Asparagus feast at "Madhimlens Madhus"

Welcome to the asparagus feest at "Madhimlens Madhus"

Yesterday evening I went to the annual asparagus feast at "Madhimlens Madhus" together with my very good friends from Horsens as well as my cousin. The feast started out in courtyard with a glass of champagne and cutting board full of fried salmon skin, pig skin, cheese biscuits, asparagus in tempura dough and a kind of humus with burned pepper on the top. I likes most of these thing, but not the salmon skin, which really was tasting of fish, big surprise being the skin of a fish.

The cutting board full of snack

Well seated in the dining room we were served various types of bread together with whipped butter (whipped together with yogurt for extra freshness), smoked cheese and fresh cheese dip.

Bread and dips

Appetizer with asparagus

As a small appetizer we started off with thinly cut green asparagus and fish served in a parsley infused cream sauce.

First starter

As the first starter we were served marinated green asparagus in very thin slices, cured ham, egg yolk (heated at 150'C for 1½ hour) and wood sorrel. What a beautiful dish :-)

Second starter

As the second starter we got fried white asparagus, Norway lobster, green strawberries, deaf nettle topped with a whipped thin sauce. Another beautiful looking dish.

Main course

The main course was chicken from Hopballe Mølle, grilled green asparagus, spring onion, marinated red onions, wild watercress and asparagus sauce.

Even the dessert (called Bababer) was a mix of white asparagus (marinated in rhubarb cordial flavoured with vanilla, cardamon and star anise), rhubarb compote, baked dessert sauce topped with meringue drizzled with liquorice. Wonderful taste and texture experience :-)


For this meal I was paying 575  DKK incl a small wine menu (four small glasses of wine). I will give this experience 5 stars.

Dessert

White German asparasgus with dried Spanish ham

An excellent and easy way to have a meal during spring time: white German asparagus & dried Spanish ham.

Asparagus is one of my favourite vegetable, regardless of them being green or white. Last week-end I went to Flensborg with my good girl friend from Horsens on our yearly asparagus trip to by the white asparagus, which are not so normal to find in the Danish supermarkets.

You can serve this dish either as a starter or as main course. I enjoyed this plate as my evening meal.

I am really looking forward to this evening, where I together with my good friends from Horsens will participate in an asparagus event at Madhimlens Madhus filling myself with asparagus, uuuhhmmm :-) And I will take pictures of the various dishes for you to have a look very soon.

White asparagus with dried ham:

• white asparagus
• dried ham

1. Start by snapping off the lower end of the asparagus followed by peeling them from top to toe. I use a potato peeler for this.
2. Heat water in a cooking pot to the boilling point.
3. Add the asparagus and boil them for approx. 5 minutes.
4. Remove the asparagus from the boilling water.
5. Wrap dried ham around the asparagus - using one slice of ham for one stem of asparagus.
6. Serve right away together with a glass white wine.

Perch Hill Rhubarb cordial with orange and star anise

Rhubarb cordial with orange and star anise

I have found this specific recipe on Perch Hill Rhubarb cordial created by Sarah Raven in the Country Living issue May 2013. And more and less at the same time my good friends living in Horsens shared some photos from their garden with me, and here I noticed rhubarb in full growth. I took this a sign, that it was about time I made this season first rhubarb cordial.

My own rhubarbs are also growing, but they are less abundant, so I need a good starting portion from my friends´ garden in Horsens, which were delivered in person by my good girl friend.

If you wonder, why I have placed tulip heads in the cover picture with the rhubarb cordial, the reason is very simple. Hannibal the Cat, my BIG garden lion with a fighting weight of 7 kg, which is a big mouse hunter is also keen on bitting of the tulip heads of the growing tulips in my garden.

You should really try this rhubarb cordial, it has a great taste with an elegant touch of star anise.


Perch Hill Rhubarb cordial with orange and star anise:

• 2 kg rhubarb stems, roughly chopped
• 1.5 kg cold water
• 2 oranges (organic), 8 strips of the peel and juice from both fruits
• 8-10 star anise
• 600-800 g sugar



All the tasty ingredients prior to cooking

• 2-3 lemons

1. Cut the rhubarb stems into larges pieces, into pieces of 2 cm.
2. Add water and rhubarb into a the cooking pot. Add orange peel, orange juice and the star anise.
3. Cook it up and left it simmer gently for 5-10 minutes, until the rhubarb stems starts to look like rhubarb mash.
4. I prefer to keep the lid on the cooking pot on as much as possible in order to keep the  volatile part of the rhubarb flavour inside the cordial instead of loosing to the air.
5. Remove the cooking pot and place it cold away from the stove, let it rest for min. 1 hour
6. Remove the rhubarb pieces, orange peels and star anise from the cordial part using a sieve.
7. Mix rhubarb juice, lemon juice and sugar together, small addition of each ingredients, so you can adjust the sweetness and freshness to your desired preference.
8. Place the cooking pot on low heat and only heat up until, the sugar has been dissolved.
9. Pour the hot rhubarb cordial into bottles, which have been standing with boiling water for 5-10 minutes.
10. Store the rhubarb cordial in the refrigerator or freeze, as no anti-microbial have been added.

Rhubarbs growing in my garden

Potatoes popping their "heads" up

17 days after I have been planting potatoes in some special potato pots, they are clearly popping up their "heads" above the soil surface. It is so rewarding to see the growth of vegetables, which you have planted yourselves instead of just buying everything in the supermarkets.

Since I have been re-potting my various herbs late April, two new herbs have been moving into empty pots. So now flat-leaf parsley and rosemary are members of my "herb family".

Hindbærsnitter "Raspberry Cutting" a la Dr Oetker

I found a "real Dr Oetker recipe" in the latest issue ( issue 3/ 2013) of the magazine Isabella. By real Dr. Oetker I mean, as almost every second or third ingredients is Dr. Oetker ingredients such as the almond flour, vanilla sugar, baking powder, raspberry extract and decoration sprinkles !!!! Anyway, I have never baked the cake called Hindbærsnitte (Raspberry Cutting), so I decided to test this recipe out.

In my opinion the amount of the raspberry extract into the icing sugar could be reduced into ½ amount, as the overall flavour profile becomes a little to perfumed accoring to my taste preference.

Hindbærsnitte (Raspberry Cutting) a la Dr Oetker: - 14-16 pieces

• 200 g (cake) flour
• 50 g almond flour
• 50 g sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or 2 tablespoon home-made vanilla sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 150 g cold butter
• 25 g cold water
• 200 g raspberry jam
• 1 teaspoon raspberry extract
• 150 g icing sugar
• 3 teaspoon raspberry extract
• 2-3 teaspoon water
• decoration sprinkles

1. Mix flour, almond flour, sugar, vanilla sugar and baking powder together in a mixing bowl.
2. Cut the butter into smaller pieces, which is crumbled into the flour mix.
3. Afterwards add the cold water and knead the dough fast together.
4. Form the dough into a square, cover it with cling film and place for min 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
5. Meanwhile mix the raspberry jam and raspberry extract together.
6. Heat the (conventional) oven up to 200'C.
7. Roll the dough into a square with a size of 30x40 cm on a piece of baking paper and using the cling film for the upper of the dough, so the dough is not sticking to the rolling pin.
8. Place the baking paper with the dough on a baking tray.
9. Shread the raspberry jam on half of the dough and fold the rest of the dough on top of this jam layer. Use the baking paper as support, while you do this.
10. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven at 200'C for 18-20 minutes.
11. Let the cake cold down, before you decorate it.
12. Mix the icing sugar, raspberry extract and water into a icing layer, which should cover the upper part of the cake together with decoration sprinkles.
13. Cut the cake into smaller pieces. 

Dinner at "Le Congrès", Paris

Scallops

When I am in Paris, I normally try to enjoy an evening meal (if possible to the agenda) at the restaurant called Le Congrès Maillot. For me it is traditional French style restaurant, which has some very friendly waiters.

Kir Royal

This time I decided a Kir Royal as my starter, as I located a calorie loaded dessert as the finishing touch to this evening meal.

As main course I as usual I choice scallops, which I have eating at many occasion at this restaurant, as they big and perfect in texture. This time the scallops was served together with a small hollowed zucchini with various vegetable in a  light tomato sauce containing some more vegetable. Uuuuhmmmm !!!!

As the sweet part for this evening meal I had an excellent panna cotta topped with a red fruit sauce.

For this meal I was paying 59 € incl. one glass of wine. I will give this experience 4 stars.

Panna cotta with red fruits

Afternoon tea at Ladureé, Paris

Afternoon tea at Ladureé

Using the opportunity of having some hours free from work during a visit to Paris I decided to revisit Ladureé together with a good work colleague to enjoy some afternoon tea.

The windows at Ladureé are always very nice decorated just like their cake, so a trip worth on their very own. However, if you have the time you should really go inside and enjoy some of the excellent cakes, either as their or take them with you.

Religieus à la Rose

For my part of the afternoon I selected a cake called "Religieus à la Rose", which is a cream puff pastry with rose petal custard cream and raspberries. This cake really looks like a crown.

Together with my cake I also selected two mini macaroons.

As tea I selected a tea called "Thé Joséphine", which is a Chinese black tea wrapped in tangerine, grapefruit, orange and lemon, delicately enhanced by a ring of jasmine flower. An amazing wording for a cup of tea.

Macaroons

For a pot of tea, one and two mini macaroons I paid 20 €. It is an OK value to pay. I will this experience 4 stars.

Window decorations

Some more window decorations