Spain is very proud of its jamón iberico, and rightly so. The cured ham is made from a special breed of pig (known simply as iberico in Spain, but abroad often called pata negra because of the black hooves) and the best quality is fed with acorns (bellota). Jamón iberico isn’t cheap, so when you … Continue reading
During our trip to Spain last fall we gorged ourselves on researched many different types of tapas. One very popular kind of tapas that you see everywhere is croquettes with various fillings. They are crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside and a great way to finish leftovers: simply mix with some béchamel … Continue reading
Next to paella, tortilla española or tortilla de patatas is one of the most famous national dishes of Spain. It can be found on restaurant menus, but it is also served as tapas. Patatas means potatoes, and that about sums it up: this is a type of omelette (similar to an Italian frittata) filled with potatoes. … Continue reading
Beurre noisette, literally hazelnut butter, is often used in French cooking and baking, and it is therefore good to know how to make it. The hazelnut doesn’t only refer to the color, but also to the nutty smell and taste of butter that has been treated this way. It can be used as a sauce … Continue reading
As promised in my review of sous-vide equipment, I’m going to write more about sous-vide techniques. This is the first post in a series, that will be in the new categorie “Sous-Vide tips & tricks“. In cooking we often strive to combine a tender and juicy interior with a crispy and flavorful crust, which is an … Continue reading
Doesn’t this cherry ricotta tartlet look great? It is not only as delicious as it looks, it is also very easy to make and does not require any baking (or any baking skills for that matter). So you don’t have to turn on the oven if you are lucky to have hot summer weather. The … Continue reading
Béarnaise is one of the classic sauces from French cuisine and it is great with steak. The traditional way of preparing it au bain marie requires quite a bit of skill, as the sauces curdles easily. It also requires you to make clarified butter first. And even though you should make clarified butter to cook the steak … Continue reading
My favorite kind of chiles are chipotles because of their smokiness. Chipotles in adobo sauce, a sauce made from tomatoes and ancho chiles, are a great condiment. I love them for instance with chicken, mushrooms and cream. Chipotles in adobo sauce are available in cans, but since I like to make everything from scratch, I … Continue reading
To celebrate the coming of Spring I wanted to create a dish with spring vegetables, and came up with these wonderful ravioli filled with baby asparagus, snow peas, peas, baby carrots, ricotta, parmigiano, and basil. Served with a fresh tomato sauce they are delicious and I will definitely prepare them again. They have such a … Continue reading
Pastiera is a traditional Easter cake from Naples, filled with boiled wheat, ricotta, and candied citrus. The wheat provides an interesting texture and also makes the cake quite filling. The candied citron, candied orange, lemon zest, orange blossom water, and cinnamon, give the cake a delicious flavor as well. The wheat needs to be soaked … Continue reading
Fennel develops a great flavor when it is braised slowly until it lightly caramelizes and becomes mushy, and it pairs well with fish. In this case I chose whiting, and used the heads and bones of the fish to make a fish stock to make risotto. The fish is only just cooked through by adding … Continue reading
Do you like chocolate? Do you like to impress your guests with your skills in the kitchen? Do you find baking a bit intimidating? Then this is the perfect recipe for you! This flourless chocolate recipe is much easier than the recipe I posted before, and just as good. But, it is much easier. It … Continue reading
There are three things I don’t like about artichokes: (1) it is a lot of work to clean them, (2) they don’t go well with wine, and (3) you can only eat a small part of them and have to throw away the rest. Simona solved the third issue by using the discarded parts to make artichoke … Continue reading
Do you like Earl Grey tea? Did you know that this tea is flavored with the essential oil from the skin of bergamot orange? My homemade limoncello is a very popular digestif with my dinner guests. When I saw bergamot oranges, I thought it would be nice to try to make bergamocello rather than limocello … Continue reading
As every year, for my birthday I baked to treat my colleagues. This year I made a pound cake, almond cookies stuffed with amarena cherries, and an Italian apple cake. Other than Dutch appeltaart (the same as American apple pie), Italian torta di mele is made with a batter similar to pound cake rather than shortcrust pastry. The … Continue reading
Tenderloin, prized for its tenderness, is an expensive cut of beef. A tenderloin tapers towards one end, and the ‘tip’ of the tenderloin is not suitable for tournedos or châteaubriand. Tenderloin tips are therefore available at about half the regular price of beef tenderloin. Other than their shape and size, their taste is exactly the … Continue reading
Since I had some lovely homemade sausage, I thought it was time to try another Italian classic: ravioli filled with sausage and potato. Another version of sausage ravioli is with ricotta and spinach, the Bartolini version. As I wanted the flavor of the sausage to shine, I opted for the potato. I prepared these ravioli … Continue reading
Homemade ravioli are my signature dish. These delicate pasta pillows stuffed with goodness are a great way to impress your guests, and would be perfect for a Christmas dinner. You can make them in advance and when it is time to serve them, they only take a couple of minutes to cook. The best part … Continue reading
In a change of pace from a very involved preparation and a very sophisticated meal, in this post I’m going to show you how I cut bell peppers quickly and with zero waste. A lot of food is wasted. The statistics are staggering. One of the ways in which food is wasted is by wasteful ways … Continue reading
My first try making fish paste from scratch was a bit of a disaster, but the thai fish cakes (tod mun pla) made with store-bought fish paste were such a big success that I wanted to try again to make my own fish paste from scratch. This time I used fresh (farmed) trout instead of … Continue reading
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 me how to make crispy taco shells. Thank you, Baby Lady! Making your own corn tortillas … Continue reading
The success of many recipes depends on using a good stock. Most store-bought stock has too much salt in the best case, and in the worst case even lacks flavor. Not to mention bouillon cubes… Homemade stock is easy to make, just put some ingredients in water and allow to simmer for some hours. It … Continue reading
After the success of my first homemade puff pastry, I thought croissants and pains au chocolat would be just as easy. There is one major difference though: croissants and pains au chocolat (basically croissants with a different shape and stuffed with chocolate) are made with a softer more stretchy dough with yeast. And that makes … Continue reading
Aioli (Catalan) or Alioli (Spanish) is the Spanish version of mayonnaise with garlic instead of mustard. It is served with various tapas. Traditionally it is made with pestle and mortar and a whisk, but a blender does a pretty good job, too. The preparation is very similar to that of regular mayonnaise. Key to successful … Continue reading
This is the fourth and last installment (for now, anyway) of my series of Dutch sweets made with batter, which so fas has covered pancakes, oliebollen and appelflappen. Poffertjes are tiny pancakes made with a yeasted batter in a special pan called a poffertjespan. They are usually served with melted butter and powdered sugar. Poffertjes … Continue reading
Puff pastry has a reputation of being difficult and a lot of work to make from scratch. I had never attempted it before, but now that I have I thought it wasn’t so hard at all. The main point is temperature control, which is easier right now because it is winter and thus not warm … Continue reading
Yesterday I wrote about my ‘discovery’ of fresh pomegranate juice, and complained about the messy procedure to get those arils (seeds) out. Paul and Fae reacted that there is an easier way, which is to whack the pomegranate with a wooden spoon to let the arils fall out. Since I had another pomegranate waiting to be … Continue reading
