OH MY, it's been a long time. Sorry SmashandSniff friends, family, fans - there has been quite a lull here on the blog. But not a lull in real life. The last six months, for me personally, have included the birth of my third child, a breast infection that required hospitalization, 50 Thanksgiving guests - 15 of whom flew in from Paris, Prague, Copenhagen, the Hague, New York, London and Dubai, lots of family time over the holidays - including crashing with Smash and family in Chicago!, step throat, pink eye, a staff infection (and that was just me!), the wedding of a dear friend out in Jackson Hole, an Easter road trip to southern France and a quick and tasty weekend with friends in Copenhagen. Pfhhew.
We could blame our absence on what Germans call "still dimens" or "breastfeeding dementia", but instead, we'll just apologize for deserting you so abruptly and get back to it. Sooooo, that said, why not start here...
If my friends, the „Fastaguchis“, had an emblem or an image to best symbolize their union, and that image were food porny, this might be it.
Two different yet equally adored pork products from Denmark, thick-sliced juicy bacon and thin-skinned pink hot dogs, on a Danish country plate adorned with … chopsticks. Kai, my half-German, half-Japanese, former Kabuli roommate, and his wife Fenja, my dear half-Danish, half-Norwegian friend have returned from Sudan and firmly ensconced themselves and their two gorgeous children in the Danish capital. No strangers to the chaos and challenges that small children and overnight guests breed, Kai and Fenja invited us up for a visit (actually, did we invite ourselves? We may well have..). A quick 4.5 hour train ride, an hour of which includes a choppy ferry crossing, and we arrived, all five of us, on their doorstep.
As a couple with children, you quickly learn to hone your bartering skills. “I’ll trade you a Wednesday night out with Martin to watch the Bayern-Dortmund game for my Friday afternoon hair appointment.” And sometimes, when you’ve sharpened those skills enough, you may be able to slant things slightly in your favor. Like the Friday night we arrived in Copenhagen. Kai and Ingo got five hungry, tired kids under four years of age at bedtime in the guise of quality time together while Fen and I got our five hours of QT with ten courses – including wine pairings – at Fen’s friend Jakob’s restaurant, Mielcke & Hurtigkarl. Luckily we were in the cab on our way to the restaurant before the boys realized that negotiations may have resulted in a lopsided trade. Or at least before they could object.
Jakob's creations were so gorgeous and our evening so lovely, it deserves it's own post. Forthcoming - tomorrow...
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