Five minutes.

That’s litterally how much time I had to decide whether I was going to accept the out of the blue New Year’s Eve dinner party invitation from my friends in Stockholm at 12:30 in the afternoon on Dec 31, 2011. That’s all the time I had including packing my socks/curlers/laptop/night cream, locking up my apartment and get on the bike down to the Central Station in order to catch the train which would arrive at dinner time in Stockholm, five hours up into the cold, freezing wood lands of Northern Sweden.

Of course I said yes, and I had the most fun three days in the old, beautiful capital.

On the surprisingly empty train I got a window seat on first class which included free drinks, snacks, wifi, electric output for my laptop — and a most scenic view from my seat across icy mountains, deep dark forests, vast lakes and cozy villages hiding beyond the hills and valleys of a wintery Sweden. So much more fun and relaxing than the stress of flying.

Having finally arrived in good spirits just before the other guests arrived, I was handed the evening’s first glass of champagne and felt more than ready to let the air out of this horrible horrible year called 2011. Really, it’s been crap, including all that happened in Japan. Let’s have a new one, shall we?

As we all know, setting a table is of absolute importance to the succes of your dinner party. Creating a safe and intimate atmosphere is essential, making sure no guests are blinded by your table light or feeling cold and bleak from bluish neon lights in the ceiling. Many Americans decorate their kitchens like it was the staff room at McDonalds, but I say that is an abomination. Respect your eating environments, please. A little light & table decor love can go a long way.

Here in Stockholm, the dinner table is set fabulously with lots of Danish design:

Tablecloth “Fold/Unfold” by Margrethe Odgaard.

Plates and porcelain from Royal Copenhagen, silver ware + water pitcher from Georg Jensen.

The red wine was decanted before being served in a nice glass pitcher.

Main dish of the evening:

Julia Child’s famous (and very tedious to make) Beef Bourguignon from her cookbook Mastering French Cooking which was reintroduced to the public after the Julie & Julia movie came out a few years ago. If you like movies about food you must go and rent it right now.

Side dishes as the recipe demands: green peas and potatoes (and kindly cooked rice for me due to my insane food allergies).

Sorry about the blurry pic, I only brought my shitty little Casio cam for this trip

All the food was very delicious and a nice contrast to the usual New Year’s fish dishes you’re always served. A warm beef dish just matches slushy ice rain better than flaccid fish.

A nice, spicy red wine which goes well with the Bourguignon served in cool wine glasses with no stems.

For dessert:

Home baked chocolate cake with freshly whipped Swedish cream.

Lovely gold sparkling truffles for the champagne:

And if you’re still in doubt whether we’re all a bunch of fags, this should put your mind to ease:

On the shelf in the livingroom: the official DVD of the Royal Danish Wedding back in 2004 between his Majesty the Crown Prince Frederik II and Princess Mary. The gayest DVD in town.

So this is where I could end this post. I have no more pics of the dinner party, and all the guests were in a relationship so there are no slutty singles table dancing actions to report on anyway.

But since this was my first time in Stockholm and since I was very taken by its Swedishness I want to share more pics of my macro holiday.

We took a long walk on Jan 1st to inhale the fresh cold air of a new year.

Stockholm is a city built on islands so there are water fronts and rocky stone walls everwhere, always super close to the elements. It was raining sleet and slush the whole time so no cozy snow pics, but imagine this city on a quiet romantic summer night and you’ll fall in love instantly.

Ferries in the many little harbours are sailing to close island destinations or maybe offering dinners and music on board while sight seeing from the waterside.

The many bare rock walls, like standing next to a mountain, were covered in beautiful ice patterns.

Even the metro stations around Stockholm are decorated as if they were cut out into the mountains… which they actually are. So it’s very meta.

The metro interiors though are super East Germany 1979. Brown/orange/yellow totally rules.

Gamla Stan (old city) is the old part of Stockholm, really old and really charming. Seems everyone was out walking on Jan 1st.

The narrow streets remind me of Italian villages, it’s super cozy.

People are rushing about, looking for a warm seat to hide from the icy rain.

There are many souvenir shops of course, most of them focus on Pippi, Moomin and viking heritage.

Make your own Medieval Clothing. Awesome.

Beer mugs made from animal horns, belt knuckle copies from the bronze age. This truly is the Skankynavia: Style edition.

White chocolate “flødeboller”/gräddbullar:

There is a range of beautiful designer/boutique and traditional hotels along the many waterfronts round the city.

We stepped into one of them to inspect this amazing lounge situated inside an old courtyard which has now been transformed into a hangout space for guests. The ceiling is supposed to be a pixelated version of looking up into green leaves from the ground.

For lunch we stepped into the upscale, but still relaxed Swedish restaurant Sturehof. The interior is like a French bistro with a Swedish undercurrent. The waiters were wearing three different colored jackets — red, black or white, all with military flavoured ornaments and emblems, depending on hierachy.

Fresh bouquets everywhere, how elegant.

The big menu card is unique and printed new every day (!)

It’s also very expensive. But then again, Stockholm is super pricey. Even the real estate market is booming like mad.

We start out with a basket of different homemade crackers and “knækbrød”. Scoop on butter or eat bare.

Two of us decided to go for the “rimmad salmon with stewed potatoes in dill and cream” ($39!).

Rimmad salmon is salmon marinated in sugar, salt and spices. It was just beautiful. And so tender you could cut it with your eyelash.

Potatoes also perfectly stewed and soft.

My other friend had bouilllabaise, the traditional fish stew with blue mussels and er.. other stuff. It had a deep umami flavour and was very filling.

The next day we went out for an art exhibition and then went for lunch at Råkultur, a sushi place.

When we arrived, the very friendly staff placed us at a table and went to fetch warm water for the little glass teapot with green tea leaves in the middle of the table.

Then an hour glass is flipped and when all the sand has run out, we could sip the tea.

Your own private little tea ceremony right there, for free, at your table. I think that’s good service and great fun.

The sushi was also very good. And that white thing resting on a maki roll there?

Yes, ladies and gentleman, that’s a popcorn. It was on both our plates so it probably wasn’t a mistake. Borderline silly but whatever, there’s a long way to Tokyo, the mothership of sushi, after all.

An hour later I was stepping onto the train back to Copenhagen, away from this great city which I’d love to explore more. I’ll just have to come back again in summertime, when you can take long walks along the harbour fronts and soak in more of the Swedish culture.

Happy new year — let’s all wish for an exciting and tasty 2012. And don’t forget to set your tables nicely!

The OPENharvest group visited the Hachisu residence in Kodama-gun in Saitama Prefecture. We enjoyed a Japanese farm food meal which included fresh edamame, natto, fall vegetable soup, ohitashi (blanched spinach) and mochi. After the meal, Harigaya-san and his troupe performed a shishimai (lion dance).

I can’t believe I just spent another weekend in a kolonihus (colony house). But that’s how the Scandinavians roll and who can say no to a pumpkin ravioli punch?

My Icelandic friend’s friend has a cute little cottage in Copenhagen which she visits regularly on weekends and slowly tries to repair and build into a fabulous little summer home with an attached vegetable garden. It’s nice and quiet, and even though summer’s definitely over and fall has arrived with its cold climate and evil winds, a little Sunday lunch inside is no problem when you have a heater and a little gas kitchen.

So, last night my friends made their own ravioli filled with pumpkin. The above photo was taken during the ravioli production. Inserted to the left are fabulously carved Halloween pumpkins for inspiration and to set the atmosphere. From top: Jack Nightingale (Nightmare before Christmas), the Death Star, and Sarah Palin.

I love the shape and colour of pumpkins and I always dreamed of experiencing a real Halloween in America, since there’s no real Halloween here.

Well ok, in the past few years desperate stores and evil food chains have tried to import the holiday as an excuse to sell new and improved burgers and themed McNuggets. And some parents might buy their kids some stuff to wear and shove them around to beg for candy, but it’s not Danish tradition, and to me it’s fake if you’re outside the USA.

It’s a windy, cloudy day outside and it’s going to rain soon.

Inside the little shed’s kitchen, lunch is prepared.

Everything is found material and built into a small house. Love the little single-glass windows, the raw plank walls and the glass of flower water.

My friends brought the still uncooked ravioli along to the house and boiled them a few minutes before serving:

The plates are lined up, small pieces of spinach is laid on top of the ravioli along with freshly shredded parmesan.

Sage butter is heated and poured over the dish:

Bon appetit!

The yellow pumpkin meat almost looks like fried eggs:

The ravioli is great – together with the spinach, pumpkin, parmesan and sage butter it melts on the tongue into a savoury, juicy warm mouthful.

The clayware salad bowl looks like someone squeezed it too hard, poor thing. But the contents are great–avocado, Danish salad leaves and Greek feta cheese:

An expensive white wine from Portugal is sipped from big bowl glasses. As usual I don’t know much about wine, but it tastes fresh and light and matches the dish perfectly.

On my way home from the colony I walked by a baker’s window. It was official Breast Cancer Day in Denmark yesterday and to show their support, the baker made these adorable $13 titty cakes.

“Støt Brysterne Kage” (support the breasts cake)

And who’d say no to eating cake and nibbling on nipples for charity?

Lesbians. What a wonderful and exotic breed.

Much less visible or loud in the public space than gay men, but definitely not dull. Have you talked to your lesbian co-worker today? Maybe you should. Ask her about her cat (she probably just adopted one more), her advice on great kitty litter shopping deals (buy in bulk) or her weekend plans (stay home, drink red wine, talk to her other lesbian friends about male sexist art critics and read violent 1980′s feminist literature or rewatch Season 3 of Xena:Warrior Princess while having the cat gently massage her braless boobs).

I know quite a few lesbians in this category. But I also know some that are different in many ways. Two of them live in Copenhagen in a colony house which is a Danish/German phenomena that translates to something like “Small summer houses on green garden allotments in the middle of the city”. Do you guys know what I’m talking about? Here is a small collage to show what I mean.

Anyway, so my friends Bipper & Whiskey (that’s what I call them and what they call themselves) bought a nearly finished colony house last summer, finished the last repairs that needed to be done, laid out a front garden, buried fences deep into the soil, planted flowers and built a big sun terrace. They like heavy machinery, in the garden and in bed… just kidding!

Lesbians driving their mini monster trucks around in the dirt. If Denmark ever goes to war, these two will definitely be in the artillery forces.

Amazing job, that garden space. And surprisingly no cats yet. The girls spend half the year here (April-October) and the rest in their city slick hipster apartment in a very nice area of Copenhagen. This must be such a great way to spend one’s year–always being some place for only a temporary amount of time, I would think you tend to enjoy stuff more if you know it’s going to change very soon. And being able to follow the seasons closer, even though you’re still in the middle of the city, well, that’s just lovely.

Last weekend Bipper celebrated her birthday by inviting people over to eat, drink and dance in her colony house. The house is situated on Amager, an island partly covered by Copenhagen but slowly grows into a huge wilderness with forests, marshes and beaches.

We’re approaching winter time and the sun sets so early now. The dark season with less than seven hours of daylight is coming.

A big viking like ship was built as a big playground for kids. Beautiful in the sunset.

I arrive at the house before the party starts, it’s around 6 in the evening and there’s still a some light.

Inside the house I love their corner window seating area.

Most families situate their couch area around the TV. Here, it’s the garden view that takes all the attention.

The house was partly made with vintage building elements. This church window with stained glass is beautiful. Ceramics are new and vintage.

All lesbians knit since it’s cheaper than going shopping, and also a good excuse for staying home on the couch for Xena reruns.

Flowers from the garden.

Outside on the terrace breakfast is usually enjoyed in the rustic furniture.

As a starter, Whiskey serves a freshly squeezed pear juice from the garden. Actually it’s called pæremost in Danish and not juice since there’s a lot of pulp and peel in it.

The taste is so refreshing, sweet and different from the crap standard industry juices you buy in stores.

It’s getting dark now, guests are arriving, the music’s playing (both girls work as dj’s so never a bad record on the stereo) and the open kitchen is busy. Love the plastic retro lamps found in a thrift store.

A guest (not lesbian) is put to work, cutting freshly picked parsley while chatting about life.

The heavy winter soup is already boiling. Smells wonderful. Onions, potatoes and lentils are fried in chili and garlic and boiled in water with boullion for 20 minutes. Then put outside overnight for taste enhancing (no, it’s not a lesbian witch trick, it really has an impact on the flavour) and then heated again and refined with spices before served.

Different kinds of rustic Danish bread have been baked and cut in slices. Still steaming and soggy inside while crisp outside.

For the soup a DIY table has been arranged with lots of shredded parmesan cheese and more:

Organic lemon peels are ripped of their peel…

… and mixed with the cut up parsley for a fabulous soup topping.

Guests are invited to help themselves at the DIY table invoking a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

Uhm, there you go–hot and filling, it’s perfect for a chilly autumn night. I can’t eat dairy products so no cheese for me. But according to the fellow guests moaning and groaning into their soup, it’s pretty good.

For dessert the girls have boiled a massive heap of the garden’s pears in redwine, star anis, orange peel and cinnamon. Cloves were added too but it might give off that Christmassy taste so you can leave those out if neccessay.

The pears are covered in an off-white mixed concotion of whipped cream, vanilla and sugar. It tastes so good.

For extra freshness zest organic oranges too.

In a sudden brain flash I remember Cathrine the Cat from my favourite LEGO toyline from the 1980′s called Fabuland (now extinct). An obviously lesbian hotel owner cat (!) called Cathrine who always served apples with white cream on top for her friends. Is this a coincidence? I think not.

Take a look at Cathrine the Cat’s apple dessert, and then check out Bipper’s pear dessert below. I guess lesbians just have a thing for wet, sticky and creamy objects?

After this dessert everything went bonkers, the lesbians started smoking cigs and getting their drank on and I ran for safety back home.

Whiskey posted this picture on Facebook the morning after:

The raving lesbos even tore the party tent’s sides down outside the house.

I haven’t hosted any house parties for a while, but on a recent weekend, I ended up hosting three parties in a row. Thursday night was a last-minute potluck baby shower, and of course I made a beautiful diaper cake for the mother-to-be.

Friday night, I had Nate’s work people over, and I made bunch of finger foods for the event.  I don’t know if you remember from past posts, but I always end up making same food for parties: bacon wrapped dates, gyoza, sushi rolls, teriyaki chicken sliders, to name a few signature items. But I felt the need to create some different menu items, so I tried new recipes for this party.

The pork and fresh corn meatballs were baked to perfection:

For the dipping sauce, I made sour cream, mayo, and salt. I usually add shiso into these balls, but I ran out of it, and was too lazy to go buy more. So be it.

Oven baked chicken nuggets:

Damn blurry picture.

The key for this is to pre-bake the panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) in the pan until it gets golden. Then you stick it onto the chicken. Marinate chicken in sake, salt and pepper, and coat chicken with the golden panko. Bake for about 15 minutes. Very healthy non fried chicken nuggets are done.

From the night before the baby shower, I had some leftover stuffed shiitake mushrooms, and decided to make quiche.

Spread cut up mushrooms (stuffed with ground chicken), mix six eggs with a bit of milk, salt and pepper, pour over the top of the mushrooms, in a tart tin. Since I had leftover cheddar cheese, I grated them and sprinkled on top. Then baked till bubbly.

Buffalo chicken phyllo:

This was originally a buffalo chicken wonton, but I couldn’t find wonton skins and didn’t want to go to the Asian grocery store for them, so I used phyllo instead. If I had enough time to layer up phyllo sheet by sheet, I would have gone to store to buy wonton since the assembly would have been a lot quicker. Oh well.

Boil chicken for about 20 minutes, then shred it. Mix with buffalo wing sauce of your liking. Layer five phyllo sheets, brushing enough butter in each layer. Cut them into 8th, and place a bit of chicken on top and close it up. Bake until golden.

Puff pastry stuffed with blueberry compote, topped with cream cheese and powder sugar frosting:

My now famous MOdelaines:

I had pea dip which was very tasty (thanks to Anders), but for some reason it didn’t sell too well. May have been too green or that it was too healthy looking.

Overall, all the dishes were good, but the timing was off, and everything should have been served sooner. When the baked goods came out of oven, they were crispy and good, but by the time guests arrived, it all became a bit soggy. That’s the toughest part of party food. Bacon dates are good both warm and cold, but chicken nuggets should have been served warmer, but I didn’t want to use the kitchen while the guests are in the house. I wish I had a closed kitchen where I can pop out of there with a tray full of hot food.

Oh, the Saturday party. I didn’t want to cook all day, so I decided to do a roof top BBQ. Unfortunately it rained Saturday night, but we opened up an umbrella, and still had a delicious Japanese-style BBQ with my homemade sauce. This time, I boiled the sauce down to make it thicker, and it was better than before!

Cooking at home in your kitchen is so housewifey. Real men cook in nature.

Especially when it’s summer, and your garden is full of edible food which is the case with my friends C&A. I blogged about our Sunday Forest Lunch last year with them, and a few days ago I took a trip with a friend again to visit the hermit gay couple for dinner. These guys have just returned home from a two-week adventure into the wild Norwegian mountains, camping and cooking daily across the grass ridden plains.

C&A normally live north of Copenhagen in a small hidden village far into the forest. A bus leaves twice a day so biking there under the warm sun was a perfect alternative.

On the way my friend and I stopped at a beach and took a swim in the icy Scandinavian waters full of seaweed. We’ve had only about seven days of sunshine since June 1st and all the Danes agree that this has been the worst summer in decades. So to everyone’s surprise, last week was a complete turnaround with hot temperatures and blue skies–so wonderful.

A small yellow cottage has been transformed into a cozy little restaurant. I had a Danish specialty, hindbærbrus (raspberry fizz).

My friend had a latte in a cute glass.

After drinking and commenting on people’s amusing swimwear fashion choices, we jumped on our bikes and headed into the forest towards the village.

Arriving in the late afternoon was a perfect time for a stroll in the fading sunlight. The long shadows make dramatic scenes and beautiful contrasts, and as usual I fell completely in love with this place. It’s a small village built around an old knife factory which is now closed. However the many houses is now reserved for artisans, craftsmen, foresters and artists, and of course I’ve signed up to rent an apartment. I am currently number 1113 in line which means I’ll probably become part of the community on my 437th birthday. Can’t wait. I’m now crossing an extra finger for science fixing the Age Gene before then so I can have a fabulous garden party on my 438th birthday.

There’s a beautiful lake in the village and my friend A’s office desk is right next to it inside the old knife factory. Not bad really.

We take a walk into the forest before dinner. Everything is unusually spring green since it’s been raining for two months.

Back in the backyard garden behind the house we set up the cooking space.

C&A recently took over this garden and have already planted a lot of stuff in just two months–lots of edible herbs, flowers and a few vegetables. I can’t image what it will be like next year.

The special thing with this evening was that even though these guys have a nice kitchen inside the house, everything was prepared in the garden. Chopping on the little white table, cooking on the Trangia, barbecuing right next to the dinner table–it was super nice being with together all the time instead of running back and forth to the kitchen. And eating stuff that was growing in the soil five minutes before was a very refreshing experience–far away from supermarket plastic wrapped industry food.

Pink Harvest Anemone.

Agapantus flower, a species created at Vedelsborg Castle on the island Funen in the middle of Denmark.

Different species of mint. The Grape Mint in the front actually smells like grapes when you touch it.

A plant of mini chilis. Super evil.

We enjoy some chilled lemonade with lemon, ice and mint leaves.

And snacking on rosemary roasted almonds.

The table is used for chopping and snacking.

To stay true to the naturific scene we use real Norwegian daggers to chop and slice, no gay marble kitchen table shit here.

Picking fresh parsley for the salad.

Lighting the Trangia. A Trangia is a cool device – just a small gas tank which you light and then you’re ready to cook: on a windy mountain top, in a desert valley, in the line for tickets to a Bon Jovi concert. It’s cheap, super flexible and non polluting.

Prepping the couscous.

I like the design of trangias – one minute it’s a bowl, the next it’s a pan if you put on the detachable handle.

A quick walk in the garden and the rest of the couscous salad ingredients are mixed in. Parsley, tomates, cucumber, herbs, et voila!

A plate of chili roasted aubergines with mint has been placed on the table. Phew, they’re super spicy hot!

Meanwhile the barbecue is lit and sticks with herb marinated pork are grilled.

After 10-15 minutes they’re crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

The marigold is edible and grows in the garden. It’s leaves are beautiful on anything, even couscous.

See?

Homemade cold tzatziki with olive oil and mint leaves, very salty and very Greek. It matches the juicy pork perfectly.

A great meal!

Later fresh fruits are cut up with marigold, mint and served with expensive dark chocolate.

For tea we just walk to the mint bush, pick a handful of leaves, pour hot water over them and there, fresh mint tea.

By now the mosquitoes had spotted our little gardenparty and decided to join for snack or two. My body was already sucked half dry after an outdoor, rainy wedding last weekend where the little skeeters had a party on their own.

Luckily they do not enjoy open fires and what is a late night garden party without a romantic bonfire anyway? Sitting outside in the bright August night, drinking wine with good friends and loolking into the fire, well that’s what real men like.

A toast to the Hiker’s Kitchen!

All photos by Yoko Kumano and Vanessa Bahmani,

I’ve been running Umamimart for over four years now (since February 2007), bringing together people from all over the world to share their personal experiences through food and drinks. It has gone through several manifestations, and has seen many writers come and go.

Umamimart now consists of ten core writers, many of whom have been here from the very beginning (Yoko, Yamahomo and Erin). Paystyle started Happy Hour in 2008. Although I live in the Bay Area now, New York City remains as an essential part of Umamimart. It is where it was born, and most of the writers live there.

So when Anders (Umamimart writer since 2009) announced he was coming to the States to visit Yoko, it was then decided that we all meet up in NYC. Yamahomo graciously offered to host a dinner party for all the present Umamimart writers while we were in town. This would be an epic Umamimart event–to all meet over a Yamahomo meal in REAL LIFE!! As the editor of this blog, it has always been a dream of mine for everyone to meet someday. We all have such distinct personalities, but I always knew we would get along. We are Umamimart, afterall.

Menu by Yamahomo.

Duck sous-vide with pickled ramps and rhubarb jam.

Nate + Anders.

Chez Yamahomo rooftop. It was a gorgeous evening.

Yamahomo + Anders.

Washi loved the New York life.

Yamahomo had asked Paystyle to come up with a cocktail pairing for each course. And he did. INCREDIBLE!

Paystyle + me.

Course 1: DA BOMB: Natto, uni, tuna, okura, mountain yam, wrapped in nori.

The uni was hand-shucked by Yamahomo!!! From this:

To this:

UNI PORN!

Until the mixing begins. This was actually a little painful to watch–I should have grabbed that uni and eaten it in the corner.

Yamahomo + Nate.

DA BOMB!

Imagine the flavors of the sea, with the crunch from the mountain potato, and all the slime, in one bite. It really is unlike anything you will ever eat–so pillowy and luxurious.

We had the Bouncing with Bud cocktail and Adonis: Shochu, Amontillado sherry, celery-lovage bitters and Sweet vermouth, Amontillado sherry, orange bitters (respectively).

The cocktails were light and sprightly. A perfect beginning.

Course 2: WICKED WITCH SOUP: Pea, basil and potato vichyssoise with leaks and onions.

Excellent! A chilled soup was perfect for the warm evening and the flavors were all so subtle. It was like riding a wave.

Cocktail pairing: The Artist’s Special: Bourbon, Amontillado sherry, lemon, creme de cassis.

Course 3: STINKY P.: Grilled asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, balsamic reduction.

It was Derby Day, so we went with a Mint Julep to pair with the Stinky P.

The mint added a refreshing dimension to this dish.

Stinky P. get it?? Get it???

Course 4: PINKEYE: Salmon tartare with mango red onion and cucumber, sesame vinaigrette in a crispy potato cup.

This was absolutely GENIUS. Yamahomo sliced potatoes and then simply baked them in little tin cups. It was the perfect crisp against the salmon tartare. Brilliant.

Cocktail pairing: Italian Be-Bop: Bubbly with a dash of Campari.

Exquisite.

Course 5: RA(M)P’N SCALLOP: Pickled ramp, scallop with Japanese mustard, miso and vinegar sauce.

Paired with a simple California Chardonnay that Washi and Yoko brought.

This may have been everyone’s favorite dish. It was so simple and to the point. The pickles balanced the mustard, which all enhanced the sea flavors of the scallop. The wine, which was crisp and on the lighter side (for a California Chard) was an excellent pairing.

Course 6: PIG IN JAPAN: Sous-vide pork loin with braised red cabbage.

To go with this final dish, Paystyle and I made the Sherry Cobbler: Amontillado sherry, raspberries, lemon, sugar.

Yamahomo’s famous faglicious glasses.

A fun, lively pairing to the pork.

Looking back, the pork might have been my favorite, actually–it was so full of flavor, and tender, yet the lightness really surprised me. Another brilliant dish, and a fantastic way to end the meal.

Yamahomo is indeed reMARTHABLE. The dishes were all gorgeously plated, and timed perfectly. And as the hostess with the mostess, he was calm and collected throughout the dinner, never harried. The portions were spot-on as well–we all left feeling great, not too full, not hungry. He’s a pro.

And Paystyle’s cocktail wizardry cannot go unignored. He came up with drinks that not only paired well with each dish, but enhanced it all without ever interfering with Yamahomo’s flavors. The sherry cocktails were crisp, while the bourbon more substantial, adding weight to the dishes. The dinner was like an Umamimart orchestra–we all added our spunky personalities to the mix, but it all came out finely-tuned and perfectly balanced.

Desserts were Yamahomo’s Greatest Hits.

MOcarons!

MOdelaines!

Natto Sandwiches!

Choux!

As we continued to get drunk throughout the meal and onto dessert, we had racous conversations about Umamimart, its evolution through the years, and our all-time favorite posts. It all made me want to cry from happiness.

Washi + Anders.

Yamahomo + Anders + Creepy Bunny.

YOKO!

I cut myself, mandolin style.

Yamahomo + Me!

Vanessa + Paystyle.

Anders!

Me + Yamahomo.

This was truly a special evening, and I would say one of the most meaningful dinners of my life. This is my Umamimart Family!!! To have us all sitting at a table, eating real Yamahomo food, with drinks customized by Paystyle–well, it was a dream come true.

One key person was missing, however: Erin. Sadly, she could not make it, as her fiance had just been ordained as a rabbi (!!!). But I do hope that there will be another chance for us to all meet again. Umamimart Five Year Anniversary Party, anyone??? Maybe this time, in California.

Funny story–Yamahomo, who is a fanatical vodka martini drinker, did not have any vodka all night. In my heart of hearts, I hope we turned him into a bourbon drinker. Hooray!

Ok, so this is a post where everything went wrong.

I thought I was going to report on a dinner party with nice pictures of Scandinavian kitchenware, but then the snow storm arrived, people cancelled and the host’s apartment was way too dark to take any real nice photos. But hey, I tried and we had a good time anyway. There were some delicious dishes on the table.

First I have to say that reporting on food can actually be very stressful. One minute the food is there, and next thing you know- it’s gone! Chump! You’re a guest and you talk to friends and drink some wine and suddenly you forget all about your camera and your blog post and it’s all too late.

But.. here we go! This gay hostess with the mostess is one of my very good friends. He’s a designer in chief, has a sharp eye and a strong opinion on design, and he eats very healthily so I wasn’t expecting a high cal dinner. He lives in a new suburban area in a trendy high rise. Most of the apartment consists of one, big window.

Oh, and he also has two cats.

Two very weird cats of the species Cornish Rex which is an articially bred, weirdly looking furball with very weak genes. If you mate it with a normal cat, the Cornish Rex’s KZ Camp prisoner 1945 look is gone with the wind and a regular looking kitten is released from the mother cat’s vagina.

Completely hairless, sporting only soft silky down like unborn baby lambs. Weird, huh.

Anorectic bat + albino rat + homosexual designer caretaker = gay alien cat.

They’re running around like crazy, skating over every surface almost tipping over wineglasses and flower pots. They’re like bats without wings, kinda scary. My friend even has a self operating robot vacuum cleaner that turns on and sweeps the apartment when he’s at work. Unfortunately the cats are not a friend of it like in the famous YouTube-video, Cat rides vacuum cleaner.

Walnuts are placed in a bowl for spontaneous munching, Christmas style.

For starters we eat Swedish crackers (photo too shaky) and this homemade pea dip which was super delicious and super simple:

Green Pea Dip:

Frozen organic peas (peeled) are defrosted but kept cold (so they don’t turn into a splat).Use a staff blender to mash the peas together with a little sea salt, good olive oil and whatever fresh herbs you want (mint, oregano etc). It’s important not to blend it to infinity, you want it to be rough and sturdy. Tastes great with rustic Swedish bread.

Oh look, what’s on the table?! Kaki! My friend found these in the supermarket by accident just as I was declaring I’d never seen these in Denmark.
I am emailing him Yoko’s recipe for kaki and arugula salad as I’m writing this.

So, dinner’s ready:

Baked beetroot and other root vegetables, teriyaki marinated chicken breasts:

Danish crunchy bread from the local Foodshop no.55:

For side dishes: green pea dressing, organic butter and the most awesome papaya salad:

The papaya salad is fresh, sweet, sour, salty, crunchy, exotic and wholesome. This salad has it all, and the recipe is:

——
Serves 4-6
1 medium papaya
1 red and 1 yellow pepper
3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 red chilli, deseeded and diced
6 baby cornichons, finely sliced
6 tablespoons torn fresh coriander leaves
grated zest and juice of 3 limes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

You can replace the papaya (or as we did: add) with avocado.
Or apple or nashi pear.
——

I like all the colours on my dish.

Oh my God, get off the table, you skanky vultures!

We drink this wine and it’s a nr 6 and it tastes fine. (but don’t ask me about wine, I’d rather drink a coke anytime). I dig this packaging though, maybe it’s like Chanel perfumes?

However, this wine has an (unsurprisingly) impact on me, I forget to snap photos of the dessert.
Or at least, before I dig in and go crazy as I’m a huge fan of ice cream.

This ice cream box is made locally in Copenhagen, contains four flavours and it’s really good – Italian and creamy.

From left: Caramel with Greek honey, cinnamon, chocolate and blackberry. Woah!

I could eat this every night for the rest of the year.

As a side dish we are served some super crunchy, locally baked Biscotti with fruits, almonds and pistachio nuts.

While we’re eating the cats have found a cozy warm spot on the heater while observing the snow falling outside. It’s cozy, maybe I should get a cat too?

Or not.

A cute way to serve mini pop tarts or filled pastry treats at a party– inside a vintage toaster!

In preparation for his B.A.R. exam, Paystyle hosted cocktail parties, aka Happy Hour (how appropriate), at his place every Thursday for the last month. He invited folks from all over the city to trek to his spacious apartment in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, where he fully stocked the bar for this weekly affair. No one objects to being Paystyle’s guinea pig, please.

I was lucky to be in town for the very last Live Happy Hour session! Although I was a bit late, I was lovingly greeted by Paystyle, his wife and Happy Hour photographer Vanessa, and Moonshine, our UM office dog. The party was already in full swing, with Paystyle chopping away at a gargantuan block of ice. Ah, mixologists and their damn ice! Such an obsession.

He featured different cocktails each week. Here’s the night’s menu.

+++

Old Fashioned
Rye Whiskey, Sugar, Bitters, Lemon Twist

Sazerac
Rye Whiskey, Sugar, Peychaud’s Bitters, Absinthe Rinse, Lemon Twist

Negroni
Gin, Campari, Sweet Vermouth, Flamed Orange Twist
(Specify Up or On the Rocks)

Classic Dry Martini
Gin, Dry Vermouth, Orange Bitters, Lemon or Orange Twist

Extra Dry Martini
Gin, Dry Vermouth, Olive

Blood & Sand
Scotch Whisky, Sweet Vermouth, Cherry Heering, Orange, House Brandied Cherry or Orange Twist

Gimlet
Gin, Preserved Lime
(Specify Up or On the Rocks)

Collins
(Tom, John, or Vodka)
Gin/Whiskey/Vodka, Lemon, Sugar, Soda

Mojito
Rum, Lime, Sugar, Mint, Soda

+++

Basically my dream cocktail list. He knew I was coming!

We all ordered one cocktail after another. How DREAMY! Many of us had never met (in REAL LIFE), so it was so awesome to come together over classic cocktails in a laid-back Brooklyn apartment.

Laren from Sweet Blog o’ Mine, with a classic martini.

Brad looking ever so dandy with a classic martini.

Hal Wolin from A Muddled Thought was in the house, helping Paystyle out with mixing drinks and such. He was also taking the big exam. Hats off to both of you!

Now, the highlight of the night (and my trip in general) was when Paystyle allowed me to make a drink for him. He gave me a skeptical look as I walked behind the bar. “What does Kayoko know about making a mojito?” HA! Little does he know that I’ve got mad mojito skills. Watch this.

(Omg stop staring at me).

I handed it over, ever so hesitatingly. Would he like it? Did I add too much simple? Muddle the limes too much?

Paystyle took a sip. His critical gaze lightened. He looked up. “Hey, this is actually really good!” he cried.

HOORAY!

Then, I made him another. Yes, I am that good. Ya’ll know I do this for a living, right?

Paystyle then made me a caipirinha, which was not on the menu. I am special.

ACE!

Yup, this is basically represents how we felt by the end of the night.

Thank you Paystyle and Vanessa for hosting such a smashing evening!!! It was so great to meet everyone and we are all hoping the best for you and the outcome of the exam. BIG LOVE!!!

*All photos by Vanessa Bahmani.