There was a butternut squash in my pantry that needed to be used. The best Italian recipes are always the simplest, and so I decided to use the squash to make risotto with no other ingredients except the squash and … Continue reading Butternut Squash Risotto (Risotto alla Zucca)
This is a recipe that started off as “what can I make from what is in my refrigerator”, but we liked it so much that it is now a regular feature on our menu. Turkey can be a bit boring, … Continue reading Turkey with Spinach
Frantzén in the old town of Stockholm is a small restaurant that seats only about 20. It has two Michelin stars and ranks 31 on the World’s 50 best restaurants or 16 on Opiniated About Dining. There are a few … Continue reading Dining in Stockholm: Frantzén**
We love green asparagus, especially when they are grilled on the BBQ, but every time I prepare them, it bothers me to discard the ends. About 40% of the weight is discarded that way. And so I wanted to experiment … Continue reading Pasta with Asparagus Ends
This summertime ragù is more elegant than ragù alla Bolognese and takes less time. It is best over fresh pasta, but as seen in the photo it is great on spaghetti or other store-bought dry pasta, too. As with many … Continue reading Pork, Fresh Tomato and Fennel Seed Ragù (Ragù di Maiale al Pomodoro Fresco e Semi di Finocchio)
Recently I posted a recipe for goat satay, saté kambing, prepared sous-vide. This had turned out to so well that I wanted to make it again soon, but this time with chicken. Unlike goat (or lamb) shoulder, chicken meat is tender … Continue reading Chicken Satay (Saté Ajam)
Stéphane of MyFrenchHeaven.com wrote so enthusiastically about Vichyssoise, which is a cold potato and leek soup, that I wanted to give it a try. I prepared it according to his recipe, and the result was a very elegant refreshing soup. … Continue reading Vichyssoise (Cold Potato & Leek Soup)
Spaghetti with a sauce made from fresh tomatoes is the only dish that I prepare quite often, but has not appeared on this blog yet. There are two reasons for that: one is that I thought it wouldn’t be interesting … Continue reading Spaghetti with a Fresh Tomato Sauce (Spaghetti al Pomodoro)
Strawberries with pastry cream on a sweet shortcrust pastry crust are a classic. You could make a large tart, but it looks much better and is easier to serve when you make individual tartlets. There are some special techniques used … Continue reading Strawberry Tartlets
My old-fashioned butcher (which is not a bad quality at all in a butcher) is slowly catching up to new trends, and is now dry aging beef. I picked up a dry aged strip steak (called entrecote in the Netherlands) … Continue reading Strip Steak with Parsnip, Zucchini and Potatoes
When I posted my recipe for crème brûlée, I got suggestions to try white chocolate creme brulee (which I did and liked) and passion fruit creme brulee as well. Blogging is a continuing source of inspiration for my cooking, and … Continue reading Passion Fruit Crème Brûlée
Blade steak or flat iron steak is a relatively inexpensive cut of beef that when you cook it sous-vide becomes more flavorful than many more expensive cuts of steak, and just as tender. Look for steaks with a lot of … Continue reading Blade Steak Sous-Vide with Shii Take Mushrooms and Oyster Sauce
This is an Italian version of what is known in the Netherlands as kalfsvinken: a thin slice of veal stuffed with ground veal. It becomes Italian by the addition of prosciutto, parmigiano, sage, and nutmeg. The easiest way to cook … Continue reading Involtini di Vitello (Stuffed Veal Bundles)
After preparing shrimp-crusted grouper with spinach and butter beans, which was inspired by a crab-crusted grouper I’d had in Miami Beach, I decided to try a crab-crusted version as well. You can prepare this with any type of white fish that doesn’t … Continue reading Crab-Crusted Halibut with Asparagus and Madeira Sauce
I had some left-over remoulade sauce in my fridge, along with some parsnips that needed to be used. And so I decided to buy some fish fillet and make these fish and parsnip balls. The reasoning behind it was that … Continue reading Fish and Parsnip Balls with Tarragon
When you look on-line for the best temperature to cook cod sous-vide, you will find answers ranging from 41C/106F to 60C/140F. On this blog, I have posted a recipes at 41C/106F and 54C/159F. Especially if you are new to sous-vide cooking, … Continue reading Cod Sous-Vide Temperature Experiment
When you make crème brûlée, you will have a lot of leftover egg whites. On the master of cook I saw this recipe for a ‘pizza’ made from egg whites with a tomato sauce and tuna. In Italian it is … Continue reading Egg White ‘Pizza’ With Tuna
Bouillabaisse is a classic fish soup from Marseille in France. The name comes from boiling (bouilla) over low (baisse) heat. Originally it was made from fish that fishermen had left over. Now there are so many versions that a group … Continue reading Bouillabaisse
Panzerotti are deep-fried calzone, i.e. deep-fried filled pizza! They are delicious street food from Puglia in the deep south of Italy. In Campania they are called calzoni fritti. The funny thing is that I did not get to know these … Continue reading Panzerotti
I’ve been experimenting with different flavors for the high protein, high fiber, low sugar, and low fat muffins I’m baking for breakfast. My favorite so far is almond poppy seed. This flavor seems to work particularly well with the quark, … Continue reading Oat Bran Quark Almond Poppy Seed Muffins
Picanha is a cut of beef that is very popular in Brazil and Argentina, that is known as “rump cap” in the United States or as staartstuk in the Netherlands. It is a tender and flavorful piece of beef from … Continue reading Picanha Sous-Vide with Chimichurri
When I posted my recipe for regular crème brûlée, CampariGirl suggested I should try making it with passion fruit or white chocolate. Since passion fruit appears to be out of season, I opted to make it with white chocolate. White chocolate … Continue reading White Chocolate Crème Brûlée
Apart from anything sous-vide, homemade ravioli could be considered to be my signature dish. Besides Italian classics I have developed many variations over the years. So many that it is getting hard to come up with something new. White asparagus … Continue reading White Asparagus Ravioli
As the dessert for our soul food dinner, Selena suggested we bake a sweet potato pie. This is like pumpkin pie, but made with sweet potato. Of course we made the pastry crust from scratch, using the new method that … Continue reading Soul Food, Part 4: Sweet Potato Pie
For a vegetable side for our soul food feast of dirty rice and smothered pork chops, we decided on turnip greens (Dutch: raapstelen, Italian: cime di rape). This preparation is suitable for other types of bitter greens as well, like … Continue reading Soul Food, Part 3: Turnip Greens
The second part of the soul food feast we prepared was smothered pork chops. This is a simple but tasty recipe: pork chops that are cooked low and slow in onion gravy. Of course we made this sous-vide, but you can … Continue reading Soul Food, Part 2: Smothered Pork Chops
My co-worker Selena suggested we prepare a soul food meal together, and I thought that was a wonderful idea. I was curious to try it and what better way than together with someone who grew up with soul food?! This … Continue reading Soul Food, Part 1: Dirty Rice
Sinne is a small restaurant in the Pijp neighborhood of Amsterdam that was awarded a Michelin star in 2014. So it was about time I went to check it out. The cuisine is a mixture of Mediterranean and Oriental influences. You … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Sinne*
I’ve never been to India and I’ve never even eaten at an Indian restaurant. But I was curious about the cuisine, and so it was a great pleasure that two natives, Vinod and Seema, were willing to cook for me … Continue reading Introduction to Indian Cuisine
It’s Spring and when it’s spring I see lambs frolicking in the pastures. And it makes me think of how good they will taste as lamb chops or lamb shank 😉 A part of lamb that is not as popular … Continue reading Agnello alla Romagnola (Lamb Stew with Peas, Pancetta and Tomato)
