Here's Looking at You Kid

For the first time in 21 years I have not had the pressure of being in a relationship for Valentines Day shoved down my throat. I think it is that peer pressure and the reminder that you are single makes Valentines Day a most dreaded day for all those single ladies (though the song helps a bit, right?)


So as luck would have it, my first time spent away from all that madness is the first Valentines day I have actually had a valentine! Although it is a bit of a silly holiday, I must admit it is nice to do something special, exciting, and out of the ordinary with the person you love. Accordingly when I woke up that morning I made the chilly wind-blown walk to Superbrugsen, a local grocer, to shop for ingredients for Martin's Valentines Day surprise. I decided that I was going to make something sweet from my Lion House cookbook (a.k.a. Mormon Cookbook) that my Mom gave me for Christmas. Being my first time baking in Denmark I figured to go with something familiar, and what could be more familiar than snickerdoodle cookies?! This posed its challenges though. Sure butter, flour, sugar and vanilla are easy enough to find once you translate them; however, cream of tartar proved to be difficult to find. I researched online substitutions for this ingredient and found that if I left out both the cream of tartar and baking soda then I could just use baking powder instead... and fortunately I was able to find that! I also grabbed some corny looking pink and purple heart sprinkles, just for the hell of it.

Valentines Day Snickerdoodle Cookies

After my shopping adventure I was a good student and went to class, I found it hard to pay attention to European integration in the early 1950s when I was trying to calculate how much baking powder I should use. After class I began my first shot at baking in this foreign metric-using land. Sadly I did not have the convenience of my mom's Kitchen Aid mixer, so I used my muscles and whipped up these suckers by hand. Judging from the final product I think it turned out well, I would give myself a A- because it probably could have had a bit less baking powder.


Martin then came over after work with beautiful danish tulips in hand, then I led him blindly to a mountain of sugary Mormon goodness. After indulging in some of my baked goods he informed me that we should probably not eat too many because he had made dinner reservations. Around 1700 we made our way over to Christianshavn, a neighboring area just north of where I am living that I would love to explore more. We ate at a restaurant called Kanalen. I really fell in love with this little restaurant located right on a canal, in fact it was so small that the kitchen was actually located across the street! The interior was the epitome of danish design and simplicity. And the food? Oh lord. Words cannot describe the pleasure that my mouth experienced (hmm why does talking about food always sound sexual haha!). So instead of trying to gush about how good it was I will just tell you what it was and you can fantasize and drool on your own accord:

On the Table: 

(most likely) Danish butter with sea salt on top and

some freshly baked bread

Starter:

Slightly salted salmon from The Baltic Sea with salad of Jerusalem artichokes, apples, water cress and mild horseradish

Entreé:

Roasted veal fillet and braised veal brisket with baked celeriac, sauce with olives and Pommes Savoyard 

Dessert:

Baked red orange with carrot sorbet and crisp licorice

And of course we washed that all down with a bottle of red wine. It was truly a dining experience to remember, not only because of the food but also the company.

Danish Tulips

As we digested our world class cuisine and braved the below freezing gusting winds, Martin and I walked out and stood at the edge of the harbor. I love looking at Copenhagen from the water at night, being able to see both the historical and modern sights lit up and reflected in the water. To our right we saw the centuries old Børsen or Stock Exchange and the rooftops of Christiansborg or Parliament. And to our left we saw the modern Skuespilhuset or Royal Danish Playhouse, the Operaen or Opera House, and in the distance Holmen where you can experience Danish Naval history and see the Sælen!

Once we returned back to Tietgen, frozen from the wind, I decided that we should watch Casablanca because neither or us had ever seen it and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I enjoyed the film, it had some very clever writing and interesting cinematography.

So yeah I had a pretty amazing day, thanks to someone very special. I hope everyone else had an enjoyable 14th of February. Vi ses!