You could probably consider ravioli to be my signature dish. I love serving those delicate parcels that burst with flavor. When Auldo and Teun came over for lobster bisque, I used one of the leftover lobster tails (and a bit … Continue reading Lobster Ravioli (Ravioli all’Astice)
Have you ever heard of cutlets “Palermo style” (alla Palermitana)? I hadn’t. But thanks to the blog Culinaria Italia (the blog of a Brit who lives in Puglia) I have now tried them and loved them! The Cotoletta alla Palermitana … Continue reading Cotoletta alla Palermitana
Yet another simple and delicious seafood pasta dish from Biba Caggiano that only takes as long as it takes to cook the pasta: pasta shells with calamari, tomatoes, anchovies, and chile pepper flakes. This is best with fresh squid, but … Continue reading Pasta with Squid (Conchiglie alla Pappagano)
After eating at three-star restaurants and trying complicated recipes, it’s easy to forget that simple food can be great, too. Fortunately I only need to browse one of Biba Caggiano’s cookbooks to be reminded of that, and that is where … Continue reading Gnocchi with Fish Sauce (Gnocchi con Sugo di Pesce)
Babi Panggang is Malaysian/Indonesian for “roasted pork”. So why did I spell it with only one ‘g’ in the title of this post? Because this is the Dutch version that is only known in the Netherlands (and perhaps Belgium) and … Continue reading Babi Pangang (Pork with Sweet & Sour Red Sauce)
A great way to get to know the wines of an area is to visit the area, visit wineries, taste the wines, talk to the winemakers, eat at local restaurants, and order local wines with your meal. It is even … Continue reading German Wine
Acqua Pazza (which literally means “crazy water”) is a dish from Campania, the region of Naples. It can be either a primo piatto or a secondo piatto. As a secondo, it is fish cooked with cherry tomatoes. As a primo, it is … Continue reading Spaghetti all’Acqua Pazza (Spaghetti with Fish and Tomatoes)
Thanks to Miranti’s blog The High Heel Gourmet, I’ve been getting into homemade Thai from scratch. It is very different to my usual Italian stuff, but just as delicious in a completely different way. With the batch of thai red … Continue reading Thai Fish Cakes (Tod Mun Pla)
I’ve never yet tried my hand at lobster bisque, and so when Auldo claimed his lobster bisque was top notch I asked him to give me a demo. The result was outstanding, and he volunteered to do a guest post … Continue reading Auldo’s Lobster Bisque
There are only two restaurants in the Netherlands with three Michelin stars. De Librije has had its third star since 2004, De Leest acquired it recently. De Leest is situated in the village of Vaassen, near the town of Apeldoorn … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: De Leest***
This is what I prepared for our secondo piatto for Easter dinner: lamb shank ‘Italian style’ sous-vide with white asparagus sous-vide. Both lamb and asparagus are perfect to celebrate Spring. I’ve blogged about lamb shank sous-vide before, and that was a very … Continue reading Lamb Shank and Asparagus Sous-Vide
Once you have basic Thai red curry pasten (Kaeng Kua), you can easily turn it into an ‘advanced’ curry paste such as Kaeng Panang, which is enriched with peanuts and spices. Kaeng Panang is eaten with meat and poultry, and … Continue reading Thai Kaeng Panang Red Curry with Chicken
Kaeng Kua is ‘basic’ Thai red curry paste that I will use in the next few days to make a thai red curry with chicken and thai fish cakes. Like so many other foodstuffs, thai red curry paste is better … Continue reading Thai Red Curry Paste (Kaeng Kua)
Thomas Keller is a world famous chef and owns multiple restaurants. He published a beautiful book on sous-vide cooking called “Under Pressure”. In this book he writes that lobster tail should be cooked sous-vide for 15 minutes at 59.5ºC/139ºF, and … Continue reading Lobster Sous Vide Temperature Experiment
Burrata is a fresh cheese from the Italian region of Puglia that is like a creamy version of mozzarella. I had never seen it imported before, so when I did see it in Amsterdam I jumped at the chance to … Continue reading Pasta with Burrata, Spinach, and Lemon (Orecchiette Burrata, Spinaci, Limone)
Vendôme is the restaurant of chef Joachim Wissler, with 3 Michelin stars, awarded best restaurant in Germany and #10 on the list of the 50 best restaurants in the world. The restaurant is located in Schloss Bensberg, a very stylish … Continue reading Dining in Germany: Vendôme***
The Schanz family runs a hotel, winery and restaurant in the town of Piesport in the Mosel region of Germany. The young chef Thomas Schanz recently received his first Michelin star. Besides à la carte there is a 6-course chef … Continue reading Dining in Germany: Schanz*
Breast of lamb is a cut of lamb I had never prepared before. It is interesting that similar cuts from different animals can have completely different names. In this case, breast is to lamb what belly is to pork. The … Continue reading Breast of Lamb Sous-Vide
In Italy, ravioli with a seafood stuffing are usually made with potato rather than ricotta and/or egg to bind the stuffing. In this case I selected seabream (orata) to stuff the homemade fresh ravioli, and I served them with a … Continue reading Fish Ravioli with Seafood (Ravioli di Pesce ai Frutti di Mare)
Usually I am a substance over form kind of guy, but this time around I went for the look — without forgetting about flavor of course! The flavors in this dish are a classic combination: lamb, rosemary, eggplant, and potato. … Continue reading Lamb-Eggplant-Potato Mosaic
A traditional side dish of Sicily is Bastaddi affucati, a Sicilian type of purple cauliflower braised with wine. I got the inspiration to try this dish from Viaggiando con Bea. Since bastaddu (in Sicilian, bastardo in Italian) is difficult to find … Continue reading Braised Cauliflower (Cavolfiore Affogato)
You may think I’m obsessed with the combination of almond and amarena cherries. Recently I posted about this meringue cake and these cookies. So why yet another post that features this combination? Well, I really liked the texture of the … Continue reading Almond Cherry Cookies (Bocconcini all’Amarena)
This post is another example of how good very simple dishes can be. I had never thought of tomato risotto, and saw it for the first time on Le Ricette di Baccos. I tried it, and it was absolutely wonderful. … Continue reading Tomato Risotto (Risotto al Pomodoro)
Grand Restaurant Karel V is part of Grand Hotel Karel V and is housed in a former monastery from the 14th century in Utrecht. The restaurant used to have a Michelin star, but Michelin has recently taken that star away … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Karel V
Thanks to Miranti’s great blog The High Heel Gourmet, I’ve been trying out authentic Thai recipes for the first time. Miranti is very clear about what is authentic Thai and what is not, and I really like her style. The … Continue reading My First Pad Thai
After seeing a nice recipe for caramelized red onions on Viaggiano con Bea I wanted to try, all that was left to do was pick what I would serve it with. I had some lovely wagyu blade steaks in the freezer, … Continue reading Wagyu Blade Steak Sous-Vide with Caramelized Red Onions
I saw a recipe for chestnut gnocchetti with a taleggio sauce on GialloZafferano, and thought I’d give it a try. This was the first time I made something with chestnut flour, which has a bit of a sweet taste. It … Continue reading Chestnut Gnocchetti with Taleggio Sauce (Gnocchetti di Castagne)
The first recipe I tried from Modernist Cuisine at Home was Caramelized Carrot Puree. The flavor of the carrots is intensified by pressure cooking them with baking soda. The baking soda allows caramelization to occur at temperatures that a pressure … Continue reading Caramelized Carrot Puree
After my trip to REMCooks I was inspired to try some more Mexican/Southwestern food. Carnitas is a dish made of braised or roasted and then fried or sauteed pork in Mexican cuisine. Richard had served us delicious sous-vide duck carnitas, and … Continue reading Carnitas Sous-Vide
Viaggiando con Bea is one of the Italian blogs that I follow to get inspiration and feedback on my Italian recipes directly from the source. A while ago she published a recipe for a Sicilian side dish with cauliflower called … Continue reading Sicilian Pasta and Cauliflower Gratin (Gratin di Mezze Maniche al Cavolfiore)
