Madsen Restaurant news

February 2009

Greetings from Charlotte & team,

Hurrah, we made it to the news pages! - on January 21 we were reviewed in the Evening Standard by David Sexton. Overall, it was a great review with Mr Sexton stating that our house marinated herring " was wonderfully tender and rich tasting, showing just how good herring can be — in fact, it provided one of those great restaurant moments where you think: “So that’s what all the versions I’ve had before should have tasted like.” You can read the full review here.
The month of January also saw us hosting lunch and dinner parties for teams from the Norwegian Embassy and VisitDenmark. We thank them for their support, and we are looking forward to welcoming you all back.

Finally, it is Valentine's evening on Saturday, Febuary 14. We have created a fantastic 3-course menu to suit all tastes and you can find it further down the newsletter. Of course, on February 22 it is "Fastelavn" and to celebrate, we will be selling home made "fastelavns boller" in the restaurant over the weekend.

Our new feature in the newsletter is "Recipe of the month". Head chef, Rene, has let us have a look over his shoulder and we can therefore reveal how our Chef's liver pate is being made. It is not really as hard as it seems - you should give it a go!

Best wishes,

Charlotte & team.

Swedish Tuesdays & Danish Wednesdays

During the month of February we will continue the success with Pytt i panna and Stegt flæsk.However, these dishes will change for next month so make sure you do not miss out! Please book your table in advance on 020 7225 2772 or reservations@madsenrestaurant.com

Swedish Tuesday’s
Pytt i panna med stekt ägg, £11.50
Swedish style hash topped with a fried egg
Danish Wednesday’s
Stegt flæsk med persille sovs ad libitum, £11.50
Thick fried bacon with parsley sauce and potatoes “ad libitum"

Smørgåsbord every Sunday!

True to tradition, we serve the smørgåsbord/buffet every Sunday from Midday to 4.30pm. It is a great occasion to spend time with friends and family with a wide range of traditional Scandinavian dishes to pick from. We have recently updated our menu to include more vegetarian dishes such as leek tart, omelet and green salad. In addition to this you should not miss out on our delicious range of herring, smoked salmon or Greenland prawns not to forget the pork belly, frikadeller or "hakkebof". You can find the full menu here.

♥ Valentine’s menu ♥

We have created a romantic menu for you and your loved one to enjoy on this special night out. The menu is in addition to our a la carte that is also available on that evening.

£28.00 per person
including a glass of champagne per person and a red rose for the lady

Starter
Seafood sharing platter
Mussels steamed in white wine and herbs
Smoked salmon with red onions on blinis
Lumpfish caviar with crème fraîche

Main Course
Filet of pork with a thyme and bacon crust served with red wine glazed beetroot,
Jerusalem artichoke and roast potatoes
or
Pollack on a bed of sautéed cabbage with dill sauce, boiled potatoes and purée of carrots

Dessert
Heart shaped chocolate cake served with vanilla ice-cream

Please reserve your table in advance on 020 7225 2772 and let us know if you are interested in the special Valentine’s menu.

Swedish wild blueberry juice at Madsen

As some of you might already know, we have the wild blueberry juice that we serve in the restaurant. It is a fantastic healthy drink and a great alternative to wine, if you do not want the alcohol content.

Wild Blueberries 100% is produced by a family run company in rural Grythyttan, Sweden, which has been trading in berries since the 1970’s and in 2005 developed the idea of refining the blueberries to the juice Wild blueberries 100%. - It is imported and distributed in the UK by BlueConcept Ltd, which was established a year ago by Veronika Kral and Peter Simai, both native Swedish.

They hand pick 2,300 mature wild blueberries, press them into a delicious juice and freshly bottled, to become the most delightful, nutritious drink one could have imagined. No sugar, no water, no preservatives added - nothing else whatsoever added. Just pure pressed wild blueberries. The juice has a pleasant and long lasting after-taste with a strong, developed scent as well as beautiful colour. Its flavour and character are much akin to the body, texture and maturity of a young red wine which makes it the ultimate non alcoholic alternative to wine.

Wild blueberries 100% should be enjoyed at room temperature and left to breathe for a few minutes after opening – for full flavour, just like wine.

Join us on Facebook

We have recently set up a facebook group to help spread the word and to keep you informed of what we do. You can find us here - please join and tell your friends about us.

If you have any ideas for our Facebook profiile, please do let us know. You can send your suggestions to facebook@madsenrestaurant.com.

Recipe of the month

Liver pate

8 portions.
3 tablespoon wheatflour
¼ liters of milk
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon crushed cloves
Pepper
½ sliced yellow onion
150 g melted butter
1 egg
300 g chopped pig liver
½ teaspoon allspice

To go with:
400 g ryebread
25 g butter
1 portion pickled beetroot

Mix the flour with 3 tablespoons of the milk. Stire the rest of the milk together with the other ingredients. Divide the mixture into 8 porcelaincups (1 ½ dl) or 4 aluminiumcups (3 dl). Bake in the middle of the oven.

Tip: The liver pate can also be baked in one big porcelain- or aluminiumform (about 1 ½ liter). Put the pate in a cold oven. Set the oven at 175 degrees and bake for about 1 hour. Shut off the oven and let the pate stand inside for about 10 min.

Baking time:
Put the pate in a cold oven. Set the oven at 175 degrees and bake for about ½ hour.

The pate can be frozen in the moulds before baking. Bake off in the oven without defrosting.

...finally, what's on in the local area?

Here are some ideas of what you can do on a day out in South Kensington:

The Natural History Museum:

The Natural History museum has a busy month ahead. They have two big exhibitions on show, the Darwin Exhibition and the annual, Wildlife photographer of the year.
The Darwin exhibition – is the biggest ever exhibition about Charles Darwin and it shows until April 19, 2009. Click here.
The Wildlife Photographer of the year 2008 - captures amazing animal and landscape pictures. This exhibition is on until April 26, 2009 and you can find out more here.

V&A Museum:

Across the road at the V&A museum there are three exhibitions on show.
Magnificence of the Tsars - illustrates Russia’s relationship with her past and with Europe through two centuries of men’s court dress. The exhibition is open until March 29 2009. Click here.
The Booker 40 at the V&A – celebrates the 40th anniversary of the leading literary award, The Booker and Man Booker Prize. This will be showing until May 17, 2009 and you can find out more here.
Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones - this exhibition is a collaboration between the V&A and one of the fashion world’s most prolific milliners, Stephen Jones. This will be showing until May 31, 2009 and you can find out more here.

Science Museum:

Next to their usual, excellent display they have an exhibition called Japan Car.
Japan Car - is an exploration of the car as a "mobile cell". Japan Car will be available until April 19, 2009. Click here

Other:

At Christie's they have a Post-war & Contemporary art evening sale on the 11th of February 2009 at 7pm. Read more here.

At The Royal Albert Hall they show for example Carmen and the Quidam Photographic Exhibition. Read more here.

Scandinavian Events in London

The Danish Church

Fastelavn – a party for the children on Saturday February 21, 2009 at 14.00 they will celebrate with sweets and by "slaa katten af tonden". Sounds good to us...At Madsen we will be serving the legendary buns on that day too over lunch and in the afternoon.

OPENING HOURS

Monday - Thursday Midday - 11pm
Friday & Saturday Midday - Midnight
Sunday Midday - 5pm

020 7225 2772
reservations@madsenrestaurant.com