eG Foodblog: Chufi - Shopping and cooking in Amsterdam

[Chufi]

Breakfast (joghurt with an orange, cut up, mixed into it, and a vitamin shot in a glass).

And the lunch I'm taking to work: cheese sandwich, banana, minneola, leftover aubergine fritters, a couple of cherry tomatoes.

At work, morning coffee and a chocolate chip cookie generously supplied by one of my co-workers:

I'm looking forward to this evening. I bought some reasonably fresh eggs yesterday so tonight wil be.. the Night I Poach My First Egg!!

[Chufi]

Would you please share your parsnip soup recipe as well?  I love parsnips, and spicy parsnip soup sounds heavenly.

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I use Jane Grigson's recipe from her wonderful Vegetable Book. But I found this link, it says the recipe is by Sophie Grigson, who happens to be Jane Grigson's daughter. The recipe looks exactly the same: the grigsons parsnip soup

[daniellewiley]

At work, morning coffee and a chocolate chip cookie generously supplied by one of my co-workers:

Do you have chocolate chips readily available? I remember that when I lived in Europe, I had to make my own with a chocolate bar and a hammer. That was over 10 years ago, though, so I'm assuming things have changed.

[Chufi]

well, I had quite the egg-poaching adventure!

I thought poached eggs would go very well with my favorite after work-store cupboard standby-comfort food-supper: chickpeas & chorizo.

First fry a couple of potatoes in olive oil until golden brown, then remove from the pan:

In the same pan, fry onion, garlic and chunks of chorizo. When the onion is golden brown, add tomatoes (I used a mix of canned and fresh), a splash of wine, and some thyme. Simmer until the tomatoes are broken down, then add drained chickpeas and the potatoes:

Made a salad of rucola, belgian endive and chopped almonds, with a pumpkinseedoil dressing:

Then I could concentrate on the eggs. After carefully studying the EGullet course on poaching eggs, I thought Julia's foolproof method would be the way to go . I parboiled 4 eggs for 15 seconds. Then I poached 2.. for 4 minutes.. they came out quite hard! Also, the white would not at all envelope the yolk as nicely as in the pics in the course. Hmm. The other two eggs were poached for only 2 minutes, they were okay, but still too hard I think. Here's one of each on the plate with the stew:

Why do they look so messy? Maybe my eggs weren't fresh enough? Ah well. Dennis said I just need to practice ..

Edited February 10, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[Chufi]

Do you have chocolate chips readily available? I remember that when I lived in Europe, I had to make my own with a chocolate bar and a hammer. That was over 10 years ago, though, so I'm assuming things have changed.

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No they haven't! I always chop up a chocolate bar myself!

[jackal10]

Poached eggs are always messy. Either use a ring or a mould, or trim them with scissors when they are cooked.

[Rachel Perlow]

What size are the eggs you were using?

And they do need to be quite fresh to form perfectly, that seems to be the most important factor. A lightly fried, over-easy egg would also have been perfect with that stew, and then you wouldn't have to worry about nippley vs golf ball formation.

[Chufi]

What size are the eggs you were using?

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Large.

And they do need to be quite fresh to form perfectly, that seems to be the most important factor. A lightly fried, over-easy egg would also have been perfect with that stew, and then you wouldn't have to worry about nippley vs golf ball formation.

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A fried egg is what I always make with the stew... I just wanted to overcome another culinary fear and poach my first egg with the whole world watching me!

[Rachel Perlow]

Hmm, did you crack them directly into the water, or into a small bowl first?

Eggs are cheap. Buy a dozen and practice. :)

[GordonCooks]

A little white vinegar in the water helps them stay together. Crack the egg into a coffee cup and gently pour it into the water. Use a large slotted spoon to "manage" the white around the yolk

PS - everything looks fantastic

[Sartain]

Great Blog, Chufi!

Here's what I've learned in Cul. school on poached eggs:

Simmer water in a saucepan (between 160F and 180F, or 71C and 82C), add a bit of white vinegar. Crack the egg into a ramekin or small bowl. When ready, use back of a spoon/spatula and swirl the water to create a vortex. Do get it going really well, the force of the vortex will help form the egg. Then gently lay the egg in the middle (well) of the vortex. Then leave it alone for 3-5 minutes, until the whites around the yolk have set. (well, maybe nudge it a bit to make sure it's not sticking in the bottom). Then fish it out with a slotted spoon and trim off the straggling egg whites.

Give this a try next time. Hope it works out for you. I have a proficiency test in my class this week so I'll keep my fingers crossed that it goes well for both of us.

[ludja]

The chickpea, chorizo and pototo dish looks fantastic. Sounds like a perfect cold weather dish. I'm going to try it soon!

Interesting that you can't get chocolate chips easily there (nowadays). Are chocolate chip cookies sold in any bakeries there? (I know it's an 'import', but wonder on the inroads, in general, of chocolate chip cookies there. I didn't notice them in my last visit to Amsterdam but wasn't on the lookout either).

Edited February 10, 2005 by ludja (log)

[Chufi]

Interesting that you can't get chocolate chips easily there (nowadays).  Are chocolate chip cookies sold in any bakeries there?  (I know it's an 'import', but wonder on the inroads, in general, of chocolate chip cookies there.  I didn't notice them in my last visit to Amsterdam but wasn't on the lookout either).

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chocolatechip cookies are very popular, as is anything remotely 'american'. Nowadays you can get smoothies, brownies, cookies, bars, pie etc. everywhere.. and I mean that's what they are called, people don't even bother to translate anymore!

[Chufi]

The chickpea, chorizo and pototo dish looks fantastic.  Sounds like a perfect cold weather dish.  I'm going to try it soon!

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This is, I think, one of my alltime favorite dishes. It's as simple as it's satisfying. I have made it countless times.. It is also my favorite thing to make on self-catering holidays. The last couple of years I have made it in Spain, France, Ireland and Germany.. no matter where you are, you can always get a can of chickpeas, some tomatoes, a spicy sausage, a couple of potatoes, some onions and eggs. Dinner!

Edited February 10, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[Behemoth]

Hmm, some of these are repeats, no?

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They are all past installments in the Foodblog thread.

That's what I meant...not that I mind, just that I'm not usually good at figuring out the people from your hints.

I must say this blog is really making me look forward to living in Europe again...

[Priscilla]

Wonderful chronicle, Chufi. Immediately in my mind was gezeligheid -- a word a Dutch friend gave me to describe the common-sensical graciousness and hospitality Dutch women effortlessly exude.

[Safran]

...and tonight's drink and music...?

[percyn]

Very nice blog Chufi...sad to see it end

[Chufi]

...and tonight's drink and music...?

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I had a Bentheimer Schosstropfen with ice, it's a kind of orangeflavored aperitif that we brought from Germany last year.

The music was Buddy & Julie Miller, Love snuck up!

Can you tell I like American folk & country music??

Edited February 11, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[Chufi]

Very nice blog Chufi...sad to see it end 

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It's not over yet!

Unfortunately, my suprprise date tonight (that supposedly was going to last until tomorrow ) is cancelled because it turns out I have to work tomorrow Not cancelled really, just postponed, but because it will now take place outside the bloguniverse it will be of no interest to all of you..

To make up for it we decided to go out tonight anyway. So we'll venture into Amsterdam's red light district this evening, for some drinking and fine dining! Stay tuned!

[Chufi]

Wonderful chronicle, Chufi.  Immediately in my mind was gezeligheid -- a word a Dutch friend gave me to describe the common-sensical graciousness and hospitality Dutch women effortlessly exude.

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Ah yes, gezellig, the untranslatable Dutch word! Yes, I think that does describe a sort of homely, down to earth style of entertaining (or just having a family dinner at home), that suits me very well. Not always effortless though..

Edited February 11, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[therese]

So we'll venture into Amsterdam's red light district this evening, for some drinking and fine dining! Stay tuned!

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Tuned. Too bad that you have to postpone your date, but an evening in the red light district will be interesting as well.

[spaghetttti]

Very nice blog Chufi...sad to see it end 

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It's not over yet!

Unfortunately, my suprprise date tonight (that supposedly was going to last until tomorrow ) is cancelled because it turns out I have to work tomorrow Not cancelled really, just postponed, but because it will now take place outside the bloguniverse it will be of no interest to all of you..

To make up for it we decided to go out tonight anyway. So we'll venture into Amsterdam's red light district this evening, for some drinking and fine dining! Stay tuned!

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Chufi, I'm still interested . Staying tuned for this evening's adventure!

Tot straks

Edited February 11, 2005 by spaghetttti (log)

[jhlurie]

Very nice blog Chufi...sad to see it end 

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It's not over yet!

Unfortunately, my suprprise date tonight (that supposedly was going to last until tomorrow ) is cancelled because it turns out I have to work tomorrow Not cancelled really, just postponed, but because it will now take place outside the bloguniverse it will be of no interest to all of you..

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You can still turn it into a restaurant report in the Elsewhere in Europe forum, of course.

[Priscilla]

Wonderful chronicle, Chufi.  Immediately in my mind was gezeligheid -- a word a Dutch friend gave me to describe the common-sensical graciousness and hospitality Dutch women effortlessly exude.

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Ah yes, gezellig, the untranslatable Dutch word! Yes, I think that does describe a sort of homely, down to earth style of entertaining (or just having a family dinner at home), that suits me very well. Not always effortless though..

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Oh my goodness, not actually effortless, of course! Just somehow the effort behind the hospitality is not visited upon the guests. A very good thing, guest-wise, seems to me.

And please forgive my complete and total ignorance of Dutch language cases!