This is a recipe that I made on the same day that I read it on Paola’s blog, because I happened to have all the ingredients, and needed to use up the carrots. What better recipe to use for such … Continue reading Pasta with Carrots and Almonds (Pasta con carote e mandorle)
This dish was inspired by something we had in a restaurant in Corsica last year: roasted eggplant, zucchini, and bell peppers, that are subsequently baked with a generous amount of cheese. The Sardinian pecorino I used for my own rendition … Continue reading Baked Vegetables with Cheese
Moscardini are baby octopus, and it is not often that I can get them fresh in Amsterdam. And so when I saw them, I grabbed them at the market (this was before we left to Italy, but I am typing … Continue reading Pasta Shells with Baby Octopus (Conchiglioni ai moscardini)
Spareribs are often more about quantity than about quality: “all you can eat” with cheap meat that gets all its flavor from aggressive spices and a lot of sauce. Not to mention that it is mostly fat and bone with … Continue reading Spareribs Sous-Vide
Due to the hot climate, Spain has many recipes for chilled soups. Ajoblanco (or Ajo blanco) one is from the southern Andalucia and a great way to use up stale bread, and quite filling. It is more traditional to garnish it … Continue reading Ajo Blanco (Spanish Chilled Almond and Bread Soup)
To my surprise I had not yet blogged my recipe for risotto ai frutti di mare. That needed to be rectified as soon as possible, and it is certainly no punishment to have to eat this. There are two important … Continue reading Risotto ai Frutti di Mare (Seafood Risotto)
The inspiration for this dish came from my recent dinner at 212 in Amsterdam. I really liked the cod with red wine sauce, and thought it would be nice to prepare something similar. If only because everyone seems to think … Continue reading Turbot Sous-Vide with Red Wine Sauce
A sweet spinach tart? Yes, really. It is delicious. I have discovered this original dessert from the North-Italian town of Reggio Emilia thanks to Simona who is from that region and has the wonderful Italian food blog Grembiula da Cucina … Continue reading Erbazzone Dolce (Sweet Spinach and Almond Tart)
Stefano Arturi is an Italian food blogger who lives in the UK and has blogs in both Italian and English. He always has interesting traditional recipes and does a lot of research about the historical background of recipes. Recently he … Continue reading Scarpaccia Salata (Savory Zucchini Cake)
It is really too warm to be cooking, especially to turn on the oven, but after hardly anything new for weeks I really felt like cooking something. The recipe for this filling is pesto-inspired, with basil, pine nuts, parmigiano, and … Continue reading Zucchini Stuffed with Pine Nuts and Basil
My Italian blogging friend Paola has dedicated her food blog (in Italian) to recipes and tips to avoid wasting food. Her recipes are always simple and tasty, and I often take inspiration from her. Like in this case, when she … Continue reading Fusilli with Fava Bean and Saffron Ragù (Fusilli al ragù di fave allo zafferano)
Homemade ice cream has many advantages over store-bought: it tastes better, it only has natural ingredients, and you get boasting rights for making it yourself. If you own a simple ice cream maker, it is quite easy and not a … Continue reading Coconut Ice Cream
Four years ago I thought I had perfected lobster ravioli, but meanwhile I have developed an alternate version that is at least as good (and is an even better pairing with high quality oaked Chardonnay). This version has more texture … Continue reading Lobster Ravioli with Bisque Sauce (Ravioli all’Astice)
This is how sea bream (daurade) was served to us in Corsica: cooked in the oven with some colorful vegetables. When ordering fish on Corsica, be careful about the price. On the menu this daurade was listed as 12 euros … Continue reading Oven-Baked Sea Bream (Daurade au Four)
There are already several variations of pasta with broccoli on this blog, but this version stands out because it is literally not much more than pasta with broccoli. Other than those two ingredients, there is only water, salt, pepper, and … Continue reading Pasta with Broccoli
In Italian spezzatino means a stew in which the meat has been cut into pieces. It can be made from many kinds of meat, and in this case I opted for turkey. Lean and tender meat like turkey breast is not … Continue reading Turkey in Tomato Sauce (Spezzatino di Tacchino)
We love Taiwanese food so much that it keeps coming on the blog (and that we are already thinking about when to there again). We liked the “three cup” scallops and squid so much, that I decided to try it … Continue reading Three Cup Chicken (Taiwanese Chicken with Thai Basil)
Pulled Pork is a classic dish from the South of the United States. Its name is derived from the technique to “pull” the meat apart with two forks after it has been cooked. Because of its popularity more and more … Continue reading Pulled Chicken Sous-Vide
Next to the Klöße, the other typical Beilage (side dish) for Sauerbraten is Rotkohl (red cabbage). In Germany red cabbage is prepared in a similar way as in the Netherlands (where it is called rode kool met appeltjes), with a sweet … Continue reading Rotkohl (Red Cabbage German Style)
When I posted the recipe for Sauerbraten recently, I promised I would also share the recipe to prepare the accompanying large potato dumplings called Klöße (singular Kloß). Kartoffel is German for potato. There are many variations of the recipe. The ones I … Continue reading Kartoffelklöße (German Potato Dumplings)
Steamed Chinese buns with a meat filling are known as “bapao” in the Netherlands. It is very popular snack food. You can buy them in the supermarket and heat them up in the microwave. The quality is not very good … Continue reading Chinese Steamed Buns with Beef Short Ribs Sous Vide Filling
BBQ’ed octopus is a popular street food at Taiwanese night markets. The photo above was taken at a night market in Taipei, but we saw it everywhere. Large octopus legs are put on a skewer and cooked slowly above a … Continue reading Taiwanese Night Market BBQ Octopus
I had never heard about Kräuterprinten until I noticed I would need them to prepare Sauerbraten. I googled them and found out they are German spiced cookies that are not available around here, so I decided to bake them myself. They … Continue reading Kräuterprinten (German Spiced Cookies)
My German co-worker Timo mentioned that his grandmother prepares the best Sauerbraten using a family recipe that she in turn got from her own mother. I am always interested in traditional family recipes, and luckily he was willing to share … Continue reading Frau Marquardt’s Rheinischer Sauerbraten (Beef Stewed in Vinegar)
One of my favorite dishes in Taiwan was ‘3 cup’ scallops. The name refers to the sauce, which includes equal amounts of soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil. But the star of the dish is the Taiwanese basil, which … Continue reading Taiwanese Scallops with Basil (‘3 Cup’ Scallops)
When I saw boneless and skinless turkey thigh at my poultry guy at the market, I wanted to give it a try and of course I wanted to prepare it sous-vide. The combination with lemon and rosemary was inspired by … Continue reading Turkey Thigh Sous-Vide with Lemon and Rosemary
We really loved the street food in Taiwan. On the island of Cijin that is part of the harbor city of Kaohsiung, we had very tasty oyster cakes. You could also call them fritters, because the oysters are deep fried … Continue reading Taiwanese Oyster Cakes
Our friend Marjolein makes great Asian style food, and we really liked this variation on the well-known Peking duck that she prepared for us. Usually Peking duck is all about the skin, but in Marjolein’s version it is all about … Continue reading Duck Breast with Hoisin and Pancakes
This is what we had for dinner tonight and a perfect example of cooking with what you have on hand. In this case I had some leftover scallops and from the fresh vegetables that I had only the bell peppers … Continue reading Tagliatelle with Scallops and Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce (Tagliatelle Capesante e Peperoni)
These oysters are a famous dish from Chinese restaurant Nam Kee in Amsterdam, because a book and movie have been named after them (and because they are so good). The oysters are steamed with a Chinese black bean sauce. You … Continue reading Steamed Oysters with Black Bean Sauce (Oesters van Nam Kee)
