Chufi

Dinner is over and it was a big success. I was extremely pleased with myself for keeping the menu so simple. Besides a bit of plating stress (when I realized the dessert plates were in the middle of their dishwasher cycle when I needed them) I was able to have a relaxed evening with a minimum of last minute cooking. I did not take too many pics but here are a couple to give you an idea of what we had: little gorgonzola pancakes, endive with grapefruit and avocado Dejah´s spiced cigars. I made them with half beef, half lamb, and added smoked paprika which made them lovely smoky-spicy. They´re very good: the filling is soft and moist, with a good balance of spice and sweetness. Served on a salad with dill en cilantro. Chicken Musakhan, which came out exceptionally well. The bread is sooooo good! I honestly think that´s the best part of the dish. there were 2 of these huge trays.. and besides some leftover bread I have in the fridge, and the two tupperwares that went home with guests for their spouses, it´s all gone. Served with this salad, which I made without the raw onions and the cilantro, and with the addition of some wilted spinach. There was also a bulgur pilaf with roasted aubergines and little cubes of fried halloumi, and lots of mint. I did not really listen to the plating advice I´d asked for over in the pastry forum but my excuse is that by the time I was plating dessert, I didn´t care what it looked like and I was pretty sure my guests wouldn´t either. Basbousa, poached quinces, quince vodka syrup, mascarpone ice cream, candied pistachios. The ice cream was absolutely fantastic. Very very rich but with that little tang from the mascarpone.. oh so good. Thanks everyone for helping me compose this menu. Everything worked really well together, and I think the guests also appreciated the simplicity of it (and the fact I wasn´t completely stressed out!) See you next year!

I made falafel from dried broad beans a couple of weeks ago. I used the recipe from Claudia Roden's Book of Jewish Food. The flavor was absolutely fantastic, but I was disappointed with the texture. The exterior was a lot smoother than most pics I've seen on this thread, and it wasn't very crunchy, it was a bit hard and chewy. Any idea what could have caused that? maybe I processed the paste for too long? or overhandled it when making the patties?

I made a very nice soup the other day. A bunch of chopped vegetables (a ready made mix you can buy in the supermarket, consisting of leeks, celery, cailiflower, parley, carrot and onion) sweated in some olive oil. Then I added a handful of yellow split peas, a can of diced tomaotes, and (and this is what turned it from 'just tomato vegetable soup' into something much more interesting and delicious) a good pinch of ground allspice, and a heaping tablespoon of spicy Turkish red pepper paste.

Final menu: - Avocado/grapefruit salad in endive leaves - Blue cheese/ walnut/celery on toast - The Morroccan filo pastries Dejah mentioned upthread - she pm'd me the recipe, I made 4 dozen on Monday and froze them. I baked just one to see if it was any good it was great! Spicy and sweet. They will be served, 3 per person (they're small) on a little herb salad with a honey/mustard dressing. - Chicken Musakhan - Butternut squash and chickpea salad as mentioned upthread, minus the raw red onion in the recipe, and with the addition of some spinach - Bulgur pilaf with eggplant and garnished with little pieces of fried halloumi and mint - Pickles and olives (ready made turkish pickled peppers) - Basbousa, poached quinces, quince vodka syrup, mascarpone cream, candied pistachios. Looking at this, it really does not seem too stressfull... or is that just wishful thinking... I'll poach the quinces tonight and make the basbousa and candied pistachios on Friday.

Thanks for the reminder. I made it a couple of years ago and had forgotten about it. We loved it. I just happen to have a pork tenderloin in the freezer so will make it again the next time I cook one. ← Looks good, but I´m quite puzzled why an Epicurious/Gourmet recipe would have a Dutch name? varkenshaas is the Dutch word for pork tenderloin...

In many ways. I've been doing a similar project for about a month now: shopping as little as possible, finishing up what's in the pantry, with the goal to save at least a hundred euros a month on grocery shopping for 3 months (incentive: a 300 euro plane ticket I bought and could not really afford). Anyway, earlier this week I made a fantastic lasagna that we ate only a third of. The next day I had a friend coming for dinner and normally, I would feel ashamed to serve someone left over lasagna (not that it wouldn't taste good, but it doesn't look very nice when you're serving it) and I would have gone out and bought stuff for another dinner. But I checked myself, did not shop, served the lasagna anyway, and it was so good, and there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

I'll be following with interest, but I won't be able to play along... It's Friday and the only fruit and vegetables I have left are: 1 lemon 5 shallots garlic half a cucumber, which we can't eat, because it's destined for the rat a handful of very tired old spinach 1 wrinkled carrot. 1 bag of frozen peas in the freezer. no potatoes.. no cheese except a tiny bit of parmesan. no meat in the freezer. plenty of grains, pasta, flours, rice etc. But without additional fruit and vegetables we won't make it through the week.

Here's what's available in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (I know you only asked about the US but... thought it might be interesting): I can get everything on your list easily except the Mexican crema and the Aleppo pepper. Easily, to me, means: I can't find it in supermarkets but I know where to look, and it would maybe take me 1 hour to get everything on yur list in various stores. A curious thing about the Aleppo pepper: I read about that in one of Paula Wolfert's books and went to my Turkish store and asked for it. They'd never heard of it! I buy Turkish red pepper flakes there that are labelled pul biber, and maybe that is Aleppo pepper?

dinner plans are shaping up nicely, thanks to all your great suggestions! markemorse - what kind of dish combines chickpeas, tomatoes and saffron? Example, please?

I agree that the sauce was too thin the first time, fortunately with quince syrup that's easily fixed - next time I'll just reduce it a bit more. The dessert has to be on a plate, because I don't have 17 martini glasses or bowls! I like the idea of stacking. I know my desserts always tend to be a bit... flat. I LOVE the idea of another crunchy element. The basbousa is soft, so I agree that a pistachio or almond cookie would work really well. thanks guys!

A squirt bottle. See, that's why I come here.. to get the advice I'm too stupid to think of myself! Off to the kitchen supply store I go...

Bumping this up because it's that time of year again, and I could use some advice! We skipped the dinner last year because we were in the middle of moving to a new apartment. This year, there will be a dinner, but my life is busier than ever, so I'm trying real hard to restrain myself and have a relaxed dinner that will make the guests happy and will not give me a nervous breakdown. This is what I have planned so far: main - Musakhan, a dish of chicken spiced with sumac, nutmeg and cinnamon. The chicken is baked on a bed of torn flat bread. I made this earlier this week and it was really good, simple yet interesting and unusual. dessert - as requested by my husband it will be this (but hopefully a bit more elegantly plated): semolina cake, poached quinces, quince vodka syrup, mascarpone. I could really use some ideas for a first course and side dishes. For the first course I'm thinking of a variety of appetizers. They don't need to be Middle eastern per se, but it would be nice if they sort of fit with that theme. Because the chicken dish has bread in it, the most obvious choice (flat bread with various dips etc) doesn't appeal to me. So I'm thinking some kind of salad/ or a pastry maybe? Also, this is the 15th birthday dinner I'm cooking for roughly the same group of friends, and there have been Middle eastern themed dinners before where hummus, baba ghanoush etc made an appearance - and as deliicious as they can be.. I would really like to not repeat myself. As one side dish for the chicken I'm thinking of Bazargan, a bulgur salad with walnuts and tamarind and herbs, and a spinach salad with feta and pomegranate seeds. But I think this may need another (warm) vegetable dish. All advice very much appreciated!

It's time for the annual Husbands Birthday Dinner again! While usually the dessert gives me the most stress, as I try to outdo myself every year with an even bigger and more impressive cake, this year it's different. Earlier this week I made a dessert for a dinner party that Dennis liked so much, that he requested it for the Big Dinner on feb 28. What I made: basbousa (semolina almond cake) soaked in quince vodka syrup (reduced quince poaching liquid with home made quince vodka), poached quince slices, mascarpone, a sprinkling of pistachios. I want to keep these 3 elements but I feel my plating needs some work! It can't get too complicated though, because I'll have to plate up right before dessert, and there'll be about 15 people. Any ideas how to make this a bit more elegant and add a bit of a wow factor to the dessert?

OK, I did not make these, but I could not resist posting this picture. For inspiration, you know. The mayo on top is what call Belgian mayo, which has a lot more lemon juice that our regular Dutch mayo. I adore the sour tang of this mayo with the richness of the fries.

not available online, but if you have an IKEA near you: cloudberry jam oops, that´s British IKEA, but I assume US IKEA will have it too?

That night, Mr and Mrs markemorse had invited us over for a taste of something Nouf had never had before: Surinamese pom. (see here and here for more pom info and Mark´s recipe) broodje pom, served with pitjel (vegetables with peanut sauce) and pickles and hot sauce I made kama mousse with blackberry puree for dessert. And that brings us to the end of a week of food, fun and friendship. We had a fabulous time and I can only say that I hope this isn´t the last of our travels together... A special thanks to Dennis, who was patient and kind enough to listen to many a food related conversation, and who took this picture: I hope that when Nouf and Pille emerge from their various internet predicaments, they will add some comments/pictures. For now, from me, thanks for reading!

The next day was Nouf´s final day in Amsterdam. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I took her to a couple of my favorite places and made her eat a couple of my favorite foods. We started at the Vondelpark and had coffee at Het Blauwe Theehuis, mentioned with fondness in all my eGullet blogs. Then we went to my favorite market, where Nouf had a broodje haring.. a broodje paling.. a gevulde koek that she did not take a picture of, friet and a coffee-caramel stroopwafel (all pics by Nouf).

The next day we had time for a final walk around town, some shopping and browsing. This is the Bestseller Cafe, located next to the bookstore in one the main department stores. Again the beautiful table ware and the attention to detail struck me. In a place like this in Amsterdam, no way they would serve you your juice in a glass like that.. (btw, this is sea buckthorn juice...) On the way back to the hotel we passed Hesburger, a Finnish fast food restaurant. We did not try any of their food but I though the concept of a minimega burger was pretty funny! After arrving in Amsterdam airport at exactly 7:45 pm, we collected out bags, rushed home, left our suitcases, and walked to Pizzeria Yam Yam which is only a couple of blocks from our house. WE sat down at our table at 9 pm sharp! We all had their famous mascarpone/ham/truffle pizza, which has been my favorite for years.. and even though Dennis and I agree that is´s not as good as it used to be, it was still a great and very satisfying dinner. You can´t go out to dinner with Nouf and not order dessert..

And then there was dessert. I had requested a dessert with kama, because I am researching an article about this typical Estonian product (see Wiki for a very brief description of this product, and see Pille´s blog entries here, here and here for more info). I had never tasted this stuff before but I expected I would love it, and I did! It has a very distinct, slightly nutty, roasted flavor that matches really well with creamy dairy products. Pille made kama mousse (kama mixed with whipped cream) and served it with her wild strawberry refrigerator jam (a special jam that´s made by mixing raw wild strawberries with sugar, because these berries can´t be cooked (or frozen)). Here´s what happens when you have a gathering of bloggers: Kama mousse: Pille also brought a jar of cloudberries in syrup to the table, which were accompanied by glasses of cloudberry liqeur: The berries have a very interesting, creamy texture and a flavor unlike any berry I´ve ever eaten. As I said, I loved them and I think I must head to my local Ikea and see if they stock cloudberry jam there... Thanks again, Pille and Kristjan for taking such good care of us and introducing us to Estonian foods we never could have found in restaurants. It was also a really nice experience to be in a home again, and eat a home cooked meal after almost a week of dining out!

And then there was dessert. I had requested a dessert with kama, because I am researching an article about this typical Estonian product (see Wiki for a very brief description of this product, and see Pille´s blog entries here, here and here for more info). I had never tasted this stuff before but I expected I would love it, and I did! It has a very distinct, slightly nutty, roasted flavor that matches really well with creamy dairy products. Pille made kama mousse (kama mixed with whipped cream) and served it with her wild strawberry refrigerator jam (a special jam that´s made by mixing raw wild strawberries with sugar, because these berries can´t be cooked (or frozen)). Here´s what happens when you have a gathering of bloggers: Kama mousse: Pille also brought a jar of cloudberries in syrup to the table, which were accompanied by glasses of cloudberry liqeur: The berries have a very interesting, creamy texture and a flavor unlike any berry I´ve ever eaten. As I said, I loved them and I think I must head to my local Ikea and see if they stock cloudberry jam there... Thanks again, Pille and Kristjan for taking such good care of us and introducing us to Estonian foods we never could have found in restaurants. It was also a really nice experience to be in a home again, and eat a home cooked meal after almost a week of dining out!

After a very entertaining, and slightly scary, cab ride (with a Russian cabdriver who did not speak a word of English, kept muttering to himself in Estonian and Russian, who could not find Pille´s address so I had to call Pille twice just so she could coach him through the drive to the Tallinn suburb where she lives...) we arrived at the lovely home of the Queen of Estonian foodblogging, Pille! Pille had promised us a rustic, truly Estonian dinner and she did not disappoint.. we started with a plate of 3 different kinds of cured pork: accompanied by pickled mushrooms (home made, from what I guess will have been hand picked mushrooms, by a family member) and pickled sea buckthorn After a week in Estonia, I have had sea buckthorn juice, cocktails, sorbet, creme brulee, pickled sea buckthorn, and I brought home some sea buckthorn marmelade. I am officially in love with sea buckthorn. It´s funny because both Nouf and Dennis commented that it tasted a bit like mango, which I don´t like at all.. but the sea buckthorn has an added tartness which makes it really interesting and (to me!) delicious. There was also rye bread with a paté of cod liver, onions and eggs (there´s a recipe for that here on Pille´s blog) and a delicious sweet Estonian apple wine. And then there was this: It´s called Mulgi kapsad, and it´s an Estonian dish of sauerkraut, barley and pork, simmered together for hours. You end up with a rich, sweet, ribsticking kind of dish that is just perfect comfort food on a snowy winter night. On the plate with sült (head cheese) and Pille´s caraway potatoes:

Peter, I really love this thread! I´m a fan of whiting too.. it´s not very popular here, it´s considerd cat food but probably because of that, it´s really cheap! And the paté looks gorgeous.

Well, I must be immune to funky then, because I loved the cloudberries! Full report about dinner at Pille´s house coming up.. oh and btw, Pille has informed me she has limited internet access for a couple of days, but she will join in when she has the opportunity.

I put myself on a budget challenge for the next months I´m blogging about it here, hopefully updating daily. The goal is to take 100 euros a month of my grocery expenses. The motivation is the fact that I just booked a ticket to go to Rome for a couple of days in May... a ticket I actually can´t afford. Hence the title of the challenge: eat cheap, travel far My blog is mostly in Dutch, but these posts will be in English. .... Just wanted to add something. I realize that budgetting grocery expenses to be able to go on a trip, may seem extravagant and even offensive to people who are struggling just to get by, and for whom a trip abroad is very far from their minds. I realize that I am very fortunate to be in the position I´m in. Personally, I haven´t really felt the crisis yet - 2008 was my best year to date, when it comes to how much money I made. But I do feel that I have to get more responsible when it comes to shopping, buying, wasting. I hope that the next weeks will be a revelation and will give me a new appreciation for how lucky I am.

We spent the next morning at the Open Air museum located just east of Tallinn, and came back to Old Town cold and hungry. As we were looking for the restaurant we wanted to go to for lunch, we passed this place: I was kind of sorry we did not have another day to go here for lunch or dinner, because it would have been interesting how the supposedly real Italian food would have compared to Bocca's. Anyway, we went to a place called AED. I can't seem to find the address right now, maybe Nouf can help here. It's a (mostly) organic restaurant that serves lunch and dinner, with a very elegant atmosphere. Speaking of that, on the whole I was very impressed with the way even small, unpretentious places are decorated. There is beautiful glass ware and table ware everywhere, white table cloths, even in paces where you'll only go for a cup of soup or a salad. There seems to a great attention to detail, and a great deal of care about the little things, which made dining out a very agreeabel experience. Lovely dark sour rye bread A salad with wild pigeon and my beloved seabuckthorn, in the form of a sorbet that served as a kind of dressing for the salad. I also had a salad with something called 'milk caps sauteed in butter' (mushrooms), don't you just have to order that? Seabuckthorn creme brulee, that no one liked but me, ah well, that meant I could eat it all