Monthly Archives: August 2008

Getting back on the IPv6 wagon

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Over the last 7 years or so, I’ve played with IPv6 from time to time. I’ve had tunnels set up several times, and they’ve fallen over again due to kernel upgrades, or just because I didn’t really use them. Now I’ve set up another one, but this time, I have found some actual uses for it – sort of, anyway:

1) My web server runs IPv6, and DNS works for it. This blog now works with IPv6 access. I’ve already had a couple of hits on that connection, but not very many. From earlier experiences, I know that this means some people will have a hard time getting to it, due to having a non-working IPv6 setup, and browsers prefering IPv6. Well, if that’s you: Get with the programme, and get your IPv6 fixed.

2) I made my phone – a Nokia N95 – work with IPv6. Actually, I’m bragging where I shouldn’t be: I figured out how to get my wireless network to accept the phone, and as soon as that worked, the phone picked up an IPv6 address, and I could access the test site I’ve been using, http://ipv6.beijing2008.cn/.

I was a bit surprised at how easy it was, but it seems that the consumer end of electronics is really getting ready for IPv6, even though various routers and ADSL-modems aren’t. Next step must be to convince the boss to let an IPv6 VLAN close to the servers so people can start using it for something.

Tiramisu for my colleagues

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When you have colleagues like mine, taking a photograph of the tiramisu before it was eaten isn’t a suggestion that’s likely to be accepted – so you will have to contend with a picture of what was left:

They did all enjoy it, and all my hard work yesterday wasn’t entirely wasted.

Recipe

The amounts are for about 12 people, and they can probably be multiplied. You could probably halve it as well, but making much less than that is an affront to the recipe! 😉

Ingredients

  • 8 dl espresso (or strong coffee)
  • 2 dl amaretto or marsala – I like amaretto
  • 500 grams lady fingers (savoiardi) (or more or less, depending on the tray you use)
  • 200 grams sugar
  • 8 egg yolks, pasteurised
  • 8 egg whites, pasteurised
  • 750 grams Mascarpone cheese
  • Vanilla
  • Cocoa powder

I used 750 grams instead of the 1000 grams recommended in the book I adapted it from (Spise med Price, DR Forlag 2008). I liked the result, though some more of the cheese might be nice. It wouldn’t have fit in the tray I used anyway.

Method

Brew the coffee, mix it with the amaretto and leave it to cool.

Mix the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla – I just added more to taste later – and whip until light and fluffy. This will take a while. Mix in the Mascarpone. Whip the egg whites and fold them in, to make the mixture lighter.

Pour the coffee mix in a flat-bottomed container, and dip the savoiardi sugar side up, so the mixture almost reaches the sugary bit – lift them up right away, and place sugar side down in the tray. Cover the entire bottom of the tray this way.

Cover with a layer of the egg-cheese mixture, about 1 to 1.5 cm thick. Use about half of the amount you have. Add another layer of savoiardi, and another layer of the mixture, making sure to level it out nicely.

Cover, for instance with aluminium foil, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours – I had mine in the fridge for 18 before serving.

Right before serving: Dust with cocoa powder – not the sugary stuff used for making drinks, but pure cocoa. Enough should be added that it looks like a dry layer on top of the tiramisu (in my opinion, anyway).

Probably stores well, but there’s not going to be much left anyway 😉

Depending on how long you dip the savoiardi, the tiramisu will taste more or less of coffee, and be more of less mushy. Finding the right balance can be a pleasurable job, as you need to make a new tiramisu each time 😉 There’s a bit of work in making a tiramisu, but it’s lots of fun, and it tastes great. It may not be too healthy to eat it all oneself, though.

“Real” tiramisu?

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I’ve been looking to make some tiramisu, and for that I’ve decided on a recipe. It’s from “Spise med Price”, a Danish cookbook made to accompany a TV show of the same name. This recipe uses – for 6 persons – 4 egg yolks beaten with 100 grams sugar, with Mascarpone mixed in (500 grams), lightened with 4 beaten egg whites. Easy.

However, when I went to get the ladyfingers to use for the recipe, it had a different recipe. This called for – for 5 persons – 3 egg yolks, sugar and only 250 grams Mascarpone. Still the same with the egg whites.

Curiosity now piqued, I looked at my new Joy of Cooking for a recipe – and lo: 12 servings needs 5 egg yolks, half a cup whipped cream(!), and about 400 grams Mascarpone. This is quite different, since it uses whipped cream instead of the egg whites – and doesn’t seem to need as much amount of filling as the others.

I decided to press on and look at my Italian cookbooks, namely one called “Culinaria Italia” and one called (in Danish) “Italy – temptations of the Mediterranean”. The first calls for 4 egg yolks, a cup whipped cream and 500g Mascarpone, while the second (for 4 people) uses 2 egg yolks and whites and 250g Mascarpone – same proportions as the original one I looked at.

To sum up: To make tiramisu, you need a number of egg yolks and some Mascarpone, between 30 and 80 grams per person, and either whipped cream or beaten egg whites to lighten it with. And I haven’t even started to look at whether to use Marsala, Amaretto or other sorts of liquor for the ladyfingers…

What’s your favourite way to make tiramisu?

Danish Design in Batman: The Dark Knight

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The latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight, includes quite a few instances of Danish design. Having moved to a new flat recently, and not actually having bought all my lamps yet, I am quite attentive to nice lamps I see around town when shopping and such. And lo, there were some in The Dark Knight as well:

AJ Gulv

Arne Jacobsen floor lamp

Arne Jacobsen floor lamp

The Arne Jacobsen floor lamp was designed in 1957 for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. Bruce Wayne has a number of them in black in his Gotham City penthouse apartment.

PH 4½/3½ (or one like it)

PH glass shade lamp

PH 4½/3½ lamp

The Poul Henningsen glass shade lamps were designed in the middle of the 1920’es, and based on a logarithmic spiral. The mayor of Gotham City has one in his office in the movie.

Apart from that, one of my friends noticed a Danish designed Kirk telephone in it as well, Bang & Olufsen are getting more business because one of their stereos was featured in it, and I’m certain more of the furniture was Danish designed as well. I like this trend.

Sigfreds Kaffebar: Good coffee in Ã…rhus

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Writing a post like this in English might seem a little strange – but at least it will be readable for foreigners who may want to visit Ã…rhus: I’ve found a nice place for coffee in Ã…rhus. It’s Sigfreds Kaffebar.

For anyone who knows Ã…rhus, it probably shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Sigfreds is known as a place of good coffee, and even though we have the Starbucks-style Baresso around here as well, producing somewhat consistent quality coffee, Sigfreds is just a different league – and a wholly different atmosphere. It’s a lot more cosy and café-like. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture to place here, but I think I’ll be going back tomorrow and might get one.

I had a cortado, basicly a double espresso with about the same amount of steamed milk in it, for 32 kroner. It doesn’t come with any accessories, apart from an optional glass of water, but it didn’t need any: The taste was great. Freshly ground beans, and judging by the videos on the website and the behaviour of the barista, a very keen attention to hygeine and cleanliness. Thoroughly recommended.