Ron Blaauw is a famous Dutch chef who used to have a two Michelin star restaurant, but now has four branches of “Ron Gastrobar“, of which the original one near the Vondelpark in Amsterdam has held a single Michelin star … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Ron Gastrobar* (2024)
This ravioli dish is one of my favorite ‘battle horses’, an Italian term (cavallo di battaglia) for a dish that is always a success when I prepare it for guests. I also prepared this for my friends Robert and Melvin … Continue reading Meat Ravioli with Butter and Sage (Ravioli di Carne con Burro e Salvia)
This pasta dish was inspired by a fish stew from Burgundy called Pôchouse. The fish is poached in white wine and the poaching liquid is reduced together with fish stock and then turned into a creamy sauce by adding crème … Continue reading Fresh Pasta with Pikeperch and Cream
This was a very special wine lunch at In Den Rustwat (IDRW) in Rotterdam, organized by Fred Nijhuis. Fred is a wine writer who specializes in Italy and was the guide for the wine trips to Lombardia, Piemonte, and Campania. For this wine dinner … Continue reading Lunch with Very Old Wines at In Den Rustwat
Pasta alle Cenere literally means “pasta with ashes”. This name does not refer to the flavor, but to the appearance of the dish. It is pasta with a sauce of gorgonzola (Italian blue cheese), black olives, and cream. Freshly ground … Continue reading Ravioli alle Cenere
During the wine tour of Australia last year we had lunch at the Nick O’Leary winery in the Canberra district. Both the wines and the restaurant are recommended. One dish we all liked very much was deep fried cauliflower. We … Continue reading Fried Cauliflower with Coconut Milk and Smoked Paprika
For me there is no right or wrong when it comes to cooking. It is not about following rules, it is about getting the results you want. Why insist on following a rule, if you can’t taste the difference anyway? … Continue reading Salt Before Or After Sous Vide?
Lars Amsterdam is the restaurant of chef Lars Scharp, located in same building as the Residence Inn by Marriott Amsterdam Houthavens, with a sunset view of the Amsterdam harbor (Houthavens). Lars opened in 2018 and has held a Michelin star … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Lars Amsterdam*
Lazio, the Italian region of which Rome is the capital, has four famous simple classic pasta dishes with similar ingredients: Recently my friend Melvin pointed out that there is a fifth one called Zozzona, which I had never heard of … Continue reading Pasta alla Zozzona
This salad with lukewarm salmon is so simple it is hardly a recipe, but it is so good that I wanted to share it with you anyway. It is a perfect summer dish that is quick and easy to prepare. … Continue reading Sous Vide Salmon with Arugula
Restaurant Vista is located at the Hollands Diep estuary in the historic town of Willemstad, just south of Rotterdam. The restaurant opened in 2016 and has held a Michelin star since 2018. It has a terrace with a nice view … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Vista*
Chinese Char Siu BBQ Pork is one of my favorite dishes. Most of my cooking starts with natural ingredients, rather than using store-bought. Pesto for instance, is so much better if you make it yourself than store-bought, also because most … Continue reading Char Siu Marinade From Scratch
After having made fresh Mexican chorizo, I looked for recipes to use it. One of my favorite blogs with Mexican recipes is Irene’s My Slice of Mexico and that’s where I found this recipe for green beans with chorizo. It … Continue reading Green Beans with Mexican Chorizo (Ejotes con Chorizo a la Mexicana)
The chorizo we know here in Europe is Spanish chorizo, which is a dry cured pork sausage with smoked paprika as the dominant spice. Mexican chorizo is different because it is wet (or fresh, only lightly cured) rather than dry, … Continue reading Homemade Mexican Chorizo
When planning our trip to Sicily, the first thing I decided was that I wanted to return to La Madia after the wonderful dinner we enjoyed there in 2013. Chef Pino Cuttaia still holds two Michelin stars. The restaurant looked … Continue reading Dining in Italy: La Madia** (2024)
Signum is the restaurant of chef Martina Caruso in the Signum Hotel on Salina, one of the Aeolian islands between Sicily and Naples, which has held a Michelin star from 2016. The restaurant and hotel are only open in the … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Signum*
This is the third and final part of the tour to Campania that I organized as a member of the Dutch association of Vinologists (Verenigde Vinologen Nederland). After a day of getting to know the wines of Sannio, we continued … Continue reading Campania Wine Tour Part 3: Irpinia
This is the second part of the tour that I organized as a member of the Dutch association of Vinologists (Verenigde Vinologen Nederland). After a day of getting to know the wines of Sannio, we continued our exploration of Campanian … Continue reading Campania Wine Tour Part 2: Costa d’Amalfi
My posts are not completely in chronological order at the moment, because the wine tour of Campania has already finished, but I have two more installments to post about that trip. After the trip I took the ferry to the … Continue reading Dining in Italy: Dani Maison**
I am a member of the Dutch association of Vinologists (Verenigde Vinologen Nederland) and after the great wine trips with the association to Piemonte, Lombardia, and Australia, I have now organized a trip to Campania in Italy as a member … Continue reading Campania Wine Tour Part 1: Sannio
Nam Prik Pao is Thai chilli ‘jam’ and has a great flavor of slightly spicy, sweet, sour, and a lot of umami. You can make it from scratch or buy it. A very popular dish is cashew chicken, which is … Continue reading Thai Cashew Chicken
After the great meal at 212 last year, I couldn’t wait to go back again and decided to take my friend Melvin there for his birthday dinner. I hadn’t checked the menu when I made the reservation, so I only … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: 212** (2024)
Aria fritta literally means “fried air”. This is what chef Peppe Guida called the deep fried pizza that he served as an appetizer at his agriturismo Villa Rosa (read about my visit here). It is also simply called pizza fritta. … Continue reading Aria Fritta (Deep Fried Pizza)
MOS restaurant in Amsterdam has one Michelin star and offers a beautiful view of the river and Central Station from the large windows. The restaurant by chef Egon van Hoof and maître Henry Pattiwael opened in 2015 and has held … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: MOS*
Pasta with meat ragù is one of the best known Italian dishes around the world. Each region in Italy has its own version. The most famous is Tagliatelle alla Bolognese. It is so famous in fact, that outside of Italy, … Continue reading Rigatoni Strascicati col Ragù (Pasta with Florentine Meat Ragù)
Chef Mimi is my oldest blogging friend (oldest as in for the longest time). We’ve followed each other’s blogs since 2012, and we’ve had the pleasure to meet in person in 2014 when we were both visiting our mutual friend … Continue reading Thai Squid Salad
I created this dish to use up what was in my fridge — so I could also call it pasta svuotafrigo. I had some leeks, left over prosciutto, and left over ricotta that all needed to be used up. I … Continue reading Pasta with Leeks, Prosciutto, and Ricotta (Trofie ai Porri, Crudo e Ricotta)
Restaurant Aan de Poel is located in Amstelveen, the wealthy suburb of Amsterdam. It is situated and named after a small lake called “De Poel”. The terrace offers a beautiful view of the lake, but the weather wasn’t The restaurant … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Aan de Poel**
Ricotta and spinach are a classic combination in Italian cooking, especially as a stuffing for ravioli. It also works great with a ‘pink’ tomato sauce, which means a tomato sauce that is mixed with either cream or white sauce (besciamella). … Continue reading Spinach, Ricotta, and Tomato Lasagna (Lasagne di Magro)
Restaurant Heimat in Utrecht has just opened. In fact, I was there for the first regular night, after a trial week. My main purpose to be there was to catch up with a dear friend, who lives around the corner … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Heimat
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