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). I posted photos of the food and wine I enjoyed in India on the Facebook … Continue reading
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 an autumnal (rainy) Sunday afternoon. It freezes well, so it makes sense to make a … Continue reading
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 a leek ‘custard’ made with eggs and cream. The green part of the leeks is … Continue reading
There is already a recipe for smoked salmon ravioli on this blog, but that one is for hot smoked salmon. Today’s post is about cold smoked salmon. The filling is as easy as it comes: simply blend smoked salmon with ricotta. As often with Italian food, easy is also delicious. In this case the deliciousness … Continue reading
When I posted my recipe for crème brûlée, I got suggestions to try white chocolate creme brulee (which I did and liked) and passion fruit creme brulee as well. Blogging is a continuing source of inspiration for my cooking, and vice versa, and fellow bloggers and followers play a vital role in that process. And so … Continue reading
When I posted my recipe for regular crème brûlée, CampariGirl suggested I should try making it with passion fruit or white chocolate. Since passion fruit appears to be out of season, I opted to make it with white chocolate. White chocolate pairs very well with strawberries, so I served it with strawberries as a garnish. I … Continue reading
Crème Brûlée is one of the best known and most delicious of French desserts. I used to make it often about a decade ago, long before I started blogging. Back then I made it so often that I got tired of it. But now I was reminded by a friend who asked for the recipe. … Continue reading
A simple classic from Italian kitchens: spaghetti with sausage and cream. This comfort food is even more simple than pasta with sausage and bell pepper, or with porcini, sausage, and cream. And it can be prepared in the time it takes to cook the spaghetti. As usual with recipes for pasta sauce with sausage, the … Continue reading
Fresh figs have to be imported and because they are quite perishable they are not often of a great quality, but sometimes some nice figs are available in the Netherlands. A nice way to use them is to make ice cream. I’ve used a recipe from SeriousEats that uses lemon zest and lemon juice to … Continue reading
It is time for another quick pasta dish. One of those that takes about as long as is needed to cook the pasta. It took me 22 minutes to cook this dish from start to finish, including taking all the photographs. This meal has all the major food groups: carbs, proteins, and vegetables. It is … Continue reading
Scampi (langoustines) are caught locally here, but most of them get exported. Luckily I work very close to the Albert Cuyp market, which has an excellent selection of fresh seafood. Silva Rigobello has been posting a number of scampi recipes lately, and this post was inspired by her recipe for ‘Parisian’ scampi with a cream … Continue reading
Although crab and fennel are perhaps not ingredients you use on an every day basis, this is one of those pasta dishes that can be prepared in half an hour and is thus perfectly suited for a weekday meal. That is, if you use crab meat that has already been picked out of the claws … Continue reading
Homemade ravioli are my specialty. I love to serve them at dinner parties and delight my guests with those parcels of delicate pasta with a scrumptious stuffing. The keys to good ravioli are to make the pasta as thin as possible, to make sure the parcels are closed tightly without any trapped air, to give … Continue reading
What many of us know as ‘Mexican food’, is actually Tex-Mex or another Americanized version of Mexican food. And so I was very excited when I was invited to a party of my new Mexican friend Alain, for which he promised to cook authentic Mexican food. The feast he prepared for us included carnitas, cochinita … Continue reading
One of the ways to recognize ice cream with natural ingredients is by the color of pistachio ice cream. You see, the natural color of pistachio ice cream is brownish green, so when it looks bright green it means that food coloring has been used. The ice cream will be greener if the skins around the … Continue reading
