Snack and pølser

What do people eat on the go in Denmark? Pancakes? Kebabs? Well, sure but that is not the most typical option, which is pølser (hot dogs). How can you cook this monument of Danish cuisine yourself?
Well, very complex indeed ;-) You will need:
- Sausages
- Hot-dog rolls
- Danish style mustard not too strong and a little sweet
- Ketchup
- Grilled onions (can be bought already prepared, it's easier and it smells so bad when you cook it yourself, they are very strong those Danish!)
- Slices of pickled gherkins, "Russian" style
- Optional: chopped fresh onion. Sorry, we did not have any for the photo!
Preparation: Heat the sausage (possibly also the bread), open the bread lengthwise and place the sausage inside (and everything else...)
You will say: "Okay, but everything will fall when you eat it!". Well yes! That is the funny part!
Bon appétit!

Pølsehorn

Well, I have two ways to start this message.
The first: here is a typical Danish recipe that is very suitable for children!
The second: as I am a real sucking cook, I am only cooking when it is level 0 cooking (remember the cake for dummies!)
The recipe of the day: pølsehorn!
Ignredients:
- a specially tailored and precut pølsehorn dough
- a few sausages


Open the package, flaten the dough on a clean surface, wet the edges of the dough. All the recipe magic is in the way you'll manage to wrap the sausage in the dough as a croissant ...

You can also try the ketchup alternative (more messy) or the cheese one (more calories).


Bake as indicated on the dough packaging. The hardest part is to wait until the cooking is done...

And voila! Within minutes, you managed to cook a typical meal Danish (1)that will delight children (even some adults!) (2) that nearly any cooking beginner can manage!

Compulsive snacking options

As everyone knows, the Danes are craving for snacks. You just have to look at the assortment offered by kiosks, candy merchants, sausage stands, and so on ...
Recent example at work: as if all the sugar that my colleagues have on their desk wasn't enough, a box of candy and chocolates appeared with a help yourself system - a little money box on its side (this also illustrates how much trust people have in each other here).

Of course, Danes realized that this sugar extravaganza might not be so healthy after all, so healthy options are also heavily available. At work, it is easy to get its hand on the classic carrot and mini cucumber, alongside more traditionnal fruits...

Other healthy treats are also commun, like the knækbrød (a kind of very dry toast) or peas.
Healthy versus sugar: the fight has just begun! Wonder who is going to win ;-)

Lagkagehuset, the best bakery in Copenhagen?

Walking on Christianhavn, I suddenly became a little hungry (let's see I needed sugar and quick!). So I walked into Lagkagehuset. You can try this for a pronunciation approximate : Laokééhouzeut.

Rumor has it that it would be the best bakery in Copenhagen. When I saw the long queue waiting by the counter (remember to take a numbered ticket when entering if you don't want to wait helplessly for hours...), I would say that this reputation may not be usurped.

You can already find 6 shops in Copenhagen
- Vesterbrogade 4A
- Torvegade 45)
- Dampfærgevej 9
- Falkoner Alle 4 inFrederiksberg
- Frederiksberggade 21
- Frederiksborggade 6

Why so much success? The answer is simple, just look at the impressive choice of pastries...

Amongst them, I choose the potato cake (kartoffelkage): cream puff covered with a thick layer of almond paste and covered with cocoa


And of course, it is too hard to only taste one so let's indulge with the House special: the Christianshavner. Available in two sizes: big or small. But the real question is what's inside?

And what is inside this little boxe? Calories, of course ;-)

A small size Christianshavner - damned it really was too small: fruits and strawberry mousse on a base of biscuit and caramelized hazelnuts. Really tasty!


A classic "Sarah Bernhardt", chocolate mousse on a macaroon base, with a top chocolate layer. Not the best I had in the city, but still definitly good.

I didn't try the lagkage, it will be for the next visit (you need to be really hungry for that!).

Of course, they also sell excellent bread... but would that really be reasonnable after all those cakes?

What can you grill on your barbecue?

The barbecue season is upon us, so the shops are full of barbecue-food.
Among them:

- The spare ribs, marinated in maple (another sign of the americanization of Denmark)

- Corn

- Barbecue bread. I have to admit the final result didn't look anything like the picture on the packaging. But let's also confess that I am absolutely not a BBQ-pro!

Bon appétit !
PS : in my home, there is also sometimes a few French delicacies on the grill... for example andouillettes... We may live in Denmark, we still need our dose of French gastronomy!

Green sausage

As everybody know, Danes are really fans of green. Now they can even buy a "green" hot-dog in the street! This hot-dog stand is now installed close to the Rundetårn since November 2009 and is only selling green products!

Please note that this really modest place has won the "best restaurant 2010" Ibyen award. Amongst the contestants were 4 others reals restaurants, including the famous Fiskebaren (Bib Gourmand Michelin).

They are big, hairy and a bit red-faced ...

Well, guess again, I am not talking about the Danes (or am I? .... Just kidding).
This is one of the summer fruit in Denmark, the stikkelsbær (gooseberry?)
It has a taste reminding me a little kiwis.
It's very good snack and I suppose you can also do some tasty desserts. If you have any recipes, feel free to give me suggestion....

Summer fruits

The classic Danish summer fruit: strawberries and ... peas!

I rapidly pass over the general astonishment that we can grow strawberries in Denmark. Yes! Greenhouses are miracles!
The most amazing is that here the pea is a fruit. This means that people sit quietly and start eating their peas in the afternoon, at work, in the train or even in the street. I tasted and I confirm that ... is a small pea. So it's actually a bit bland, but then to consider it a fruit, I usually request a little sweetness ...

No kidding, this is the "fruit basket" at work.

Otherwise, you can also buy it sometimes in the street as here in Christianshavn.

Smart flødebølle

Here you can notice a very practical detail for those we don't have any memory, just in case! Notice that at my place, those flødebølle never had the slightest chance to reach that date...

Brunch at the post office

The fashion of brunches reached Denmark some time ago. The custom has remained, so a lot of cafes and restaurants now offer their brunches on weekends. To help you find your way, we have tested them all :-)
Our first discovery: the Post museum!

The museum is located in the City center (Købmagergade 37) and the top floor coffee offers a magnificent view over the rooftops of the city. You access it by a panoramic lift that runs through the canopy of the building ...

You get access to an extensive and varied buffet. The classics (eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes, sausage, fruit ...) are prensented alongside most original dishes (salmon tartare, shrimp salad, pickles ...).

The service was sometimes a little slow, and they started to remove the dishes a little earlier than advertised. As it was quite full on a week day, we recommend you book in advance, just to be on the safe side. At 150 kronor (drinks not included), this Sunday brunch is an acceptable value for money. Try it!


As a bonus, you get a breathtaking view of the Rundetårn!

Are herrings that bad?

To change bad perceptions...
Here herrinsg are part of everyday life, you can buy all kinds, prepared with differents sauces in all kinds of colors and every packaging possible (even in a small snack format, just in case you get a craving for herring in the middle of the street or in the metro, it is better to plan ahead, you never know). But I can assure you, it doesn't really taste like anything you can imagine if you have only tried French style herring so far, the Danish one is quite sweet and mellow. With a nice black bread, you can even say it is delicious!

Example of a danish "platte"

Homemade hot chocolate

Raaahhh the weather is still windy and cold... how annoying!
Here is a simple recipe to get hot: prepare a hot chocolate by dipping a chocolate lollipop in a cup of warm milk.
First, you need to have a design mug (Royal Copenhagen of course!) then you have to run to the chocolate shop around the corner... like Chokolade Mageriet in Hillerød.

Dip the lollipop in the mug......

Add warm milk and stir!

Yummy, a good homemade hot chocolate! You need to know how to appreciate the small and simple pleasures of the Danish life... DanskViking, it is the "Amélie" of blogs about Denmark :-)
I am not sure if this pleasure is typical danish (probably not), but it is in my mind as we discovered this recipe at the Danish House's Flora Danica ("maison du Danemark") on the Champs Elysées six years ago. It was our first contact with Denmark and its hygge!

Kagebord, here we come!

Once comfortably installed in the classy dining room, it's time to prepare a strategy to attack the buffet ...
Where should I start ... by the scones?

By the cup-cakes ?

Or by the pyramid of brownies?


It's all a matter of strategy. While the Danes quietly queue, the French reach out to grab a plate, smoothly optimizes his trajectory to attack the buffet by the east side, where it is less crowed, then cleverly use his elbows to manage to fill a small plate under 2 minutes top!

Don't worry if the superb chocolate cake is gone in 10 seconds, the buffet is filled fairly regularly, so you should be able to sample everything.
The chef hurries up to refill the buffet and even takes time to stop and receive compliments.

My favorites: scones with whipped cream and brioches - nice and simple!

The walnut tart was very good too. I am still not sure about the cup-cakes, which tasted weird (the green frosting tasted a little like toothpaste ...).

A bad point for the tea lovers though, you have to cross the entire room with your cup in hand to go and fill it up with the tea pot located on the buffet. Can you imagine the risk you're taking with a boiling hot cup of tea in your hands, walking against a flow of hungry cake maniacs reaching for the buffet-
Funny anecdote, the nice danish lady from the next table didn't hesitate to fill her handbag with cakes before leaving! Surprise, it's not only the French who behave this way ;-)
All good things have a price in Copenhagen, so prepare yourself to pay 190dkk (25 euros) for 2 hours of unlimited pleasure. But after an hour, an average person will give up...

Leaving the dining room, preparing ourselves to get back into the crazy world and leave this smooth sugar paradise, we check out the hotel lobby for a quiet transition.

Cake orgy at Hôtel d'Angleterre

A cold Sunday? Craving for heat and sugar (got addicted at Lagekagehuset)? We found another paradise....
The famous Kagebord (literally "cake table") of the Hotel d'Angleterre, located on Kongens Nytorv. Attention your craving must be well planned, since this is only the first Sunday of the month at 3pm you will be able to enjoy this sugar heaven! A second piece of advice: do not forget to book a table because the place is very popular.
You can relax in the luxury of Palmehaven, starting with a first look at the buffet, then, after defeating the queue of hungry people, finally satisfy your appetite with fabulous pastries ... Feeling hungry already?
Careful, at 3pm sharp, the queue can be long to enter this sugar temple. But do not worry, there will be cakes for everyone ...
Before starting with the buffet, we enjoyed the the opportunity to admire our surroundings: a small room with ceilings so high that it must be a nightmare to heat up.

... fine porcelain plates (feels like home =o))...

... very classy surroundings

Next article, let's enjoy the buffet!