Chufi

Thanks for the replies everybody. It's fascinating! I started thinking about this because I was talking to a co-worker who makes sushi at home and then uses grated european horseradish instead of wasabi. I asked him if this was the same thing as wasabi and he was absolutely positive that it was. I guess he's both right and not right.. However it still feels a bit wrong to me to use the horseradish pure, and not something wasabi-green..

Hi Henry, this is going to be fabulous! I used to work for an architectural firm (as a secretary) and I often talked with the architects and designers about the link architecture - food. It'll be interesting to learn what you have to say about it. Also, since I'm going to be in Seattle this fall (for the first time) I'm very excited about all the restaurants you're going to visit, I might get some nice ideas! A sandwich tour will be just what I need!

I've read that real wasabi is very expensive and that in Japanese restaurants and shops in Europe, the 'wasabi' you can buy or that comes with your meal, is not the real thing but a mixture of horseradish, mustard and green food colouring. I have also read that 'real' wasabi is (very?) different in flavor from horseradish. So I'm curious.. how does the taste of the 'fake' product, which seems to be the only thing available over here, differ from the real stuff? What's the situation in Japan? Only real wasabi, or the fake product, and what's the price difference, and are places where you get the real thing held in higher esteem than places that give you the subsitute? Or is it no big deal at all? many questions... I'm hoping for some answers...

Janet, thanks so much for blogging, showing us your markets, your kitchen, your cocktails, and your cooking! That lamb & fennel cassoulet is on my wish-list. And thank you for inspiring me to make chowder for the cook-off

Glorious soup! I love white beansoup... Do you mean that European bay is different from... what? American? I never knew...

I still don't get it.. I think.. by upside down you mean, the way it is when it comes out of the oven? so you leave the cake in the tin, but to facilitate cooling, you do the toothpick trick to lift the bottom of the caketin from the counter? Do you leave them in the tin until they are completely cold, isn't it hard to get them out of the tin then?

Hi Bunniver, thanks for the link, that looks interesting! Maybe I should visit that festival this summer! For the poffertjes: 1 sachet of instant yeast over here is 7 grams. I've seen recipes for yeastless poffertjes, just use selfraising flour instead of ordinary flour with yeast. Mine came out quite yeasty-tasting, so you could use a little less than one sachet if that's what you prefer, or do the selfraising flour version.

Chirs, thank you so much for taking us for a virtual dinner at Iggy's.. those clamcakes have an uncanny resemblance to these things! Anyway, I also made chowder tonight. I was very intimidated by the giant clam held up so elegantly by Susan in Fl upthread.. so I was very happy when JAZ made a chowder in her blog that looked like something I could do.. I followed basically the same recipe, but added chopped fennel and celery to the vegetable base, a lot of sherry (because JAZ added alcohol as well, I took her lead ), and because the soup... sorry... chowder ended up so rich, I added both lemon juice and lemon zest. It was rich, but delicious. Because this was the main (or actually, only) thing we had for dinner, there's quite a high ratio of salmon to liquid in the serving:

That side by side cooking is so cool. I often thought of doing that but I'm always too lazy.. And, that cassoulet looks sooo good, it has so many of my favorite things in it (lamb, beans, fennel..) , I'm definitely going to try that soon!

This may not look too bad, but it tasted awful. Pasta with roasted beets, gorgonzola, aragula and pinenuts. All good stuff right? So why did it taste so bad that I could not even finish my plate, and I had a sandwich with the leftover gorgonzola instead? I blame the beets.. I roasted them in foil in the oven like I always do, but when they were done, they looked all wrinkled and dry. When I peeled and cut them they hardly stained my hands, like there was no juice left in them.. Maybe they were simply too old.. you know how beets have that erathy, sweet taste.. these just tasted of soil.. Soil pasta anyway.. bleh. Don't want to eat beets for a little while...

Last night I had dinner at Orontes (Albert Cuypstraat 40), a really good Turkish restaurant. Great appetizers (my favorites are the spinach sauteed with garlic and pomegranate juice, and the octopus salad with lemon, dill and pickles). Lovely juicy lambchops from the woodburning grill. Very nice Turkish wines, and excellent, friendly service.

A good, very non-touristy place for simple Dutch comfortfood is Cafe Loetje (Johannes Vermeerstraat 52, southern part of the city, near Museumplein) It's a neighborhood place that caters mostly to locals. It is famous for it's steak. Don't expect an American style steak! Dutch steak (biefstuk) is a thick and juicy piece of fillet, fried in butter. At Loetje it comes to the table on a deep plate, lying in a pool of brown butter gravy. Most people order fries and a salad as side dishes, but don't forget to also order some bread. You'll get a couple of slices of soft, white bread, perfect for mopping up the delicious gravy. Oh my mouth is watering just thinking about this steak! They don't ask you how you want it, if you say nothing it will arrive medium rare. Other things on the menu are items like fried liver with onions, plaice fried in butter, schnitzel, etc. Also a great place to have lunch (try their 'broodje bal', a giant, juicy meatball on soft sqhuishy white bread, with gravy).

as long as you don't postpone until September, because that's when I will be in Canada, and I would hate to miss out on meeting you! There are many places like that in Amsterdam. Like this one, where you can get really good beer and lots of different types of jenever: Proeflokaal In De Wildeman website (in english) They are one of the very few Amsterdam bars with a separate non-smoking area. We used to live around the corner from this place and I went there all the time.. always different, interesting beers on draught, and very friendly and knowledgeable staff who will help you make your choice.

When I was 18, I travelled to Rome to visit a friend who was studying there. During the day she was too busy to join me so I had to go exploring the city on my own. It was my first time travelling alone, I had long blond hair, it was January and it seemed I was the only blond young tourist in all of Rome... I was literally chased by Italian guys who wanted to take me for coffee, something to eat or (as a nice variation ) to show me a church. I ran away from all of them because I was so terribly shy and did not have a clue how to handle the situation. I ended up being too scared to even go into a bakery to buy a piece of bread. I walked around for hours and hours without anything to eat, not wanting to go back to the apartment, because after all I was in Rome and I felt obligated to see all the sights. To this day, when I think of Rome, I feel a hunger pang in my stomach I wonder what would have happened had I gone for a pizza with one of those guys.. I might have had some real good pizza..

That chowder looks really good. Perfect food for March, when it's still cold out, but you feel like spring, so you want food that's warm and comforting yet light.

I'm in! This will be interesting. question.. I can get, say, the exact same apples for very different prices depending on where I shop (supermarket, open air market, fancy greengrocers). Which price would you like? The one I actually pay, or some sort of average? edited to add: thanks Chris, you answered my question before I even asked it..

Janet, I'm really enjoying this. Very interesting to read about your career change (or maybe more like careershift..), especially because I'm contemplating something similar myself. The final gingerbread dessert looked really good, but the way that Bundt pan looked with the erupting gingerbread, I feel your frustration I have no car, do all my shoppng by bike, and then drag all the groceries to the 5th floor.. so I can sympathize with you carrying groceries uphill, too..

So, Portia, please let us know how the dinner went! I'm guessing, a happy guest and a tired but content hostess??

my husband made scrambled eggs a la paparot today and said it was really good

Thanks Kathy, for sharing your family history, your present family life, your chocolate cookies and all those other lovely meals.. And a special thank you for an other zucchini dish in my repertoire! All the best with your move and all the hard work that comes with it!

but ofcourse. All the time! having a plan B is good, but failing that there will always be a plan BB presenting itself when you need it the most. You just have to let go of the concept you had in your mind about the dinner. And one very important thing.. I think.. is to never ever let your guests know they are on plan B (or BB), except if they are really very good and close friends and you can have a laugh about it. Otherwise: don't say to your dinner guests "you know, this was supposed to turn out so and so but it didn't, it came out quite different, oh if you only knew what I had planned for you!" If you believe in the meal you're serving, so will your guests. No-one has to know about the halibut in the dairy section. Chicken was predestined for your dinnertable!

made the paparot yesterday (and frico, made with parmesan because that's what I had in the fridge). I have to say I was a little disappointed in the soup. I love spinach and I love polenta, and Í made a really good chicken stock for the broth. But it somehow did not taste right to me.. too bland.. too porridgy.. ah well I don't know... sorry about that..

spherical pancakes of the world, unite.. see here in the Dutch Cooking thread for a pictorial on poffertjes. I think I'm going to try octopus poffertjes next.. now that's fusion cuisine..

traditionally, no, although I have seen a couple of old recipes where some dried fruits (currants or raisins) are added to the batter. And at the poffertjesstalls you can get them with a sauce of melted butter and orangeliqueur, but I don't think that's what you mean by 'fruit'...

Abra's cookies, with the sugar sprinkled on top, made me think of Jan Hagel cookies. Jan is a common boys name (John), hagel means hail.. probably because the pearl sugar sprinkled on top, resembles hail! These are buttery cookies, flavored with a hint of cinnamon. My mother often had store bought Jan Hagel cookies and I loved them. Today I made them. 200 grams flour 150 gram not too cold butter 100 grams soft white sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon milk couple of tablespoons slivered almonds couple of tablespoons pearlsugar or coarse sugar. Mix all the ingredients except the almonds and coarse sugar together until you have a firm dough. Don't be tempted to add more cinnamon. The finished cookie should be very lightly and delicately perfumed with cinnamon, so the flavor of the almonds and the crunchy sugar won't be overpowered by it. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in clingfilm and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Don't put it in the fridge, it will become to stiff to roll. Preheat your oven to 170 C / 340 F. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Roll out your dough to a fairly thin rectangle. Place the rectangle on the baking sheet and with a sharp knife, cut the dough into rectangular cookies, each about 1 1/5 inch - 3 inch, (4 - 8 centimetres). Don't seperate them, and sprinkle them with almonds and sugar. Wit the palm of your hand, gently press the surface to make the almonds and sugar stick to the dough. Bake for 12-15 minutes. They should be golden brown. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes, then separate them and leave to cool completely on a rack. Please ignore my very unevenly shaped cookies. One of these days I should be able to transform a lump of dough into a batch of cookies that are all the same size...