Guacamole is a dipping sauce that you are probably all familiar with. You get the best guacamole by making it at home from fresh ingredients rather than buying it in a store.As guacamole is an avocado-based sauce, it is the … Continue reading Homemade Guacamole
I don’t prepare artichokes very often, because they are usually too expensive for what will be left after you clean them. This is what I commented when Jo of Frascati Cooking That’s Amore recently blogged about a recipe from Lombardia … Continue reading Roasted Artichokes (Carciofi al Forno)
When I saw swordfish on sale at the market, I knew what we were going to have for dinner. I love swordfish, but it is often hard to get it fresh (frozen means it will be dry) and for a … Continue reading Grilled Swordfish with Ratatouille
When Paola presented this savory tart on her blog she suggested to make this quickly before Spring arrives, as this leek and squash tart is more suitable for Winter. I was intrigued by the combination of leeks and squash, as … Continue reading Leek and Squash Tart
Podium onder de Dom is a restaurant in Utrecht (half an hour south-east of Amsterdam) that is located right under the city’s main landmark, the Dom (cathedral) tower. They do not have a Michelin star (yet) — but it seems … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Podium onder de Dom
One of my favorite Italian food bloggers was Silva Rigobello. Unfortunately I have to write in past tense, as she passed away in 2015. I still prepare her recipes from time to time, and in this case it is a … Continue reading Pineapple & Coconut Upside-Down Cake
Following other blogs is a great way to discover new recipes. I saw a Mexican shrimp meatball soup on my blogging buddy’s Kathryn’s blog, Anotherfoodieblogger. Regular albóndigas from Spain are meatballs cooked in tomato sauce, but these shrimp balls are cooked in something that … Continue reading Mexican Shrimp Meatball Soup (Albóndigas de Camarón)
Pulled pork is a classic dish from the South of the United States. Purists may not agree with the method I present here, as they insist that pulled pork has to be made by tending a smoker for hours and … Continue reading Pulled Pork Sous-Vide
When you have guests over for dinner, you want to please and possibly even impress them (in Italy this is called fare la bella figura). Over the years you have developed some dishes that you can always rely on in such … Continue reading Ravioli with Spinach and Ricotta (Ravioli Ricotta e Spinaci)
In summer there is ample choice of fresh produce to choose from, but in winter we have to make do with what is available, especially if you want to cook with local seasonal ingredients. Fresh peas are only available in … Continue reading Split Pea Risotto with Hot Smoked Salmon
Many people don’t make soup anymore. They just buy a can or a package of instant soup. Homemade soup is more flavorful, contains less salt, more actual chicken meat, and no chemical flavors and preservatives. The traditional way of making … Continue reading Chicken Soup
Blanquette de veau is a classic French dish that I was reminded of by Nadia. Visit her wonderful blog for a classic recipe. I’ve prepared a sous-vide version that turned out delicious. Blanc is French for white, and so everything … Continue reading Blanquette de Veau Sous-Vide (Creamy Veal Stew)
Dutch cuisine is not known for its finesse, but more for hearty dishes like stamppot, potatoes and vegetables mashed together. One of the classic winter dishes is zuurkoolstamppot met rookworst, sauerkraut mashed with potatoes and served with smoked pork sausage. … Continue reading Sauerkraut and Potato Mash with Smoked Pork Sausage (Zuurkoolstamppot met rookworst)
Celeriac and smoked eel work very well together, and I’ve posted recipes using them before. This time, I added hazelnuts to the mix and created a restaurant style appetizer. The celeriac is prepared in three ways: as a very smooth … Continue reading Celeriac Three Ways with Smoked Eel Ravioli
What you see in the photo above is the result of a bit of playfulness. Or silliness. It is salmon and sea bass, glued together, and then cooked sous-vide as if it is some kind of mutant fish with layers … Continue reading Salmon and Sea Bass Glued Together
Recently we had green apple and goat cheese as dessert at Restaurant Jacob in Leiden. I have a few bottles of a wonderful late harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre that I thought would work particularly well with that combination. And … Continue reading Apple and Goat Cheese Dessert
After having cooked sous-vide for six years, I still discover some improvements now and then. Until recently, when cooking beef sous-vide I would usually choose as low a temperature as possible, and then cook long enough for the meat to become … Continue reading Flank Steak Sous-Vide Temperature Experiment
In Italy there are two kinds of pizza. Round and thin pizza, cooked for a couple of minutes in a very hot (wood-fired) oven, is available in pizzerias. That type of pizza is difficult to make at home with a … Continue reading Sheet Pan Pizza (Pizza in Teglia)
You can encounter baby octopus in a hot red sauce all along the long Italian coastline. “Alla diavola” refers to the use of chilli flakes. You can make it as hot or as mild as you like. If you are … Continue reading Baby Octopus Alla Diavola (Moscardini alla Diavola)
Can you make a delicious pasta dish using only four ingredients, counting salt and pepper as the first two? Yes, you can! Boneless and skinless turkey thigh becomes tender, flaky, juicy, and tasty after cooking it sous-vide for 24 hours … Continue reading Tagliatelle with Sous-Vide Turkey Thigh
After the positive reactions to the report of my failure trying to make oyster sauce from fresh oysters, here is another experiment that didn’t turn out so well. The photo above is the “crispy egg” we got served for breakfast … Continue reading Crispy Egg with Smoked Eel (Failed Experiment)
After reading Conor’s post in which he showed us how to prepare delicious roast leg of goat, I got curious and wanted to try goat meat, too. Now there are a lot of goats in the Netherlands, kept primarily for milking, … Continue reading Goat Stew from Abruzzo (Capra alla Neretese)
When I saw this yogurt cake on Mimi’s blog, I wanted to make it straight away. She had eaten it at Moro, a restaurant in London, and loved it so much that she made it at home. I can see … Continue reading Yogurt Cake with Pistachios and Pomegranate
For months now I’ve been making muffins for breakfast with oat bran, quark (or cottage cheese or skyr), eggs, and stevia as the base. I bake them every weekend to eat for breakfast during the week. These muffins are nutritious … Continue reading Banana Oat Bran Quark Stevia Muffins
As there aren’t many Mexican restaurants around here and those that are there are probably not very authentic, I don’t eat a lot of Mexican (or Tex-Mex) food that I don’t prepare myself. And so I had never before seen … Continue reading Pork Tamales
We love foie gras and I was curious to try and make foie gras ice cream. I looked at some recipes on-line, but found none that made sense to me. Some even suggested to discard (!) or save for another … Continue reading Foie Gras Ice Cream
I’ve posted a recipe for beet risotto before, a risotto made with regular vegetable or chicken stock and then combined with roasted beets. When I saw a recipe on Hans’ blog Chefsopinion in which he boiled beets and then used … Continue reading Beet and Goat Cheese Risotto (Risotto alle Barbabietole e Formaggio di Capra)
My recent short trip to India inspired me to try and cook some more Indian food. After the success of Shahi Salmon, I decided to try my hand at Lamb Korma. It is similar because it also has a creamy … Continue reading Lamb Korma
Pimientos de Padrón are green chilli peppers from Spain that are usually mild, but sometimes one of them can be very hot. They are very tasty, a bit like green bell pepper but better. To prepare them, you only need … Continue reading Pimientos de Padrón
Stroopwafels are a Dutch treat that is very popular both inside and outside the Netherlands. They are thin round waffles, filled with syrup that has a hint of cinnamon. They are very addictive! When a Dutchman wants to charm a … Continue reading Homemade Stroopwafels (Dutch Syrup Waffles)
