New Year's Eve 2012 @ Nami-Nami

We hosted a big New Year's Eve party at our home on December 31st. We were 16 adults and 6 kids in total, so we decided against a proper sit-down meal and went for the buffét instead (known as "Swedish table" or "Rootsi laud" in Estonian). And although many Estonians would be eating pork and sauerkraut and roasted potatoes - our typical Christmas fare - on New Year's Eve as well, we never do and go for a much lighter and rather different dishes. Here's what we were having for the last meal of 2012 (I've provided links to English-language recipes available on Nami-Nami, where appropriate).

Rye bread canapés with mustard and lemon butter, dill and shredded beets:

Crostini with Brie and lingonberry jam:


Red onion "boats" with smetana and salmon roe (which I also served on the last day of 2007):


Soft and sweet dried dates with tangy goat cheese:


Smooth and silky chicken liver paté:


Three layered salads - one with beets, peas, cheese and eggs; one with canned tuna, eggs, regular and cottage cheese; one with surimi, cheese and eggs:
 

Here's the close-up of the beet and cheese and egg and pea salad (you'll find the recipe here; I seem to have served it for the last meal of 2008 as well):
 

Swedish shrimp salad (recipe available here):
 

Fresh sauerkraut salad:
 

We also had fruit on the table, namely grapes and tangerines. Here's our oldest child peeling tangerines that she was kindly offering to all the guests later:  

A very traditional Estonian cake, curd cheese sheet cake with lots of raisins (I needed some raisin syrup to make the chicken liver paté above, so decided to use the cooked raisins in this cake as opposed to wasting them):
 

Mocca cheesecake with chocolate coffee beans:

And here's the star of the night - our croquembouche 2012:

Wishing all the readers of Nami-Nami a happy and successful New Year, full of delicious and satisfying meals!

-----------
New Year's Eve 2011
New Year's Eve 2007

Festive Menus: Spanish Royal Couple visits Estonia

Photo © Õhtuleht

Almost two years ago, President of Estonia went on a State Visit to Spain, where they were treated to a festive Spanish meal. This week, the King and Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos I & Sofia, are on a return visit to Estonia. The festive state dinner took place last night atthe Estonia Concert Hall. Eighty local dignitaries were treated to a meal designed by Jevgeni Jermoshkin. Here's what they ate:

Official dinner at Estonia Concert Hall
on May 4, 2009

Tallinn sprats with rye bread, quail's egg and tomato vinaigrette

Cream of beetroot soup with potato-barley ball and sour cream mousse

Halibut with basil and cauliflower risotto and sparkling wine jus

Warm rhubarb tart with chocolate-covered ice cream and Vana Tallinn liqueur sauce

Sounds all rather delicious, IMHO. Too bad I wasn't invited :D

PS Curious to know what the Queen of England or the Emperor of Japan and other foreign dignitaries were served on their official visits to Estonia? Click on the Festive Menus label on the right hand side to find out.

Back from Spain, plenty to blog about

Well, K. and I got back from our ten-day Spanish trip late last night. We've almost unpacked everything, and are in the middle of sorting out our photos (ca 900 of them!). There's lots to do at work at the moment, so it will be a few more days before I'm blogging properly again. But I'll leave you with a taste of what's to come :)


Click on the photo to enlarge!

Hõbelusikas - Silverspoon: Estonian Gastronomy Awards 2007

Me (on the left:) and the winner of the Chef of the Year Award, Tõnis Siigur from Restaurant Stenhus, Tallinn at the Estonian Gastronomy Awards ceremony yesterday. Photo by K.

Just like last year, I had a chance to attend the Silver Spoon 2007 Gala Dinner last night. The Estonian Gastronomy Awards were handed over at the ceremony attended by many of the food-loving bold and beautiful in Estonia, including me and my dear K :) There were small ballet dancers, singing by Chalice, lots of good food, and plenty of food-related chatting, of course.

The festive dinner menu was created by the winner of the Chef of the Year award of 2006, Dimitri Demjanov, the grand old man of Estonian haute cuisine, and it was full of surprising local ingredients like Baltic herring, my beloved kama, sea-buckthorn, black pudding/blood sausage, to name just a few. I'll reprint the menu with my musings below, but first, the award winners.

There are ten categories at the Estonian Gastronomy Awards, and I list them in no particular order:

Estonian Gastronomy Awards, 2007

BEST GOURMET RESTAURANT
Bonaparte, Tallinn - nominee
Stenhus, Tallinn - winner
Ö, Tallinn - nominee

BEST RESTAURANT
Vertigo, Tallinn - nominee
Vinoteque In Studio Vinum, Tallinn - winner
Karl Friedrich, Tallinn - nominee

BEST CAFE
Cafe Truffe, Tartu - nominee
Lounge UpUp, Tallinn - winner
Cést La Vie, Tallinn - nominee

BEST PUB
Restaurant-Brewery Beer House, Tallinn - nominee
Suure Tõllu Körts, Saaremaa - winner
Altja Kõrts, Lahemaa - nominee

BEST CHEF
Tõnis Siigur, Restaurant Stenhus, Tallinn

BEST WINE & FOOD MATCHING
Vinoteque-Restaurant In Studio Vinum, Tallinn

FAMILY RESTAURANT
Suure Töllu Körts, Saaremaa

BEST BEER SERVICE
Restaurant-Brewery Beer House, Tallinn

MOST REPRESENTATIVE RESTAURANT OF MODERN TALLINN
Restaurant Ö

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Restaurant Tchaikovsky, Tallinn

Now. First let me tell you that I'm extremely pleased that Tõnis Siigur, the young and talented chef of Restaurant Stenhus in Tallinn won the Chef of the Year award. You see, I love his restaurant, and more importantly, I also had a chance to work in his restaurant for 10 full days in December (what? you mean I've still not told you about the Cookery Diploma I successfully did last autumn and which included an 80-hour internship in a restaurant? Well, I did, and I did my internship at the best gourmet restaurant in Tallinn, and Tõnis Siigur taught me a lot. The fact that I ended up sitting next to him at the ceremony was pure coincidence, however:)

Stenhus won the best gourmet restaurant award for the fourth time, and if that's not a sign of quality, I don't know what is :) But K. and I also had a wonderful meal at Restaurant Ö just recently, and I would have been happy for either one to win. I'm a bit unsure about the café category, however, as none of my current favourite cafés (Chocolats de Pierre, Anneli Viik Chocolate Café, Café´Park) made it to the shortlist. Next year, hopefully. K. and I are really not pub persons, so neither one of us has personal preferences for the best pub, but apparently the winner of the category - the Tavern Suur Töll on the island of Saaremaa - serves excellent home-made pub snacks (while also being the most family friendly establishment!!), so we'll make sure to check the place out this summer.

And now to the menu:



Dimitri Demjanov is known for his respect for local, traditional ingredients and dishes, and this was clearly evident in the menu. Whereas I didn't think that all dishes worked so well (sea-buckthorn coulis was way too sweet to do any justice to the excellent berry), there were some real inventive and delightful gems. The creamy black pudding soup was both delicious and intriguing; the pork lard with herbs and goat cheese butter accompanying the breads were definitely different; the decision to serve caraway infusion as an alternative to coffee with petit fours was brave, but justified, and chosen by many. K. and I were unsure about the food and alcohol pairings - there was beer, mead, vodka, sherry, calvados, champagne and white wine, and although I only took a sip of each, I could feel it this morning :)

Silver Spoon Gala Dinner 25.1.2008
Hortes Palm Hall, Tallinn

Dimitri Demjanov
Cuisiner

Amuse bouche: Traditional Setu pie and mead drink

Citrus marinated Baltic herring with capers, almond potatoes and frisee salad

Creamy black pudding soup with apple and cinnamon wafer

Gooseberry sorbet with caraway seed liquour and Veuve Cliquot champagne

Suckling pig belly confit with sauerkraut and pearl barley

Fruitcake slice with goat cheese mousse and blackberry confiture

Kama parfait with sea-buckthorn coulis and spun sugar

Coffee or chamomile-caraway infusion

Petit fours
***

It was a great and enjoyable night, and we'll be looking forward to the 2008 awards next January. Tõnis Siigur will be in charge of the menu, you see, and knowing what he's capable of, the meal is worth waiting for :)

The King of Spain and the President of Estonia do dinner

The President of Estonia went on a state visit to Spain earlier this month, where he discussed the establishment of a cyber centre in Tallinn, energy policies and the the strength of Europe. And of course, ate a lot and well. Below is the menu served at the official dinner hosted by the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, and Queen Sophia.

Let me just tell you that I've only got hold of the menu thanks to my 'best contact in Spain', Ximena. She had to mobilise her extended Spanish family and engage in 'espionage worthy of cold war days' in the process!

But here's the menu, for your perusal. Enjoy! Sounds pretty good, don't you think?


Photo by Erik Peinar, courtesy of the Office of the President.

Official dinner at Palacio de Real Madrid on July 9, 2007

Cold melon and raisin cream soup

Confit of sea bass with dill and summer vegetables

Poularde chicken, roasted with thyme and roast potatoes

Cold chocolate soufflé with caramel threads

Wines:

Old Sherry

Martín Codax 2006

Grans Muralles 2000

Cava Freixenet

Here's the menu in Spanish for those of you preferring to read the menu in original:

Cena de honor que ofrecen Sus Majestades los Reyes al Presidente de la República de Estonia y Sra. de Ilves

Crema fría de melón y uvas pasas

Lubina confitada al eneldo con verduras de temporada

Pularda asada al tomillo con patatas al horno

Soufflé frío de chocolate con hilos de caramelo

Fino de Jerez en crianza

Martín Códax. 2006

Grans Muralles. Cosecha 2000

Freixenet. Gran reserva

Palacio Real, 9 Julio 2007

PS Curious to know what the Queen of England or the Emperor of Japan and other foreign dignitaries were served on their official visits to Estonia? Click on the Festive Menus label on the right hand side to find out.

Presidents who lunch: Toomas Hendrik Ilves & George Bush's luncheon menu at the White House

Klõpsa siia, kui soovid lugeda eestikeelset menüüd.


Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and US President George Bush shaking hands in the White House, June 25, 2007.
Photo: Mike Theiler, courtesy of the Office of the President of Estonia.

Well, if George Bush had lunch with Toomas Hendrik Ilves in Estonia (that was in November 2006), it was only a matter of time that Toomas Hendrik Ilves would fly to the US to have lunch with George Bush in return (as he did early this week). Ilves and Bush actually met over two days, which was quite amazing considering that the first leds a country of barely 1.4 million people and the other a country of more than 300 million.

Anyway, here's what they had for lunch:


Click on the photo to enlarge. Photo courtesy of Eesti Ekspress.

I'd be interested to hear what American foodbloggers think about this menu. Was it seasonal? Was it representative of 'American cuisine'? And if yes, was it representative of modern or new or traditional or particularly regional American cuisine?

PS Curious to know what the Queen of England or the Emperor of Japan were served on their official visits to Estonia? Click on the Festive Menus label on the right hand side to find out.

Festive Menus: the Emperor of Japan in Tallinn

Photo courtesy of Office of the President of Estonia

I'm always curious to know what some high-ranking foreign dignitaries get to eat in Estonia. How does Estonia want to represent itself to visitors through the food? Is it Estonian, international, fusion, simple, rustic, fussy, modern, traditional? The choice is endless. Therefore I've shared with you what President Bush had for lunch back in November, and what Queen Elizabeth II had for dinner in October.

The Emperor of Japan, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito, and his wife, Empress Michiko of Japan, visited Tallinn last week, and they had an official lunch at our new art museum, KUMU.

According to the PR of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the festive lunch consisted of the following:

Starter:
Pike-Perch & Snow Crab Tortellini with Pureed Black Salsify and Wood Sorrel Salad
Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie, 2005 (France)

Main course:
Fillet of Veal with Porcini Sauce, Young Asparagus and Beetroot
Irancy, 2005 (Burgundy, France)

Dessert:
Rhubarb Carpaccio, Strawberry Bavaroise, Mascarpone Ice Cream
Põltsamaa Kuldne, 1992 (Estonia)

Food by Roman Zashtsherinski (the winner of 2006 best chef award, and the chef who was in charge of the menu for this year's SilverSpoon Gala Dinner), catering by Carmen Catering.

Sounds pretty good to me, especially as pike-perch (Sander lucioperca, also known as Zander) recently _almost_ won the title of our national fish (yep, we've got one - I'll tell you more soon), so that's quite representative of our cuisine. Wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella, known as jänesekapsas or rabbit's cabbage in Estonian) is a typical wild salad leaf (and apparently foraged by Roman, the Chef, himself), and beetroot a popular root vegetable, so assuming the rhubarb and asparagus were local, I'm happy with the menu. The only 'outsider' is the snow crab, which was caught in Kamtchatka. Notice that they serve a local dessert wine, too.

The Emperor began his tour in Sweden (where they had a luncheon with the Swedish government hosted by PM Reinfeldt), then visited Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and ended their tour in the United Kingdom.

I wonder what they were served on official occasions in these countries?

Estonian Gastronomy Awards, 2006

Late last Friday I had a chance to put on my prettiest frock and highest heels, adjust K's tie and sit in a cab that took us to the annual (the first for me) Silver Spoon gala dinner hosted by the Gastronomy Society of Estonia. The show began at 11pm and lasted until the wee hours of the morning. We enjoyed a lovely five course meal with matched wines (see the menu further down) and only left a little before 3am!!

Here's a list of winners and nominees - might come handy for those of you planning to visit this little country of mine in the near future:)

SilverSpoon 2006 winners

BEST GOURMET RESTAURANT
Egoist, Tallinn - nominee
Stenhus, Tallinn - winner
Pädaste, Muhu - nominee

BEST RESTAURANT
Bocca, Tallinn - nominee
Gloria, Tallinn - winner
House, Tallinn - nominee

BEST CAFE
Cafe Truffe, Tartu - winner
Müüriäärne kohvik, Haapsalu - nominee
Cafe Angel, Tallinn - nominee

BEST PUB
Amps3, Tallinn - nominee
Scotland Yard, Mere pst, Tallinn - winner
Madisson, Tallinn - nominee

BEST CHEF
Dimitri Demjanov, Egoist & Gloria, Tallinn

BEST WINE & FOOD MATCHING
Balthazar, Tallinn

FAMILY RESTAURANT
Lucca, Tallinn

BEST BEER SERVICE
Stereo Lounge, Tallinn

BEST BUSINESS LUNCH
Pegasus, Tallinn

MOST REPRESENTATIVE RESTAURANT OF MODERN TALLINN
Pegasus

Although I still think that the best cafe in Tallinn is the delicious Chocolats de Pierre (at least that's where I meet various visiting bloggers - I met Doughboy's Antti there in December and my reader and frequent commenter Pene last Sunday), then I agree with the choice of best gourmet restaurant. I had a pleasure of eating in all three nominated places during the last six months, and although the recent meals at Pädaste and Egoist were wonderful, my meal at Stenhus was most exciting and memorable of the three).

It is a tradition that the winner of the best chef's award will cater for the next year's gala dinner. So the winner of 2005, the British-born Michael Bhoola (Pegasus), cooked the delicious offerings in January 2006, and last year's winner Roman Zashtshersinski (restaurant Ö) prepared the feast this year.
Dimitri Demjanov, who is known as the grand old man of Estonian haute cuisine, was declared the winner of the best chef's award this time around. That means he will be in charge of the gala dinner in January 2008. I cannot wait what's he got in store (yep, he's the guy on the small photo - courtesy of Postimees - holding our 'national' fish, räim alias Baltic herring).

Silver Spoon Gala Dinner 26.1.2007

Amuse bouche
Kir Royal Torres Brut Nature
Creme de Cassis, De Kyper
Moet & Chandon, Rose

Jerusalem artichoke cream soup with vanilla oil
Bernard-Massard Auxerrois, Luxemburgh 2004

Tuna tartar with wasabi and miso sauce
Zweigelt Classic, Johann Strauss 2003

Foie gras baked in puff pastry with Tokay and raisin sauce
Tokay Pinot Gris 2005

Tournedos of salmon with mandarine and vermouth sauce
J. Drouhin Chablis 1er Cru 2004

Milk chocolate and praline cake with macerated raspberries
Pineau des Charantes Ch Montifaud

Petit fours
Saint Christeau XO, Vintage 1992

The final wedding report from 2006: Helen's & Duncan's affair with medieval flair

My regular readers know that I went to zillion, well, four weddings last year. At the beginning of 2006, I received no less than six wedding invites. As I'm not working in the City, but in academia, I couldn't possibly afford to attend all of them. However, I did manage to witness my Scottish friend Annemieke marry her Greek beau Georgios on Santorini in June. In July, I attended a lovely wedding in Stockholm, where my Swedish friend Annika said 'Yes' to her British fiance Ben. (And consequently missed my friends Eve & Risto's wedding in Tallinn at the same weekend). In August, I feasted, gluten-free, in Brussels to celebrate Helen & David's long-awaited marriage (note the unusual 'cheesy' wedding cake) , and in September danced away in Tallinn, at Helen & Duncan's wedding.

As the 2007 wedding season starts tonight with the wedding of my one of my best friends, Erika, then I better finish writing about the weddings from 2006 before I open the chapter of 2007 weddings.

In early September, my Edinburgh-based Estonian friend Helen & and her Scottish man-of-her dreams, Duncan, said 'Yes' to each other during a beautiful bi-lingual ceremony at Holy Ghost Church (Pühavaimu kirik) in Tallinn. We then descended along the Holy Ghost Street/Pühavaimu tänav to a champagne reception at The Scottish Club, a restaurant dedicated to all things Scottish. Quite appropriate, considering that the groom, the best man and half of the guests had flown in from Scotland!



After the reception, some of us popped for a quick coffee at the enchanted little café, Chocolats de Pierre - probably one of my favourite gems in Tallinn (I hope Doughboy agrees, as I dragged him there in late December:)

The wedding dinner & dance took place at the House of the Brotherhood of Black Heads, just weeks before the Queen of England dined there (you can read more about this medieval guild of unmarried merchants and ship owners here). As we had moved from a medieval church to a medieval courtyard to a medieval guild house, then it's not surprising that the catering was provided by one of the medieval restaurants in town. After all, Tallinn is very proud of its well-preserved medieval old town.

Here's what the menu looked like:

The Wedding Menu
The Brotherhood of the Black Heads

Soup:
Cock-a-Leekie Soup (a traditional Scottish recipe)

Main Dish:
Oven roasted Norwegian Salmon fillet in the Bearnaise Sauce with favourite vegetable and rice casserole, fresh herbs - dainties of the honourable mayor of Rewal

or
Crispy pork fillet and mustard-green pepper reduction a la Grand Merchant Peppersack with favourite vegetable and fresh herb dainties of the honourable mayor Rewal

Selection of wholemeal bread and buns with Blackheads Brotherhood green cheese

Dessert:
Caledonian cream

Ave'c
Selection of fruits
Plateau de fromages
Coffee or tea

Celebration storied cake: cottage cheese cream, hazelnut and fresh fruits/with berry-Old Rewal reduction

A presidential lunch

Photo by Tiina Kõrtsini, SL Õhtuleht

First it was the Queen of England, then the President of the United States. Estonia has been receiving more than its fair share of high-profile visitors this autumn. Last week Mr Bush popped by in Tallinn on his way to the NATO Summit in Riga a fortnight ago. Again, there was a high-profile lunch, this time prepared by Chef Imre Kose of Vertigo.

Here's a copy of the menu, served to the 70-odd guests, including the American president George W. Bush and Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

28 November 2006

Whitefish tartare with autumn apples and rye bread tuille (picture here)

Glazed duck breast with beetroot and Merlot gravy

Kama and cream cheese cake with pumpkin marmalade

***

Wines:

Grans-Fassian Riesling Mineralschiefer 2005 (Germany)

Chateau Les Barraillots, Margaux 2002 (France)

Dessert Wine Põltsamaa Kuldne 1992 (Estonia)

I'm very pleased to see a dessert using the Estonian ground meal mixture, kama, on the menu, as well as the inclusion of some local dessert wine.

By the way - Bush isn't drinking bubbly on the above photo, but non-carbonated non-alcoholic apple cider :)

A royal dinner

Photo courtesy of Postimees

Remember when the President of Estonia came to Edinburgh to have tea with the Queen and then enjoyed a drink in a pub with local Estonians? Well, since then Estonia has got a new president and I have moved back home. I'm slowly settling into my new life, new house and new kitchen. But first I'm sharing some royal news with you. Yesterday the Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrived in Estonia, where they visited the official residence of the President (Kadriorg palace), our new art gallery (KUMU), and then attended an official dinner at Mustpeade Maja. This very moment the royal family should be meeting and greeting people at Raekoja plats, before returning to the UK later this afternoon. I even got a glimpse of the royal family yesterday, as the royal cortege passed me when I was walking to my office (to be really honest, I only saw Prince Philip, as HRH must have been sitting on the other side of the car:)

I thought I'd share the menu with you. The rumour has it that the meal was prepared by Tõnis Siigur, Chef of Stenhus - a truly enchanted restaurant that I had a pleasure to visit in July.

Estonian feast
Green salad with Estonian porcini/cep mushrooms and Gruyére cheese
Roasted filet of Saaremaa lamb with roasted peppers
Chocolate cake with Nougatini dressing and citrus fruits
Coffee & tea

Wines & champagne
2003 Pouilly-Fumé les Charmes Chatelain AC, Loire, France
2000 Château Cassagne Haut-Canon la Truffière AC, Bordeaux, France
1992 Põltsamaa Kuldne, Estonia

An Anglo-Irish wedding dinner in Brussels

Here is the third installment of my 2006 wedding reports. Earlier this summer, I went to a wedding in Greece and then in Sweden. Just under a month ago, my English friend Helen and her Irish fiance David, whom I met during my first year in Edinburgh (i.e. in 1998-1999), finally took the step into marital bliss after almost 10 years together. Or, as the Best Man said at the wedding, David finally made an honest woman out of Helen:) They have been living and working in Brussels, Belgium, since completing their postgraduate degrees in Edinburgh, and therefore decided to get married in Brussels, too.

I've mentioned Helen on my blog before. She was the first person to tell me about celiac disease. I had never heard of gluten intolerance before, and Helen gave me a crash course in what she can eat and what she cannot. In late 1990s, I was still more of a baker than a cook, and realising I cannot bake my favourite cakes for my new friend (yes, that included my Canadian apple cake) was frustrating. I had to think of flourless cakes to bake, but that's how a rather nice and rich whisky & chocolate roly-poly found a way to my kitchen, so I'm not complaining. I also had to learn how to look for traces of gluten in the unlikeliest places - most soy sauces, for example, are out of the question. I remember being surprised that Helen had to go to pharmacy to pick up her special gluten-free pasta, and she had to consult a little book to see which potato crisps were acceptable and which not.



Anyway, back to the wedding. Helen and David had a civil ceremony, which took place at their local commune, Maison Communale de Saint Gilles. This was followed by dinner & dancing at L'Abbaye de Nizelles (above), a lovely mansion a short drive from Brussels. And the food was delicious. Here's what we had:

We started with Ballotin de sole et homard à la nage - a lovely sole and lobster dish:



This was followed by Magret de canard au miel d'acacia, sauce vinaigre de framboises:



Finally, we had a pudding suitable for a gluten-free diet, Vacherin glacé, fruits frais et coulis de fruits de l’été:



And later on, after some coffees, more drinks, and lots of dancing, we were served a festive cheese course (photo above).

Definitely a night to remember. Thank you, Helen and David, for inviting me, and Rob and Mig for hosting me!

A Swedish wedding lunch: so Nordic, so nice

2006 is definitely a good year for weddings. I've got no less than six wedding invitations this year, and have agreed to attend four of them. I already missed one in Estonia, as I was travelling to Sweden (sorry, Eve & Risto). I've decided to skip the one in Colombia in December (apologies, Sara-Jane & Hernan), as last time I went to a wedding in Latin America, it was called off in a true telenovela fashion just two days before. So far I've been to two weddings already - the one in Santorini at the end of June, and Annika's & Ben's wedding near Stockholm in early July. Two more to go - one in Brussels in August, and another in Tallinn in September..

Here are some pictures of the Swedish wedding lunch, which, let me tell you, I enjoyed immensely. I felt like I'm at home in Estonia, which, suddenly, is a very delicious prospect... It was a small, intimate affair with some 55 guests from Sweden and the UK (the bride was Swedish and groom British, and they both work and live in the UK). The wedding ceremony itself took place next to Djurönäsets Båthus or boat house (above is the picture taken of the girls on the pier) in Stockholm Archipelago, less than hour's drive from Stockholm city centre. The lunch and party afterwards were at Seregården restaurant at the nearby Djurö Kursgård.

The Starter:


A slice of toast with "löjrom" (vendace roe*, Coregonus albula) and garnish. I'm not a big fan of caviar - probably ate too much of it as a child growing up in the Soviet Union:) I find caviar usually too, well, fishy, and way too salty. I must admit I was somewhat disappointed when the starter was brought to the table. But I decided to put on a brave face and wear my foodie hat, squeezed some lemon juice over the tiny orange-pink eggs and reluctantly had a forkful. Hmmm. Not bad at all, I thought, and had another. And then another. My plate was spotlessly clean just five minutes later, and I ordered a löjrom dish in a fancy restaurant in Estonia just a few days later.

Sometimes it pays to overcome one's prejudices :)

The Main Course:


Pan-fried trout fillet with steamed green asparagus, dill sauce and boiled new potatoes. Lovely and very summery.

The Dessert:

Flaky butter pastry with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries. Served with a glass of honey-coloured cloudberry liqueur (on the right). Absolutely divine (both the dessert and the liquer:)

I must give special thanks to bride's cousin Yann for being so nice and swapping his dessert for mine. He had at least twice as many strawberries than I did on his dessert plate, and he quickly realised the unfairness of this. Such a gentleman;) Tack så mycket, Yann!

The Wedding Cake:
An impressive-looking five-tier chocolate mousse cake with raspberries. A bit too sweet for my liking, but delicious nevertheless. This was a small, intimate wedding, with just about 55 guests, but the cake was finished very quickly.

The lunch and cake were followed by joyous dancing and some more food (buffet-style, including tacos with chilli and a choice of toppings, various Swedish fish dishes, as well as wraps with reindeer meat) just before midnight.

From Stockholm, I flew straight home to Estonia, so I start looking for wild strawberries and cloudberries. Lovely..

* There is some confusion about the correct English term for that fish. The room service menu in my hotel translated löjrom as 'bleak roe'. I'm relying on a very comprehensive Finnish source, Raholan syötäviä sanoja. The site claims that löjrom isn't roe from a fish known as 'löja' in Swedish (Alburnus alburnus alias bleak, also known simply as 'whitefish', or powan or lavaret, which is the French term), but from 'siklöja' (or 'mujka' in Finnish-Swedish), known as Coregonus albula in Latin, Maräne/ Zwergmaräne/ Marenke/ Zollfisch in German. How would you translate this popular caviar, dear Swedish bloggers?