Saturday and mom's party was only the start. My oldest brother, Frode, turned the magic 50 in February. He lives up north in Norway so none of us met him then, but as he and daughter Kamilla was coming to stay with us for the week-end in connection with my mother's huge feast, I decided it was time to celebrate him as well. Yesterday we had a party in The House in the Woods with 18 people gathered around 2 tables.
Frode is a priest, but his main hobby, well, except from travelling, is cooking. (easy to tell that he is my brother, isn't it :-)) Not only cooking, but gourmet cooking. A dinner with alot of different courses, all made from scratch, is what he loves.
The menu has occupied my mind for several weeks. Cooking for 18 in a small kitchen is a challenge, how many courses would I be able to make? We are an active family, and since brother Torodd would be leaving Trondheim in the afternoon, for a conductor job up in Bodø, we had to start our meal already at 4pm, which gave me another challenge.....the time available to prepare it all.
Cooking together is alot of fun. Frode made the first starter - a risotto wrapped in parma ham. Already right after breakfast the seducing smell from the risotto filled the kitchen and soon also the whole house.
When Marta finally woke, she had a hard time to find a place where she could decorate her cupcakes.....the kitchen was all busy.
I started the day helping Frode, making the majonaise for the risotto, trying to learn his cooking secrets, but also had time to take alot of photos.......
......but as the hours went by I became more and more busy, doing the table, making The Blue Café's very special fish soup, cooking the lamb, making the gratinated potatoes.....
When I uploaded my photos to my laptop this morning I realised that after serving the fishsoup there were suddenly no more time for photos.....
I could have asked Terje or Marta to take photos, or one of the guests.......
.....but I never learn. I always believe that I am able to make it all myself.
There is one thing I do know though: memories can't be created my myself alone. I need my family, and I need my friends! Thank you to everyone for a lovely week-end!
