Chufi

Abra, the cookies look amazing. Nothing wrong with tweaking if this is the result! You know, Dutch pastries in general are much less sweet than American ones, and this particular cookie is, even to my tastes, not very sweet at all. Glad you were able to rectify that Shaya, thank you. I can only say, please document your grandmothers traditions (and even better if you report about it here on EGullet). This Dutch cooking thread has been a wonderful journey for me into my country's traditions, and I am really sorry about the fact that I don't have more recipes from my family. MelissaH, what happened to the beef? I hope it was good!

Abra, your coddled pork looks much more elegant than mine. Great idea to put the aragula on the bottom instead of on top, that makes all the difference to the presentation I think! What did you do with the leftover oil? Coddled some other stuff?

yes, Koopmans has a lot of stuff on the market.. too bad I am not related to that firm, they're doing well.. By not-blanched almonds you mean raw nuts, in the shell? I don't know.. the cookies are not really baked, more dried, and the inside stays quite soft, so I'm not sure that would work. Couldn't you blanch them yourself, and dry them? Although I think that would be a lot of work. Almond meal would be too finely ground, although you could ofcourse make a paste with it, only the texture of the cookie would be quite different. Guess I'm not much help today huh?

Poffertjes! First, I have to apologize for my flimsy poffertjespan. The traditional pan would be made of heavy cast iron. But, this one was cheap, and how can you resist a pan that has your actual name printed on it? Poffertjes are tiny pancakes made from a yeasted batter. There has been some discussion on this thread that they are similar to Danish ableskivver. Since I have read that they were traditionally (i.e. centuries ago) made with buckwheat flour, I would say they are similar to Russian blini as well! They are an oldfashioned treat, served in would-be oldfashioned stalls near ice-rinks etc. in the wintertime. Traditionally these were only served as a sweet snack, with butter and sugar, but it's easy to imagine them savoury, maybe with some grated cheese stirred into the batter, or as a base for canapes. You need a special pan to make them. Batter: 200 grams flour 1 sachet yeast 250 ml. milk 2 tablespoons syrup or sugar 1 egg pinch of salt butter for frying butter and powdered sugar for serving. Mix everything together and let the batter rest for at least an hour. Stir it up. Heat your pan, making sure that all hollows are evenly heated (use a flame distributor / asbestos mat if necessary). Brush the hollows with a little melted butter. When the pan is nice and hot, pour the batter in. when the top is almost set, flip them over (I used a wooden skewer to make as little a hole as possible). they should puff up a bit. Keep them warm on a plate over a pan of simmering water. They should be eaten as hot as possible, after all, this is winter comfort food. Drizzle over some melted butter, top with a lump of cold butter (I like the different textures and temperatures of butter), and dust liberally with powdered sugar. Serve with more sugar and butter on the side.

I can buy a shellfish here called vongole. (in Dutch : venusschelpen - venus-shells) Are they clams? Can I use them for clam chowder?

In the category 'beyond': we spent the weekend at Hotel Droste Tubbergen. A lovely little hotel in the eastern part of the Netherlands. Tubbergen is in the province of Overijssel, about 2 hours drive from Amsterdam. For us, this is literally the other side of the country (drive 5 minutes more and you're in Germany). The landscape is beautiful here, little villages, lots of farms, and lots of woods and fields for hiking and biking. This hotel is really special and quite different from the average Dutch 'provincial' hotel. It's beautifully decorated with lots of attention for detail, in a modern but warm and friendly style (see their website for pictures). Most importantly, the food is really really good. here's what we had: - brandade of brill, with a potato/dutch shrimp salad and anchovies sauce - beignet of sole and shrimp, on braised cucumber - pan-fried Dutch pike perch, with a caraway flavored carrot puree and almond potatoes - braised veal cheek and sweetbreads in puff pastry with red wine sauce - caramel mousse with vanilla ice cream, bailey's sauce, dutch soft amaretti cookies - dried apricot crumble served with bigarreaux ice cream 3 courses with matching wines for 50 Euro per person. All their tableware, right up to the waterglasses in the bathrooms, are from iitala. If you want to get some for yourself, there's an iitala shop in the town of Tubbergen nearby. So, if you're thinking of exploring the Dutch countryside, this hotel is highly recommended!

Just refrigerate it as it is. If you have a lot of gravy, almost covering the meat, just put a lid on the pan. If the meat is exposed, press some clingfilm on top so it doesn't dry out. Reheat slowly the next day. We used to eat at least 3 days from one batch. It will still be good tomorrow!

I made your mashed zucchini with mint tonight. I had a tired old zucchini lying around and this was indeed a very good way to use it! I served it at room temp, as a side dish with a potato/mushroom/chorizo/egg fry-up (it was clean-out-the-fridge night). Delicious.

It's true that the numerous chats I had with my fishmonger (I think I went there at least 4 times to talk things over with him..), made me more confident about fish. I went back to the fishmonger after the party and thanked him for helping me, and told him it was a big success. I'm thinking that one of the ways to be able to cook fish the right way, is to have a good relationship with a fish dealer you can trust. So I'm working on that.. I did cook 1 pan of butter braised chicken, as there was 1 guest who never touches fish. And my stepdaughter who likes salmon, but thought this was a bit too adventurous for her, had chicken as well. Everybody else ate the fish ha, you'll just have to wait and see! I'm worrying about my own birthday now first (in 2 months)

me too! I love the combination of zucchini and mint. Tejon could you elaborate a bit more on how you make this? is the zucchini boiled or sauteed?

brooklyncook, what type of food/drink are you interested in, maybe I could give you some more specific advice! Also, see the other Amsterdam threads that albiston linked to for inspiration! ← It'll sound elitist, but I'm fond of finding the places that aren't overrun by tourists. It's like when folks visit me in NYC -- the last place I'd take them is Times Square. I'm really intrigued by the Febo burgers, mainly because I'm curious what they're like in comparison to U.S. burgers (possibly better, based on the burgers I've had in NYC). I'm also interested in finding out about good comfort food from the Netherlands...and jenever. ← It's actually very easy to avoid the touristy places. There are about 2 or 3 streets lined with your usual pizza/thai/indian fastfood places, with the ubiquitous 'tourist menus' written on chalkboards outside - but apart from that, Amsterdam very much caters to it's own people, at least that's how it feels to me. I'll be away this weekend but I'll try to post about some nice beer & jenever bars early next week. Let me know if you'd like any more info (for instance about certain types of restaurants). I trust you'll be able to find the Febo all by yourself they are all over the city..

Another favorite of mine (I know I'm saying that a lot, but that's what I want to show you, my favorite places ) is Cafe Welling. This place is about as far away from young, hip & trendy as you can imagine. It is very much a neighborhood bar, with many regulars visiting, who look like they actually live there (I think some of them actually do..). It's tiny, there's no music, there are always some people hanging about who may have had 1 or 2 glasses of jenever too many. But it's an extremely friendly place and everybody seems to feel at home here. It's literally around the corner from the Concertgebouw (Concerthall), and when the concert of the evening finishes, the bar fills up very quickly with musiclovers and musicians. We are in Amsterdam Zuid, the south part of the city, traditionally the fanciest and richest neighborhood. Writers, artists, the old and the new rich, the concert-goers, the students, the lonely old ladies, the grumpy old men come together in this bar. On Saturday a group of people comes in to do the weekly puzzle from the newspaper. In the summer they have a nice terrace outside. In the winter, just sit on one of the corner sofa's, the black cat on your lap, and watch the other customers get into heated discussions. When you're alone, it won't be long before someone is talking to you. The conversation may sometimes be far from lucid, and you might not remember it in the morning, but you'll walk away with the warm feeling of having spent the evening in the livingroom of old friends you had forgotten you had. the glasses of korenwijn (a type of jenever) are poured so full, that you have to go over to the bar and take a sip, before you can pick them up. Cafe Welling J.W. Brouwersstraat 32 (just behind the Concertgebouw) open from 4 pm, weekend from 3 pm

brooklyncook, what type of food/drink are you interested in, maybe I could give you some more specific advice! Also, see the other Amsterdam threads that albiston linked to for inspiration!

So are you enjoying your stay here yunnermeier? and how do you like the food?? You know, my mother made this beef year round, in summer heat and winter cold, so I don't really consider it to be a winterdish.. in summer, we would have spinach or endives or carrots as a vegetable, and in winter, red cabbage, brussel sprouts etc. But I do agree that it's less appealing to have something braise on your stove for hours when it's hot outside..

Kathy, I think I completely missed your blog last summer! I'll rectify that today, it'll cheer up my boring workday I love those pis of the markets and the spices. I also stopped labelling my spicejars some time ago. Most of the time I can tell which is which.. although I always sniff the cumin and caraway seeds before using them

Kevin, Bunniver said something about this subject upthread, and see the link she provided: Most of them are available through Amazon, I don't know any of them, but they look interesting.

Weesper moppen, Dutch almond cookies recipe here

I think if you put the paste in the fridge after mixing in the egg and lemon zest, to firm up, you really won't need the flour and it will be easier to roll. I just ate 3.. they are delicious.. very rich.. nothing but nuts and sugar, after all..

marvellous, Melissa! thanks so much for posting that! I always look at the building when I pass it, because I love those shiny golden letters on the facade. Never been inside though.. maybe I should one day! Thanks!

I have that vision too sometimes. It makes me very happy. Today, something completely different! Weesper moppen How to explain the name of this cookie... Weesp is a small town near Amsterdam. The word mop means a number of things.. a small piece of something (stone), but also a joke, a tune, and it's also a term of endearment (when you go to the market, the fishmonger is very likely to greet you with : "what can I help you with, mop?" much like the English "love" would be used. ) Any way, there are a number of Dutch cookies named moppen, regional specialties, with the name of the town attached to it. For about 20 cookies you need: 250 grams coarse almond paste (you can make your own by grinding together 125 grams of blanched almonds with 125 grams of fine sugar. Don't make the almond paste as suggested in previous recipes (for instance here in the recipe for gevulde koeken, because that one has egg and lemon already mixed in) a teaspoon of lemonzest 1 small egg (if you only have large, hold back a little) 1-2 tablespoons of flour, if necessary a couple of tablespoons of coarse sugar (I used cane sugar). Mix everything except the sugar together until you have a soft paste. You should be able to roll this into a sausage shape. If it's too sticky, add a bit of flour, but be careful not to add too much. Wash your hands and wet them with cold water, and roll the paste into a sausage shape. It will still be very sticky and a bit hard to manage. I found it easiest to make 2 sausages. Sprinkle them with the sugar and try to roll them in the sugar as evenly as possible. With a sharp knife (wipe it between cuts) cut into 20 coins. Place them cut side down on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Let them dry out for about 2 hours. I put them in a cold oven, with the fan on, for one hour, which worked excellent! Then, preheat the oven to 200 C / 390 F. When the oven is hot, bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. Check that they don't brown too much (the sugar coating easily burns). Remove them from the sheet, let them cool. They will dry out a bit more as they cool but they should still be slightly chewy, and just a little bit moist inside. They don't keep very well.. but I don't see that as a problem.. Enjoy with a strong cup of tea!

De taart van mijn tante (literally, my aunt's cake/pie - 'taart' can mean both) started out as a small business that quickly became famous for there outrageous cake-designs. You name it, they can turn it into a cake! They were the bakery for hip Amsterdam weddings and celebrations. They worked from a small bakery near the Albert Cuyp market. A couple of years ago they opened a large coffee/ cakeshop, where you can sample their more 'normal' cakes with a cup of coffee. Their kitschy, flamboyant style is very present in the ambiance: loads of artificial flowers, plush chairs, mix & match tables and chairs and pottery. It's a very kid-friendly place, because it's roomy and quite large, but also nice to hang out and read a magazine while you have, ofcourse a piece of their cake. Window, as seen from the outside: you can see examples of some of their commission cakes in the window. These are not real cakes, but their real cakes would look exactly like them. cake display Inside cake! this is chocolate cake with mocha amaretto cream filling, and a large chocolate curl on top. Served with whipped cream, fresh mango, and mango puree. The cake is good, but to be honest, not fantastic. There is a bit of drama even in the way they serve this simple piece of cake. I thought the mango was a bit of a weird match for the mocha filling. That said, I have tasted some great cakes of theirs at weddings, and this is a fun place to hang out, with good coffee.. and good cake. De taart van mijn tante Ferdinand Bolstraat 10 (near Albert Cuyp market and Heineken brewery)

Wow, ladies, that's some gorgeous looking beef simmering away in loads of butter I'm glad you enjoyed it!

The bread was a Jamie Oliver recipe. I was supposed to add 6 large zucchini, grated, (and 200 grams grated cheese) to a basic bread dough made with 1 kilo flour. I used 2 kilo's of flour and about 7 large zucchini and the dough was extremely wet, sticky and unmanageable. I ended up adding at least 500 grams extra flour. So, how large is a large zucchini?

just boiled them until very soft.. mashed with a fork, but left some texture. I had 4 eggs, about 300 grams of sprout mash, and bechamel made with 40 grams butter, 40 grams flour, and 150 ml. liquid (mix of milk and sprouts cooking water) Seasoned liberally with nutmeg, salt and pepper, and added lots of parmesan.

Brussel sprouts souffle (thanks jackal10 for the inspiration!) it did have bechamel, because I wanted it to be a little more substantial. I have made the bechamel-less souffle's in the past and love them, but when the dish is the main thing for dinner, I like it more creamy and and rich. The sprouts flavor was delicious!! You can see in the right corner of the closeup, that it was still nice and runny in the middle. 5 minutes after taking the picture, all the runniness was gone and it had firmed up, it's so important not to overbake these things!