I wanted to introduce our best friends to fine dining in a Michelin starred restaurant, and thought Spectrum would be a great place to do it. The restaurant of chef Sidney Schutte opened in 2014 in the Waldorf Astoria hotel, … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Spectrum** (2022)
One of my favorite foods to cook on a charcoal grill is a lobster tail. Although it is not much of a recipe, I should photograph it so I can blog about it. If you start with whole live lobsters, … Continue reading Lobster Fettuccine (Fettuccine all’Astice)
When I saw boneless venison short ribs, I thought they would be perfect to make venison burgers. I prefer beef short ribs to make my own beef burgers from scratch, because short ribs have a good meat-to-fat ratio for burgers … Continue reading Venison Burger
This is a very simple recipe that I found in the Italian book “Le ricette di Osterie d’Italia”. The zucchini are boiled in the marinade and then left to cool. It can served as part of a spread of antipasti, … Continue reading Marinated Zucchini (Zucchine marinate)
When we visited Milano last year, we had a lovely evening with Bea of Viaggando con Bea and her husband Gigi. Bea brought me a very thoughtful gift: a book (in Italian) with recipes from Brianza (“Brianza in cucina: storia, … Continue reading Italian Chicken Pot Roast (Pollo nello stovin)
Risotto alle Rape is a simple risotto that is prepared with turnips in Italy, but can just as easily be prepared with kohlrabi (which is a close relative with a very similar flavor). As always with risotto, the quality is … Continue reading Turnip or Kohlrabi Risotto (Risotto alle Rape)
Char siu is one of my favorite dishes to prepare sous vide, because it is so easy and delicious. Because the pork is cooked for 24 hours in the marinade, I had always assumed there was no use in marinating … Continue reading Experiment with marinating before sous vide
Geranium in Copenhagen by chef Rasmus Kofoed has held 3 Michelin stars since 2016 and is ranked 6th on the World’s 50 best restaurants. A perfect location to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. The restaurant is located on the top floor of Copenhagen’s soccer stadium and offers wonderful sunset views. There is a set menu of 18 courses for DKK 3200. The wine pairing is offered at four price points: DKK 2000, 4000, 6000, or a whopping 18,000. We opted for the DKK 4000 pairing. It is very difficult to get a reservation, as the number of tables is limited. … Continue reading Dining in Denmark: Geranium***
“Høst” means harvest, to make it clear that this Nordic restaurant in Copenhagen bases its dishes on the best seasonal ingredients. It is part of Cofoco, the Copenhagen Food Collective. Reservations are accepted for two shifts: you can either start … Continue reading Dining in Denmark: Høst
There are already two similar recipes on this blog, ravioli with green asparagus and goat cheese and white asparagus ravioli with prosciutto, but the combination of white asparagus and goat cheese is so good that I wanted to share this … Continue reading Goat Cheese and White Asparagus Ravioli
Vignarola is a stew of the vegetables that grow around Rome at the end of Spring, beginning of Summer. I was reminded of this dish by Jo’s Frascati Cooking That’s Amore. Vignarola can be a contorno (side dish), minestra (hearty … Continue reading Vignarola (Roman Vegetable Stew)
We were supposed to go to Librije in December for our annual anniversary celebration, but due to the pandemic it was postponed until now. As usual we had a package with an 8 course degustation plus champagne and wine pairings, … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Librije*** (2022)
We were in Sancerre to stock up on Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé wine. Since there aren’t any great restaurants in the town of Sancerre itself, I looked around and noticed a restaurant in the town of Boulleret, just 15 minutes North … Continue reading Dining in France: l’Ardoise du Marché*
Five years ago we enjoyed a nice dinner at l’Amaryllis, so we decided to go there again when we were visiting the area. The restaurant holds one Michelin star, same as five years ago. The restaurant is located in an … Continue reading Dining in France: l’Amaryllis* (2022)
I have good memories of my first dinner at Schanz back in 2014, read my review here. Thomas Schanz became the chef in the hotel-restaurant of the Schanz family in 2011, received his first Michelin star in 2012, second in … Continue reading Dining in Germany: Schanz***
This dish looks and sounds very simple, but it requires a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps. They are worth it though. For this stir fried beef with ginger and scallions I used the recipe from Chinese Cooking … Continue reading Chinese Stir Fried Beef with Ginger and Scallions
I often get inspiration for dishes from wine pairings. I like rack of lamb with a red Burgundy, and aged red Burgundy can have a hint of cauliflower. And so I created this dish of rack of lamb with slow-roasted … Continue reading Rack of Lamb Sous Vide with Slow-Roasted Cauliflower
Tonno di Coniglio is a classic Italian recipe from the region of Piemonte. It literally means “Tuna of Rabbit”. In Italy, tuna is preserved in glass jars with olive oil, and this recipe is rabbit prepared as if it were … Continue reading Tonno di Coniglio Sous Vide (Italian Marinated Rabbit)
Fried steak is a typical dish from the Italian region of Piemonte. Morsels of beef are breaded with flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs, and then deep fried until golden brown and crispy on the outside and tender and juicy medium rare … Continue reading Fritto Misto alla Piemontese (Fried Steak, Mushrooms, and Zucchini)
In Costa Rica we enjoyed this physalis liquor at Ubin restaurant, and decided to purchase a bottle to bring home with us. Physalis is a fruit from the Andes that has many names, including goldenberry and cape gooseberry (because they … Continue reading Physalis and Chocolate Tartlets
When I make ravioli, usually I put most of the ingredients in the filling and serve them with a simple sauce. But when I had ravioli stuffed with ricotta and seafood ragù at Pepe Nero, I realized that the other … Continue reading Ravioli di Ricotta al Ragù ai Frutti di Mare
The food in Costa Rica is usually nothing to write home about, or in fact to blog about. A lot of rice and beans, and very little spices or herbs. But there are some exceptions. A hidden gem is Ubin … Continue reading Dining in Costa Rica: Ubin by Keilor Sanchez
Last fall we had a wonderful evening with Bea at Antica Trattoria Galleria in Milano, where we enjoyed a risotto that was listed on the menu as Risotto all Longobarda. It contained porcini mushrooms, taleggio cheese, and saffron. Here is … Continue reading Risotto alla Longobarda (Risotto with Dried Porcini Mushrooms, Taleggio, and Saffron)
Saltimbocca alla Romana is one of my favorite dishes. It is delicious and very quick to prepare. It is a classic dish from Rome, and the name “jump in the mouth” refers to its deliciousness. The recipe for Saltimbocca is … Continue reading Saltimbocca alla Romana
This mushroom soup is surprisingly simple to prepare, yet so delicious and elegant. The star of the dish is fresh truffle. I used black winter truffle, because that is what’s available at the moment. Although truffle isn’t cheap — this … Continue reading Mushroom Soup with Truffle
When we think of salad, we think of lettuce and vegetables. But in Thai cooking, a salad can apparently also consist mostly of… ground pork! This dish is called “Laab” and it is very tasty. The ground pork is cooked, but served at room temperature with a dressing of lime juice, fish sauce, chili flakes, toasted rice powder, shallots, and a lot of fresh herbs: mint, cilantro, and green onions. The toasted rice powder adds both texture and a nutty flavor. Steamed sticky rice is served on the side. I’ve made it following Hot Thai Kitchen’s recipe. Ingredients Serves 2 … Continue reading Laab ลาบหมู (Thai Ground Pork Salad)
This is my favorite way of preparing cod. And so I was surprised to find that I had not yet shared it with you on my blog, when I did the post about what we eat on a daily basis. … Continue reading Merluzzo alla Palermitana (Baked Cod With Crust)
Anolini in brodo is a typical dish from the region of Parma that intrigued me when I enjoyed it at Locanda Mariella. The small round ravioli are filled with stale bread that is soaked in meat jus. The result is … Continue reading Anolini in Brodo (Round Ravioli in Broth from Parma)
These Chinese shrimp dumplings are so good and worth the effort to make from scratch, even though it takes 1.5 to 2 hours to make a batch. They are just like the shrimp dim sum Har Gow (虾饺), but with … Continue reading Shrimp Dim Sum
When I was writing the recent post about dishes we have on a regular basis, I noticed that there were a few dishes that I make several times per year, but are not featured on the blog yet. As there … Continue reading Penne with Roasted Celeriac (Penne al Sedano Rapa al Forno)
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 