This is the antipasto I prepared for our Christmas dinner. It was inspired by a dish we had at Devero** in Italy in June. This was what the dish at Devero looked like and what I wrote about it in my review: … Continue reading Scallops, Chicken, Bergamot
They say crocodile tastes like chicken, but I had never tried it myself to confirm. When I saw frozen crocodile tail fillet on sale (still not cheap by the way at 60 euros/kilo or US$ 32.50/lb), I remembered reading a … Continue reading Crocodile Sous-Vide with a Root Vegetable ‘Swamp’
I’ve had a tabletop smoker for hot smoking for years and I use it often, for instance to make hot-smoked salmon or hot-smoked scallops, or to smoke a brisket or a ham hock before cooking it sous-vide. Such a smoker … Continue reading Cold Smoked Salmon
Sometimes I get a request from a reader that leads me to discovering a new dish. For instance malloreddus pasta with fennel and sausage, now one of my favorite pasta dishes. This time it was Himeros who requested my take … Continue reading Gnudi (Basil Ricotta Dumplings)
A friend who came over for dinner announced he would bring a late harvest Sauvignon Blanc, a Sancerre to be more precise. This is the dessert that I came up with to accompany it: cheesecake made from goat cheese. Goat … Continue reading Goat Cheesecake
Our favorite dish during our recent dinner at Inter Scaldes was the caviar with corn and oxtail. I liked the combination of corn and caviar so much, that I made something inspired by the dish at Inter Scaldes (certainly not … Continue reading Caviar with Corn
After four years of cooking sous-vide, the longest cook I had done was still 72 hours. So far I had not encountered a cut of meat that required more. Then I read about oxtail sous-vide, cooked 100 hours at 60ºC/140ºF, and … Continue reading Oxtail Cooked Sous-vide For 100 Hours
Cannoli are Sicilian tubes of deep-fried pastry stuffed with sweetened sheep’s milk ricotta. Traditionally they were prepared for carnevale, but nowadays they are prepared year round and not just in Sicily. The stuffing can be enriched with chocolate chips, candied fruit, … Continue reading Cannoli
Are you looking for an original dish to serve for Christmas that is tasty, not too difficult, but different from anything you’ve ever had for Christmas before? Then this might just be it! You need to be able to source … Continue reading Salsify à la Clayton with Duck
For yesterday’s post with tips for making homemade ravioli I needed some photos, and prepared a filling with duck and orange. First I braised duck legs in orange juice with the ‘holy trinity’ of onion, carrot, and celery as well … Continue reading Duck Orange Ravioli (Ravioli d’Anatra e Arancia)
Homemade ravioli are my signature dish. These delicate pasta pillows stuffed with goodness are a great way to impress your guests, and would be perfect for a Christmas dinner. You can make them in advance and when it is time … Continue reading Top 10 Secrets to Make the Best Homemade Ravioli From Scratch
Making risotto the traditional way, adding stock by the ladle and stirring all the time, takes me about 35 minutes from the moment I start sweating the onion to serving. We love risotto and I usually prepare it once a … Continue reading Is Pressure Cooking a Better Way to Prepare Risotto?
Kibbeling is one of the most popular Dutch fish snacks. The name has been derived from kabeljauwwang (cod cheek), although nowadays a lot of kibbeling is no longer made from actual cod cheeks but from other pieces of cod, hake, or haddock. When I … Continue reading Kibbeling (Fried Cod Cheeks)
This somewhat eclectic dish came about when Teun and I were playing in the kitchen and decided to get some inspiration from the Plated Dishes volume of Modernist Cuisine. More and more I am getting the impression that these dishes … Continue reading Fusion Risotto with Oysters, Salsify and Avocado
Although crab and fennel are perhaps not ingredients you use on an every day basis, this is one of those pasta dishes that can be prepared in half an hour and is thus perfectly suited for a weekday meal. That … Continue reading Fusilli with Crab and Fennel
December 5 is the date of the Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas) celebration in the Netherlands. Sinterklaas is a bearded fellow dressed in red who gives presents to children. Sounds familiar? The Coca Cola company moved him to Christmas and the North … Continue reading Kruidnoten
Last Saturday I hosted another wine dinner: 6 courses with 2 wines accompanying each dish for a group of 15 friends. If you’d like to see some photos of the event and read about what I served, visit my page … Continue reading Pasta with Romanesco and Sausage (Pasta con broccolo romano e salsiccia)
One of my favorite dishes is spaghetti alle vongole, and I realised I had never done a post on it yet. This pasta with clams has great depth of flavor because of the juices that the clams will release when … Continue reading Spaghetti alle Vongole
Traditional strudel isn’t made with puff pastry but with its own special dough. Although its origins are Turkish (related to baklava), it now mostly known as a recipe from Austria. You can also find strudel in North-East Italy, because of … Continue reading Apple Strudel
Happy Thanksgiving! When I was googling researching gnocchi all’acqua (‘water’ gnocchi, made from a dough much like that of éclairs), I noticed a variety of these gnocchi stuffed with pieces of pancetta and served with a tomato sauce. This sounded … Continue reading Gnocchi all’Acqua con Pancetta
A friend who came over for dinner requested I prepare game, so I picked up some nice venison haunch steaks and prepared porcini-crusted venison steak with cabbage and mushrooms. The idea for the porcini crust came from Conor, but of … Continue reading Porcini-crusted Venison Steak
Despite my forays into fusion, my favorite cuisine remains Italian home cooking. I’ve started following another blog in Italian, Grembiule da Cucina, hosted by Simona, an experience Italian home cook. She posted her family’s meatball recipe, which is also used for … Continue reading Green Ravioli with Ham
Food blogs are an easy way to get to know food from all over the world, without having to leave your home. I have been to the Spanish Costa del Sol a long time ago, but got to know Gambas … Continue reading Gambas al Pil Pil (Shrimp with Garlic and Paprika)
We love risotto and I am always looking for new recipes. When I saw pomegranate risotto on Marina’s blog Le Ricette di Baccos, I bookmarked it on my coming soon page so I would remember to prepare it later. As pomegranates … Continue reading Pomegranate Risotto (Risotto alla Melagrana)
I already did two posts on Carnitas sous-vide (this post, and this post), so why another one? Well, you can never have too much of a good thing, and those carnitas are so goooooood. So what is the reason for … Continue reading Carnitas Sous-Vide with Guacamole
This Southern Italian pasta dish has loads of flavor and texture: orecchiete pasta, broccoli, fresh anchovies, sundried tomatoes, crunchy sautéed breadcrumbs, chile pepper, and parsley. Those sautéed breadcrumbs are a good alternative for cheese (which is ‘forbidden’ on a pasta … Continue reading Pasta with Anchovies and Broccoli (Orecchiette Alici e Broccoli)
Beef shoulder, also known as the top blade roast, has great marbling (intramuscular fat) and therefore great flavor. It has a drawback, which is a thick central muscle sheath that is very tough. If that sheath is removed then the … Continue reading Blade Steak Sous-Vide
There are countless traditional Italian recipes with only a few ingredients, a simple preparation, and a lot of flavor. This of course depends on the quality of the ingredients used. This is a perfect salad for fall or winter from … Continue reading Witlof and Pancetta Salad (Insalata di Radicchio e Pancetta)
Although I’m usually more into authentic traditional dishes, lately I’ve been doing a lot of fusion. Sometimes it works surprisingly well, like this hot-smoked halibut with guacamole. The flavors and textures are a very good combination. Hot smoking is so … Continue reading Hot-Smoked Halibut with Guacamole
One of my co-workers, a nice lady called Heleen, mentioned that she had a great recipe for carrot cake. That got my attention as I was looking for a dessert recipe with vegetables. She lent me a book from Slow … Continue reading Carrot and Almond Cake (Torta di Carote)
