurant excursions, including Noma in Copenhagen, Bloom in the Park in Malmö, Sweden, and the Ledbury in London), we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Kokkeriet. We ordered the full menu, which is six courses accompanied by 6 different wines. In addition to the six courses, we also had 3 or 4 different starters, including this fantastic foie gras rolled in veal.

I can't remember all of the starters (they aren't listed on the menu), but I did enjoy every single one. We then dived into the 6 course menu, which started with a fantastic foamy onion soup with marinate red onion peel, fried pearl onions and chive oil, accompanied by a 2011 Pino Gris, Grand Cru Altenberg. Pictured here is the second course, seared scallops with glasswort, seaweed, and sea buckthorn, which was accompanied by a 2010 Chablis, Premier Cru Vau de Vay.

The third course was zander (a Nordic fish) with cabbage, egg yolk, and hazelnuts, accompanied by a 2000 Champagne Blanc de Blanc, Brut Nature. The fourth course was smoked lamb with sweetbread, tongue, dill and shrimp bouillon, accompanied by a 2010 Morey-Saint-Denis. The fifth dish, pictured here, was out-of-this-world amazing! It is a venison shank, which was brought to the table on the bone, served with scorzonera, mushrooms, and a white chocolate and licorice sauce (the black sauce in the picture), accompanied by a 2007 Roda Reserva, Rioja. The flavor of the venison and the sauce was heavenly. Once we finished our serving, the waiter asked if we wanted a second portion! I have never been asked this in a restaurant! Neither Thomas the younger nor I could accept, but Bobby and Thomas the elder both took a second serving. The final dish was a dessert of green apples with fresh yogurt, fried bread, and a tarragon film. The dessert was served with a 2009 Riesling Auslese, Von de Lay. After the meal, we were served petit fours with coffee. This was such a fantastic meal, and I would highly recommend the restaurant to anyone with a love of food!