German Wine
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
Spaghetti all’Acqua Pazza (Spaghetti with Fish and Tomatoes)
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)
Thai Fish Cakes (Tod Mun Pla)
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)
Auldo’s Lobster Bisque
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
Dining in the Netherlands: De Leest***
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***
Lamb Shank and Asparagus Sous-Vide
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
Thai Kaeng Panang Red Curry with Chicken
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
Thai Red Curry Paste (Kaeng Kua)
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)
Lobster Sous Vide Temperature Experiment
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
Pasta with Burrata, Spinach, and Lemon (Orecchiette Burrata, Spinaci, Limone)
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)
Dining in Germany: Vendôme***
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***
Dining in Germany: Schanz*
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 Sous-Vide
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
Fish Ravioli with Seafood (Ravioli di Pesce ai Frutti di Mare)
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)
Lamb-Eggplant-Potato Mosaic
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
Braised Cauliflower (Cavolfiore Affogato)
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)
Almond Cherry Cookies (Bocconcini all’Amarena)
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)
Tomato Risotto (Risotto al Pomodoro)
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)
Dining in the Netherlands: Karel V
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
My First Pad Thai
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
Wagyu Blade Steak Sous-Vide with Caramelized Red Onions
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
Chestnut Gnocchetti with Taleggio Sauce (Gnocchetti di Castagne)
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)
Caramelized Carrot Puree
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
Carnitas Sous-Vide
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
Sicilian Pasta and Cauliflower Gratin (Gratin di Mezze Maniche al Cavolfiore)
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)
Wiener Schnitzel
After my post about Viennese potato salad, it won’t be a surprise that my next post that was inspired by my trip to Vienna is about Wiener Schnitzel. Although this is probably the most famous savory dish from Vienna (unfortunately … Continue reading Wiener Schnitzel
Wiener Erdäpfelsalat (Viennese Potato Salad)
Last week I was in Vienna for the first time, on a business trip for a day. We went to a rather tacky restaurant that played Austrian waltz music but served decent food. I decided to order the most Austrian … Continue reading Wiener Erdäpfelsalat (Viennese Potato Salad)
Tuna Tacos
I used my first homemade corn tortillas to make tuna tacos. Tacos are stuffed tortillas (either wheat or corn). Tuna tacos are not very traditional, but they sure are delicious. I stuffed the tacos with ancho seared tuna, pico de … Continue reading Tuna Tacos
Homemade Corn Tortillas and Hard Taco Shells
It won’t come as a surprise that after visiting casa Remcooks, I have been inspired to do some Mexican/Tex-Mex/Southwestern cooking. Baby Lady got me a big bag of corn masa flour, needed to make corn tortillas and she also taught … Continue reading Homemade Corn Tortillas and Hard Taco Shells
Malloreddus alla Campidanese (Sardinian Pasta with Tomato and Sausage)
Each region in Italy has its own pasta shapes and pasta recipes. For the southern part of the island of Sardinia the shape is called malloreddus or gnocchetti sardi, and the traditional dish using them is called Malloreddus alla Campidanese. … Continue reading Malloreddus alla Campidanese (Sardinian Pasta with Tomato and Sausage)
