Dining Dutch

[maggiethecat]

I'll be throwing a birthday party for a tall blond Frieslander . I thought it might be fun to do the Dutch thing. Guess what? In all my cookbooks, Hollander cuisine comes in dead last.

I can sprinkle chocolate on cheese, I can make a hochepot, I suppose. But I would love it if the diverse and clever eGullet community could give me a hint here. What would Rembrandt or Vermeer or Hans Brinker eat?

[helenjp]

Do you have much time? I could e-mail my sister, who is married to a tall, blond Frieslander. Meatballs? Herring? Poffertjes impossible to make without an iron, but how about speculaas cookies, though they're more usual in winter.

[maggiethecat]

Do you have much time? I could e-mail my sister, who is married to a tall, blond Frieslander. Meatballs? Herring? Poffertjes impossible to make without an iron, but how about speculaas cookies, though they're more usual in winter.

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Helen: I have three whole weeks! Any help greatly appreciated.

[KatieLoeb]

Heineken and Hashish. Works for me...

[Pan]

Maggie, if you're really ambitious, look into Rijstaffel. That was something the Dutch had their Javanese cooks make for them, and the Dutch have really embraced Indonesian food, from what I understand (I haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting the Netherlands). Rijstaffel isn't something Indonesians typically eat, but it does have a lot of Indonesian touches to it and can be analogized in some ways to Anglo-Indian food that Indian cooks made for English colonists in India. It would take a lot of work to make Rijstaffel because it's a bunch of little dishes eaten with rice, but it's really impressive and tasty when done well.

[helenjp]

OK, I'll be back when I have more details.

Rijstaffel is a good idea, that's what my sister's family almost always chooses for a celebratory dinner out.

[maggiethecat]

Rijstaffel--great idea! (Katie, he'd probably go for your menu too! ) And pea soup and herring and eel. I realize that this is a cuisine about which I know exactly zip. The research will be fun, even if I choose another menu entirely.

And it's great to know that the brightest and best are here at eG to give a sister a hand.

[guajolote]

balkenbrij

here's another one

i love this stuff

my grandma used to make it . i know she used pork because she always made it in the early winter after my great grandfather butchered his hogs.

it's best served with hashish and heineken

[ronnie_suburban]

Here's some help...

Dutch recipes

An ABC of Dutch cuisine

Recipeland.com

Old Dutch recipes

De Hollandse Pot

Dutch Dessert recipes

Baked Edam with Curacao Lamb (via recipezaar)

Sorry for the avalanche of info but searching through those was really fun

=R=

[maggiethecat]

Hey, buddies, thanks for doing the real work for me! Nobody had fully prepared me for the charmingly whacked-out (to a non Dutch-speaker) names these dishes have. They're neck and neck with the cuisine of Newfoundland in the nomenclature department. To wit:

Stamppot

Appelflappen

Stroopwafels

And my current favorite: Snert!

[ronnie_suburban]

Speaking of snert, here is a link to another good-looking recipe which starts with a pig's foot...

Erwtensoep

...and the bit of prose under the recipe, at the bottom of the page, is absolutely hysterical

=R=

[guajolote]

Speaking of snert, here is a link to another good-looking recipe which starts with a pig's foot...

Erwtensoep

...and the bit of prose under the recipe, at the bottom of the page, is absolutely hysterical

=R=

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do you mean this part ?

When my great grandmother passed away, my mother found among her household items some rather elegant, old chamber pots from the days when indoor plumbing was still something of a novelty. Or, as my grandmother said, "When beds had both a canopy over them and a can o' pee under them." My mother thought that the old, covered commodes could yet be of some use.

It was not long thereafter, at a large family gathering for Sunday dinner, that my mother paraded into the dining room with a beautiful, lidded tureen containing the soup du jour. When she lifted the lid. there was not just everyday pea soup, but snet with pieces of sausage floating in it! The soup was delicious, but the old timers who were privy to the joke certainly also got a taste of their own medicine that day.

And so a family tradition in serving soup was born.

[ronnie_suburban]

Yep, that's it

=R=

[cakewench]

Stroopwafels are the best thing the Dutch have produced, seriously. Mock the name, if you must, but I've yet to meet someone who didn't love them.

Pancakes, the size of the pan, and slightly thinner than "American-style".

And yeah, don't forget to have some buttered bread with chocolate sprinkles on top.

The hotpots you've mentioned are the best thing they have as a full hot meal. They eat a lot of bread and cheese over here, as well as cold salads and meat.

I'll be interested to hear about this meal!

Edited September 11, 2004 by cakewench (log)

[maggiethecat]

Stroopwafels are the best thing the Dutch have produced, seriously.  Mock the name, if you must, but I've yet to meet someone who didn't love them.  

Pancakes, the size of the pan, and slightly thinner than "American-style".

And yeah, don't forget to have some buttered bread with chocolate sprinkles on top.   

The hotpots you've mentioned are the best thing they have as a full hot meal.  They eat a lot of bread and cheese over here, as well as cold salads and meat.

I'll be interested to hear about this meal!

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Mock the name? Heaven forbid! I adore these names. cakewench, you said "over here." Do you live in the Netherlands? If so, dish!

I went to school with Edith Ridder, whose family came from Holland by way of Indonesia. She had a sleepover party and two things I distinctly remember from grammar school days. Yes, Mrs. Ridder kept a house even cleaner than my mother's.

The breakfast! It seemed incredibly exotic -- plates of bread and cold cuts and fruit. Not a dish of cereal in sight. I was astonished when Eddie Ridder topped his sausage canape with a sprinkling of chocolate shot.

[cakewench]

Mock the name? Heaven forbid! I adore these names. cakewench, you said "over here." Do you live in the Netherlands? If so, dish!

I went to school with Edith Ridder, whose family came from Holland by way of Indonesia. She had a sleepover party and two things I distinctly remember from grammar school days. Yes, Mrs. Ridder kept a house even cleaner than my mother's.

The breakfast! It seemed incredibly exotic -- plates of bread and cold cuts and fruit. Not a dish of cereal in sight. I was astonished when Eddie Ridder topped his sausage canape with a sprinkling of chocolate shot.

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Yes, bread-based meals are very popular here. Even the business group lunches at my husband's office consist of a few loaves of sliced bread, sliced meats, cheeses, and various spreads. And yes, they then make buttered bread with chocolate sprinkles for dessert.

Astute foodie observations: man, the chocolate sprinkles over here (say, what we would call 'jimmies' sometimes, the things typically put on a kid's ice cream cone. Or mine. ) are REAL chocolate. They even have white chocolate ones. Sometimes they will just use shaved chocolate, though...

Gouda with caraway seeds in it is very popular. Any soft cheese with caraway I think would do the trick. I just had a slice on some bread for dinner. ha.

Unfortunately, those recipes listed above can probably help you more than I can with the hotpots. They are traditionally Dutch, but I haven't come across them often. Mostly because the Indonesian population has introduced their (much much more interesting) cuisine to the area. And then there are the ubiquitous falafel places..

Pancakes are reasonably popular here, and come with either savory or sweet toppings.

I wish I could be more help with the recipe search. I'm American, and my husband is German, so neither of us has a nice little Dutch grandma to hit up! We've been living in the Netherlands for a few months now, and are enjoying it...

[guajolote]

i can't stop thinking about the snert in a chamber pot with sausages. in dutch a chamber pot is known as a 'pispot'

i have a dutch american cookbook called ''Eet Smakelijk' which is put out by some nonprofit in holland MI. i think it's the 1st cookbook i ever owned.

most of the recipes are what you would expect from a junior league cookbook but there are some good traditional ones too, like:

panvis - a salt cod and potato casserole ("hollanders like this dish to be quite snappy" )

blinde vinken - pork tenderloin stuffed w/ sausage and beef and wrapped in bacon

runderlappen - beef braised in mustard and cloves

beaver par excellence

viskoekjes - fish cakes

unen ringen - i bet you can guess what these are - served with a sour cream dressing

sla stamppot - a salaed of lettuce, potatoes, radishes, celery, cucumber, bacon, and fried eggs (i may have to make this for dinner )

saucijzenbroodjes - pig in the blankets (this was the only dish my aunt could make, but she made it great

aardappel soup - potaota and bacon soup

gezondheid brij (health soup) - barley, raisins, currant juice ( )

advocaat - eggnog

boerenjongens cocktail - brandy, raisins, cinamon, and sugar

poultjes met worteltjes - peas and carrots

a lot of these recipes call for rusk buns, which i love and haven't seen in ages.

[guajolote]

no one has mentioned it yet, but coleslaw is also dutch.

[ronnie_suburban]

What's the story with caraway seeds? They're often refered to (on their packaging) as being Dutch. Is this their actual origin or merely a variety?

=R=

[guajolote]

What's the story with caraway seeds?  They're often refered to (on their packaging) as being Dutch.  Is this their actual origin or merely a variety?

=R=

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too lazy to google today?

caraway

Origins

Although Caraway is produced in Holland, Egypt is a major additional source. The Dutch-type Caraway is the premium seed because of its uniform shape, consistent color, and its oil content. The Dutch variety is more aromatic and bitter than the Egyptian, which has a milder, rye flavor.

[ronnie_suburban]

I wonder if McCormick would welcome a sample request...for the sake of research.

=R=

[Priscilla]

Maggie, I have two Dutch friends who would certainly appreciate the excellent suggestions thus far in this discussion.

One thing that comes to mind is rissoles, ground meat patties. (There is a special seasoning packet available at Dutch groceries for these.) Characters eat them throughout the 800-some-odd pages of The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch, while all the other very interesting stuff is carrying on simultaneously.

A suggestion I can make from hard experience is make sure you refill the old pepper grinder if you're having Dutch folks at your table. They do like their black pepper -- a legacy of the Dutch East India Company, I like to think.

[guajolote]

here's another interesting name, frickedillen.

these are deep fried sausages made from udder and pigsnout. i do not have an udder guy yet, unfortunately.

i wonder if any of our medieval cookbook collectors here has the book " "De verstandige kock" (i'm trying very hard not to make a locker room joke ). this site has the cookbooks and some recipes translated into english.

[guajolote]

iced cold genever is great to drink too. there was an article about it in saveur a couple of years ago.

[hjshorter]

these are deep fried sausages made from udder and pigsnout. i do not have an udder guy yet,  unfortunately.

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Isn't "udder guy" an oxymoron?