The Canberra district has a cool climate thanks to the high altitude (700 meters above sea level) and a cooling breeze from the nearby ocean. It had been a wine growing region from the first settlement of Australia in the … Continue reading Australian Wine Tour Day 3: Canberra District
This is the second day of the Aussie Wine Tour of the Association of Dutch Vinologists. Click here for the previous day. On the way from Sydney to Canberra we made a stop at Centennial Vineyards, the only vineyard in … Continue reading Australian Wine Tour Day 2: Centennial and Rebel Rebel
This is the first installment of my chronicles of the 13-day Aussie Tour 2023 of the Verenigde Vinologen Nederland (Dutch association of wine connoisseurs), with Master of Wine Cees van Casteren as our guide. We started with an overview tasting … Continue reading Australian Wine Tour Day 1: Sydney
This recipe for pasta with pumpkin is from Campania and Calabria, where it is made using the local elongated variety of pumpkin called cocozza (cucuzza in Calabria). Since pumpkin doesn’t have a very strong flavor anyway, you can easily substitute … Continue reading Pasta with Pumpkin (Pasta e Zucca)
Restaurant Vinkeles in the Dylan Hotel in a historic building in the historic canal district of Amsterdam has been awarded its second Michelin star this year, so that was a good reason to go there to celebrate my friend Robert’s … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Vinkeles**
Biba Caggiano was an Italian-American cookbook author, television chef, and restaurateur. It was through her books that I mastered the basics of Italian cooking about twenty years ago, before I learned the language and increased my knowledge of Italian cuisine by … Continue reading Calamari in Inzimino (Braised Squid with Swiss Chard in a Spicy Tomato Sauce)
Italian cuisine is very regional. Italy has 20 regions that are further subdivided into 107 provinces. The provinces are usually named after the main city or town. Each province is proud of its culinary tradition and has its own piatti … Continue reading Tordelli al Ragù (Ravioli from Lucca)
Thanks to my blogging friend Mimi I discovered that there is not only Peking Duck, but also Peking Lamb (or Mutton). The lamb is slow-roasted with 5 spice and then served as wraps with Hoisin, cucumber, and spring onions. (Peking … Continue reading Peking Lamb Sous Vide
An unusual dish I enjoyed in Yucatán Mexico was Tzic de Venado, which is also written as Tsi’ik de Venado. Venado is Spanish for venison, and Tzic means something like pulled meat. So this is pulled venison. What makes it … Continue reading Tzic de Venado Sous Vide (Maya Style Pulled Venison)
Recently I’ve enjoyed a seafood dish that featured a bisque at two different Michelin starred restaurants. The first was sea bass with a bisque at Ciel Bleu and the second was raw shrimp with bisque and carrots at Aqua. This … Continue reading Turbot with Carrots and Bisque
One of the nicest meals during our vacation in Yucatán, Mexico, was a lunch at La Palapa del Tio Fito in Campeche. From the large reed shack at the waterfront it is not immediately apparent that they really know how … Continue reading Octopus Poc Chuc
To celebrate my friend Anja’s birthday, I took her to dinner at Restaurant 212. This is the main restaurant of chef Richard van Oostenbrugge, who first held two Michelin stars at Bord’eau (I had the pleasure of dining there in … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: 212** (2023)
Coulisse has been awarded its first Michelin star in 2023, and so I was curious to check it out. It is located in a historic building, a former theater. The Dutch word “coulisse”, usually used as plural “coulissen”, refers to … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Coulisse*
Ceviche was often on the menu in restaurants during my trip to Yucatán, Mexico. Ceviche is raw seafood that is ‘cooked’ by marinating it in citrus juice. What surprised me most when I ordered it in Yucatán, was that it … Continue reading Black Ceviche
Bistro de la Mer on Utrechtestraat 57 in Amsterdam is the sister restaurant of De Juwelier, just a few doors down on Utrechtsestraat at number 51. It is also owned by Richard van Oostenbrugge, chef of Restaurant 212 (just around … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Bistro de la Mer*
Four years ago I performed an experiment in which I compared 8 different time and temperature combinations for cooking pork belly sous vide. The result was that my preferred options were 48 hours at 57C/135F and 24 hours at 74C/165F. … Continue reading Pork Belly Sous Vide Time and Temperature Experiment, the Sequel
Melanzane a Scabecciu is a typical sweet & sour eggplant antipasto from Sardinia, which I enjoyed at Agriturismo Oasi Blu in Calasetta. There it was made with lovely red eggplant from the agriturismo’s garden, but it is also very nice … Continue reading Melanzane a Scabecciu (Sweet & Sour Eggplant Antipasto)
Homemade limoncello tastes better than most store-bought limoncello. I have been making it myself for about 10 years now (click here for the recipe). Lemon peels, infused for 4 to 6 weeks in pure alcohol (95% pure), then add a … Continue reading Homemade Limoncello: To Sous Vide Or Not To Sous Vide?
During our vacation in Yucatán in Mexico I thoroughly enjoyed the local food. For lunch we often went to a taquería to have tacos. Taquería Honorio in Tulum has become famous due to René Redzepi’s praise when Noma had a … Continue reading Tacos with Relleno Negro Sous Vide (Black Filling of Pulled Turkey with Roasted Chiles)
Birria is a popular dish from the Mexican region of Jalisco. The taco version, also known as quesabirrias, has become popular in the US, which was probably why quesabirrias were on the menu in Cozumel (Yucatán). A lot of American … Continue reading Birria Tacos (Quesabirrias)
After our dinner at Aqua we were spending the weekend in Berlin before going home. It was my going to be my first time in the city, so I did some research online to decide where to eat. The highest … Continue reading Dining in Germany: Nobelhart & Schmutzig*
For our 21st wedding anniversary we returned to Aqua, the three Michelin star restaurant by chef Sven Elverfeld in the Ritz Carlton in Wolfsburg, Germany. We’ve been here before in 2015 and 2019. We opted for the all-inclusive “Grand Culinary … Continue reading Dining in Germany: Aqua*** (2023)
In Sardinia braised mutton is a regular item on restaurant menus. It has more depth of flavor and is more unctuous than lamb. If you can’t find mutton, you can also make this with lamb or even beef. You can … Continue reading Sardinian Mutton Sous Vide (Pecora in Umido)
Regular readers have guessed it: yet another friend’s birthday to be celebrated with a dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant. In this case it is Melvin’s birthday, and because he likes Asian cuisine I took him to Yamazato in the … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Yamazato*
To treat my friend Martijn for his birthday, I took him to dinner at De Juwelier. Chef Richard van Oostenbrugge of two-Michelin star restaurant 212 has opened up two new restaurants around the corner: De Juwelier and Bistro De La … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: De Juwelier*
I got the idea to combine a lemon risotto with clams from our dinner at Taverna Estia, where the dish was more elaborate and also included raw shrimp and pistachios. I had never prepared a lemon risotto before, which I … Continue reading Lemon Risotto with Clams (Risotto al Limon con Vongole)
At A Casa di Nonna restaurant in Pula in the South of Sardinia I enjoyed Fregola al ragù di pecora con vino rosso, which is fregula/fregola with a mutton ragù with red wine. Fregula is a Sardinian version of couscous, … Continue reading Fregula with Mutton Ragù (Fregola al Ragù di Pecora)
The inspiration for this dish came from a dish we enjoyed at the Librije. Usually when I use a restaurant dish for inspiration I do not try to make an exact copy, but try to simplify it to get to … Continue reading Foie Gras Sous Vide with Shrimp and Lime
This was a very special wine dinner at Restaurant Karel 5 in Utrecht, organized by Fred Nijhuis. Fred is a wine writer who specializes in Italy and was the guide for the wine trips to Lombardia and Piemonte. For this … Continue reading A Dinner at Karel 5* With Very Old Wines
Manfrigole are comfort food from Valtellina, a valley in the North of Italy near Switzerland. I encountered them for the first time during the wine trip to Lombardia last fall, where we enjoyed them for both lunch and dinner. Manfrigole … Continue reading Manfrigole (Buckwheat Pancakes Filled With Casera Cheese)
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