Zoodles are noodles made from zucchini. You make them with a gadget called a spiralizer. There are electric ones as well has hand-operated models. I got one of the latter after reading ChgoJohn’s blog post about the spiralizer he had … Continue reading Zoodles with Fish and Eggplant Ragù (Tagliatelle di Zucchine al Ragu di Pesce e Melanzana)
There isn’t much wildlife in the Netherlands, but there is some. The nearby dunes that are used to filter the drinking water for the city of Amsterdam (Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen) have so much deer running around in them, that the authorities … Continue reading Venison Shank Sous-Vide
Often simple preparations are the best. In this case a trout is wrapped in aluminum foil and baked in the oven, while potatoes are roasted in the same oven and with the same flavors (rosemary and garlic). The only tricky … Continue reading Trout and Potatoes from the Oven
After the trilogy of posts about understanding what happens to meat when you cook it in terms of juiciness, tenderness, succulence, flavor, and appearance, another important subject to cover is food safety. This post does not just apply to meat, … Continue reading Understanding Food Safety
Some Dutch words are difficult to translate. Two important ones are gezellig and borrel. “Gezellig” means having a good time together with other people. It can be used as an adjective, as in “gezellige avond” (avond = evening), or as an adverb: … Continue reading Crispy Chili Balls (Chili Bitterballen)
This recipe is pretty crazy. It’s something I thought of and wanted to try: deep fried ravioli made with cornflour (masa) that I wanted to taste like hard taco shells, filled with chili con carne and smoked mozzarella. Although I … Continue reading Deep Fried Corn ‘Ravioli’ Filled With Chili Con Carne
I’ve just returned from a short business trip to Bombay in India. There wasn’t time for any specific food research, but I did enjoy the food immensely and even tried Indian wine for the first time (which was unexpectedly good). … Continue reading Simple Shahi Salmon
A pizza crust made from cauliflower is often presented as a low-carb substitute for real pizza. I put the word ‘pizza’ between quotes in the title of this post, because I do not think it is a substitute for real … Continue reading Cauliflower ‘Pizza’ with Smoked Mozzarella
During our travels through Spain, on many nights we wouldn’t sit down in a restaurant to have dinner, but instead go from tapas bar to tapas bar to sample the tapas with a nice glass of wine. This is not … Continue reading Tigres o Mejillones Rellenos (Stuffed Mussels Tapas)
It is wonderful how much culinary inspiration I get from other bloggers and my followers. Today’s recipe was inspired by Cecil Brewer, a follower who e-mails me his ideas and recipes. Cecil uses a slightly different technique because he uses … Continue reading Smoked Duck Legs Sous-Vide
Fresh porcini mushrooms are hard to find, in part because they are so perishable. Luckily dried porcini mushrooms can be kept for a long time and they pack a lot of flavor. The secret to making the most delicious dried … Continue reading Porcini Mushroom Ravioli (Ravioli ai Funghi Porcini Secchi)
Meat tastes good when it is tender, juicy, succulent, flavorful, and looks good. In the previous two parts of this series, I have explained how cooking affects the juiciness of meat, the factors that affect the tenderness of raw meat, … Continue reading Understanding What Happens to Meat When You Cook It, Part 3: Succulence, Flavor, and Appearance
Making traditional Italian venison pasta sauce is pretty straightforward, but it does require some patience because of the long cooking time involved. As you only have to stir every half hour or so, this is a perfect sauce to prepare during … Continue reading Venison Pasta Sauce (Ragù di Cervo)
One of the questions I get asked the most is whether I spend a lot of time preparing each meal. The answer is no, as when I get home from work I am usually too hungry to wait a long … Continue reading Fusilli with Shrimp, Peas, and Tomato
This is food blogging how I like it best. A simple but tasty recipe using a limited amount of seasonal ingredients, prepared, eaten, and blogged about all during the same evening. The flavor still lingers as I am typing this. … Continue reading Roasted Pumpkin, Lentils, and Rabbit with Rosemary
We cook meat to make it nicer to eat because it is more tender and flavorful than raw meat, and to make it safe to eat by killing harmful bacteria that may be on the meat. In order to be … Continue reading Understanding What Happens To Meat When You Cook It, Part 2: Tenderness
Yes, you’ve read it correctly, a cake that contains beets (also known as beetroot). When I saw this recipe on Polianthus’ blog, I was intrigued and knew I had to try it. I am glad that I did, because the … Continue reading Hazelnut and Beet Cake
Brussels sprouts are an acquired taste that not everyone acquires (or has acquired yet). I’m not that fond of them myself. But with game & wine dinner parties coming up, I need to work on my autumnal side dishes for … Continue reading Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic and Honey
I always like it when I get requests for a dinner party, because it makes it easier to choose what to make. In this case, the request was something with shrimp and garlic. Because of the season I looked for … Continue reading Shrimp, Pumpkin, and Almonds
We cook meat to make it nicer to eat because it is more tender and flavorful than raw meat, and to make it safe to eat by killing harmful bacteria that may be on the meat. In order to be … Continue reading Understanding What Happens To Meat When You Cook It, Part 1: Juiciness
You may have noticed something else on the plate along with the venison and mushroom stew of my previous post. Because the stew was served with a wine from Piemonte, I wanted to serve a contorno (side dish) from that … Continue reading Sancrau alla Piemontese (Savoy Cabbage with Vinegar and Anchovies)
As a gift for her 18th birthday, I cooked dinner for Kees’ niece Liza. The center of the dinner was a nice bottle of Barolo from her year of birth, and so I had to come up with a dish … Continue reading Venison and Wild Mushroom Stew (Brasato di Cervo ai Funghi di Bosco)
Many recipes tell you to use the white part of leeks, so my attention was caught at once when Elie wrote about Leek Royale on his blog Oven-Dried Tomatoes. Royale de Poireaux is a French side dish that is essentially … Continue reading Leek Royale (Royale de Poireaux)
This a great appetizer for a dinner party, because it is delicious, looks great, and is quite easy to prepare. Only a few ingredients are needed to make a fantastic dish. Scallops and bacon are friends, so bacon-wrapped scallops are … Continue reading Bacon-Wrapped Scallop with Pumpkin
When we visited Estancia Piedra for a wine tasting, our charming host Mary suggested that a risotto with tart apple, mushrooms, and goat cheese would be outstanding with the Rueda Verdejo from Estancia Piedra. Although the wine did smell of … Continue reading Risotto with Apple, Mushrooms, and Goat Cheese
I like using everything and reducing waste. When you buy a bunch of carrots, they come with the greens, but usually those are discarded or used to feed the rabbits if you have them. I’ve already posted recipes to use … Continue reading Pasta with Roasted Carrots and Carrot Tops Pesto
Fried fish is really good with remoulade sauce, but that mayonnaise-based sauce is not the most healthy of options. And so I decided to try making a version with yogurt at its base, and tried it with baby sole, pan-fried … Continue reading Sole with Yogurt Remoulade Sauce
This blog is sometimes about fancy food or wine, but mostly it is about food prepared from scratch using high quality fresh ingredients, in such a way that the ingredients shine. During our travels I didn’t do a lot of … Continue reading Grilled Sardines
We’re on a wine discovery vacation in Spain, and so there have been a lot of posts about Spanish wine lately. Although I do intend to write more about wine than I used to, this will remain primarily a cooking … Continue reading Five-Spice Duck with Napa Cabbage and Noodles
Pasta comes in many shapes. The most common include spaghetti, penne, tagliatelle, orecchiette, and lasagne. Apart from fresh pasta and dried pasta, one of the main distinctions is between ‘short’ pasta such as penne and orecchiette, and ‘long’ pasta such … Continue reading Choosing a Pasta Shape, Part 2: Spaghetti with Bell Peppers and Olives
